Sketchbook

a few recent pages from my sketchbook. I was hoping to either put a little gouache on top of these or paint them in photoshop, but the holidays are here and I think I might be too busy to go any further. I know from experience that I will most likely lose interest in about a day from now, so I will just call these done and move on to the next few entries!

Owl Sketches

20 minutes sketches

a few sundays ago from the bay area drawing marathon.

New Zen: Sculpting

Over the past few years, a friend's sculptures have really inspired me to try sculpting for myself. So when a spot opened up recently in his sculpting group, I jumped! Honestly, the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

I am completely new to sculpting. So far I've found it to be challenging, but in a different way than I expected, which might be obvious to others, but came as a revelation to me. In painting, I have trained my mind to see the world in flat planes so I can then paint those onto a two dimensional surface. A lot of painting involves seeing shapes, values, and hue very, very literally. It seems that in sculpting, having a knowledge of anatomy and physics is pretty much required in order to create a proportional, accurate and yet graceful interpretation of the three dimensional form.

Overall, I think the study of each craft can definitely strengthen the other. I will always be a painter in my heart, but I also love sculpting - at least so far! :)

With all of that said, here is my first sculpture! This is as much as I was able to accomplish in six sessions. Funny, too - the models' name is Mabel, which is also the name of my grandmother Koop. It's not a name you hear very much anymore.

a day at the park with my friends, painting. this sketch was about an hour and half.

i'm working on a still life painting at home in my livingroom/studio. hopefully by the end of next weekend i'll be finished.

Oh, Those Puritans

Last week I illustrated several Puritan costumes for the Thanksgiving release of Pogo "Mini's" avatars on the website I work for, Pogo.com (a division of EA). So, like always, I dove into research. It is widely held that the Puritan clothing of the 17th century was nondescript, but I find it anything but. Would the clothing of Roger Conant, depicted in the statue below, be more powerful if it were something else? I seriously doubt it.

Can you imagine meeting this guy on a dark Salem street?

(from wikipedia)
Roger Conant (c. 1592 – 1679) was the leader of the company of fishermen who founded Salem, Massachusetts (then called Naumkeag) in 1626. He was later supplanted by the governor sent by the Massachusetts Bay Company, John Endicott. He nevertheless remained in high standing with the community, giving long service as a juror and member of the Board of Selectmen, with duties including the establishment of boundaries for new communities.

i did another variation on the hair theme last night. i was surprised that using green on the face seems to work, oddly enough. so today when i went out with my friend Elaine to get a manicure i thought i'd try green on my nails. green is the new transparent oxide red! :)

Here are a couple of small plein aire studies from recent weeks. I wish I had more, but I'm working a lot. It seems I only have time to sneak in personal work a few times a week, which is very distressing:

More sketchbook stuff

I love working on this collaborative sketchbook project with my friend Cheryln. My train of thought always takes me to unexpected places. The blue mushroom drawing led me to the bavarian hair portrait after I saw a photo of a "coral head" in my friend Rhode's incredible studio:

http://www.pablosinferno.com/blog/?p=256

sketchbook experiments

(left side: gouache on buff colored gesso. right side: paper, glue and glitter and a little gouache)

i am working on a sketchbook collaborative project with my friend Cheryln. She does four pages, then I do four, each sending the book back and forth. Here are two pages of the four I contributed a few weeks ago. I am finishing up the remaining two pages tonight.

Weedy Girl

i'm back on weedy sea dragons.

20 minute life sketches

The Bay Area Models Guild holds a marathon drawing session every quarter. I prefer the 20 minute sketch area. I like to block in the shadows and then draw lines on top to show the form. Overall, it's a great exercise in proportion and tonal study.

emerge

i had a dream about cicadas: one cicada attached to the back of each hand. they were either putting something into my veins or taking something out, I'm not sure which. it doesn't matter; the cicadas were not easily removable, only a registered nurse could perform the task. in the dream, the cicada removal was very similar to the procedure of intravenous line removal and re-insertion at the hospital where I stayed, most unexpectedly, for about a month.

はつ蝉のうきを見ん見んみいん哉

hatsu semi no uki wo min min miin kana

first cicada
“Look at the floating world!
Look! Loo-ook!”

(Issa, 1812)

wikipedia:

In the Chinese classic Journey to the West, the protagonist Priest of Tang was named the Golden Cicada, in this context the multiple shedding of shell of the cicada symbolizes the many stages of transformations required of a person before all illusions have been broken and one reaches enlightenment.

Weedy Sea Dragons

I love these creatures. They live in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia.

My friend Adelle Caunce sculpted one a few years ago, which can be seen here:

http://www.biguglyfishies.com/BUF.html

cat sketches

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece."
- Leonardo da Vinci

Some cat sketches

sketching on a plane this weekend:

The untold want, by life and land ne’er granted,
Now, Voyager, sail thou forth, to seek and find.

- Walt Whitman

Cat Sketches/Cats Playing

"There are two means of refuge from the misery of life - music and cats."
- Albert Schweitzer

I Remember...

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::: i remember, ashes and snow :::


http://www.ashesandsnow.org/


"The fate of all birds is to fall, but the phoenix is the only bird that transcends her own death . . . The fate of man is to fall, but some find a way to transcend their deaths. In this brief moment on earth, they succeeded in singing their song. The list of human birds of phoenix is long . . . There are millions of men and women who are also birds of phoenix, whose stories are unknown . . . but whether they are known or unknown, man or elephant, all phoenixes share the same dance:

Feather to Fire
Fire to Blood
Blood to Bone
Bone to Marrow
Marrow to Ashes
Ashes to Snow."

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Laura Robb

Sorry I haven't posted more Leyendecker photos. I will resume soon. But before that, I need to post a link to one of my favorite artists, Laura Robb. I love her work:

http://www.laurarobb.com/dataviewer.asp?keyvalue=2064

More Leyendecker images

Here are some paintings from the Leyendecker show at the Haggis Museum in Stockton, last year. I will post more in the coming weeks...







You might notice is that these photos come across a bit yellow. No need for color correction here, however. Leyendecker painted all of the kids in this series a little towards the yellow warm tones, as opposed to pinkish hues. I wonder if it had something to do with compensating for the printing process of the time.