Giving back

Sometimes life has a way of picking up speed and moving ahead as if a secret plan that you didn't really know about starts falling into place. That is what it feels like this week.

The start of the drawing class, building my portfolio and today a chance to make some more contacts through a dog-related event on Sunday. There is a rescue organization that I wrote about awhile ago called Beagle Paws that I know of and have, indirectly used, having found a few beagles wandering into my land. They have a no kill policy and rehouse beagles to good homes. I will set up a table at their event on Sunday afternoon - Pooches in the Park - and display some of my animal portraits along with the usual brochures and information. I will also provide coupons that, if presented at the time of commissioning a portrait, will ensure that Beagle Paws receives 10% of the proceeds. I haven't decided on the final timeframe for this venture, perhaps a couple of months leading up to Christmas.

I work for a charity and know how hard funds are to come by, so doing this, even if it may be a small amount of money that is generated does provide something and I know it goes to a worthy cause.

To amuse myself between talking to people on Sunday I will be drawing a portrait in either derwent drawing pencils or coloured pencils on site. It will highlight beagles - the stars of the show and people usually find it interesting to watch the progress of a portrait and I DO need to do something while I am there.

I have completed the line drawing for this image and will transfer it onto Stonehenge paper tomorrow, then start the sculpting on Sunday. The photograph of the master drawing is awful and its dark and I couldn't be bothered to start up the computer that has the scanner attached. Next scan will be better - I promise!

Technorati tags: art, dog portraits, beagles, Beagle Paws, Pooches in the Park

Gardeners

We can think of ourselves not as teachers but as gardeners. A gardener does not 'grow' flowers; he tries to give them what he thinks they need and they grow by themselves. (John Holt)

Tonight I completed the first night of teaching my basic drawing class. I believe that it went well. Laughter, work and listening took place on both sides and to see the 'aha' moment when the concept is realized is magical.

The quote above is quite true. I simply provide the tools and theory, the individuals themselves, learn, absorb and create with their own style. So as a gardener and a teacher my aim is to continue to provide what I hope they need and sit back and watch them grow.

These columbines are likely one of my favourite flowers in the garden. To me they resumble 5 birds gathered round a fountain or feeder. The white against the green of the leaves of the sweet cicicely made a perfect image.

Technorati tags: art, teaching

Florence

The name makes you think of a soft spoken female form in white, lingering over the beds of soldiers, but this Florence wasn't soft and thank heavens she didn't linger too long. Hurricane Florence which battered the Bahamas earlier this week, meandered its way up the eastern seaboard downgraded to a tropical storm and stopped for a little visit on the southeast coast of Newfoundland. Even the ducks didn't want to go out in the wind and rain this morning.

The art of education

There was a beautiful sunset tonight with the sky almost on fire. It is the calm before the storm literally as Tropical Storm Florence makes its way towards the east coast with heavy rains and winds up to 130kph predicted. The sky shows a very different picture tonight but I'm sure it will change before dawn arrives. While I'm not a sunset person, the drama of this one struck me as being unique and begged to be captured.

I will embark on my first teaching experience in a long time on Thursday as I take a small group of people through their beginning steps of drawing. It is exciting and frightening at the same time. I have so much information in my head that I hope I can get out the relevant points that will help them move towards their goal of seeing, and producing art.

I was browsing online and in my reference books to provide the best information and exercises that will provide interest, test skill levels and increase their understanding of the theory and practical aspects of making marks on paper as well as being a thoroughly enjoyable, addictive experience.

While looking for specific education sites on line I found the following which were beneficial and are geared to answering questions and providing information on teaching art.

TeacherArtExchange, is an online community of teachers and learners. You'll take part in conversations through e-mail about art education with colleagues from across the United States-even around the world. The archive can be accessed without subscribing to the Art Exchange.

The Incredible Art Department has a list of forms, templates, lesson plans and ideas for art classes. Many are aimed at school levels but can easily be adapted to adult classes too.

Yahoo Art Sites

Discovery School. This site hosts a list of links to all sorts of art related sites.

Teacher Tap: Internet Resources for Fine Arts

There seem to be as many resources as there is time to search for them. For now I will take my own experience and ability and feed it to those who are willing to learn. It is an exciting time.

Technorati tags: teaching, art, teaching adults, art resources, teachers

Creatures of habit

The turkeys were given ears of corn to amuse them. As well as a big red ball. Turkeys, while not the brightest creatures, are very curious and love to peck at things. In their enclosure they now have a feed sack stuffed with newspaper that hangs up and they love to peck at it. The large red ball is pecked and pushed around all day and now the corn is the curiosity of the day for them. It is viewed with suspicion at first, but soon becomes the flavour (literally) of the day. Creatures of habit do enjoy change if they are confronted with it in close quarters.

In a conversation with my mother tonight the conversation rolled around to her living alone and the approaching winter and the price of oil and home maintenance, etc., etc. So I broached the subject of her moving into an apartment to remove the more stressful elements maintaining a house alone at 82.

She is interested but we have gone down this road before and she always changes her mind once I have some appointments set up to view places. She doesn't like change in any form and the prospect of living in a supervised apartment building doesn't appeal to her for reasons beyond my understanding.

My mother has decided that there is an apartment buiding close to where she now lives that she would like to go. Again, there is no logic in this as she doesn't have a great love of the area or even have many friends in this area of town. Even shopping that she does is at the other end of town. But she's a creature of habit and we will go through the dance of talking and looking and thinking and then most likely she'll bow out once more.

I understand wanting to remain in your own home as along as possible. But what I don't understand is not wanting safety,security and peace of mind that comes with someone else looking after the day to day details of living. Then there are her two cats which she won't be parted from, no matter what. She can barely look after herself let alone them, yet resolutely hangs onto that thread of independence - and the cats.

So I will enter the dance once more of finding apartments, setting up appointments, coaxing this woman as I would a small child, with bribes of treats, to go visit the apartments and most likely she will refuse again.

She is the ultimate creature of habit and never ventures outside her comfort zone. Not even as a child can I remember her doing so, not in a work setting nor on a personal level. But dancing the dance is part of the habit too, so I'll indulge it. It might be my turn one day.

Technorati tags:creature of habit, elderly, apartment, turkeys

Confusion

I brought some grain to the wild birds at Quidi Vidi lake this mornings. As I stood at the edge of the water and threw a handful of grain onto the shoreline, it was like a wave of humanity moving towards me as first pigeons, then seagulls and finally ducks swarmed towards me. It reminded me of Trafalger Square in London where I had taken my daughter when she was small. The birds there literally covered us trying to steal a piece of grain. Quidi Vidi was like this, but with the addition of seagulls who are loud and aggressive.

The pigeons were agile and completely covered the ground, mixed into the water's edge with ducks of all sizes and shapes. A lone goose patrolled the shoreline staying out of the fray and not interested in any food offerings, preferring to herd smaller ducklings into order.

My luxury find of the day was fresh figs. Its so rare to find them here that I snapped up a box of them then took them home to play with light and colour for future drawings and painting and ate 3 in a row! These are Brown Turkey figs from California and they taste divine.

Finally, I added more layers to the dog portrait and tried to adjust the nose level which was off a little. I'm still working on the it and the background as well as building the fur. Coloured pencil isn't a fast process but this seems to be moving along.

Technorati tags: ducks, quidi vidi, seagulls, figs, art, coloured pencil, dog, portrait

Progress

There are days when I do make progress, despite interruptions and other areas of life that take my attention. Today I made a concerted effort to add some more layers to the drawing of the golden retriever. Its starting to take shape now so I will start sculpting the shapes now, adding mid and dark tones. I put down some colour in the background but I'm not pleased with it so far. And now I wish I hadn't added any at all, but its too late to go back, so I have to continue on with it. I'm sure it will improve with more layers (I hope).

Today I wandered around the farm, picking more tomatoes from the greenhouse and some sugar peas from the vegetable bed to add to tonight's supper. There are still lots of grapes despite a number of people arriving for a 'pick your own' adventure. The Pinot Noir grapes have some colour now too. They're a beautiful blue with that wonderful dusty bloom that dark fruit has. They're more a painting in the making than something to be picked and eaten.

Jalapenos are coming thick and fast too, and will be dried or frozen. I'll make a number of them into 'poppers'. I split them just enough to take out the seeds, add a piece of sharp cheese to the middle, then wrap the pepper in bacon and bake in the oven. They're so good. Too good...

Cayenne peppers are growing well too but show no signs of turning red yet. Next month perhaps they'll ripen as will the jalapenos if I leave them on the plants that long. Its rather nice to have some red jalapenos as well as the more common green ones. They're a little hotter when they're red I think and the colour is just beautiful.

Technorati tags: drawing, art, colored pencil, dog portrait, golden retriever, jalapenos, poppers,

Animal portrait

I am overdue adding more animals to my portfolio so I've made a start on a dog portrait. This will be a golden retriever and as always I start with the eyes and nose as they tend to be the focal points of a portrait. While the rest is very important and pulls the image together, the eyes still draw the viewer in.

This is just the start and the eyes and nose still need a fair bit of work, but the 'bones' are there. This drawing is 9 x 12 on Bristol Vellum using Prismacolor pencils. I love seeing the image appear out of the white paper, its always magical.

Technorati tags: art, drawing, coloured pencil, dog, portrait, golden retriever

Ducks

Buddy and BD are two male Muscovy ducks that are the last of 8 that were the original ducks that were bought. 4 males and 4 females. In the first year of their life in early December they were attacked one night by coyotes who killed one of the males and all the females. It broke my heart at the time and I still dislike coyotes. I know they were doing what coyotes do, but why my ducks??!

By the summer, the 3 remaining males were not getting on too well so one was sold to be companion to a Toulouse goose and that worked out fine. The remaining two stayed here and are inseperable. They lounge around and are large and slow moving, preferring to stay in the shade and snooze than wander around like all the other ducks.

Muscovies don't quack. The males give a sort of soft hiss that sounds rather like a large dog panting. To those who don't know them, it sounds agressive but they are far from that. When I come home, they see me and start hissing and wagging their tails like little dogs. Its so funny to see.

I noticed the other day that Buddy has become rather pale around his eyes. These ducks have strange growths around their eyes and beak called caruncles which are usually bright red. After a little research it turns out that these ducks are prone to anemia!

Each evening Kit, the horse, is fed sweet feed which consists of oats and grains and corn mixed with molasses and the other birds have access to scratch mix, a similar concoction without the molasses. The ducks come waddling over to claim their fair share and stuff themselves with it given half a chance. Unfortunately it isn't high in protein, unlike the 18% feed which they had been eating previously.

Also Buddy had a great time eating mice (yes, I know ewwwwwwww) but the barn was full of them and he was doing us all a favour. But the mouse population got out of hand and poisoned bait had to be used to control it (there were hundreds, literally, of mice caught) so the ducks mouse entrees were no more. It seems the lack of protein in his diet caused the anemia. The solution? Tinned dog food. So now, without a dog, I'm off to buy dog food then ensure the happy ducks get back to their rosy glow of health once more!

Technorati tags: muscovy ducks, anemia, high protein

Blocks

My mind is at a standstill tonight. No, that's a lie, its not. Its whirling with thoughts and niggling little worries and a bit of frustration combined as I consider all I have to do in the coming weeks. I am hiring an assistant. After working alone for so long, its a daunting proposition. I need someone to assist but I don't enjoy the prospect of training someone. And the adjustment of considering workloads for another person fills me with a little dread as well. But I'll manage. I may lose a little more sleep, but I'll manage. Then there is the drawing course I'll be starting in 9 days. I am creating my lesson plans now and it will go ahead but with less people than I originally anticipated.

Meanwhile I'm having a drawing slump. Yes, I draw but it looks more like wild monkeys createad it. I've started and dumped a number of drawings. I need something to inspire me. I think I will start another negative space drawing. WHile fiddly to create, it was also satisfying to oomplete. Also another animal image is calling me and I want to work in colour. I seem to have played with sketches and bits of watercolour and ink for too long. I want a large piece of paper and colour. Tomorrow...

Meanwhile, tea anyone??

Technorati tags: art block, drawing, tea, sketch

Constable and turkeys

I sketched this cottage during the weekend in watercolour. It is Willy Lott's Cottage near Flatford in Suffolk and is the same cottage that was painted in John Constable's famous painting "The Haywain" in 1821. Flatford Mill was owned by Constable's father and the house on the left side belonged to a neighbour, Willy Lott (a tenant farmer), who was said to have been born in the house and never to have left it for more than four days in his lifetime. Willy Lott's house has survived to this day practically unaltered, but none of the original trees in the painting exist today. The water level is also higher as that area of East Anglia has sunk into the sea by 30cm since Constable's time.

Until a few years ago I had never seen a live turkey except on television or in a photo. When I visited the Liens to purchse my first chickens, I met their turkey. It was a huge tom - a bronze turkey and it filled the doorway of the barn. I've never seen such a large bird before. It wasn't agressive, but it sure was big.

Since then there have been many turkeys in the barn. And so far all have been white turkeys. They are rather interesting creatures and very curious, investigating everything and everyone who enters their pen. They do also have an agressive streak like most birds and if there is an injured bird or any sign of blood they keep attacking. This is what happened to one of the older turkeys. Some pin feathers were pulled in its wing and the bleeding attracted more attention, so it was removed from the pen to provide the bird time to heal before being returned. As a result, the turkey wanders around the barn and out into the yard, exploring its new found world. It makes funny little barking noises, rather like that of a seal or small dog, not the gobble gobble, that people associate with turkeys. Like most animals, their voices change with age and it is 6 months or so before they have their adult voices.

Technorati tags: art, sketch, watercolour, Willy Lott's cottage, Constable, Flatford Mill, turkeys

Sunday - plein air

I've become so used to sketching lately, its as if I've forgotten about other mediums. And today was no different when I took my sketchbook with me to Torbay beach. The tropical depression, Ernesto, is causing large sea swells here so while I sketched a bridge over the river leading the the ocean, I could hear the surf breaking on the rocks behind me and feel the occasional bit of spray from the waves at my back. The river flows from the hills in Torbay down over the rocks to meet the sea. Wild ducks, who are now almost tame, enjoy the shallow, fast moving water and linger at the edges, occasionally squabbling amongst themselves.

I decided that this scene needed an injection of colour. The day was bright and sunny and warm. The light was sparkling on the water and the greens of the valley constrasted with the subdued colours of the bridge and stones. I used coloured pencil for this sketch, but at the scene, the drawing was done with my mechanical pencil in an ordinary Canson sketchbook.

I am amazed how I can lose myself even in public once I start working on a drawing. I become absorbed and nothing distracts me. Well something did distract, a loose dog whose big wet nose jerked me back to reality with a chuckle.

I moved on later to Quidi Vidi Lake in downtown St. John's. I sat in the sun, fighting wasps and finally moved to some large stone slabs laid around a statue to have some peace. The stones are huge boulders, dressed no doubt to be flat on top and are arranged in arcs surrounding The Rower. I sat and sketched with rapidograph pen til I was approached by a woman who was admiring my sketch. She was Russian and in broken English told me that she too drew and painted. It was a lovely encounter and I enjoyed meeting her. I watched her and her young family take photos then move on to feed the ducks on the lake.

Then home again. I had spent the morning making paper. A messy business that needed me to be outdoors to do it. While waiting for some paper to dry I sat by the backdoor and started sketching the view for a Scavenger Hunt list item. I felt like Snow White, as every animal decided to come visit me, take a sample of the slurry that I was making the paper from and try to walk on the drying paper. Ducks and chickens invaded my space but were still amusing and I included some of them in the sketch. The view from the backdoor. Its a rather unusual view compared to the average home where the fence acts as the boundary. This fence was created to keep the old dog contained so he wouldn't come to harm. The dog is now gone but the fence remains, like a little piece of security in a huge 15 acre landscape. Its now more an oasis and sanctuary for timid creatures escaping the wild world.

Technorati tags: art, sketches, [coloured pencil, Torbay, beach, Quidi Vidi, boulders, St. John's, back door, plein air

Bread and seasons

Tucked away in a small street in the heart of old St. John's, a little bakery sprang up a couple of years ago, called The Georgetown Bakery, after the area of town it is located in. In fact, that area is one I know well as I lived there for a few months when I first moved back to St. John's after many years of living in Europe. The bakery is located in a residential street on Hayward Avenue, in a converted house with a tiny shop showcasing the efforts of the bakers and bakery ovens seen in the rear. Wooden floors, a basic counter and large wicker baskets of breads show what is for sale with a friendly local woman explaining the different types of breads, it is tempting to try them all - and I nearly always do.

I rarely eat bread anymore, but when I do it must be good, artisan bread, handcrafted and worth the indulgence. Georgetown Bakery has that bread. I stocked up today with a Belgian loaf, a wholegrain round, some bagels crusted thickly with sesame and poppy seeds and a chocolate and cranberry loaf that is only made on Saturdays. To find a true bakery in this town is often more difficult than anticipated, as it seems the population often prefers to buy their bread in a plastic sleeve from a chain supermarket. This drives up the prices of 'real' bread, but still makes it worthwhile in my estimation.

Fresh bread with flavour and texture, crisp crust and soft holey interior, warmed, with real butter melting into its warmth, is the food of the gods. It is an indulgence and one that I enjoy occasionally. I wish it could be an everyday occurance for me, but my metabolism thinks the other way and only provides me with the once a month luxury of real bread.

With the heat taken out of summer, foods and rituals arise again. An extra blanket is put back on the bed; firewood is stacked and cut waiting its turn to make warmth; the chickens shake their feet as they walk across the heavy dew on the grass as they're turned out in the morning; goldenrod is starting to show its blonde tresses all along the side of the road to the house and hides in fields and trails along with cornflower blue New York asters. Pearly everlastings stand like sentinels along the roadways, their papery flowerheads already dry to the touch, crinkling like stiff tissue to my touch. These are wonderful for drying, rather like ghostly versions of their coloureful cousins, heliochrysum (straw flower).

There is always something a little sad about the prospect of summer slipping away, but there are also delights in the coming seasons of autumn and winter that can take away the sting of regret at the loss of warm breezes and hot sun. Artisan bread is one of those delights. Throw away your mass produced bread and go out and find a local bakery making artisan breads. Or make it yourself. You won't regret it. Celebrate the seasons and the moment.

Technorati tags: art, drawing, watercolour, bread, bakery, Georgetown, artisan bread, summer, seasons

Technology

Technology is taken for granted until it goes wrong. Like tonight. I started my notebook and it was doing its thing very nicely then suddenly a big blue error screen appeared and told me the sky was falling and the only way to save myself was to reboot. But it wouldn't let me reboot as it was locked up.

After some Anglo Saxon persuasion I managed to reboot it and it started again, with another little message telling me there had been a serious error - no shit?? - and I should do a variety of complex tasks to the guts of the machine to make things right with the God of Notebooks. I did a adware check and cleared out old files and hope that will appease the gods for the moment. If not, I'll have to start sacrificing chickens again...

Its those tasks of backing up files and saving things on cd that we put off and put off until suddenly something happens that jeopardizes their security and it sends us frantically saving everything we can. Life is like that too. We never know what we have until it is in danger of slipping away. Unfortunately, unlike backing up information, backing up life isn't quite so simple, however the resulting losses are even more devastating.

There is a little technology in this photo - horsepower in a couple of senses both in the tractor engine and in the hay. Kit nickers in delight when she sees piles of hay for her. She's such a greedy girl. The sketch of a wasp on a flower was completed a couple of weeks ago.

Wasps are what are preventing a number of things being completed around the farm. One big wasp nest is under the front steps that need to be replaced, several others are in the woodpile, preventing it being moved with danger to life and limb. Once the weather gets colder, they'll have moved on and can be safely removed.

Technorati tags: technology , computers, hay, computer backup, art, wasps, watercolour, moleskine

The easy route

”What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears continue; those who don’t, quit.” Art and Fear

Isn't it what most of us take? There aren't many people who will go out of their way to make life difficult for themselves. We avoid hardship the same way as we avoid any pain in life, but sometimes facing the hardship is the only way to get to the other side. Its like that with art too.

Right now I'm stuck in a rut of sketching. I make little images that don't take much time or concentration. They are pleasing and will one day be an interesting record of life in the 21st century, but they are not of any signifigance as a major piece of art. I need to tackle a major group of art pieces and compile enough images to consider approaching a gallery. So what's my problem? Note the obstacles that I hurl into my path. All are removeable but I keep putting them there in the hopes that I can convince myself that I don't have enough ...... (fill in the blank) to achieve this.

Time. My day is stretched as it is. Where can I find more time in it to draw or paint?

Inspiration. Somedays, a piece of lint will inspire me; other days nothing will inspire and I become stuck in a deep hole of art block.

Fear. I enjoy the act of making art. I love the first mark on a clean white sheet of paper and seeing the image inch its way out of the fog. The fear comes when I have finished the piece and need to market it. I hate the act of selling or marketing myself. It makes me self conscious and uncomfortable. I hate putting my soul on the line to be praised or rejected. Either extreme makes me ill at ease.

I am at a juncture in life where I can slide into obscurity or move ahead and find a piece of light. I want both. I fear both. But this time I won't take the easy route. I will make time, find inspiration and overcome fears. I will move ahead.

Fuelled by coffee and another sketch...

art, drawing, fear, artist's block, art and fear

Food for thought

Today I've been participating in another drawing Scavenger Hunt and all my drawings seem to revolve around food. Its not surprising really as a lot of art contains food. Still lifes are often composed of fruit and vegetables or flowers, along with the occasional skull or watch or a book with the pages turning often with some of the subject matter fading or decaying to provide a moral lesson to the viewer about the ephemerality of sensory pleasures.

There is no moral in my little drawing here. It is a chocolate bar that I found in the back of the fridge that fit the criteria for an object to draw for the hunt. Of course I can provide some moral lesson about excesses if anyone cares to listen, but I'd really prefer to draw instead. I didn't even eat the chocolate bar. I had a willing volunteer who did that.

I often chuckle when I hear viewers of art converse among themselves about the 'meaning' of art. They constantly seek to uncover the secrets of the artist's thinking as she drew or painting the image. Quite often, there is no hidden meaning, no inner turmoil to discover. It is simply an individual putting marks on paper or canvas as the mood strikes them at a particular time.

It reminds me of something I saw years ago about art critics which blew holes in their thinking. At a zoo, a group of chimpanzees and elephants were give access to paint brushes and paints. The resulting 'art' was then framed and given gallery space at which a vareity of art critics were invited. They oohed and ahhhed over the wonderful mystery artist and talked about the emotion in the paintings and what they were trying to 'say' to the viewer. Needless to say, when they were told who the 'artists' were they were more than a little miffed. But it did prove a point about art criticism - its all relative and totally subjective. What I like you won't like and vice versa. The professional art critics are often posturing. Yes they may base comments on theory, technical skill of the artist, but often it boils down to their own individual taste.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating or critiquing art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites. Art collectors and patrons often utilize the advice of art critics.

Typically the art critic views art at exhibitions, galleries, museums or artists' studios.

Professional art critics are expected to have in-depth knowledge of both contemporary art and the history of art, and thus be able to make informed assessments of art. Knowledge, however, provides no guarantee that a critic will know if a work of art, an exhibition, or an artist will stand out in history as "great".

Many now famous and celebrated artists were not recognized by the art critics of their time, often because their art was in a style not yet understood or favored. Conversely, some critics have helped to explain and promote new art movements — Roger Fry with the Post-Impressionist movement for example.

In art, as in most of life, its not what you know, its who you know. If you can find your way into the circle of influence and money, you can make a name for yourself. If you can find an influential person to buy a piece of your art, others will follow as people emulate others who they want to be like or associate with. Sometimes the quality of the art doesn't even matter. If the right person has it, the lemmings will follow.

Technorati tags: art, drawing, chocolate, art critic

The past

Last week I rescued a number of photo albums from my mother's house in order to catalogue them and scan them and save them on cds to preserve them for the future. The coincidence was the next day I was contacted by a relative who had completed a huge amount of geneology research on the family. He sent me volumes of information and photos that I had not seen before. It makes very interesting reading and visuals.

There are a number of photos there which make good drawing fodder for me and I'll tackle them in turn. Initially I am working ona portrait of my mother when she was about 18. I'm using Derwent Drawing Pencils as they fit the sepia type image of the age and I love the feel of them for portraits. Unfortunately, they never scan well and it too dark to take a decent digital image so I'll do that in another update.

For now, this is the beginning of the portrait - circa 1942.

Technorati tags: art, drawing, portrait, 1942

Teaching

The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-distrust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple. (Amos Bronson Alcott)

I am offering a class in basic drawing in Flatrock beginning September 14th. To date registration has been slow but it interesting to note that those who have contacted me have indicated that they did take previous classes in drawing but came away not having felt they learned the appropriate skills. Was this the fault of the teacher, the curriculum or the learner's expectations?

Like these directional arrows at the top of Signal Hill, instructors are their to guide and show the direction in which to move. They don't tell the individual what method to use to get there.

In art, as in many other disciplines, the purpose is to teach the theory behind the process as well as to encourage and promote individuality. In some art classes, the art teacher's ego and fear takes over. Specifics aren't taught well for fear of the student becoming better in a discipline than the teacher. There are instructors who hang onto their positions and don't want the students to really learn much, for they don't want to lose their positions of "authority." Personal styles influence teaching too and need to be guarded against so as not to influence the student's outcome. It is a difficult task and there are perhaps 20% of teachers in all disciplines who are good at what they do. Unfortunately 80% aren't. I am hoping that my ability to convey information, encourage and fire enthusiasm for art and to make the process of drawing and enjoyable experience falls within the 20% range.

I am sure the academics and educational specialists will have their own opinion, but I believe that the opinion that truly matters is that of the student and what the outcome of their experience turns out to be. Teachers need to educate for the student's future, not their own past...

Art is not to be taught in Academies. It is what one looks at, not what one listens to, that makes the artist. The real schools should be the streets. (Oscar Wilde)

Technorati tags: teaching, drawing, learn to draw, art class, teacher, Flatrock, Newfoundland

Rocks

Living in a place called affectionately 'The Rock' its only natural to have an interest in rocks. I photograph them, draw them, hold them in my and and observe their formations from afar and up close.

So this drawing/painting of a huge rock jutting out of the sea off Scotland was a natural that attracted me. It is called Cathedral Cave or Conservation Cave just off Tanera Beag, Scotland. It was done in my Moleskine in pen and ink with watercolour wash.

When young, my daughter had an intense interest in stones too and I remember quietly redepositing piles of stones and pebbles into the garden when they threatened to overtake the house. This image of beach stones taken at Ferryland yesterday reminded me of her and yes, I did fill my own pockets with stones and other finds too. I can't resist a stony beach.

Technorati tags: rocks, stones, pebbles, Cathedral Cave, drawing, moleskine, pen and ink, watercolour

Colony of Avalon

Today I drove to Ferryland on the southern shore of the Avalon Peninsula to visit the Colony of Avalon, an archaeological dig that over the years has expanded and uncovered one of the oldest inhabited sites in North America. I love history and the feel of ancient life that has gone before me. There is something comforting about walking the same ground that people did hundreds of years before and touching the same things that they did. All summer students and archaelogists dig in the area uncovering, cataloging and mapping sections of the dig. Here is one of the workers adding to the
drawing of the site.

So many other things catch my eye besides the site. On the walk to the dig area, I noticed the sea wall that was created out of old timber and large boulders. The disused dory resting in the long grass - near the water but never to be wetted by it again. Then wandering back along the shore line...the water stretched as far as the eye could see, glittering in the late afternoon sun with soft waves crashing onto the dark sand and rocks. There I found shells of crabs and sea urchins along with a collection of pebbles, worn smooth by hundreds of years of storms and waves. It seemed that it was a waste of my money to pay to see the museum and dig, as I had spent more time outside wandering the landscape and taking photos than I had spent inside viewing artifacts.

Leaving there, we drove back towards St. John's, through Calvert, Cape Broyle and stopped for a break in Admiral's Cove which is beautiful, quiet and idyllic. Without any pressure to work on me, I could live there.

I did get some drawing in today, but not enough. I abandoned the NL dog drawing. It wasn't going as I wanted and looked more like a large teddy than a dog. It needs to be larger and bolder. I will try again in another medium.

Today's drawing is of Rochdale Canal. Another quiet peaceful place. It is done in my Moleskine 8 x 5 in pen and ink and watercolour.

Technorati tags: Ferryland, Colony of Avalon, archaeology, history, 1600s, sea wall, rochdale canal, moleskine, watercolor, admiral's cove

Blueberries

Did you know that blueberries may be the healthiest food on the planet? According to World's Healthiest Foods, Tufts University did a study and concluded that these little blue berries were the most nutritious of 60 fruits and vegetables, with the most anti-oxidant capability. The 'magic ingredient' is called anthocyanidin, a compound which gives the berry its beautiful blue color.

Today I wandered through the woods and fields in search of blueberries. And I found them in abundance. Amidst annoying flies and hot sun beating down, I picked til my back ached and I couldn't take anymore abuse from the elements. But I know where that good spot is and I'll be back! I also found partridge berries growing there too, not quite ripe, but getting there.

I haven't had a lot of time today for drawing, but this afternoon I've made a start on a new reference - a Newfoundland dog. This one was on a boat called The Scademia, a 90 foot tour boat which sailed out of St. John's harbour. The dog accompanied every trip and was called Bosun. On this trip Bosun had dozed off on the trip back to shore and just woke up when his picture was taken. He managed to intertwine himself in with the rope and looked a bit sheepish. The reference image hasn't scanned well, it looks better in real life.

I'm not sure what medium I will do this in yet. Graphite perhaps or coloured pencil. Its on 9 x 12 Bristol Vellum again. Yes, I do have other paper, but sometimes get stuck in a paper rut.

Technorati tags: blueberries, healthiest food, blueberry, dog, newfoundland, newfoundland dog, The Scademia, Bosun, drawing, art

Grotesques and art prints

This gargoyle sits and lurks under the shade of a hosta plant by the front steps. Gargoyles have always had a fascination for me. The word "Gargoyle" shares a common root with the word "Gargle"; which comes from "gargouille", an French word for "Throat". A true gargoyle is a waterspout. An unusual carved creature that does not serve that purpose is properly called a "Grotesque."

My little "Grotesque" sits amongst the leaves and scares spiders. He's another drawing in the making I think - without the goose/duck/chicken barrier fence! And you can see why that barrier is necessary if you notice the carefully 'pruned' leaves of the hosta...

Currently this coloured pencil drawing is on my drafting table. It seems slow going and I'm losing interest in it. But perhaps I'll keep trying and see if I can make it come together.

Having just completed my 'Weeds' drawing, it would lend itself to prints, either as stand alone or in the form of notecards. The original is 9" x 12" on Bristol Vellum white. I haven't ventured into the print side of art previously so I know little about the process. However, it seems like a good idea to be able to offer my work at reasonable prices to people who don't have a budget that runs to original art, but happily can afford prints.

Giclée (jee-clay) is an advanced printmaking process for creating high quality fine art reproductions. The attainable quality that Giclée printmaking affords makes the reproduction virtually indistinguishable from the original artwork. The result is wide acceptance of high quality Giclées by galleries, museums, and private collectors.

Prior to the advent of giclee printing, the standard method of reproducing art was lithography. Because this process requires the creation of a printing plate, made by scanning and color-separating the art, lithography is a fairly expensive process. The bulk of the cost is in set-up, so to make affordable prints, large numbers are required to amortize the cost over a greater quantity. Hence, lithographs are usually made in runs of at least 500-1000. Lithography is also limited to printing on smooth paper.

Technorati tags: art, prints, drawing, giclee, gargoyle, grotesque

Rural living

People who live in cities often have a romantic view of rural living. It usually runs to something like having a quiet existance pottering in an idyllic landscape, surrounded by peaceful 'cute' animals, with everything and everyone cooperating.

Why is it that when people from a city buy a piece of land and build a house in the country never accept that their view of country living and the real one are at opposite ends of the pole?

Each day I explain to people how eggs come into existance - and no, the hens don't need a rooster to lay eggs. They need a rooster to lay fertile eggs. Then there's the parents with small children who let them run everywhere unrestricted. Over flower and vegetable beds, chase the ducks, try to push their fingers up the horse's nose or hold a chicken upsidedown to see if they really do go into a trance. Sigh. It is at times like this that I must bite my tongue, but I'm not always successful at that and have had to interven when children are in imminent danger of being trampled or bitten by the horse or the animials are in danger from the children. It seems the parents have no idea that any of this is going on at the time. No idea until I raise my voice or pull the children physically away from whatever they are molesting at the moment.

I enjoy rural living. I enjoy the animals and being self sufficient in what I grow and eat. I enjoy the lifestyle for the most part. But interaction with the public who think my farm is a playground in a city centre drives me nuts! So if you're out there reading this and want to visit, please do so, I'd love to see you. But do me a favour, keep your kids on a leash while you're here, ok?

I am nearing completion of my 'weeds' drawing. I have probably another 3 or 4 hours work left to do on it then it will be finished. I am pleased with the depth and tones in it even if the detail is time consuming and a little like putting a jigsaw puzzle together at times.

And another self portrait started late last night. Its not complete but coming along. Another hopefully tomorrow if there is time.

Technorati tags: rural, art, drawing, self portrait, sketch, graphite, derwent

Fried green tomatoes

At 6am, still sleepwarmed, I looked into the mirror and found this wildhaired, middleaged woman looking back at me. We never really see ourselves, we never have that luxury. We can only see ourselves as a reversed image in reflective glass or though the product of the lens of a camera. Is that image who we are? Each camera image of myself looks entirely different than the last, just as every self portrait is different also. I may test my theory this week and draw a new self portrait every day to track the differences. Are they in me or in my view of me? A little of both I suspect.

I was given a little watercolour Moleskine notebook that I christened today with an image of green tomatoes. Watercolour is still a medium that I feel I am learning each time I use it. It is as if it has a life of its own once water is added, rather like that little creature Gizmo, in the old Gremlins movie. I believe it was water anyway. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Fried green tomatoes are a delight to eat which I discovered a few years ago through a friend who offered them up for supper one day. They're so easy to make and wonderful to eat - also a great way to use up a glut of green tomatoes in the garden.

Technorati tags: art, drawing, self portrait, fried green tomatoes, moleskine, watercolor

A week of Sundays

"To the Sea, to the Sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying."
-Legolas' Song of the Sea (The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien)

Usually Sundays are a day that I can relax a little and spend time catching up and wandering, exploring new places or rediscovering old ones and getting ready mentally to start my work week on Monday. Today was no different in some ways. I wandered down to the harbour and found it populated by lots of gulls, mostly herring and blackback gulls. What a racket they make, almost as bad as the geese!

The coming week will be one of Sundays. I have a week off work - an enforced holiday to please the board. I guess I'm a workaholic is some ways, perhaps habit in other ways. I'm not a holiday person, as I rarely have the opportunity to travel and escape to somewhere that doesn't feel like home. I think of a holiday as being somewhere that isn't familiar. It is eating foreign food on foreign soil and being immersed in a foreign culture. It is not being at home doing the usual things, including cooking, cleaning, etc. etc. However, it does provide me with some time to draw and photograph and I will indulge myself in doing so.

My holiday will include drinking coffee and eating croissants til 10am in my dressing gown while drawing and reading the newspaper.

It will include cocooning myself into my studio and spreading my work around me, losing myself in music and 'the zone' with strict instructions not to be disturbed.

It will involve me taking myself to lunch at some interesting downtown cafes and sketching other diners as I wait for local delicacies to arrive.

I will eat when I want and what I want - diets be damned. If I want ice cream for breakfast, I will have it.

So my week of Sundays will be indulgent and selfserving and delicious. It will be thought provoking and tiring. It will make new out of old and hopefully new out of me too.

I have worked more on my negative drawing image. It is slow work, but satisfying and seems to spill out over the page effortlessly.

Technorati tags: art, drawing, seagulls, Sunday, negative drawing, holidays

Details

“Does the sun ask itself, “Am I good? Am I worthwhile? Is there enough of me?” No, it burns and it shines. Does the sun ask itself, “What does the moon think of me? How does Mars feel about me today?” No it burns, it shines. Does the sun ask itself, “Am I as big as other suns in other galaxies?” No, it burns, it shines.”

–- Andrea Dworkin, 'From Our Blood'

So often I let life pass me by in blocks so that I never see the small details. It has been awhile since I spent any amount of time looking carefully at what usually passes me by in a blur.

A clump of weeds at the side of the road takes on a new meaning when looked at close up. It becomes a landscape in its own right, filled with shade and light and mystery. It's Mike Sibley's class that pushed me to explore the world at my feet more thoroughly. I tried the method of Negative Drawing using Kit as an example, but it didn't work out as I wanted.

The drawing of the horse is ok, but the background is too nebulous to be effective and my patience in trying to create it has dwindled. So I chose a new image to try the technique. Its a fairly slow process of building up the tones and letting background recede and the foreground catch the viewer's eye, making it all believable.

The berries of the mountain ash trees in the garden are starting to change colour, a signal that summer is closing in. This year, the good weather at flowering time has ensured that the tree is covered in berries which the birds feed on all winter. In Newfoundland these trees are called 'dogberry trees'.

Technorati Tags: art, drawing, graphite, negative drawing, details, mountain ash tree, dogberry tree

Visual Aids

Visual AIDS strives to increase public awareness of AIDS through the visual arts, creating programs of exhibitions, events and publications, and working in partnership with artists, galleries, museums and AIDS organizations.

By mobilizing the visual arts communities, Visual AIDS raises money to provide direct services to artists living with HIV/AIDS.

Technorati tags: art, aids