The Drawing Board

Link: http://www.imagekind.com/GalleryProfile.aspx?gid=1e43055e-77fb-4c9c-ab6e-4a43eaaeb6b6

Well, these are the last paintings for 2009. I have one more on canvas that I'm putzing around with, waiting for a decent amount of time to paint, but since it's not finished, I'll call that the first of 2010.

I began most of these works in the time leading up to my Dad's illness, once the prognosis came back as metastatic kidney cancer, everything stopped, not only for myself, my artwork, but for my family. It took a good deal of time to get back behind the easel. Forgetting the stress of the funeral and memorial service, the amazing amount of work he left us with regards to his estate, the house, and also time to deal with our emotions, it has also been very difficult to accept that my Dad won't see any of the work I do in the future. I wish I had done more while he was still around.

These paintings were done in the late Fall, late September thru October. I found that my comfort zone was around 44 degrees Fahrenheit, without more appropriate attire. My hands freeze in a very short time at temperatures colder than this, making my technique clumsy and useless. Next winter I will be better prepared.

I went out quite often during this time, forcing myself to go out, even though there were times I'd rather stay home. And I'm glad I did, as I had a few good sessions. I felt compelled to make the most of the fall colors as the trees changed. I was able to revisit some of my regular haunts, to capture the change in seasons - Lake Michigan, Wilson Park, Whitnall Park, Jackson Park. There is a magical quality to the light at this time of year, the midtones are very subtle.

I have begun to plan for this year's plein air competition season. I am aiming to participate in a minimum of five competitions beginning in April, Beloit, Cedarburg, Wauwatosa, Oconomowoc and Downtown Milwaukee. I may also participate in some national events if I can afford the entrance fees. I think I need to sell some more paintings to help fund this. On that note, if you like what you see, all of these works are for sale, both the original artwork, and fine art prints. If you follow the link above, you can see the prints available online, and choose between different sizes and frames. If you are interested in the original artwork, please follow this link to choose the piece, and contact me with the ID# listed below each piece. I can arrange to have unframed work framed and set up for a viewing appointment.

Link: http://www.sageartsstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=13971

More character sketches from this winter, follow the link above to see the gallery. My Dad's illness took a great deal of time away from all of us. Given the circumstances, I found it difficult to sketch in the hospital, although I did manage a couple of quick studies.

For those of you new to my blog, I'll repeat my process and reasons for using it. About two years ago I decided to reclaim some of my drawing skills, one of which is the ability to visualize imaginative imagery and create from memory. I decided to focus on portraits, most often female as they are most subtle and difficult to capture.

I have several rules when I sit down to sketch. First, I try to do at least 5-6 pages of sketches. Even if I'm wasting ink, drawing the same things over and over, it's the engagement that counts. Second, I work for the first few pages at least, in a permanent medium, where I cannot go back and make corrections. This has included pen and ink, calligraphy markers and brushpens. The first couple of pages in particular have to do with quick gestural drawings, trying to get as may ideas down as possible. Further, when I do these character sketches, I start by putting down a mark or two, then attempt to pull a face out of it, a very zen-like approach, that helps me get past my self-consciousness. I do these drawings in public, to further acclimate to that type of pressure, as often people watch or come up to comment.

I got this idea, of repeating a theme, from Berol Lutsky, from a project we did my sophomore year at MIAD. I was reminded of this lesson a couple of years ago when I saw a pair of videos by Iain McCaig and Nick Pugh of the Gnomon Workshop. Pugh's video had to do with accessing the creative parts of one's skills, and through a disciplined manner working to come up with an original visual language. McCaig's video had to do with developing the visual storytelling process through the use of storyboards.

I'm still working on mechanical aspects, control of the medium, losing a fear of wasting materials, working out my proportions, facial expressions, etc., but I plan to start expanding my imagery to include scenes and more narrative vignettes.

Some of the drawings from my last session for 2009. This model was a complete crackpot. I don't understand why models feel the need to recreate poses from the work of other artists, but she brought in a whole list of paintings and did a brief history lecture before getting to work. I suppose it would have been impolite to say "shut up and take your clothes off." Personally, I have no interest in simulating the work of others, especially when the lighting is so different. One of these days I'll have to start hiring my own models.

I worked largely in markers this evening. The double ended, chisel tipped Itoya Calligraphy markers are phenomenal for their range of marks, especially when they start to dry out. They can give you a range of values that will rival charcoal. I use these primarily when I'm working on character sketches.

After this class, I went to sit with my father at the hospital. This was the first of many long, long nights sleeping in a chair next to his bed. I showed him these drawings that night, and other sketches I'd been working on (which will be in my next post). This was the last time that my father was able to see my artwork. It's difficult to think that there was so much that I did that he never saw, will never see. Cancer sucks.

A repeat of a model we had earlier this semester. A decent model, good muscle tone, capable of sitting very still, an interesting face. I wish they would do more with the lighting, the studio overheads are not very inspiring, and the single clip-on lamp they use for highlights is fairly weak.

I experimented a little bit with combining different colors in a drawing this time, still using primarily colored pencil.

It was on this night that my sister called me to tell me that my Dad's cancer had metastasized. It took a lot to sit there all night, drawing, when I felt like I should be with my Dad. I knew, however, that there was nothing I could do to improve his situation.

You know, I hear that at some schools they have attractive models....or at least interesting ones. The model this evening was devoid of any sort of muscle tone, so I focused largely on gesture and the portrait aspects with each sitting.

Colored pencils have been useful, not only for the color aspect, but because they are plentiful and cheap. I have a large jar full of colored pencils that I never use. They offer a range of values that is acceptable, and are smoother and capable of lighter marks than charcoal, yet deeper than graphite. I believe the bottom drawing was done with either charcoal pencil or carbon pencil.

Tuesdays bring bad news. Each time I went in for these sessions, it seemed that I would get a phone call to tell me that things with my father had gotten worse, one more item of hope had died. Needless to say, that was very distracting, as my mind was elsewhere.

Anyone who has been following my blog will by now have noticed the span of time that has passed between this and my last post. Some of you who follow my posts on Facebook already know the reason for this, but for the rest, I would like to explain that on December 8th, my father died of cancer. The months leading up to that time was greatly stressful, and when his illness took a turn for the worse, everything stopped. Since then, my life has been greatly distracted by the aftermath, organizing his memorial service, making decisions about his funeral, handling matters at the house, and generally trying not to think about it during the holidays that immediately followed.

As I try to get back into the swing of things, I have found that I have become motivationally challenged, in part, I know because I am still grieving the loss of my father and in part because I am still very angry about the circumstances that led to his death. So I intend, here, to tell the story and in doing so, perhaps finally let go of this grief.

Pages: 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12

Link: http://www.sageartsstudio.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_itemId=7569

More character studies. The sketching, figure drawing classes and plein air paintings are helping each other, indirectly. I am finding not only greater accuracy in my sketching, but the variety has stimulated my imagination more. I plan to keep following this type of imagery until I can fully realize scenes and greater detail. The markers are also becoming more natural as a medium.

Link: http://fineart.sageartsstudio.com

Since I've had some inquiries into whether certain pieces I've done this year are for sale or not, I created a section on my blog to list the available work I have. You can get to this by clicking on the "Paintings" link in the upper right hand corner of this page.

I will be updating this with each new batch of paintings, so check back often for to see the latest work.

Another two weeks off between this and the last session, one I missed to cover a class, the other week the class was canceled because of the school schedule. Not many more remaining this semester. I wish I had a studio to bring models to, I could get some much better work done if I could set up the lighting and add some props.

I've started to see an improvement in my sense of proportions lately, not only in drawing, but also in painting. I think in a year or so my drawing skills will be back where I was when I left college.

The first five drawings were shorter, moving from quick gestures to 10 minute poses, all done in colored pencil. That seems to be a pretty hassle-free medium for gestures, something with a good range of values, that glides over the paper. The third and last pieces are done in marker, I also tried one with heavy compressed charcoal. I have generally avoided charcoal, as it's always so messy, but I think I'll do more with it in the next couple of sessions. Need to get some charcoal pencils before the next one.

I missed a session because of my stupid schedule, so this work is after a week off. I don't know what to think about the models at MIAD, they're so uninspiring. I think the person running the group is just not into posing models for more interesting compositions...no narrative, no lighting, just plop down and get to it. Oh well.

The majority of these are all done with colored pencil, or graphite. The bottom two are done with marker, I experimented with the Copic Wide markers this time. That type of drawing takes some courage, there is no way to erase marks once put down. Plus you have to allow for the bleed of the marker.

A blustery Sunday at the lakefront. I found a nice little windbreak in a corner of some partitions put up to hide some utility equipment for a set of condominiums on Milwaukee's East side this weekend. This was also out of the way of most passersby, which allowed me to concentrate. That being said, I did hand out two cards that day after people inquired about the painting. That got me started putting up a new section to this blog - see the "paintings" link above, right.

I started this one with some pen and ink sketches, to nail down the composition. This field has a lot of visual interest for me, tall grasses, weeds and flowers that lead back into small rolling hills, a few trees, then a drop towards the lake. I think I will be back here to paint this view many times.

This painting is also on a newly prepared canvas board, at 12"x16" in size. I like this format. I think that there are certain formats that work well given the scale of the brushes that one tends to use. This one seems to fit. I have two more boards at this size, and four more at 11"x14" that I am looking forward to trying as well. These size panels don't seem as constricted as a 9"x12" panel tends to for me. I am considering painting larger outdoors, but it will have to be on a location where I have a good 6 hours to paint, and shelter from the wind. Canvas is dangerously airbourne with a strong gust. Even this panel started to kick my easel around when the wind picked up.

I am also looking at ways to speed up my set-up time for the winter. I acquired a few wooden cigar boxes, and I am in the process of converting one to a tripod-mounted easel. I'll post pictures once I've finished & tested it. I figure that with my new tubular steel tripod, and my brush kit, I could be set up in less than a minute with a new rig. Right now my set up time is around 5 minutes with my Julian easel.

The first batch of drawings were five minute studies done in colored pencil. I find that this moves well and allows me to capture the gesture and a wide range of values and textures. I may opt to move into charcoal next week. I need to make a charcoal sock, and dig out my spray fix and a few brushes for this.

I'm still getting stuck on specifics, especially with regards to the facial expression. I think I need to spend a session working only on portraits, to get it out of my system. I wish I could take photos to work from later.

Towards the end of this session, my shoulder was killing me. Repeated days at my easel, plus a strain from a recent Jiujitsu practice has made my utensils weigh a thousand pounds. I am going to have to do some rehab in the gym to be ready for tomorrow.

These last three drawings were done in watercolor and graphite. Still struggling with the media given the time constraints. I think for a decent watercolor piece, I'll need at least 40 minutes.

MIAD hosts an open figure drawing studio each Tuesday from 7-10 pm. These are some drawings from last week. I'm going to try to make the rest of the sessions each week thru November when they break. I've known about these meets for some time now, but have only recently been able to get my schedule to open up. I've been dying for time with a good model, sketching at coffee shops just isn't cutting it.

The first three sketches I did were colored pencil on Strathmore paper. The fourth was on the same with a Tombow Artpen. The last I did with conte.

It felt good to get some actual work done. I had converted my Julian Easel for this type of work, adding a Masonite backboard and some clips to hold my pad. This worked surprisingly well. I still need to modify that so that it's easier to strap to my handicart, the teardown takes a lot longer than I'd like.

I also tried some watercolor. I think I could really go for some longer sessions. Most of these were 20 minute sessions. The first few were 10 minute sessions. I think the longest was a 30 minute session. At least the model was disciplined.

I wasn't terribly pleased with these, for a number of reasons. I think I need to try working on some hot press paper. I like working on blocks, but the majority of those I've seen have always been cold press. I need to work on using more saturated, darker paint, making key decisions earlier, and using more deliberate, less clumsy strokes. I also need to re-acclimate to working with watercolor again. It's like thinking backwards compared to oils.

The Milwaukee Downtown Experience Plein Air painting competition is the last outdoor competition for the year in this area. I sort of backed myself into a corner on this one, as I was out of town in the middle of the competition and missed the quick paint event. I also missed a window to get my panels stamped, and ended up losing a day of painting. I decided to build some frames that day, which turned out well. In the end I had two days to paint, and was feeling the pressure. I felt the work I did for this event was a wash, but it was worthwhile in that I found a few cool new places to paint in the future.

The first painting I did not submit, as I wasn't quite satisfied with the top part, I felt like I short-cutted it. In traveling to this location, I found that the Riverwalk is actually quite a nice pedestrian highway into downtown from the Third Ward. You can actually cover a good amount of ground on foot pretty quickly, without having to deal with traffic, on a path that is friendly to my handi-cart. I decided on the view of the river from a low-set dock near the Performing Arts Center.

This was a rather frustrating attempt to capture a view of downtown from the east. I tell you, buildings give me no end of problems. I still haven't finished my straight edge attachment for my easel (I'll show pictures later). This was the view from Veterans park, just north of the McKinley Marina. I decided that day to come back and try a nautical painting as the marina offers a fantastic view of the boats at dock.

This is the last painting I did for the competition. I decided to park by Veterans Park and hike up to the War Memorial/Art Museum. The building has an out cropping that looks out over Lake Michigan. I was running out of time, and I knew I needed an expansive view to do my thing. This ended up being an interesting spot until a rather large family showed up and made so much noise that it was pretty intolerable. I packed up and cut my losses, it was time to go.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised to see a great deal of talent at the exhibition for this contest. Mike Nielson painted a superb small piece that was highly underrated during the judging. William Suys, Jr., Kathie Wheeler, and Larry Schultz also had some excellent paintings in the competition. I had a chance to speak with my friend Wendy, and she filled me in on some of the ideas being tossed around for next year's competition in Oconomowoc. I can't wait to get involved again next spring. For the rest of this year, I'll be padding my portfolio for my application into the IPAP (International Plein Air Painters Guild) in January.

This turned out to be a great day for painting. I went out knowing that I had to go somewhere, but I wasn't quite sure. So I followed my nose, thinking originally that I'd find a park to paint in, driving around until I somehow ended up by the lake. I was driving along lake drive when I found this view between the condominiums just north of Sheridan park. It took me about 2 hours of driving to find the right spot, but when I did, I scouted it out and knew I had to set up quickly and get it down.

The view was along a rutted gravel path, overlooking a field that dropped off to Lake Michigan, these little white flowers were everywhere, and grasshoppers - more than I've ever seen in one place before. The breeze from the lake was wonderful, under the hot sun. It was already getting late, after noon. I finished this work in about 2 and a half hours. When I finished, I felt I nailed it for once, I was really satisfied with the work.

After that work, I was compelled to get another one in before the light died. I drove around again, looking for a decent vantage, an expansive view. I ended up coming back to the same area, a short distance from where I last painted. I went out along the edge of the drop off, near a bike path, and began to paint the lakeshore, as it overlooked downtown Milwaukee. The buildings in the distance (the north shore) was already fading with atmospheric perspective, and the jetti went out to underline it. As I painted, the light did remarkable things, I finished just as the light died, around 6pm. There were far too many passersby for my taste, too many interruptions. I had to get short with a couple of people, the light was dying as we spoke.

I was pretty satisfied with the second painting too, I managed to use a more saturated palette than I had been, which is something I've been shooting for for some time now. I will definitely be back to this area in the late afternoon soon.

I've taken to visiting this park in lieu of a planned excursion elsewhere. There is a two-story boathouse on the lagoon that offers an overhang for shade, and a second on the balcony. This is convenient if it begins to rain, the overhang is about 4' wide, so you can actually paint undisturbed in a full downpour. Being up above the lagoon also allows for fewer interruptions by passersby. There are also several other unique places from which to paint when the weather is fair.

I have to admit, the weeping willow tree in these paintings is my nemesis. I cannot tell you how difficult a time I've had to try and describe that in a manner that is consistent with the mark making I use for the rest of the piece, and yet true to the impression of the tree itself. I will master it soon.

I've noticed an unusual number of fishermen (and women) on this lagoon on Sundays. It's odd. I am thinking that I will continue to paint this lagoon throughout the year, as I make my foray into cold weather plein air painting. October (and snow) is right around the corner. I've got some boots and a hat lined up already, I will need some long underwear and a decent coat for standing out in the cold. I want to make at least 5 outings this winter. I also want to try watercolor in the cold. That's my goal. Besides, after this spring & summer, I'd go nuts if I couldn't get out to paint once in awhile.

Lately I've been using more sgraffito in my work. Following a tip from Larry Seiler, I have a lead holder fitted with a toothpick. It works quite nicely for detail scraping and signing one's name when the work is done. In fact, I was thinking about creating custom shaped scraping devices that will fit into the lead holder.

I have been greatly remiss for not posting recent works. That is only an indication of how busy the past two months have been. Traveling, a competition, lots of teaching, and working on client projects...the time just flies by.

Today I'll be making several posts, the first of which is a comparison of a scene I've revisited several times now, a certain peninsula on Lake Fowler in Oconomowoc, WI. I was able to go out after the Oconomowoc Plein Air contest to meet with a friend. We did some watercolors in the gazebo (the bottom most painting). I included three other paintings I did when I was out in Oconomowoc for the contest.

It's sometimes interesting to see a serial of work on a common theme. Seeing the work side by side lets you get an appreciation for your sensibilities, the type of things that you cue in on when painting, as well as the shortcomings and evolution of your technique. Each time you go out, the light will be different, and different things in the scene will reveal themselves to you. The second painting was done just as it began to rain, everything was overcast. The third painting was done from the opposite side of the lake, same peninsula.

Link: http://griffingalleryfineartllc.com/other2

After a late start this morning, I managed to find a great spot in an outdoor gazebo that looked out over Lake Fowler just north of Downtown Oconomowoc. I spotted this when I was painting from the pier on Wednesday, and knowing that it would likely rain Thursday morning, I started to plan for it. As I set up, there was another artist, who had finished his paintings and was killing time playing guitar. We struck up a conversation as I wrapped up my final entry into the contest. We had some onlookers including some kids and one young aspiring artist.
 

I was able to take a better shot of my entry for the Quick Paint competition last Saturday. I received a couple of compliments on this from a few of the artists there today. They also liked the frames I used, which is good since I made them cheaply. I think that I will get better at that with practice (and after I get a decent table saw maybe).
 

Over the course of the week I think I painted a total of 6 paintings, having spent 4 hours last Saturday, three hours on Monday, six or seven hours on Tuesday, four hours on Wednesday, and about 3 hours today. The 30 minute drive sucked on gas, but it could be worse. Some of the artists I met came from Oshkosh or farther, and could only spend a day there. So far I've met 8 of the 80 or so artists who competed. I believe the Quick Paint had 27 entries.
 

This was the first of two paintings I did on Tuesday. I found a quiet secluded garden that sat on a small penninsula looking onto Lake Fowler. This was attached to the grounds of a church next to a Masonic Temple. The stone path and manicured lawn made for a very scenic view. Initially I tried working on a view of the opposite shore, but the painting came out a dud. I decided to wipe the slate and begin anew after about 2 and a half hours of painting. I focused on the light coming through the branches of a large oak tree. It turned out alright.
 

This one I did this morning. The rain started shortly after I arrived, and the light faded nicely into what I expected. The trees in the foreground are actually the penninsula from which I painted the last painting. I had painted this area from a slightly different position the day before, but wasn't satisfied with the results. I think the eyestrain from looking out over the glare off the water affected my color sense on Wednesday. I decided as I drove in this morning that I would push the color.
 

Tomorrow is the Artist Reception and announcment of the Winners. If you can, join me, the event will run from 5-9 pm, the main contest and quick paint winners will be announced at 6pm, and the people's choice award will be announced at 8:30 pm. 133 East Wisconsin Avenue, Oconomowoc, WI. There will also be food and live music throughout the neighborhood, it should be a lot of fun. I'll post the announcements tomorrow night, along with some more lessons learned.

Damn, Masonite sucks.

After an early (EARLY) morning, and a 30 minute drive to Oconomowoc, and three and a half hours of painting while dodging I.O.U.S.'s (insects of unusual size), and the fishhooks of a band of kids, after another 30 minute drive back, I went home to eat. I decided to leave my painting on the dashboard of my truck (a convenient place to hold wet paintings).

Well, after an hour in the sun, in a closed car, the masonite expanded enough to reveal cracks in the lead white ground I used to prepare the panel. So under the painting I so carefully crafted, I found vertical cracks running sporadically through the image, making the painting worthless.

Lessons learned - 1. Use only plywood panels. It may warp, but it is less likely to change shape so much as to stress the ground. 2. When preparing a panel with a leaded white ground, paint it on very thinly, it is extremely fragile.

Three days left in which to paint, two paintings to go. I may be out there all day tomorrow, most of Wednesday, and early Thursday.

Ahhh! My goddamn camera.
 

Well, here is a the best of the 20 or so bracketed images that I took of this piece just before driving like mad to get it turned in in time (6 minutes to spare btw). For some reason, if there is some glare in the subject, the auto focus goes haywire and I have to use a manual focus, which never works given the tiny view screen. Given that I had only a few minutes to frame the work and get it back to the gallery, I'll have to go back and photograph this again. Man do I need a new DSLR! This is oil on panel, in one of the three frames I spent most of Friday preparing. It was a windy, cloudy day, which made for interesting skies if you were fast enough to paint them. The light changed terribly often.
 

I wish the drive out there wasn't so long, 30 minutes each way is a lot of gas over the course of a week, especially in my truck. If the weather holds, I should be out there Monday - Thursday, I have another two paintings to prepare for the main competition.

When I turned in my painting, I was invited by one of the women who ran the gallery to join the Wisconsin Plein Air Painters Association. My biggest hesitation has been the silly sounding acronym (WIPAPA). She did give me some useful information however, apparently to get invited into the Door County Plein Air competition (an invitation only event that is the largest and most prestigious in WI), one needs to win a major open competitions such as Cedarburg's festival (which I missed). She said that the event goes for nearly a week and that the pace of producing work should be around 5-6 paintings a day. That's cranking out a lot of work. The minimum bid for works produced in that event, however is $500-600. I want in.
 

The new framing procedure I've been using has been a time saver. I bringa finished frame set up for the panel I'll be painting on, half-wired. Once the painting is ready to go, I pop it in the back, tape it to the frame using Gaffer's tape, then wire the other end. Takes about 5 minutes to do carefully. Another 5 to photograph it.
 

Some things I learned this outing:
• Rich people let competitions use their gardens so they can get compliments from their neighbors.
• Direct overhead light on a large body of water sucks - the glare makes the water a sparkling white mass, very little color to work with.
• I miss my reds. Landscapes require so many subtle greens. WI sucks for interesting color.
• I need to mark the edges of the viewable area better. The frames I've been using crop in on the image. I've been drawing a rectangle around that area before beginning, but by the end of the painting that is covered or lost. I need to use crop marks right to the edge of the panel.
• I need to be much, much faster. I should be faster. That I am not indicates that I've been struggling with the drawing or the color, or getting caught up with the details. The "Door County" pace that I mentioned above is around 1 painting every 90 minutes, given an 8 hour day and a 1 hour break for lunch. Three paintings in four hours, not just one.
• When the light changes faster than you can paint, make some decisions early, and stick to them.
• Lay in the darks early, using a thin, possibly alkyd medium with a dryer. Try not to lose the luminosity in your shadows. Flat dull lifeless shadows should not be an arbitrary result. Painting darks into foilage after the body color is madness and time consuming, and never looks well.
• Dorland's wax medium still rocks.