Archive for June, 2009

Dave

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Pencil Sketch, 7.25 x 11 inches. March, 2009. Reference Photo

pencil sketch

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.

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Reagan

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Pencil Sketch, 7.25 x 11 inches. March, 2009. Reference Photo

pencil sketch

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.

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Marge

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Pencil Sketch, 7.5 x 10.5 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo

pencil sketch

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.

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Today’s Featured Artist

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Today’s Featured Artist is Adrienne Rice – my niece.

pencil sketch

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.

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Jeff Winwood 02

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

Pencil Sketch, 8 x 11 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo

pencil sketch

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.

reference photo

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.

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Jeff Winwood 01

Sunday, June 14th, 2009

Pencil Sketch, 7.5 x 10.5 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo

pencil sketch

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.

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Pennsyltucky

Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009

Oil on canvas board, 12 x 16 inches. June, 2009. Reference Photo

oil on canvas

This is my entry in the Different Strokes From Different Folks (DSFDF) bi-weekly challenge, submitted on 6/02/09.

Once again, this is out of my "comfort zone" because there is a deadline. I am not very happy with the painting, but I know that even if I spent another year working on this, it would not be much better. My primary goal for this project was to use it as a learning experience, and I consider that part a success. I learned a lot.

What did I learn?

oil on canvas

As I planned/prepared for this project, I studied several paintings by Vincent van Gogh. I focused on three things - (1) the grass in the foreground, (2) the sky, and (3) the van Gogh sunflowers. I decided to skip the sunflowers and leave that out of my painting. I made an effort at the Van Gogh sky, and I disliked what I had, so I painted over it. My finished painting has a decidedly un-remarkable sky. The grass/wheat/whatever in the foreground of my painting is directly influenced by the van Gogh painting Wheat Field at Auvers with White House - 1890 near the end of his life.

My conclusion - I began this project thinking van Gogh was one of my favorite painters. After attempting to copy him, my admiration and appreciation has grown significantly. He was quite the mad genius.

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