Pencil Sketch, 8.5 x 11 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo
This is the third of my 3 part series on my brother Tom. I had a good quality photo, but I don't really like this sketch very much.
The key learning - the "just right" photograph may be non-existent.
Pencil Sketch, 8.5 x 11 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo
This is my most recent, and favorite sketch of my brother Tom. I had a better (high resolution) photo to work from compared to Tom 01.
The key learning - the "just right" photograph is an elusive thing.
Pencil Sketch, 5.5 x 7 inches. April, 2009. Reference Photo
I grew up in a family of 3 brothers, no sisters. I am #2 son, Tom is #4.
I now have sketch(es) of Mom, Dad, Dave #1 son, myself, and Tom. I am only missing Jim - #3 son. Of this group, Dave and Dad are the most sketch worthy because they have a distinctive look. Mom is sort-of distinctive. Phil, Tom and Jim are harder to sketch because they are less distinctive. This (of course) matters most if you have met the person and know what they are supposed to look like.
For Tom, I am only sort-of satisfied with any of the 3 sketches. My point of view (subject to change) is – what I really need to make a good sketch of Tom is the “just right” photo to work from. Sketch #3 of Tom was made from a low resolution photo. Sketch #1 and #2 are from high resolution photos – so I can’t use that as an excuse. For all three of these photos, I was not the photographer. In about 3 weeks time I will have a chance to spend some time with my parents and all 3 brothers. I plan to take lots and lots of photos.
The key learning - the "just right" photograph is a wonderful thing.
Pencil Sketch, 7.25 x 11 inches. March, 2009. Reference Photo
This is one of my very first pencil sketches. And my number one favorite.
The reference photo is dated July of 2008 and includes myself and older brother Dave at the famous bull statue on Wall Street.
So what is it about this sketch that makes it my #1 favorite?
The summary is - when I look at this sketch, it causes an emotional response (in me). This is because I know the subject and have strong feelings about him. So when I look at the sketch, it gives me pleasure - in a subtle but strangely satisfying way.
It begins with a model with a distinctive look. As an artist, I'm not worried about trying to duplicate the photo. I know there are some artists out there capable of amazing things - but I am not one of them. And that is perfectly fine with me. My goal is to create an image that evokes the essence of the subject. If the viewer looks at the sketch and thinks about Dave the person, as opposed to the photo of Dave - I fell like I hit a home run as the artist. The fact that I am both the artist and then the viewer does not in any way detract from my enjoyment of the sketch - in fact it just makes it all the better.
I see a lot of symbolism and irony in this particular photo. I have some vague plans to use this same photo to produce a large scale oil painting - but that is off in the fuzzy future.
The key learning - good art is not the same thing as photography.
Pencil Sketch, 7.25 x 11 inches. March, 2009. Reference Photo
This is one of my very first pencil sketches. And one of my favorites.
The reference photo is dated July of 2008 and includes myself, older brother Dave, cousin Pam, and my father. We asked a stranger to operate the camera, and he did a nice job.
We were about to board a boat (Zephyr) to go see the waterfall art in New York City. Our journey took us into (or near) the area where the jet plane landed in the Hudson. So when I heard the news story several months later about the Hudson River plane landing, I was sure thinking what if that plane had come in when we were out there?
If you look closely, you will see that my brother Dave (the ham) has managed to work his hand into this portrait.
The key learning - take lots of pictures.
Pencil Sketch, 7.5 x 10.5 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo
This is a recent project. A pencil sketch of my mom.
I like this sketch for several reasons and on several levels. I had several photos to choose from (thank you Tom!). I selected this particular photo because I wanted to include the hand(s).
I have come to believe that a good sketch will capture the uniqueness of the subject - and therefore, the best subjects have a distinct look. Good examples from my family are my father and older brother Dave (both subjects of future posts). A difficult subject is someone with a non-distinct look, and I put myself in this category.
For the difficult subjects, the photo is very important. This is a learning process for me. I get smarter as I go. A good example is my brother Tom. I've done 3 sketches of Tom, none of which seem really good. I explain this by saying I need to find just the right photo. That's my story and I'm sticking with it.
The key learning - just like a house needs a good foundation, I need a good photo of a good subject to produce a good sketch.
Today’s Featured Artist is Adrienne Rice – my niece.
This is a photograph of a self portrait done by Adrienne Rice. Adrienne recently graduated from high school. On many levels, this piece of art is my most favorite of the 1,000’s (or so) that I have seen this year. I really like it.
I assume this is a pencil sketch. I have no more information that what I get from the photo – which is to say I can only make an educated guess at the dimensions.
The key learning – be open and you might be pleasantly surprised. It could happen.
Pencil Sketch, 8 x 11 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo
This is my other recent sketch of Jeff Winwood. This one is a study from the large photo below. I wondered how well the face/head would look, so I tried a sketch of that part of the photo. I am happy with the result, so I may decide to do a sketch and then maybe an oil painting of the large photo. I plan for the full sketch and painting to be 16 x 24. My working title is Mutt and Jeff.
I like dogs, but I have never tried to draw or sketch a dog before.
Another thing I have never done before is to frame a finished work. I'm thinking I may make a trip to Art-O-Rama and try to get both of my Winwoods framed. I'm a believer in the wisdom of - begin with the end in mind. For me the best way to find out about the framing process is to give it a try and see what happens.
Jeff was nice enough to pose for a series of photos. He was a good sport - patient and willing to try every thing I asked of him. I learned that I need to get better at posing the subject. I know what I want in theory, but when I am faced with a real life situation - I wind up wishing I could do better. I have given this subject some careful though and study - I guess I need to do more.
Pencil Sketch, 7.5 x 10.5 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo
This is my most recent project. At the end of the first pass, I taped it to the wall, and after a few days I decided it was no good. I was just about to give up and throw it away. As a last desperate measure, I tried some surgery to fix it.
This was a first for me. In the past, if I was unhappy with the first pass, I would just give up and move on to the next project. I am now wishing I made a scan of the pre-surgery look. After some fairly radical changes to the nose, and a few minor spruce ups to the hair, I taped it to the wall (again) - and gave it a few days. My verdict - I like it.
The key learning - don't be afraid to "fix" a problem on a project that is headed for the reject bin.
This is a short essay I sent to my parents and my older brother when I sent them prints (xerox copies) of my pencil sketches.
How to Enjoy Bad Art
As someone who creates and produces bad art – it’s important for me to make sure my audience understands the importance of proper viewing technique.
As I near the completion of a sketch – I get to the point where I look at it (even though it’s not quite finished) and evaluate the quality. I ask myself the question – is this any good? Or not?
Pretty much every time, my initial reaction is – this is terrible. I hate it. I am embarrassed to even consider the prospect of anyone else seeing this. It’s hard for me to keep from throwing the nearly completed drawing in the trash, much less to finish the project. Seriously.
One of the questions/issues/problems for a pencil sketch is knowing when to stop. I tend to stop fairly early which means my drawings tend to be (if anything) too light. I do not have the problem of too dark.
But somehow I manage to “finish” up, and I take another look to see if I like it any better. And the answer is “no”. It stinks.
This is what I do. I tape the sketch on my bedroom wall. Then I take 3 steps backward. As if by magic, the bad art becomes suddenly better. If I give it a few days, and view from different distances, angles, and lighting – my opinion gradually improves.
My suggestion to my viewers/audience is to tape the sketch directly to the wall at about eye level, roughly 6 feet high. It’s best to use drafting tape, but I’ve had good luck with masking tape.
It’s important to put the sketch somewhere with enough room to back up and view from a distance. The farther away you can get, the better the art is – so you may need to buy a bigger house.
Rembrandt himself, explicitly warned a client from viewing his painting from too close a range. Rothko (on the other hand) suggested 18 inches. What does that tell you? It says that my art is more like Rembrandt than Rothko. So I’ve got that going for me.
