David, Both Sides Now

Two drawings, the first from this week, and other from two weeks ago.

David playing guitar


Reading A Giacometti Portrait.

Lisa Gets Litho'd

I wanted to work this sketch up into an etching, but I got sidetracked into experimenting with kitchen litho (see the previous post). So I spent most of the day doing fairly boring experiments in order to get a basic handle on things - and it does show lots of potential for abstract or decorative work (maybe tomorrow I'll put some of those up). But I also found its a really good way to start testing designs for an etching, since the process is pretty easy with a quick turnaround, and it is perfectly capable of handling fine and detailed work, and midtones (when I am not too sloppy). And although it is messy, cleanup is pretty simple, there's nothing toxic involved. Below is a test print, done by transfering a reduced copy of the sketch to the aluminum foil by way of carbon paper. Then the foil is dipped in Coke (the legal kind), rinsed with water, inked with a roller, and printed.

Book Porn

Well, I'm falling behind as usual, but to keep things interesting, here's a blog that definitely worth a look! Book Porn

How could I not fall for a site that has pictures like this?

Lisa Still Wicked

Well not Lisa herself, just the book she is reading. As for me, I'm trying to push the perspective a bit, though it is hard in a small studio. We got two done - I prefer the second to the first.
Here's the first:



The second was rather fun to draw. Lisa took up a pose on the floor with her feet up against the couch, and I stood up on the couch. I wish I had planned the drawing better (or that I had larger paper), I would have liked to get more of her feet in!



As for wicked reading, I'm still engaged in Henry Miller, & am now on my third book in 10 days. Great stuff, though I really should have read it 40 years ago!. Thanks JR.

David Rocks It. (with Bach and Josquin)

Tuesday I worked with David; the warmup sketches were wretched as my hand and mind seem to be going in opposite directions, and even the ink was uncooperative david of course was poised as ever, bless him for his patience! So for the longer work we brought out the big guns - Bach, followed by Josquin's Missa Linga Pange, which David has been kind enough to lend me. He's also provided me with some interesting films - such as Modigliani - I will never complain about my life again! - and Glenn Gould, 32 Short Films - talented oddballs really are worth knowing! Anyway, the Bach and Josquin seemed to work, though I'm not too sure where the color came from :)



I came across a couple of sketches I had done of David back when the the weather was warmer - he's an interesting guy with interesting lanky poses -

Lisa + Books = Something to Draw On

For the last few weeks Lisa and I have been working outside (both at Point Pleasant, and in my yard), and in the Trident Bookseller and Cafe. What I would like to do is get a series of sketches together for etchings that focus on Lisa, reading and coffee. They seem to go together so well! And it means Lisa can do her work (studying) while I do mine

We had started out in Point Pleasant a few weeks ago - the weather was cloudy, and there was some offshore fog - a typical Nova Scotia day. Which is actually nice to work in, as long as it doesn't rain, and the weather stays warm.



Unfortunately we only had a brief bit before the fog decided it didn't want to stay offshore, and it brought with it rain. Once the ink started running it was time to head for shelter. The odd thing was that it only rained on the very point - the parking lot was dry. So it was off to Trident.

Trident is a great place to work - it's small and intimate, has great coffee, lots of good books, and even a few tables that are not for laptops. And big windows.

A big part of this is just collecting drawings; what ever goes into an etching will be an amalgam of these. So there are lots of little ones (I tend to do quick scrathes in a sanguine sort of colour and corrections in a sort of bistre, using Faber-Castelli india ink felt tips).





The problem with doing interior scenes is that one needs a lot of detail to situate the image. These include quick sketches of customers going about their business:



as well as the general setting:



(to be continued in a week or two...)

Jennifer and David

Jennifer and David are a couple I've been working with for awhile - with Jennifer somewhat longer than with David - and I am dying to do a double portrait (or a family one), maybe in encaustic, or maybe in oil. The problem is that it can take me forever to actually "see" people, especially when they are lively and fascinating. So in the meantime, I work with them individually.

Jennifer:


David:


My initial ideas for a family portrait run to something like Schiele's:



but not so morose. But it is a classic sort of ordering, echoed in in things like this old milk ad Jennifer sent me:

Jennifer R., Reading Aura

Wednesday was much nicer than Tuesday - sunshine (most of the time) and temperatures in the mid 20's (mid 70's for the US). Way too nice for working inside. So Jennifer and I sat in shade in the backyard.

The book she's reading is Aura's Erato, which is a wonderful allegory of the act of creation in its different manifestations. And as Jennifer pointed out (and I quite agree), Aura's play with language is quite delightful.



There's a couple of others I did with Jennifer last week, but they aren't finished yet.

Lisa, Not Whistler's Mother

Tuesday was a wonderful day for reading - wet and cold (and not a whole lot warmer inside). As luck (or more likely, Lisa's foresight) would have it, Lisa had a couple of books wih her. So she settled into my old rocking chair to read by the window, and I to draw. The only thing really missing was a bit of sunshine coming in the window.

Another week goes by....

At least this time I have a good reason for not posting much, it's been a busy one for drawing! Probably the best way to catch up is just to put them up in the order they were done, all in one post. I try to schedule two to three sessions a week, but this week two new-to-me models became available (Jennifer R. and Aura King); both brought an interest in the arts as well as the history of modeling, so I got to learn a lot.

Monday was with Shawn. Unfortunately the session got cut short somewhat, since I wanted to go over to his place and meet Sasha (his dog). I would like to get to work on a painting including the two of them.



Tuesday was Lisa. If she's looking a little pained, well she was, with a bad crick in her neck. But she was kind enough to sit anyway, and I sort of regret not getting the icepack in. Or a bag of frozen peas....



Wednesday was the first of the new models, Jennifer R. Jennifer is an experienced photographer & model, but I had my usual trouble sorting out drawings with new people. As an added bonus, she lent me the book Alias Olympia, by Eunice Lipton. It's based around Lipton's search for who Victorine Meurent really was. She also provided a link to quite an amusing website for playing with digital photos, BigHugeLabs.



Aura E. King is a writer, dancer, and a well known model in Halifax (especially at NSCAD), who is currently working on a book on classical modeling. I got to pick her brain quite a bit on the history of classical modeling (I had no idea, for example, that for much of history since the Renaissance, modeling was generally the domain of families, much as any other craft..)



And finally on Friday, Jennifer. Maybe it's the fact that I had been drawing all week, or maybe it's the fact that Jenn's a country and western fan (like me), but somehow we managed to get two drawings done, both of which I like.

Lisa in Green

I worked with Lisa on Tuesday. One of those typical Nova Scotia days that starts bright and sunny and then goes downhill. So we worked in the yard for a couple of hours, and then in the studio.
The morning started off warm enough just to work in light clothes; Lisa reading and drinking coffee, and me sketching and drinking coffee. Coffee is kind of a constant theme around here.


Unfortunately clouds and spitters and a drop in temperature; Lisa braved it out in a hoodie for a little while:


But, even for me, eventually enough is enough, so it was into the studio. I think like many representational artists, I'm a bit of a nut about fabric. Unfortunately, as a pretty traditionally brought up guy, I'm fabrically(?) challenged. So I have no idea what to call it, other than it was sort of a t-shirty material that hung really nicely, was a lovely light pthalo-green color, and a great complement to the wearer...



Standing poses, btw, are really hard, especially when they are slightly off the normal balance. So that one wass definitely above and beyond, and quite a reasonable justification for the last:



Not that the last pose is actually all that easy (try holding your arm up like that for awhile...)

Lisa, Writer, Reader

Yesterday I worked with a "new-to-me" model, Lisa. It was one of those all to rare days here in Nova Scotia - warm, sunny, and just enough breeze to keep the bugs off. So we worked outside.

Most of the time Lisa worked on a short story while I drew. I find this sort of work fascinating; creation often requires isolation, otherwise focus gets lost. Which means that most people never get to quietly observe another person engaged in creative work. I just hope I don't ruin her writing (I can be a chatterer).

Writers have long been the subject of art work - examples include Holbein's great portaits of Erasmus (that's a link to one, there are several), Courbet's portrait of Baudelaire, Manet's portrait Emile Zola, and perhaps even Mary Cassatt's delightful print The Letter.

The big problem of course is that the act of writing is actually pretty dynamic. A subject's thoughts change, the body moves. Someone engaged in thought holds themselves quite differently from someone pouring words out on to a page. It's not an activity in which you can tell the subject to hold still until the buzzer goes! So you collect sketches, good, bad, indifferent and in the end try to to synthesize something. rather like the Hanna at the piano etching (which I am still working on).

So here's a few from the day:




(Note to self - get rid of the Adirondack chairs, they hide half the subject! And buy sunscreen.Around here it's a cheap investment as a bottle lasts for years.)

And of course, after all that work, one needs to relax a bit. Perhaps by reading a book?

Hanna, Waxed

This one is finally done. It's 24x36, encaustic on panel. I don't think I'll try to sell this one, but if anyone wants a poster size print (roughly 13"x19") let me know.
Now on to the etchings....