More Revisions

The world of digital art gives many new opportunities. One of which is endless revisions. Sometimes that be a curse, but at other times a blessing. I like the revisions that I made to some art last night. As I was making an adjustment to the image at top for an entry in the Boneyard Arts Festival ( I darkened the background to increase dramatic lighting), it occurred to me that there was a way to improve my Joy of Dance image. Why not turn her shorts into a more elegant gown. With some skill in Photoshop, I was able to accomplish that fairly easily. That subtle change really improved the image a lot (in my opinion). What do you think? You can click on each image to see it larger.

Slow and Steady

I'm finally beginning to add some color even though I have more grisaille to do on the leading leg and the wings. I'll work on the wings next and then begin work on the sky. I'll go straight to color on the sky.

My goal is the have this completed by April. So my winter will be spent in my nice, warm studio painting a beautiful sky.

Making time to paint

I often think that I'll get some time to paint over the weekend, but many things compete for my time. Many good things. This weekend I needed to help my wife steam off some wallpaper for a room we want to convert to an office and guest room. I then cut and installed quarter round at the baseboards to cover the gaps left when we removed the carpet. There was a good hard wood floor underneath. Grand kids are coming this Thanksgiving, so now is the time to get this done. Since things took longer than we thought, no oil painting happened. But I was determined to paint. So I went in to my day job Monday morning, took care of a few things and then took the afternoon off to paint. I had 3 and a half hours of uninterrupted time and made good progress. Now I am more likely to paint in shorter spurts of time.

I am trying to do a grisaille (French for gray picture) underpainting for the first time. This helps me focus on the details without worrying about the color. Later I will add color glazes. So this was a learning process for me in two ways. I learned that I paint more quickly and focused in the grisaille method. Secondly, I don't have to wait for a time when I have all day to paint to make good progress. This may free me up to move forward more rapidly in the future. I'm also working larger. I have much more control over the details this way. The finished piece will be 42" X 62".

The piece will be called Soar. I greatly admire dancers with their grace and body control. Their abilities are so great that they seem to be free of gravity at times. Hence the title Soar. This grace and control comes from much disciplined training. It is the same with art. I don't believe that art is magic, although when executed well it might seem that way. Good art has a foundation of lots of drawing and painting. The stronger the foundation, the better the artist can execute his or her vision.

Here are larger portions of the full painting. I can hardly wait to get to the sky and clouds.

 

More Drawing Progress

I guess I never posted the progress on this drawing. I added more detail to the hair and back. I have since set it aside for a while and have begun the preliminary painting on a large oil on panel. I'll share that as it progresses as well. I always try to keep my hand in doing art work, whether drawing or painting, but many good things compete for my time. I am currently preparing to share in a two-day workshop about matters of faith. This is another passion of mine. So you see why many good things keep me from doing art. I can assure you that I am never bored.

The Joy Brings Magic

I played some more with The Joy of Dance image. I increased the magic aspect. Her joy brings the magic. I then uploaded it to my Zazzle site to make printed posters available. Click here to view and buy. Eventually, I will put paint to panel and explore this some more in oil.

The Joy of Dance

I took a break from the drawing of my dancer friend to "play" with another image from that same photo session. This is straight photo manipulation using two photos I shot and a scan of cicada wings. Julia's expression of joy led me to think in other-worldly terms. There is also some energy transferring down her arm which may lead to another image using this as the base. I hope you can join her on her flight of fancy.

Drawing Progress

I've made some progress after I transferred the graphite sketch I began on Drawing Day to some Stonehenge drawing paper. So I didn't come anywhere near completing a drawing on that day. But at least it got me started. I plan to take my time and color in many layers of different colors before I consider this done. This is a detail (about half) of the full image. The dancer's arm extends to the upper left hand corner all the way to her fingertips.

The great thing about working in colored pencils is basically no set up time is involved. I often don't paint because of the set up (and clean up) time. Also, you don't want to waste paint. It's a much bigger commitment. I suppose I should have both kinds of projects going and just assess which will fit my schedule at any given time.

Drawing Day

Today is drawing day. An artist group is trying to get everyone to put away what they are doing and draw. Then to upload their image on a blog and link to drawing day's page. I had a lot of yard work to do today and had a rather ambitious drawing idea which I didn't complete. This is just a small portion of a drawing I intend to complete in the future. At least I got a good start on this. I had a dancer friend pose for a variety of photos that I will make drawings and paintings from. This is just a detail of her face. I'll post some more as I get closer to completion.

My Artist Statement

Recently, I decided to rewrite my artist statement for use in an arts grant proposal. I thought it might be good to share it in this blog.

I have always enjoyed drawing and painting people. Whether I am working specifically on a portrait, trying to convey a message or telling a story, people are the main focus of my image making. I also like to look at things in an idealistic way. To celebrate the beauty of creation and the human form. I know we live in an imperfect, fallen world, but I choose to dwell on what is good and right and noble.

Recently, I have varied somewhat from the above statement. As I reflected on my place in our culture, I realized that I often feel caught in the middle of some unpleasant discourse. There are many raising their voices in vitriolic shouting, usually labeling anyone who disagrees with them as a bigot or worse. As Paul Theroux put it, “Americans as a people I believe to be easygoing, compassionate, not looking for a fight. But surely I am not the only one who has noticed that we are ruder, more offhand, readier to take offense, a nation of shouters and blamers.” Yes, Paul, I have noticed. At around the same time as Mr. Theroux was making his statement, I was nearing completion of a painting titled “Hustle and Flow.” It illustrates many people shouting through megaphones, but nobody listening. They are headed down the rapids in boats without paddles. I have included it above. (Click the image to see it larger)

So I may venture more frequently in critical analysis of our culture through art, but I’ll always cling to hope and return to the positive. I believe that we can choose to refrain from communication that denigrates and choose to encourage and uplift our friends and neighbors through our actions and our speech. That doesn’t mean that I will ignore painful truths, but I will seek to find truth in an attitude of humility, not arrogance. I hope to be a positive influence on our community through my art work and any dialog surrounding it.

Trying a different online store

I haven't sold anything for a while at cafepress. I'm going to give Zazzle a try. I just turned The Young Guitarist drawing into 2 different posters and a greeting card. The link is below.

buy unique gifts at Zazzle

Back to Drawing

I decided to get back to my roots after hearing many comments following a 2-month showing of my work at a local bookstore. I have been doing much more oil painting, in recent years, instead of drawings. Most of the positive feedback came from people who really liked my drawings (both color and graphite). With some research, I found the Colored Pencil Society of America and entered this work in their April competition. I am now waiting to hear if it is accepted into the show.

This work pays homage to the famous work by Picasso, The Old Guitarist. I have always liked the composition of the work, but found it sad. Music is such a positive part of my life and the life of my family that I just had to put a more positive spin with The Young Guitarist. This work contrasts the original in many ways.

More Sketching

This sketch was easier to accomplish than the dancer. To begin with, I used a larger sheet size (18" x 24" instead of 11" x 14" for the dancer). I think the luxury of space helped a lot. I also chose an easier subject. For the figure, I should probably sketch isolated areas to get started or perhaps do a few quick gestural drawings to loosen up first. At any rate, I just need to keep drawing something, anything.

Painting Samples

I was trying to add a slide show to my gadgets but couldn't accomplish it. So I'm adding it here.

Daily Disciplines Are Important

I convicted myself with my first post. I realized that I haven't been drawing much (if at all) lately. So I left the computer and spent time drawing. One of my favorite subjects is dancers. They illustrate the discipline point. They have the discipline to train every day, yet when they perform they seem effortless and full of grace. As they seem to have the freedom to fly, they must have the foundation of constant practice. I've included a scan of the rough sketch I just did to motivate myself to get back to the discipline of drawing more frequently. I should notice the trained eye returning as I draw more. Look for improvements in future sketches. You can click on the image to see it larger.

Praise for The Creative Habit

This blog site pays homage to Twyla Tharp and her book The Creative Habit. I am just beginning to read and work through this book but am already finding myself agreeing with her ideas. So many view creativity as some sort of magic. Tharp challenges us to be disciplined in our approach to our creative work. The quote below from the introduction gives a good summary:

I will keep stressing the point about creativity being augmented by routine and habit. Get used to it. In these pages a philosophical tug of war will periodically rear its head. It is the perennial debate, born in the Romantic era, between the beliefs that all creative acts are born of (a) some transcendent, inexplicable Dionysian act of inspiration, a kiss from God on your brow that allows you to give the world The Magic Flute, or (b) hard work.

If it isn't obvious already, I come down on the side of hard work. That's why the book is called The Creative Habit. Creativity is a habit, and the best creativity is a result of good work habits.

I believe that trying to exercise creativity without the discipline of good work habits will not bring the best results. In my area of the visual arts, my best work comes from a foundation of many hours of drawing and painting. It is only with that foundation of skill that I have the freedom to explore new possibilities.

The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life