drawings
« Previous EntriesChrysanthemums and Nikki: work in progress
Friday, May 18th, 2012
Chrysanthemums, 45L x 85W x 3D inches, graphite, charcoal and primer on 100% cotton, work in progress
Rather than priming the fabric first as usual, water and primer are painted to enhance the graphite while the composition works itself out. It’s been all about getting lost in the improvisation and surprise! Grass blades are implied by the buildup of thin streaks throughout, which also serve to balance and energize the work, plus add slight cubist effects.
This is will hang in a contemporary-style room. If color is used at all it will be limited to red, yellow and green areas near the large main flower. Parts of the surface may be left raw, so to set the finished piece, the entire back will be primed and the front will be sprayed with fixative.
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I’ve been very concerned that this blog has been inactive for so long; that moving to Oregon might jeopardize the career-related momentum gained after nine years in Dallas. The chaos of this past year has truly put my mouthy artist’s statement to the test; that ‘creativity is an attitude toward life’.
I’m accustomed to creating chaos in my artwork, then resolving it. With too many move-related priorities and seemingly endless unfinished renovations, no wonder I’ve felt increasingly disoriented. I’ve tried to paint walls, for example, with a view that it contributes to the whole picture, but it’s just not the same as art-related work. With camera and overly-kooky imagination I made light of that wall-painting situation; three homes in fact (see previous posts). I’m telling you, when you enter a realm of madness, you must rely on the expression you know best. Find something to laugh about, or at least pretend it’s funny! For the most part I managed to get lost in the improvisation and surprise of each day. I do trust that observations never stop, that potential has nothing to do but replenish itself until such a time it bubbles over and has no way out but transformation…but after a year and a half of not painting or drawing… really? Really?!
Shortly after my art supplies were finally located and unpacked, I heard myself say, “Now take charge”.
Monte rocks!
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
Monte rocks! Who is he?
Influence
Monday, November 29th, 2010
“Some of us loved to draw when we were very young and many didn’t, but we are all capable. There is something to be said for innate abilities, but talent alone will not help us to advance. You might inherit Grandpa’s artistic genes, but every talent needs continual development to become skill no matter what it is, and drawing is no different than learning to play an instrument or climbing a mountain in that respect…” (excerpt from the article “Extreme Drawing“).
My father was a wood carver for most of his life, and his love for drawing was crucial to designing all the different things people ordered. Any time he taught woodcarving, he first insisted on lessons in drawing.
As it provided the funds necessary to build a house after a career the Canadian Armed Forces, there was almost nothing he wouldn’t carve; an entire range of subjects from detailed Armed Forces crests, modern abstract pieces, as well as birds and animals. My favorites were the custom designed doors, cupboards and headboards made for clients in Canada and the U.S. before retiring in 2002. Well, artists never really retire, they just keep moving on to try new things!
Photography has always been one of his passions, and he’s the “real” die-hard kind that will sit in mosquito-infested forests waiting forever for the right shot. One time he climbed a tree to capture photos of a porcupine, then fell out and sprained both his ankles. I was about nine years old, and I remember my Mom, my brother and me holding him up while he hobbled back to the car! Here is some of his recent photography, and lately he’s been taking the time to enjoy drawing again.
My Mom was an equal and supporting partner in the creating and finishing details of all the wood work they sold. Though my mother claims to not know how to draw, they have both been, and continue to be, huge influences as far as my being an artist. When I was quite young I would ask my Mom to draw anything so I could color it. I did care what it was. It was not refined and professional, but I would coax her, “Yes, you do so know how to draw! Pleeeeeaaaase!”. Children don’t seem to have the same hang-ups we adults do about drawing.
Now they see my two young neices often, one of whom drew her own interpretation of “Stellar’s Jay” after watching her Grandpa. Andra is 5 years old. Don’t you just love love the addition of hearts on the branches?! I feel so inspired by childrens’ work. It is pure and staight from the heart. In fact, she is so nonchalant about her abilities and unaware of how keen she is, she did not even show it — my Dad found it after she left.
If Andra chooses to be an artist, it’s due to Nature and Nurture, and also not so much about what she’s been given, but what she does with it.
Mary Ann Pel’s Bench
Wednesday, October 20th, 2010
Mary Ann’s Bench 11 x 14 inches graphite on paper
Illustration of a bench dedicated to a client’s sister by the staff at the University Arboretum, Madison, Wisconsin
Turmeric blossoms
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
Turmeric, 9 x 12 inches graphite on paper
Turmeric is a member of the ginger family. The rhizomes are a rich golden yellow, and the plant is used as a food coloring and flavoring agent, in dyes and traditional eastern cosmetics, and is an important ingredient in curry powder. Native to India, it is grown widely in the tropical areas of Asia. The blossoms are about 14 inches across, seen at the Botanic Gardens, Singapore.
Treasures 03: Time
Saturday, June 5th, 2010
Treasures 03: Time, 9 x 12 inches graphite on paper
Find the clocks and watches set to these times 10:40, 8:05, 7:10, 8:20, 9:00, 2:25, 1:25, and 7:50
More Treasures
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
Treasures 02, 9 x 12 inches graphite on paper…and where does one begin such a drawing? With Aladdin’s lamp of course.
June 04 note: As I’m drawing a third “Treasures” today, it occurred to me that it might add a fun element for you to find some of the items in the pictures. Listed in no particular order, here are the treasures in the above illustration:
1. Spiral-Horned Antelope statue, 2. monkey statue, 3. Woman golfing tropie, 4. Water Buffalo statue, 5. outdated video camera or equiptment – three of, 6. horse head statues – heads only – there are two, 7. what I fondly refer to as “Aladdin’s lamp”, 8. log-stemmed pipe, 9. duck head statue, 10. Coca Cola alarm clock , 11. statue of three elephants, 12. case of watches, 13. Fish statue, 14. Chinese lantern, 15. ship in a bottle, 16. three vases displayed together, 17. large horse statue, 18. smaller (glass) horse on a glass ball statue, 19. hour glass, 20. out-dated camera
Dragonfruit
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
Dragonfruit, 9 x 12 inches watercolor pencils, graphite on paper
I’ve discovered a strange and wonderful new fruit here: Pitaya, commonly called Dragonfruit, is cultivated in Vietnam, but apparently is native to Mexico and South America. Possibly then, it’s imported to the U.S. and hopefully is sold in Texas. I’ve seen it in the markets here but thought it was some sort of artichoke. Rarely do you find a fruit that is so large and fleshy where you don’t have to deal with removal of seeds or pits or cores to get to the yummy part. This one’s all yum, about 6″ long, and tastes much like a kiwi, but more sweet than tangy.
Treasures
Tuesday, June 1st, 2010
Treasures 01, 9 x 12 graphite on paper
I walked by a store the other day where there was a woman bargaining with the owner for one of the items inside, but she was only able to peek in and point because it’s crammed full to the entrance door. No customers can even get in to browse! It’s a store like one I remember on an old, old ’60′s episode of Outer Limits, where odd items just like these had mysterious powers over those who purchased them.
So if you’re looking for a Beta-Max video camera or a spooky-cool outdated deep sea diving outfit, I know where you can go… it’s a store that would inspire any artist, any writer… and any hoarder! I took a lot of photos through the glass and this sketch is the first of a few that are planned.
The Masjid Sultan Crescent and Star symbol
Monday, May 31st, 2010
May 31st, a different view of the Masjid Sultan mosque (also May 27th) showing also a detail image of the ancient Islamic symbol of the Crescent and Star on top of the golden dome.
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