Class went pretty well last night, but I’m really having problems working with watercolors on sketch paper. I need to go buy some good quality paper that will hold a wash faster than a few seconds so I can work with larger areas. Interestingly, the best drawing I did was the first, and with a lousy pencil:
Drawing 1, 12 July 2011
This was the last one of the evening, and was working well until I got to the legs, which didn’t connect correctly.
Drawing 2, 12 July 2011
Last night’s drawing class was lousy. I was tired, hungry, and distracted, and never really felt like I got into a groove.
I’m going to try to find time to buy some larger, better watercolor paper and go larger than the stuff I’ve been using, with a finer tooth and pattern.
This evening’s class went really well, in spite of the fact that I brought the wrong sketchbook. I’m learning more and more about brush finesse, blocking tones, and controlling water so that I can lay a quick pencil sketch down and start working with ink sooner. The ratio of successes to misfires was a lot higher as a result.
As I was packing up my stuff at the end of the session, the short-pose model came over and asked if she could take a picture of the work I’d done. Flattered, I asked her which one she liked the most, and gave it to her:
The heat’s back, and with it the humidity. We’re in one of Baltimore’s common weather patterns where it’s hot and sticky during the day, a quick thunderstorm rolls in sometime in the afternoon, and immediately the heat returns, stickier than before. It’s enough uncertainty that I’m not driving the Scout in fear that I’ll get it soaked—something I’d like to avoid until I get the inside of the tub sanded, POR-15’d and coated with bedliner. Which means notime in the immediate future.
Drawing class went moderately well last night; I got one good drawing out of the evening but I feel like I’m learning more about technique. I definitely need some heavier watercolor paper to stand up to the brushes, but for now a basic sketchbook will work.
June 21, 2011
This Saturday I’m heading up to a friend’s farm to help clear out and sort his collection of IH parts, and connect back up with some Scouting friends I haven’t seen in months. It should be a really good time (here’s to hoping the weather holds out) and I’m looking forward to seeing everyone.
Next up, we have the parade to prepare for. Mama has been doing some beautiful work out in the yard cleaning up the flowerbeds and trimming the bushes in the front of the house; I never realized what a difference it made before now. There’s a pile of cuttings that need to be hauled out, and I have to find time on Sunday to rent a chainsaw in order to finish cutting our dead cherry tree down, as well as the two apple trees that will never bear fruit. There are a million other small things to do before the 4th, and I hope I have enough time to get to all of them.
→ This is a syndicated post from my Scout weblog. More info here.
I’m still getting the hang of it. This one was almost a throwaway; I was working on it without even thinking about it, and it turned out to be the best one from last night. There’s something about getting to the place where the brain stops thinking about making art and simply becomes the conduit. I need more moments like that in my life.
Last night’s studio went pretty well. My ratio of “good” work vs. bad was lower, but I’m getting more comfortable with the brush and moving around the page to add shading, instead of overworking one section.
20 minute figure drawing
I did some experimenting with a pencil and brush in the studio last night, which is something I haven’t tried in years. My first attempts were lousy, but as I got the hang of working with water again, I found that it got easier and began to add to the drawing instead of obliterating it.
This evening I’m headed up to MICA to start another round of open figure drawing classes. I only have pencils with me tonight, but I think I’m going to bring some brushes and black ink next time to try and mix things up after I get warmed up. It’ll be good to make some non-computer-based art again.
Here’s a selection of sites from my Favorites list over the past year, now that I’m cleaning up the computer following completion of the game: Urban Archaeology.
Interesting subject, horrible execution: Ghost Towns. Somebody, anybody, please tell the good people of the world that dropping white text on a textured, picture background is about the most illegible design choice possible. I can’t even select the text to read the knockout—it’s a block of white. Forgotten Stations is a site which does it right: easy, intuitive organization, a ton of links, clean grammar, and intense documentation. Another good urban archaeology site, while not being a great example of design, is Forgotten NY, which is broken down into convenient sections. The wealth of this site is the sheer number of links; the site itself breaks the rule of having blocks of text over dark photos. I am a fan of painted outdoor advertising signs, and the section here is fantastic. Friends of the High Line is a site dedicated to the preservation of the old West Side elevated rail in NYC; it’s beautiful, contains an extensive gallery, and works very well as an informational site. Dinercity is an documentary site about classic aluminum diners; unfortunately it overlooks the one closest to my folks’ house in Auburn, NY. (pictures coming soon.) Roadside America has a day’s worth of reading about all manner of American oddities, including the ubiquitous Muffler Men.
Here’s a new set of sketches from last night’s studio. It was a good night, but by 9:30 I was losing focus, so I packed up early. Sketch one | Sketch two
I had the first drawing class of the summer last night, and it felt really good. I walked with a bunch of good stuff for having taken almost a years’ sabbatical from drawing. Sketch one | Sketch two | Sketch three