Posts (page 2)

It is funny how life forces change in our lives. Doors of opportunity that were once wide open become shut tight forcing us to look inward to find new doors of opportunity, more personal doors that forces us to reveal ourselves to the outside. I feel that way about my art. It is a new door in my life.

Approximately two years ago I made a long term goal to myself to become an artist. Notice I didn't say great artist or successful artist. I know those kinds of things come from growth, hard work and opportunity (90% perspiration and 10%inspiration). Prior to setting my long term goal, I considered myself a doodler. I would doodle in my notes, on file folders, napkins and any other mediums I could find to scratch out sketches that all looked the same. Things changed. For two years I thought that by drawing something new everyday I would automatically improve...wrong.

I realize now to make real strides, I will need to start by taking my own advice as a teacher and became a student. In fact I already started.

This past March I was throwing out a stack of old magazines and came across the only art magazine I've owned. It was July 2004 edition of Drawing Board. Ihad forgotten all about it. I am a pack rat, I keep everything I own...till now. I briefed through it and came across Don Holden's article, How to Draw, Honestly. He begins by discussing his monthly practice of going on a Life-drawing binge. He said he goes from breakfast until the light fads. He draws rapidly never allowing himself no more than ten minutes for a single drawing. He said most of the drawings are awful and from that group but he usually winds up with three or four that he likes if he's lucky.

Why does he do it. He said "the answer lies in this quotation from the Great English sculptor Henry Moore: Drawing keeps you honest." He then goes on to explain ..."that you never know enough about the essentials: contour, light and shade. the structure of living things." Drawing from life demands that you give up all cleverness, all trickery, and just respond to the forms of nature. Finally, I liked his comment... "Above all, drawing renews your ability to see the world with an innocent eye-so you paint people or landscape or still life as if you are seeing them for the first time."

So, I planned to do the same thing this summer on my Alaska trip. It was great. I've learned so much from that experience and I still have more drawings to share.

It also showed up many of my short comings. So back to the books or in this case …magazines. One of the goals I set this year in an earlier journal was to focus on portraits. I realized how important the eyes are and how long I avoided working on the eyes. In the Summer 2008 edition of American Artist: Drawing David Jon Kassan wrote an article title "Understanding Anatomy: The Brow". My newest sketch of the Front Skull and Muscle study, are sketched from his work.

I began this sketch when I was in Alaska this summer. I wish I hadn't touched it. Up to now I've been feeling pretty good about some of the Alaska sketches I've completed but I am not happy with the outcome of this sketch. I like this picture better before I began shading. There was a lot of the detail with the fur, eyes and mouth.
I think I must have rushed to finish the sketch and on on the way lost my freakin mind in the process.

I’m not sure were certain drawings should go on my sites. I love fantasy, science fiction, graphic novels and such but I also enjoy landscapes, real life and time sketches. I still haven’t begun to paint, I dabbled in it a little but the learning curve requires more time than I have right now, besides I still have a little more than eight years on my plan to become a full fledge artist. This year I will work on portraits and different mediums. One of my short term goals for this year is to work with charcoal pencils.

One of the students in our graphic art society (VASOD) came into our last meeting and work with charcoals and watercolors. She is an excellent artist and I was quite impressed with what she did with charcoal. Motivated by her work I went out and purchased some charcoal pencils. I then began to put together my first sketch. It is a landscape. Charcoal is definitely interesting to work with but I am limited in my own mind of what I can do with it…. So I’m hoping that those of you who have used this medium could help me with ideas and directions to take with it.  Any suggestions are appreciated

Side Note: The club that I sponsor at my school is made up of wonderful young artists who work in different mediums. I am proud and excited to be their sponsor. Last week and this week we will be working on our clubs logo VASOD (Visual Art Society of Dwyer).  One of my students came up with a sketch of fingers and hands representing the letters in the alphabet. It looked great. Another student came up with a quick time video of his first animated cartoon n the club. I am excited at the possibilities.

This sketch was drawn on 7/10/08 at 9:32 am at "Savage Cabin" in Denali.

This cabin is just off the park rode where park ranger put on short dramatization of different historical figures of Denali's past. This dramatization was about Harry Karsten's daughter who came back to Denali in1941 to do wildlife drawings . The presentation lasted about ten minutes and this is what I was able to sketch.

Side Note: Harry Karsten's was Denali's first superintendent and one of the first men to climb Mt. McKinley (Denali)

Most people who arrive in Denali National Park come for one reason... to see Mt. McKinley. Unfortunately, Denali (the original name of Mt. McKinley by the northern Athabaskan natives) is usually under cloud cover 66 % of the year. I knew that this would not be one of those days. I took one of the special tours and it was awesome, we all realized that we would have a great opportunity to see Denali because the sky was crystal clear.

During the tour we say Mt. McKinley twice, the first time as we were coming over a ridge, the drive pulled over for a minute. I sketched as fast as I could but time was short and Denali was very far away. The second time was the farthest we would travel into the park toward Denali at Primrose Point. I had a good ten minutes and this is what I saw and sketch. At the time I figured I could go online or something to finish it or make it look like a photo but I realized that if I did that then it would not be truly mine anymore. For the picture to be honest and true it would stay as I drew it in that moment.

The mountain was still very far away but I did my best. It is rough and primitive and it is one of my favorite pieces.

I had this plan to move away from drawing characters of fantasy and fiction and before you know it they pull me back. Tuesday an athletic coach asked me if I could do some drawings for one of our sports team. Our school’s mascot is the panther. We are the Panthers. He wanted me to draw an anthropomorphic sketch of our mascot accomplishing great deeds over the mascots from other schools we compete against. It was a commission work so I will receive some minor payment. I felt odd to be paid doing something for our teams but the coach, explained to me that one should be paid for the type of work I do. It commits the artist to a project with a specific time frame and level of work. I accepted it at a small amount which will help me purchase some needed art supplies for my art club. It’s more than an art club it is VASOD (the Visual Arts Society of Dwyer). The thing is after doing the commission drawings I could not get the character out of my head…so, I created an unofficial mascot simply called The Panther or Panther man. The fact of the matter is that I drew these sketches while I was doodling during lunch. I didn’t plan to draw them but Panther Man was the result. Next time I will add more sketches of Alaska.

Before I begin let me first say that I have great respect for all of you who have been able to constantly keep up with your sites.  I was so excited when I got back from Alaska that I thought I would be posting new pictures and blog entries on a regular basis. Then reality decided to throw me a series of curves. I have been overwhelmed by professional and personal situations that have kept me off of the computer..

So, I will start again setting...  Goal 1.  Post on a weekly basis for the next three months.

One of the greatest adventures of my life was the five weeks I spent in Alaska this past summer. Instead of a camera I took a sketch pad but not just any pad, I took my new 9x9 Aquabee Super deluxe pad. It was a special purchase for this trip.

My idea was to sketch what I could as it happened. I realized that I would not have a great deal of time for most of my sketches but that was also part of the adventure. While others would be taking pictures I would be sketching what I saw as fast as I could.

Sounds crazy, but the results were great as far as I'm concerned. Most of my sketches were drawn in ten minutes or less except for the Malamute.

I often took a bus or train tours to visit different places in Alaska; from Seward to Anchorage to Fairbanks. Everywhere and anywhere I could go but the one trip that I took to Denali, truly enrich me and has encouraged me to do more. People who were taking photos would stop and walk over to me to see what I was doing. Everyone was complementary and many asked if I had a business card that I could give them. I still done have any.

My first new post is a picture of a Malamute I saw in Alaska. I was at the 4th of July parade in Anchorage where people brought out their favorite pets and I saw this massive malamute so I pulled out my new 9x9 Aquabee Super deluxe pad and started to sketch with the side of my pencil but then after the Malamute and it's owner left I had to finish it using some other static models.

This is the first real animal that I have ever sketched. I enjoyed it and hope you do to.

Since my last journal entry my life has been busier than a swarm of hornets over the last month. I thought I was going to find some time to draw but with AP projects, the art club, final exams, the closing of school, finishing up my responsibilities and spraining my ankle this has become a miserable time for me. Normally, this would be the end of my story and I would go sit in my corner and brood as an antediluvian beserker looking for a massacre.

However something has crept into my dark world to cheer it up. I received two commission pieces. Out of the blue a guy at my school has asked me to create two pieces of work for his fraternity’s 20th anniversary party. I almost told him, no. What I said was, “I’d do a couple of sketches and show them to you later.” At the time I could not believe that I was going to add to my workload.

I realized the only time I had to work on this commission would be in the morning before I go to work. Instead of going to bed at 12 a.m. and getting up at 5:30 a.m. I would have to get up at 4:30 a.m.
In two day’s I showed him the preliminaries and he like them. I will post them later. But that wasn’t the coolest thing, a relative asked me to do a commission of her son as a present for his birthday.

You would have thought I was given a shot of adrenaline. I was flying. I plan on posting the preliminary sketch tonight.

Who cares if I finish my school work on time I’m drawing again.

I’ve seen them out of the corner of my eyes just as the sun is setting. My friends say its floaters in my eye but I know different. So I sat down and started sketching the one I clearly saw. As I was sketching it out one flew up to the window. Then a few more showed up. I was shocked at first but then I realized that they just wanted me to draw them correctly. Not only are Dragon Sprite’s good looking but they are smart as well.

There is no picture this week, instead a tribute to one of my favorite entertainers and one of my personal heroes. Harvey Korman along with Tim Conway are the reason I love comedy. They made comedy look easy. I use to make sure that I was home every Saturday night for every episode ever made of the Carol Burnett show just to watch Harvey play his great characters; later when Tim joined the show they made me howl with laughter. I didn't just want to watch the show I wanted to be with them on stage.

Below is a link to one of my favorite Harvey Korman moments. In this scene he plays a dentist's patient and Tim Conway plays the Dentist. Harvey is cracking up through most of the scene. Enjoy this short tribute.

Harvey you will be missed.