Category Archives: Thoughts

July 15, 2009

Amanda - 7/15– also posted in Open Studio

Amanda - 7/15. New Canson Mi-Teintes paper on this piece. It is nice paper! Amanda was up on a platform and I was slightly below her. When I translated the length of the neck to the paper, it looked really long, and it does now too. I checked it and rechecked it. She had a [...]

June 24, 2009

Meera - 6/23– also posted in Open Studio

Dealing with irregular features…
Meera, our model last night had a turned nose - it turned slightly to the right side of her face. It really perplexed me until the first break when I looked at her head on and realized what the situation was. I had a position that seemed to really emphasize the turn [...]

August 22, 2008

Before 1900…

This is how bread was made.

Now if you know anything about me, you know that I tend to be a bit obsessive about honoring old ways.  It started with painting and art and has now migrated to making bread.
What I am talking about is…natural leavening…
Before the advent of commercial yeast, everyone and I mean everyone [...]

August 17, 2008

They have to go home with other people…

I sold an original this weekend at a show. This original to be specific:

It is both a happy and a sad moment, as this painting had real significance to me and has hung in my home for several years since finishing it. I will miss it, but I welcome the opportunity the sale [...]

August 8, 2008

Torrit Grey Competition - a beginning…– also posted in Observational Drawing

Gamblin Artists paint holds an annual competition using their “Torrit Grey”, a color that they mix from all the dust that is collected from all their paints through the year.  You can see details of the competition here.
So last night I strapped myself in and got a good start on my painting in about 5 [...]

August 6, 2008

Chantell - Open Studio August 5th– also posted in Open Studio

Our model was Chantell again last night. This is the third time I have drawn her, and I really struggle with a likeness for her - even though she has very distinctive features.

Complete likeness not withstanding, I am feeling as if I am close to another step forward - even if it is a small [...]

July 30, 2008

20 Weeks of Life Drawing…– also posted in Open Studio

So I have been at this life drawing stuff for about 20 weeks now, and I thought it might be good to give a sort of progress report and reflect a bit on this focused time drawing from life.
As I have written about before, I had spent more than 100 hours drawing from life through [...]

July 10, 2008

Honoring the Old Ways…

So this piece is called Laocoon and his Sons. It was likely sculpted before 100BC. It was unearthed around the time Michelangelo was starting his career and toured around Italy - Michelangelo and many of the artists of his time saw this sculpture which was regarded to be the pinnacle of artistic endeavor…done 1,500 years [...]

June 27, 2008

Book Recommendation…– also posted in Friend's Sites & Blogs

I have found the MOST excellent book for drawing the head.
It is The Artists Complete Guide to Drawing the Head by William L. Maughan.
In it, Maughan gives not only principle and process, but anatomy, and many wonderful example drawings of his methods in action.  For me, it is a huge gift as I have been [...]

June 15, 2008

There is no brass ring…

By watching my wife, who is an author, (and you think WE have a messed up industry!) I learned a valuable lesson:
There is no brass ring
We all seem to think that if we do a certain number of things, then we will be “successful” and money will flow and birds will sing and all our [...]