Jeff

 
I've had a few days off to revitalize and it does work.  It refocuses my mind and frees me up to be creative without distractions and commitments. It was well planned in some ways as I'd fallen down the front steps at home one morning last week when it was very slippery and am only now is the pain easing up.

I'll still flit in and out of the blog while I get some pieces underway.  As always I have more ideas than I have time or energy, so they're jotted down and will have to wait their turn. I've pulled out some oils again and played around with a quick portrait using a (mostly) Zorn palette.

The simplicity of having few colours to use tests my skills at mixing colour and makes me look more carefully at values and skintones. I like a change of medium too when I want my mind to change direction.  Tight drawings for the last month demanded that I do something looser.

This piece took about 90 minutes without me overthinking or worrying about the outcome.  I find that things often work out better if I don't consider the end result, but only the process.  This is done on an 8 x 10 stretched cotton canvas and is of a friend of my daughter.

We interrupt regular programming...

to bring you a short break.

I've run out of steam, which is very common after a long stretch of producing art. Its important to pay attention to your mind and body when they tell you they need  its time to review and renew.  With a hectic schedule of work, commissions sitting on my table and proposals being finalized, my ideas are a bit fuzzy right now and words are not worth sharing with you.

My mind slides into non productive mode and my body needs a rest, so I'm taking a couple of days off blogging to rejuvenate, find some new inspiration and to complete some pieces that need attention.

Meanwhile this peacock will keep you company, painted on a hand made ink stained sketchbook in watercolour.

As artists, we must learn to be self nourishing. We must become alert enough to consciously replenish our creative resources as we draw on them – to restock the trout pond, so to speak. (Julia Cameron)

Final update

 
I'm calling this portrait complete, more or less.  There are still some areas that need darkening and refining but it was just a  fun drawing so I'm not worrying it to death and I'm sure people get tired of seeing the same thing 3 days in a row!

I have a grant application finalized and ready to go into the mail tomorrow.  There is always a degree of stress with any application, checking and doubling checking to make sure I have all the necessary forms and documents and support materials in place. 

Of course applying for a grant, or more so getting awarded a grant, brings yet another set of stresses. I have to actually produce the work then!  But that would be a good thing.  Deadlines and some pressure really do help push me forward, otherwise I can procrastinate and suddenly the time is up.

Whether I get the grant or not is immaterial as the work that I have planned will still be completed, just not quite as much perhaps and the framing may put me in the poorhouse for awhile. But I'm hoping it will be worth it.

Punk Rocker update

Just a small update on the portrait.  I haven't had much time to draw tonight.  People, packing paintings and the telephone keep me away.

I've started putting down some layers for the hair and building the fine hairs on the shaved section of the head.  I've noticed that my drawing is off here.  The ear is too far back, making the head elongated.  But as this isn't a commission and just something for fun, I'm letting it slide for now.

I'm finding the shade of paper very difficult to capture.  Its a blue that looks almost greenish under artificial light.  This is more what it looks like in the current lighting, but daylight give a much bluer cast to the paper.

Punk rock

Punk rock has its roots back in the 1970s, at least that's when I first came across it when I lived in the UK.  Wandering down King's Road, Chelsea in London, the streets were populated with a variety of different punks with unique hairstyles and clothing, all seeming to try to outdo each other in terms of outrageousness.  The Sex Pistols and The Clash were the new musical movement.

Lots of people found them intimidating, and some punks used that to their advantage, but I never had any problems.  I found them quite interesting in fact and was fascinated by the hairstyles and how they got them into the peaks and spikes and colours.

One of my stronger memories of the punk days in London was when I drove into the centre of London on one of the hottest days of summer to bring my father in law, visiting from Ireland, to his hotel.   I got him settled, then headed down in the elevator to go out and show him around.  The elevator stopped a few floors down and in entered three punk rockers.  Their hair in stiff spikes, coloured like rainbows, eyes rimmed in kohl, ; safety pins were the piercing jewelry of choice; ripped jeans and heavily studded leathers completed the outfits.

I glanced at my father in law, who hadn't been exposed to this culture previously and hoped he'd keep his opinions to himself at least while in the elevator.  He studied them for awhile, then leaned forward and said in his strong Cork brogue 'Does your mother know you look like that?'  Well, there are points in life where you wish the floor would open up and take you or you see your life flash before your eyes.   This was one of those times.

However, they kind of laughed and ignored the comment, then luckily the elevator reached the ground floor and we all went our own ways. I then explained to my father in law how it likely wasn't a good idea to provoke some punks with comments like that.  I tried to explain that he wasn't back in Ireland where he could strike fear through threat of parental disapproval of what you wore. 

Ages ago I came across an image in Deviant Art by nothingreal0 that brought me straight back to King's Road.  I asked the photographer if I could use the piece for a drawing and got approval.  I put the image on my hard drive then life and other things happened and only now am I getting around to drawing it.

This is the start of the piece done in coloured pencil on Colourfix paper in pale blue. 

Black on black

I think this is nearing completion.  Another session and it should be done.

Getting a scan or photograph of black paper is so difficult.  I will try a photo in daylight tomorrow, however this scan is fairly true to colour, but the values I just can't get quite right.

Once this is finished, I can get back to some projects waiting in the wings and finalize a grant application that is due soon.  The amount of administration and marketing work that butts up against the process of drawing is always amazing and always more time consuming than I anticipate.

Rhonda Carpenter in her blog Watercolor and Words has generously given me  a Sunshine Award.  What could be better than some sunshine in February?  Thank you Rhonda for your generosity.

Duckling tutorial in progress

While I finish off the last cat in the quartet, I still work on other pieces too that drop into my head and need translation onto paper before they disappear.

This is a preview of a tutorial in progress of the drawing of a newly hatched duckling.  Most of my tutorials are designed for beginners.  I enjoy sharing the concepts and techniques of basic drawing that are so essential to those starting out.

It is said that all drawing or painting tutorials must be done by artists and that those artists must have the ability to explain and put technique and theory into words as well as images.   I know I am not perfect but from the feedback that I get, people seem to enjoy creating the pieces based on the information that I provide in the tutorials that I have produced.  And as part of my goals this year was to produce 4 tutorials, this will be the second.  Where, when, and what subject is open to what feedback I receive and requests that people have around their interests.  So if you have a suggestion about what you would like to see drawn or painted as a tutorial, just let me know and I'll do my best to oblige.

The drawing is always the easy part and forcing myself to stop and scan images is a difficult task sometimes.  The little voice inside my head keeps saying 'keep on drawing, you don't want to write!'.  And the write up for the piece can be challenging, especially when switching back and forth between the two tasks.  I usually write in sections as I complete a piece of the drawing.  That way its fresh in my mind and easier to explain.  I spend an hour or two drawing, then work on the explanation of how and why fits in around the scans.