FRENCHMAN WITH SKETCHBOOK TECHNIQUE

I sat at Gallery Concord today with one of my favorite people, Juanita Hagberg. It was great having someone to visit with and bounce ideas off of each other. After the close at 4 PM, we went to downtown Walnut Creek and hung out at Barnes and Noble and then went back for the Gallery Reception , celebrating the opening of our new show, at 6 PM. It was a mild night and there was a good crowd, food, drink and lovely musical entertainment. I stayed for an hour working at the sales desk, then headed home. It's an hour's drive but my books on tape keep me entertained.

I had a chance to do a painting during the day of the Frenchman on a half-sheet prepared like the sketchbook I posted yesterday.. I used some pen but mostly Hydrus Liquid Watercolor in Paynes Gray, Indian Red and a little Chrome Yellow (which is actually a yellow orange). I finally added some white acrylic ink because it needed the contrast. I don't think the additional color improved the technique. With collage, sometimes smaller works better because of the scale of the added pieces in the composition. I think I may try this again with just the pen. I don't have that "Eureka!" feeling I had with the sketchbook. I did prepare a second sketchbook, ready for drawings, so I am continuing to work on this idea for awhile.

SKETCHBOOK COMPLETED!

I had a great afternoon. I was listening to a book on tape (cd) in one computer while I did the drawings for the sketchbook using photos from my laptop! (it isn't fixed yet but I brought it back while waiting for a part so I can use the photos stored there) I used the Elegant Writer Caligraphy pen and a wet brush. I like the results so much, I think I will try a half sheet painting using this combination of materials. The Frenchman better look out!

EXPERIMENT FOR THE MONTH!

Here is my experiment for the month. I wanted to create a little sketchbook with good paper. I liked the results from my drawing marathon, so I used the same kind of paper. My idea for the format came from some accordian sketchbooks I had seen on line. I liked the idea of being able to see one or two drawings at a time or the whole series all at once. I had some leftover scraps from a piece of taupe mat board. After cutting the covers for the sketchbook, they were collaged with hand painted and stamped tissue. I am very pleased with the results. I used some of the "dirty glaze" (1 part micaceous iron oxide to 8 parts mat medium) using a brayer to spread the blobs I put on the paper. I used some of my favorite stamps on tissue paper and collaged them on, Right now I am planning to keep the book together but I always have the option of cutting it apart if I want to. The photos show the full spread when totally open, the cover, a double spread page and how it folds.

I may do more experiments this month, but at least I have fulfilled my stated goals. Day 6 and I am still on target!

I also prepared a sheet to redo the Zentangle image since I totally ruined the first one. I am starting to put the patterns down after creating an interesting background. We'll see. It may take several tries before I get a workable combination, but then, that's where all the fun is!

STUDIES FOR LIGHTING THE HEAD

The morning was spent roaming around on the internet. I am getting so many ideas for paintings and techniques. One guy had a 8 x 11 sheet of paper with 77 very detailed images on it! He did about five of these with different series of creatures on each one. Each image was smaller than 1" square!!!!! Boggles the mind. I liked how he drew. A cross between Zentangle and hyper realism. It gave me ideas how to combine styles and techniques, etc. I have included the website for sketchbooks that I was exploring. Just click on my blog title for this post and it will take you there. I don't always have a link with my title, but I will inform everyone when I do.

This afternoon I spent framing my drawings. I finally figured out a way to float a painting or drawing in a secure and easy manner. I am always afraid everything is going to fall apart later in the frame. I like the formatting of the Bainbridge mats but my drawings were just a touch too big to fit in the pre-cut opening. I got the same look by floating on top of mat board. I marked strips of paper the depth of the mat sides (e.g. 4") and placed them on the top and sides. Then I held the mounted image over the mat board, lining it up with the marker strips. Then I was able to position it perfectly without making marks on the board. I set it down in place and weighted it until the glue dried. Voila! I also learned that I needed to use thinner foamcore for the backing of the drawings. That way the spacers kept the plexi from resting on the drawing and it all still fit into the metal frames. It was a lot of work, but I like the results.

I only did about fifteen minutes of drawing today, all of it crappy but I plug along. A bad drawing in the sketchbook is like the first scratch on a new car. Now you don't have to worry, the book will just be for practice. By the time I get it filled, I should be better and the new book will have all good work in it! So instead of showing you bad drawings, I decided to post some studies I did for lighting the face. When you understand the concept, you can change the lighting on any face you have with confidence. This is one of the lessons I cover in my Advanced Portrait workshops.

DISTORTED LINE DRAWING

This is a graphite study I did awhile back. It was not a good likeness, so I did another one but the more I look at this, the more I like the distortion. I may do something with this one, someday.

I spent half the day on the computer, mesmerized by a fantastic site that had tons of self portraits by artists from Giotto to contemporary times. Then I found a website that had the same thing for sketchbooks. I didn't investigate the sketchbook website for fear of losing the rest of my day, but I have it saved for tomorrow's browsing. With all this inspiration to view, there is little time to actually create, if one isn't careful. You can find the self-portrait site by clicking on today's blog title. I will link the other site tomorrow.

I spent the afternoon running around getting plexi and frames so I could put together some things for the Gallery Concord. The exhibit changes on Tuesday. I decided to frame the better sketches from the last drawing marathon. I put together the painting for the CWA annual and reframed "the painting" for the Smithsonian competition. I did a small sketch of my son while we were playing Scrabble tonight, so I got my fifteen minutes in.

Every morning, I start my day by reading about one person in Danny Gregory's new book "An Illustrated Life". This has been such a wonderful way to get inspired and reved up to participate in art for the day. It is filled with different artists and their sketchbooks. Some people are using a magnafying glass so they can view the illustrations and writing on the sketch pages better. That is a great idea. I think I will take a magnafying glass upstairs tonight.

COVER GIRL!

I haven't received my copy but a friend was kind enough to send me this image. What an honor to make the cover of such a fine publication. I am anxiously awaiting my copy.

In the meantime, I did my sketching for the day. I also made my first attempt to draw from my short term memory. I decided a simple object would make the most sense. I have two beautiful glass birds in my kitchen greenhouse window. I starred at them trying to memorize their shapes and the negative shapes surrounding them. Then I went into a different room and tried to put it down in my sketch book. I returned with the sketchbook in hand and drew around my original drawing with the corrected shape. I did this twice (once for each bird). Next time I am going to use pen for one and pencil for the correction. This is going to take lots and lots and lots of practice to master this particular skill, but I am on my way!

The other thing I did today was totally ruin the Zentangle Frenchman. I had glued tissue over the whole thing and that looked sort of promising but turned out to be a bad idea. The paint did funny things in areas and became very ugly. I also didn't have a value plan and I really need to do that for this image. I need to see in advance what different choices will create. I learned a lot from the disaster and I still have my gesso with which to cover the entire mess. Maybe I can count this as trying something new.

January 2 and I am still on track with my goals!

FIRST DAY OF THE NEW YEAR, LAST SKETCH OF THE OLD YEAR!

A shiny brand new year with all the possibilities started today. Last night our friends gathered together to see the old year out and the new year in. Most of us struggled to stay awake until midnight. Some of the guys played cards while others watched some never-ending football. Two groups of women played Mah Jong and 4 of us played Scrabble. I spent a little time drawing the Mahj game. I wanted to finish out the year with a drawing on the last day. My friends would kill me if they saw what I did. Kind of a fun drawing but not much for likeness of anybody. You can see the guys playing cards in the background.

Today I picked up my laptop and it still doesn't work! I am taking it back tomorrow. The "Genius" (that's what the Mac people call the tech guys) tried to fix it without replacing any parts but it didn't work. I am going to insist on a new antenna. In the meantime, I am limping along with my old machine. I am grateful I have it!

I took a few minutes out to reflect on my goals for the New Year. I don't believe in resolutions, just goal setting. Maybe it's the same thing but it has a different attitude! It is a good practice to sit down and really think about where you want to go and what you want to happen at least once a year. I create catagories like career, artistic and personal. They must be specific to be achieved. They must also be WRITTEN DOWN. I did this last year and then set the list aside. When I came across the list a few months ago, I was amazed at how many of the things on the list came about!

My artistic goals this year include drawing everyday for a minimum of 15 minutes, learning to hold an image in my mind's eye so I can draw accurately after someone has moved! Creating 2 serious paintings a month and trying at least one new technique or material once a month.

It's after 10 PM and I haven't done my first drawing of the year, yet. I guess I had better get busy!