Drawing with a stick

Last night in my drawing class with Luther Broome, he had us draw with a stick dipped in ink!!! It was so much fun! I had never done anything like that before, and even though I struggled at first, I stuck with it, and towards the end of the class, I really started to feel like I was getting the hang of it. He told me to try to capture the pose of the model with the least number of lines, and that really got me to streamline my drawings. Even though it looks like there was no effort involved, in some ways, this was harder than how I usually draw. Usually, I "scribble" a lot, making lots of lines and I really "search" for the pose that way.



For those of you who don't know this, when you draw from a live model, many of the poses the model takes are held for only a short time - perhaps a minute or maybe two minutes. The purpose of doing these quick drawings is to force you to really capture the "gesture" or essence of the pose. When you draw quickly like this, it also prevents your brain from getting in the way of the drawing. I find that it also helps me with proportions. When I do quick gesture drawings, I like to alternate drawing with first my right hand, and then my left hand. I normally draw, paint and write with my right hand, so the left hand doesn't have the same confidence. What I find interesting is that I tend to prefer the left handed drawings! If you have never tried this, I highly recommend it. It really loosens you up!



Below, you can see one of the first drawings I did with the stick, before we sharpened the stick, and before he had me simplify everything. (It was also done on a different kind of paper.) I can see the value and beauty in the way he had me draw, but there is also something very expressive about my original approach. The struggle is much more evident, and for me, there is a truth in that. Think of how life is often a struggle, and yet, when you persevere, it pays off. The more simplified approach has a confidence and elegance that is not there in my more agonized approach. I like them both, for different reasons. Which do you prefer? I am really having fun, trying new things in this class. It just goes to show you that learning new things is always a worthwhile endeavor.

Drawing the figure

We woke up to a cool and cloudy day. No rain so far, but the change is welcome. I intend to spend the rest of the day in the studio, but I did want to quickly post some new art for you from the life drawing.

This first one is a 25 minute pose, charcoal on paper. From Thursday night.



This one is pastel on La Carte paper, the 3 1/2 hour pose from Friday. I am thinking I will work on it a bit more, since I did take a photograph of the pose.

It is all relative

Usually, on Thursday night, I meet with group of local artists to draw from a live model. So that is where I should be right now. However, when checking my email this morning, there was a message saying "Life Drawing is Cancelled"! Why, you ask? Because it is supposed to get cold, and there is a chance of snow down to 4,000 feet!!! That's why. Now, Coming from Colorado, this makes me smile. It's been below zero in Colorado, according to my friends. I think I am going to fit in just fine, here with the wimpy people. How nice.

I can't write much, because Pono has a toy between his two front paws, and he is looking at me with those sad puppy eyes, that face that he perfected from day 1, probably. He then, for dramatic emphasis, whines occasionally. I can't resist it. I must throw toy for dog. Must....throw....toy.

Here is one more painting for you to look at while I play with my fuzzy fuzz ball. It is an oil on canvas, 18 x 24", and the colors, as always, are so much better in person. I think it's a flower, but I'm not sure yet.

The psychology of a painting

I have neglected my blog terribly! I used to be so faithful with my posts. I don't know what has happened to me. I will make a concerted effort to write more often. The good news is that I have been painting. I organized a 4 hour drawing/painting session with a wonderful model on Saturday. We met here, at the new house. There were only 3 artists, but the intimacy of the group was actually very nice. I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

I did not finish my pastel painting, but I did take a photograph, so I think I will be able to finish it from that. Here is what I did.
I was working on a dark reddish paper, and as you can see, the left hand part of the painting is quite unresolved. I will try to post it, if I can get a bit more resolution.

I find that I tend to fight with my art quite a lot. I am not one of those painters who merrily paints or draws away. I struggle, I agonize. I believe it is part of the process for me. All of my inner turmoil seems to come to the surface, and makes itself known. Sometimes, it seems as though the paint is actually blood, drawn from my veins, painfully creating the image on the surface of the canvas or paper. This may sound rather exaggerated or dramatic to some of you, but I am trying to describe what the experience is like for me. That is how it feels! You might be wondering why I continue, with an experience like this. I will admit, there are times when I ask myself the same question. Yet, there is a catharsis to the release. I can honestly say that there is nothing that makes me feel the way creating art makes me feel. I need that feeling.

I think part of what comes out when painting is my own insecurity. I have such doubt and fear that I can create a painting that I will like, or that anyone will like, for that matter. "Why is this important?", I ask myself. It is important because I want validation. All the time and money I spend on making art needs some kind of justification for me. After all, it has taken up the bulk of my life, this obsession. You can't spend nearly 15 years of your life on something without needing some kind of progress report, some kind of pat on the back. But even after 15 years, I always doubt my capability as an artist. That insecure part of me fights with another part of me, who has confidence, even a bit of arrogance about my own ability. I don't think either side of me really wins, per se. Each side may score a "point" from time to time, but I think most of the battles end in a tie.

When I look at my work, I can see this conflict, this tug of war. I think it makes the art more honest, because I reveal all of myself. Not just the confident part, who knows I can do it. But that other, more fragile part, with all its doubts and fears. Isn't this really how all of us are, when we allow ourselves to see it? Perhaps it is the reason I love to paint human beings so much. I know, intimately, what it is to be a human being.