Critiques...

Winter Nap   Charcoal/Pastel   28 x 18

are a regular event at our club here in Akron.  Last week, I took in a drawing done shortly before Christmas as a demonstration.  I really do like it.  I was successful in the "feel" of the work which was a winter nap.  It was a cold day and we were approaching the holiday season.  Once home, I quickly framed and put it on the wall.  Now, in January, I knew that it was time to reconsider the work.  Several artists pointed out the model's right arm and hand which, in its darkness and weight, commanded too much attention.  I agree.  OK.  Yet, on the other hand, I knew that the dark and weight were there to balance the right side of the drawing.  Judy Carducci made a great suggestion which was to remove a particular mark on that arm, leaving it more open to merge with the toned paper beneath.  The next day I tackled the project.  Because I had sprayed the work with fixative, the mark would not budge.  (I guess it's good to know that the stuff works)  The green pastel on the work had been put on first under the charcoal.  It had never occurred to me to reintroduce it.  Duh.  Putting in a passage or two lessened the power of that arm and, to me, solidified the whole.  Thank you to Judy, to Tom Campbell  and to JoAnn for your comments and suggestions.  In addition, friends Kim Moore and Tom Mullins suggested that this drawing would benefit from a floater frame....where no mat would be used.  Terrific idea.

No matter whether a work is quickly done or takes weeks, the consideration process goes on for quite a while.  At least for me.  A bit of separation from the work helps one to see things more clearly.

Isn't that Mary?...

Mary Sanders...a sketch

Every now and then I browse through the small drawings that have been uploaded onto my computer.  I came across a drawing of the back of Mary Sanders' head.  Yes, it has to be her.  You know, the Yupo guru?  I have come to realize that more and more, likeness has a whole lot to do with the simple geometric shapes that make up a face, a head, an arm, a body.  We recognize our friends from the back.  We even recognize them from very far away as they approach.  When we take the time to "nail" these simple shapes, we are rewarded.  This also explains my dislike for "the portraits of a thousand wrinkles", as if the aging of the face tells the story.  Simple shapes rule.

Of course it's her.  Why I'd recognize her anywhere.

It's all in the shape of the hairdo....not the individual hairs.

Texture...

Christmas Chaos   Watercolor on Yupo   8 x 8

is inherent when painting on Yupo.  I like texture in small doses but prefer it when played against the calm of a flatly painted area.  Right now I am picturing a greeting card that featured an elderly man dressed in stripes, checks and patterns of all kinds.  The greeting is "don't drink and dress".  Very funny.  Too many textures seem agitating.  Stories can get lost in texture.  I have come to believe that simple forms work out well on Yupo.  To the right are examples of our holiday still life paintings on Yupo.

Between the Cracks...

Peony Row   Watercolor on Yupo   11 x 15

As we were using Yupo in class, I recalled just one other time, many years previously, that I had used the stuff.  The memory was crisp....sitting the warm sun on my patio and tackling the peony row there....on Yupo.  I remember the frustration of the meandering paint, the frustration of not being able to layer.  These days I am, hopefully, more accepting of such challenges.  After some looking, I came upon that older work "Peony Row".  At the time, I was still taking the best work to a professional to be photographed and, apparently, I didn't feel that my peony painting was worthy.  Pulling it out, after all these years helped me to see that it was better than I had thought.

One quick swipe of a wet brush on Yupo takes the stroke back to the white surface...well, almost.  I found that I really did appreciate the colorful residue left behind on these strokes.  Very sublime.

Putting away questionable paintings is a good trick.  Several years later, I am able to make a better judgement regarding its success.  Sometimes, I am quite aware that the painting really does suck.  And, surprisingly, sometimes the work is better than the image of it that dwells in my subconscious.  That was the case here.  A work that had fallen between the cracks has redeemed itself to me.  Let's not be too hasty to judge.

How DOES he do that?...

Still Life with Jug and Poppies   watercolor   4 x 6

Dean Mitchell, I mean.  Painting small, I mean.  Returning to the studio after the holidays is always difficult.  I understand the supposed ripeness of the dormancy period.  But facing the white canvas or the white paper is scary....more so after being away for a while.  I found that my strokes were too heavy, too deliberate.  My sleight of hand had also been on holiday.  After perusing the Dean Mitchell book of exhibition paintings loaned by a friend, I was inspired by some of the miniature works and decided to paint a small still life.  As a painter who relishes large spaces and big brushes, this was truly a challenge.  Smaller brushes.  Less freedom.  Being concise is a virtue when painting small.

"Still Life with Jug and Poppies" is 4 x 6.  I am happy with it.  But I am ready to get big again.

Dean Mitchell:  Space, People and Places is on exhibit at the Canton Museum of Art through March 6.

New Pen...

Ivy Drive Seth...sketch done with Pilot Precise V7 Rolling Pen in Blue

I would guess that many art-supply addicts can also be seen in the dark alleys of office supply stores to get their fixes of adrenaline.  Years ago, and I mean years ago, I read an article about an artist who worked in travel journals with a Pilot Precise V7 Rolling Pen in blue ink.  These pens have a needlepoint somewhat like those nasty technical pens that always seem to be clogged. This  pen makes beautiful rolling and seamless lines.....AND it also responds to a water wash to soften and delight.  I immediately bought the pens and there they sat, in my desk drawer, as a reminder of things to be.  In the first days of the new year, we helped our son switch apartments in Charlottesville....lots of moving and cleaning.  Lucky for me, I glanced at those unopened pens before the trip and vowed to give them a try during our down-time.  Yes-in-deedy-di.  I am definitely not a line-driven artist, but the washy substance gives me a thrill.  I am afraid that I did not spend too much time on the drawings themselves, as I was so excited about the wash.  Experiments.  More tools in the creativity arsenal. 

Added to my small pouch of sketching supplies to be found in my bag:

1-Pilot V7 rolling pen in blue
1-small watercolor brush
1-folded paper towel for drying and blotting.

Life is good.

In the still...

Rick reading The Tree by John Fowler...s sketch

of the morning during our wonderful family holiday, I found some time to sketch and sip my morning java at the same time.  What a wonderful way to greet the day!  During these holidays, my studio is tidied and shut down....no large projects underway.  When I get itchy to draw, I contemplate family members before me, loving their contours, loving their similarities and differences.....loving them.  Some sketches are quick.  I ask no one to pose.  My goal is to grab what I am given.  In this sketch my Rick is reading a book which was a gift.  The light is behind him.  It is dim.  It is early.  The fire roars.