Please note: I edited the slideshow on 7-9-11 to show all of the drawings that I have been working on, not just the last three. …drawing number twenty- DONE. *Here’s a slide show showing some of my day (and night) of drawing…and by the way, no more Sharpie, the ink looks blue-black.
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...one change I forgot to make note of…I am still using the Faber Castell pen. The first seventeen drawings were Sharpie fine point, and I guess I switched to the new pen without even thinking about it. (compare one of the first drawings to the last one, on the right) Looking back through the other drawings, I do like the thick Sharpie line; there is something very strong about those heavy black lines, like they don’t mess around. Those lines mean business. The new pen…the line has more feeling, more intuition. This line might cry if you yelled at it. When I look at those lines I can see little wobbles, where I was deciding which way to go, took a breath, little pauses. Another change in the last few drawings…I have started doing some light sketching with pencil before jumping in with the pen. Mostly on the figurative parts, but the last drawing I also gave myself some pre-drawing for the tree. It seems like in the first drawings I was really exploring pattern and motif I love in Klimt’s work, and gradually worked towards adding figurative elements; exploring ‘Le Style Mucha’… his ‘macaroni’ hair and use of the female form . I know that part of this is because I have been drawing so many of these trees, but also probably because I have created them on different days, with different influences inspiring me on any given day. So, back to drawing utensils… I like both, but I think that there might be too big of a difference, so I may consider using both pens. My worry is that the ink won’t match…guess I will just see what happens. Oh, by the way- tree number nineteen is complete (below). Now on to tree twenty! ..still out here on the West Coast and just loving life. I didn’t really sit down and do any drawing in San Diego, but take a minute this morning and draw a little something, working within a circle format. I think I may do five more of these, I like the confines of a circle, like it is containing the drawing- a little visual tension. And I think we all know I will be breaking out of the circle in later drawings, but for now it is nice to have a boundary for the drawing to ‘live’ in. Today, heading out to the Sawdust Arts Festival in Laguna Beach…ready for some inspiration from the local artists....special thanks to Lauren and Ryan for being such awesome hosts, and planning this amazing day! Somewhere up in the sky I did manage to make a little art, at least one drawing. Whew- talk about cramped working conditions! Thankfully, I am left-handed so the only person I bothered was John, and he was willing to endure the occasional elbow jab in the name of art.
I added some watercolor to today’s drawing, so this was new. For the CA trip I also scaled down the size of the work, leaving my 18x24 watercolor pad at home on the table in favor of a smaller Bristol Board pad, I think it is 9x12? Too lazy to go check in my bag right now (still getting used to the time difference, 3:25 back home= 12:25 here in San Diego) Back to the paper…I really do like working on Bristol board, or a smooth watercolor. I like to feel like I have the option to switch from drawing media to painting/collage and the paper can take it. So this lil’ pad of Bristol should help me to capture some of the inspiration I feel when we come out to the west coast. I admit it. I abandoned my trees. Well, kind of. I did take a break from the 18x24 trees last night working on two TOP SECRET watercolors (sounds so much more important when you put it in all caps)…and today, another day of somewhat tree-abandon. I moved my big ol’ sketch pad aside in favor of a nifty 12x12 sketchpad…10 sheets, how could I resist? And I am a sucker for a square format, but I digress. So I drew 10 quick trees, spent about an hour and a half. I also put down the Sharpie in favor of a black Faber Castell PITT artist Pen (didn’t do all caps for a special reason, that is just how it is written on the pen.) I love this pen. It really glides on the paper, almost felt like I was painting without the pesky re-wetting of the brush. Not sure what will become of these 12x12 trees…maybe some collage work. It was nice to take a break from my series for some quick drawings on a smaller scale. Speaking of collage, the ‘Tree of Life’ is really coming along. The kids started to add their leftover pattern scraps (we can’t let a good pattern go to waste now can we?) and once we used all that up I started to fill in the extra space with some gold acrylic…I can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow when we start stamping it with modeling clay stamps and adding some sparkle. So sad that I am leaving the ‘Masters of Motif’ week one day early but…’California Waiting’…excuse me, now I have to go and listen to that song… Ummmm….before I go…30 trees before we leave for the west coast?! I don’t know…might have to finish them when I get back…to be continued. ...Fifteen trees. I surpassed my original goal of ten and now I am half way to my new goal of fifteen. (see slideshow, above) I photographed what I have so far, I can see where some days I focused my attention on the tree, sometimes on the background…just depending on my mood and perhaps what I was listening to on my IPod. This is just preliminary drawing on all of these; I will go back into each one later and add more details, color, etc. For now, just enjoying making black marks on a brand new piece of paper. It is daunting (and exciting) to see that expanse of white and make that first mark.
Besides completing the fifteenth tree today, I also took some time to open a book on Mucha and just sit and read. To pour over the pictures, to try and expand my knowledge base. Klimt and Mucha are two artists that I admire, but how much do I really know about them? I know a little, I need to know more. So…I just sat and read, looked. I have all of these art books, I get so excited and I buy them. Sometimes I look at them all the way; sometimes I just shelve them, like some treasure waiting for a time to be explored. And I don’t always take the time to do just that. So this summer, this fabulous summer, I am going to read every book that I own related to Art Nouveau, Gustav Klimt and Alphonse Mucha. When I am done reading them I am going to go through them again and sketch and make notes. I am going to increase my vocabulary and knowledge of these artists and their work, and figure out the connections to my own art. Tomorrow, tree number sixteen awaits. Tree number sixteen, now just a thought, to be put on paper tomorrow, marks to be made. Special thanks to my husband for picking the music for the in-progress slideshow. (Cat Stevens, The Wind) |
AuthorArtist and Art Teacher
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