Time Flies...

...when you are on a break from the blogosphere.

Has it really been 6 weeks?

As with art, one needs some time off from blogging in order to come back with recharged batteries. Or something.

But the good news is that in fact, I've been painting - and quite a bit. A new scene from Portugal is in the making. And a portrait that made me put the Portugal scene aside for a while. And a small flower I made for a friend who was hospitalized. And another portrait of a man whose photo I took last Saturday in an Art & Wine festival and just had to paint him. And...

So, the studio is active and messy, new ideas keep popping up in my mind, I've had a sleepless night with the adrenaline rushing through my (hmm... what does adrenaline rush through? veins? capillaries? Arteries?) followed by a merry night of trying to put what I had in mind to paper - quite exciting, actually.

I will post those once they all reach a finished stage.

Today I can share the little flower I made. By now, you may know that I do not paint flowers. However - a friend from our critique group had a medical emergency. Needless to say, sending flowers came up, but then WebbieM suggested a clever alternative: that instead, we each paint a little flower, as that won't have any issue of potential allergies; plus - they will keep longer. MembieK (whose name should now be changed to EmeritiK) took it a step farther out, suggesting we make a book-thingy from all the painted flowers. FergieJ created one and brought it to critique, where we all glued our little masterpieces into it and wrote something for our friend (who - I am happy to report, is back at home and very well, thank you for asking). This little painted flowery bouquet turned out a real beauty.

Now, if you've been paying attention, you may have noticed that my own name was not among those who came up with great ideas. That's due to the simple fact that I was busy wallowing in sheer terror...

OK - have I mentioned that I do not paint flowers?

Indeed, I was positively terrified: how can I paint a flower? but then again, how can I not be a part of this project that's all about friendship and support?

So, Wednesday night, just before the critique meeting, I got into my studio at 10:30pm, and - - - well, I have to admit: I had fun!

Still claiming my basic right to complain, I informed WebbieM that if I am ever in a hospital, I would like each and every one in the critique group to paint a portrait, just so they go through the same fear I felt.

I know, I know; one should look at everything within the big scheme of things, have the right perspective on life and possess a healthy sense of proportion... And yet: a flower!!!

Anyway, here it is. My second painted flower ever (at least in my adult life). It's tiny: 2.5" x 3.5". But hey, it's a flower.

Acrylics Alert!

Haven't disappeared. Just took a break, turned 46, and - actually been painting.

The kind of painting that takes forever.

No, it's not the procrastinated commission (the deadline is June-ish, so of course I am doing everything I can to not do it yet...). Been working on a new painting that was marinating in my mind for a while; a new style, new medium, new support - and it's having countless iterations.

When I brought it to the two critique groups I belong to, there was a multi-shock effect by me working in acrylics (Nava? Acrylics?) on a relatively nice-sized (Nava?? Big??) canvas (Nava??? Canvas???) with relatively cheery colors (OK, you get the idea...).

There is something very freeing in trying somethign new. Plus, after almost 2 years of intentionally avoiding the use of purely line (I was forcing myself to learn more about shapes), it feels sooooooooooooo good to be back in my comfort zone and play with line like there's no tomorrow.

So - here it is, acrylic on canvas, 24"x24" (hey, stop snickering! To me, that IS big!). Not yet titled, still unfinished, yet to be reworked and metamorphose until I'm happy with it. You are more than likely to see it again in its next stage.

It seems to stir up some serious emotional responses - I wonder what's yours.

Acrylics (yes, me!) on Canvas (yes!!)

'Tis the Season #3

The East Coast is snowed in.

Luckily, Jet Blue is not letting its passengers go through the packing frenzy and drive to the airport just to discover that fact. They sent this email 7.5 hours before the flight, which gave plenty of time to rebook.

And so, no snow for us yet - we're still here, waiting for the snow to ease up a bit. Sitting in the rain. In the cold. Uphill. Both ways.


In the meantime, this is a painting I did at warmer times. A small study of a scene that's captured me.

I like this quirky color scheme that lends itself to a very different mood.

What's the story behind this one?

Well - that's for you to create your own.

Right now, it looks like this guy is wondering about the weather with a grain of concern.

If You Can't Win Them - Draw Their Limbs

Bill of the OnPainting blog has left a comment on my previous post, implying that I am yet to learn how to do some real whining.

That still hurts.

Badly.

And yet, always open to constructive criticism, I took it to my attention, and so today in class I decided to change my tactics.

Today was the last class with a model in the fall series. Our model introduced herself to us as Jan, said she was a replacement to the model we were supposed to have, and cheerfully proceeded to take over the class. I've never seen such a thing.

She then asked us what we want her to do. Before I managed to suggest that she fulfills my desire and go for short poses galore, Val jumped ahead. Now, y'all need to know something: to the untrained eye, Val seems like a very sweet polite British lady who would agree with whatever you say over a nice cuppa tea. However... once you spend more than twenty seconds with her, you realize that she is anything but. The glint in her eye gives it away, and any doubts you may have left are scattered the second you get acquainted with her ultra-sharp tongue. Show me the best sushi knife forged by skilled Japanese craftsmen - and it will turn dull in comparison. (needless to say, that's why I love her so).

Anyway - with her sweetest voice and most convincing innocent smile, Val said: "Oh, two long poses, please".

The model smiled back graciously at the nice British lady (of course, she doesn't know Val yet), and I knew the verdict has been made. with a big sigh, I informed Val that she's gonna star on my next blogpost, and braced myself towards yet another gazing session.

But wait!

That model was different. She had something about her: maybe the way she held herself, accompanied that inner self confidence and her vibrant personality that shone through; plus, she had wonderful hands.

"Y'know", I told myself "a model has other body parts other than just the head".

Walking around the room, I picked a spot that spoke to me the most, pose-wise. I relocated all my stuff there, and concentrated on her hand, which was nonchalantly resting on her knee.

Three 20-minute sessions plus a very helpful tip from the teacher yielded a hand that The JohnnyB, when seeing it, burst into a healthy laughter and delved in pointing out everything that's wrong about it. I went for the good ole' trick of handing him a brush, and he went back to reading his book.

OK, it's not perfect. And yes, perhaps years from now, when hands will become easy for me to do, I'll look at this one with a pitiful smile, but for my third attempt (or so) at hands, I like it.

After this pose, the model suggested a quick "loosening up" session, and burst into a series of ten 1-minute poses, forcing everyone in the room to get out of their comfort zone and have the ultimate artistic work-out.

Once we were all fit and adrenalized, she went back to the gazing state of being: pose number two.

Again, remembering Bill's scorching comment, I figured I'd better make the most out of it rather than whine.

The model was now seated on a chair, her legs crossed with her elbow on her thigh. With the palette and water bucket in one hand, watercolor pad balanced on my other palm and brushes between my teeth, I relocated - yet again - to the other side of the room, to a spot that offered some fun shapes and fabric folds and creases and tings.

I went for it.

(to those of you who wonder: yes, she was wearing Capri pants in the midst of November. Global warming has cometh to the Bay Area in the past week, I'm afraid).

And I think that for the very first time, I went through a figure class without doing the face!

Who would have thunk?

More Gazing

This is becoming frightfully repetitive, those models who pierce the classroom space with their bored eyes.

I am not complaining. Not really. Not sure what I'd do if I had to sit in the same pose for 3 hours, but for us class takers it kills inspiration, again and again.

Or does it?

Last week, at figure class, it was portrait time again. This time we had Paul, a guy with quite an ordinary face and a beret-like hat. Nothing exciting.

And yes, he just sat there. Gazing, as you'd expect.

We had 3 hours, and I was bored out of my mind to begin with, so I started off with just rendering his features, slouching in my chair and waiting for the time to pass. I just did them nonchalantly, holding my eyes wide open with my fingers in a desperate attempt to not fall asleep. What I felt towards this model was also reflected in the colors I chose. Did I mention sheer lack of excitement?

Another look at the clock - but I could swear someone has used Superglue on its hands. Time froze, the earth thawed, glaciers melted, penguins gently simmered in the hot-tub-like water - and Paul sat there, gazing.

To add to it all, he looked so much like someone I really, Really, REALLY loathe. I mentioned it to MembieM and CrystieG and they nodded in pity.

After I'd done 4 portraits of this guy, and as always happens when you paint the same subject several times and get to a point when you just wonder why - - - madness took place. I got angry. I got tired of this fancy faced model who sat there basking in the light of the lamp, looking so, so... beige.

My patience came to an end. I pulled out a set of vibrant watercolor brush pens that are probably non-archival and unprofessional - but I couldn't care less at that stage.

I lost all control, and started to have fun for the first time in that session.

Those who sat next to me got all excited at the fun colors (yeah, by now you may have guessed that everyone was reaching for the browns, not just me).

The teacher was doing his walks amongst us, complimenting everybody and raving about their work in extreme superlatives. When he saw mine - he came to a screeching halt, and then proceeded to the others. He was horrified, to say the least, which amused me a lot.

And then, after that got out of my system, I could move on to a more peaceful piece. After all, it wasn't the model's fault that he resembles someone I dislike, right?

This last one was sheer joy. Using one of those fun multicolored pencils, I let it do its own thing, used line to define shapes and kept restating rather than fixing or erasing, which added a sense of energy. The teacher? Ah, he was almost in tears... finally I came up with something that he absolutely loved. He couldn't take his eyes (and hands) off the drawing, and declared "This is your best drawing in this class".

I am not sure I agree with him, but I do like it.

Another Gaze

Figure class again.

One endless pose, yet again, like last week.

This time, the teacher wanted us to go for the portrait rather than the whole figure. Yes, I know what y'all are thinking. Indeed, I've been doing mostly portraits the whole time, but that was just me and a couple of others in class. Needless to say, because he told us to do a portrait, MembieM (who always, ALWAYS does stunning portraits) cheerfully went for a full-figure. I filed a complaint to her that being the rebel has always been my job, but she just laughed joyously and proceeded to capture the whole model - 'coz MembieM is a free spirit. Ain't nobody tellin' her what to paint.

Now, as much as I wanted to do the figure (and thus keep my rebellious reputation), I simply couldn't. The model (whose name, so I was told, was Paula) was wearing a beige sweatshirt and jeans, which is as boring as it gets. To add to it, she sat a chair and acted like... like... her portrait is being drawn or somethin'.

You know those formal portraits you see in galleries, of uberly blank-gazing people? Yup - that was the expression.

But - it is, after all, class. And we came there to render, so renderin' I went.

I sat next to MembieM and gave it a try. I did one on smooth Bristol surface, and then another one on watercolor paper. The second one actually turned out quite nice (but that's shall be shown in the sequel of this post, sometime next week).

Towards the the end, I couldn't take it anymore. I had to loosen up and get some fresh air into my soul, so I went for some (very) quick sketches of the artists around me. I managed to capture Val and Al at work. Now, THAT was fun! The model looked at me kinda nasty, but hey - she's had 2.5 hours of my undivided attention. That's more than enough, I'd say.

I no longer have these two sketches in my possession, as I gave them to their unsuspecting subjects(*). It was the fair thing to do. Glad I took photos, though.

(*) I'm guessing it would have looked much more professional to write "these two sketches are no longer in my possession, as they are collected". Ah well. Next time.

You Can Leave Your Hat On

Last week's figure class was with the dreaded 3-hour pose.

Why dreaded? because - as opposed to short poses - a long pose pretty much guarantees that the model will go for the most comfortable position s/he can assume.

That ultimately means no creative poses, no spontaneity, no fun gestures. They just gloomily gaze into space, looking stiff, frozen-faced and formal, thus not very inspiring.

And so, the model (named Ogden) sat in a chair.

For three hours; that translates into many 20 minutes sessions with 5-minute breaks in between. Yup, same damn pose!

But - he had a hat on. And he had nice lighting on his face, so I went for a portrait.

I have to say, the more portraits I do, the more I realize that I am getting worse in the non-portrait parts, as in backgrounds and anything that is not a face.

Hmm... something to work on.

Short Poses

When a model keeps the same pose for an hour or more, it gives enough time to fully capture the pose, fully render it, fully work on it and overwork it and get back into it and mess up the freshness and spontaneity.

Whereas short poses - ahhhh, I love them so! you look, you put on paper what it really is about the pose that makes you wanna capture it, and then the model changes to the next one.

Until a year ago or so, I used to regularly take a truly great class, in which we had models pose for periods of 30 seconds to 2 minutes. All you could really capture was the gesture; no time for eye lashes, hardly any time for the arms and legs. At the end of class, we were all dead tired, each of us with over 40 sketches, most of them quite crappy, but the point was that we learned to look, to see. And we learned that 2 minutes are a very long time. And the teacher was actually teaching, a different body part each session, tips about drawing of clothes and how to deal with the clothed figure - one of the best classes, which really changed the way I draw. Writing this, I realize how much I miss that class; maybe it's time to take it again.

Anyway, Thursday was the figure drawing class, and we had a wonderful full-figured young woman, incredibly graceful, with a flowing dress and a nice little hat. Highly professional, she delighted us with a great repertoire of inspiring short poses (10 minutes each), and the time flew by. Alas, she is the very first model in this class who said she prefers to not have her photo taken. Ah well, yet again I need to face the fact that I can't have the photos of everyone I want to paint.

I like quite a few of the quick sketches I made in class. So did the teacher, who kept chanting "less is more" and other favorite clichés.

Next class, he promised, it will be one single pose for the whole 3 hours!!!

I am so very tempted to play hookey...

Eye Art

Yesterday was the time for my annual eye doctor appointment, which last year sent me into a frenzy of profound contemplation.

It's not a bad appointment really. You venture through a variety of machines and tests, from the one air puff tonometer that rudely spits air in your eye, through the poetic chanting of letters and numbers, to the spatial vision test which is pretty much a computer game in which I always score high.

Among all that joy, I opted for the eye scan that replaces the dilation. You pay more, but at least you do not become a squinting owl for hours after the visit to the doctor's office.

While the doctor was examining my eyes, in between deep discussion whether I can see the HZJUYT better now - or now, I mentioned to her how scary the results of the eye scan always look.

She smiled [JIHUTES], claiming that some people actually ask her to email them the images, as they are so cool.

"Oh, they are cool, [JKYTZW]", I clarified, "they just seem, um, [POHTREU], y'know, scary".

And within the next minute, I had mine in my inbox.

It's not an up-to-date one, as this time I kept blinking and my eyelashes were commemorated all over the place.

So, that's how my left eye looked like 2 years ago, when I wasn't such a blinker.

Makes a nice abstract, don't you think?

All That Jazz

We had our second clothed figure drawing class session yesterday.

Being a class with a model, it's a hit or miss, at least for me. I personally find it tricky to draw or paint a model who doesn't make me respond with a desire to render them.

Last week we had a young pretty model (not a good start) who was wearing a black dress (not very inspiring) with long slits along the legs (OK, maybe there's hope) with some scarlet fabric showing through (getting better!) and a straw hat (Yay!!).

However - despite the wonderful possibilities her outfit had to offer, the teacher asked her to just sit in a chair. One single boring pose for the whole time. He also made her take off the hat, as it covers her face. The black dress made her look like a pile of dark, and the sitting pose was so uninspiring that it started a domino effect of people sneaking out. I managed to paint a bit with watercolors, but after two additional attempts I left. There was still more than an hour till the end of class.

I know, I know, some will say an artist has to adjust to whatever the circumstances are and make the most out of the model and the painting time. Well, not this artist. If no inspiration nor fun are involved, then what's the point except for getting frustrated?

But yesterday, ahhhh, yesterday we had Chuck. A male model whom - over the 6 years I've been doing art here - I came to know quite well. I did so many drawings of him in portrait class and life drawing class and quick sketching class.

He's a real pro, and - especially in the sketching classes - always brings something special. He once came with roller blades and delighted us with various skating poses, almost splitting his head open. Another time he was a cowboy, with a gun and all (NRA and Palin would've had tears of joy and pride). But, I've never actually painted him.


Yesterday, he came carrying musical instruments (as, among his other occupations, this guy is playing jazz).

He started with a standing pose, holding a flugelhorn, looking very convincing like someone who's just taking a short break from playin'.

I didn't feel like messing with charcoal that day, and so I went for watercolors - to the dismay of the teacher. He always preaches me to paint differently than I the way do, which sometimes annoys the hell out of me as I don't believe in following someone else's style of painting. I wanna paint like me, OK?

We only had three session of 15 minutes each for this pose, and when I was done, VallieM and MembieM looked at the painting and claimed they love the expression.

Me? I kinda liked what I ended up with, but to me, he seems to whine (quite justifiably) "what have I ever done to you that you gave me such tiny hands? Why oh why???". in my defense, let me say that almost everyone who tried to commemorate his hands came up with tiny squirrel-like hands like the ones I did. So there!.

The other was a sitting pose. "Oh, just sit in that chair" said the teacher.

I was just about to sigh and pack my stuff, expecting last week to déjà vu all over again, but wait - Chuck - being the professional model that he is - pulled it off beautifully, and went for a pose of someone in deep thought, holding his shiny blue saxophone in his lap (I haven't seen one before either. A blue saxophone, that is. Not a lap!), and looking very weary.

It was just the kind of scene I'd photograph if I saw it in a jazz club, so I cheerfully went for it. This time, I decided to actually draw him first, before going for the paintbrush. The teacher was overjoyed, almost in tears, when he saw me actually using a Pitt pen to render the figure with a quick line, claiming he appreciates what I am doing.

What can I say - it worked. No more deformed hand, no huge head on a tiny body, no reprimanding look from the painted model. And, since I was on a frenzy of listening to the teacher, I stopped in time before ruining the freshness of the quick brush strokes. (OK, I only ruined them a bit).

I came home very proud and showed my masterpieces to The JohnnyB.

"What do you think?" , I beamed with pride.

Being his usual honest self, he said: "I think you like these paintings much more than I do".

OK. At least when he says something good, I know he really means it.

But hey, the good news is that Chuck agreed to have his picture taken, so I went paparazzi on him. Now that I have reference photos and the on-location sketch, the sky is the limit. No?

Decisions, Decisions...

Still not feeling up to it, still keeping at those little bozzettos.

I'm slacking from the one-bozzetto-a-day promise I made to myself, but hey - tough. Happens. When the spirit is low, the energy is not always available.

Plus, I'm now trying to decide on three pieces to enter to the upcoming show at one of the art organizations I belong to, the one whose last year's annual show bestowed two awards upon me. Yeah, I know it's silly to expect a recurring success, but I am only human...

So, decisions, decisions... it's a juried show, and we can each submit up to three entries. Those who enter 3 pieces are guaranteed that at least one of them is accepted, so of course most people go for 3. My problem is not to come up with three - it's more to limit what I want to 3 only. I have 2 definite pieces, and I need to select one more out of a couple that I'd love to have in the show. Ah well, Monday is the deadline, so by Tuesday morning that will be behind me.

In the meantime - let me introduce you to Al.

Hard to tell what he is thinking of, what he is contemplating (maybe he, too, is trying to choose entries for a show), what plans run through his mind, almost materializing into action in the background that surrounds him.

I went for a drippy-spotty-splotchy kind of style that I am growing to like. The smooth Bristol paper on which I am working is showing every brush stroke, thus preventing me from doing perfect washes and forces texture - and I like it a lot.

Funny - on one hand I yearn to paint with those perfectly smooth washes, as I know a couple of painters who create magic with them. But whenever I myself resist the urge to texturize and go for those washes, they seem flat and boring to me, and I reach for anything that will ruin the perfection and bring some life into them.

Also, color-wise, I keep realizing that I work much better with limited palettes. At some point I dipped my brush in blue, and was amazed how much it all suddenly tied together and popped.

I'm learning a lot from these bozzettos - time to start utilizing all that wisdom on a bigger sheet of paper, eh?

Her Hair

She sat there, alone.

A woman in her seventies. Her wonderful eyes emphasized by her penetrating, quiet beauty.

Waiting. For a friend, perhaps.

Well dressed with simple elegance, her hair perfectly done, save for some strands that took the liberty to get loose.

Natural and undyed, it had that silvery quality to it, which reminded me of my mom's hair that hairdressers refused to dye even when she asked them to. "There is no way I can make it prettier than it already is", they would always tell her. And they were right.

She sat there, austere, keeping to herself. Waiting.

I had to paint her.

Chihuly (or - He Who Lives in a Glass House...)

Sometimes, it's best to leave your expectations at home. Just air them out, leave them behind.

That's what I did yesterday, when I went to see the so-much-spoken-of Chihuly exhibition at the De Young museum of art in San Francisco.

Y'see, at the risk of losing all my readers at once, I'll go ahead and admit that I never really liked Chihuly's art. I know, I know - he is considered to be a highly-superlativized genius, and who am I to object, but, well, I always perceived his work as too colorful, too screaming, too showy, too - you name it.

And yet - everyone who went to this exhibit came back utterly impressed. Plus, Katherine Chang-Liu (who's workshop I took a coupe of years ago) said something that really stuck with me: "go see art that annoys you - and try figuring out why is it art and not crap. It will open and expand your horizons you more than you can imagine!". Alas, The JohnnyB does not abide by that principle, and he refused to come with me, as he shares my opinion about the work, but - do not despair: a couple of months ago, DiploK ((whom you may remember from this post, and who is also blessed with a husband who's sick and tired of going to every art show), has proposed to me to become her 'Art Wife'.

Choked with emotions, I accepted.

And so, we went to the city.

Luckily, I'm a member of the De Young, which paid off for this exhibit, as apparently this exhibit is considered to be a special one, which means you pay to see it (Aha! but not if you're a member!). Plus, it's timed! Like, you get a little sticker that entitles you to go in, and it has a time stamp that tells you you have to get in there by 1pm (in our case).

So, you go to the end of the v-e--r---y l----o-------n--------g line of anticipating people, and wait to be let in. I personally hated this, and got more agitated once got close to the entrance and realized that if we wish to have the headset that enlightens you about the exhibit, you need to take out more dollars and give them to the nice ladies there (a total rip-off, if you ask me). Sicne I did all the driivng up and back, DiploK treated me to a headset and in we went, with me muttering all kinds of things that were as far as can be from positive attitude. Yup, you betcha I was cranky by all this hype.

...until we got to the first room.

The exhibit is spread over 11 rooms (galleries, as they call it), each has a separate body of work, a different feel and mood. The rooms are dark and only the glasswork is lit, which adds a very impressive effect. Yes, there was a lot of the ultra-colorful stuff that I was expecting and am not crazy about, but some of the galleries have just left me speechless with awe. Like the absolutely stunning glass pieces inspired by Navajo blankets and baskets, or the snowy feel of Finland, so elegantly done with countless tall thin bluish-purple glass thingies installed on top of trees with peeling bark, looking like a Hannukia on steroids. Or the huge water-lily-like sculptures. Or the immense bowls.

I was impressed beyond words. What a misjudgment it was to think Chihuly was just about gaudy flashy art. Apparently, he has another side, perhaps less-known, and I loved his more limited-palette works, especially the Navajo-inspired ones.

For reasons I cannot fathom, it was actually allowed to take photos (I still cannot believe it!), so I can shared some of it.

WackieM mentioned to me today that if you've never tried glass-blowing, you cannot quite appreciate the mastery that Chihuly has achieved in his work. So, novices like me just look at some of his work and go "Oh, that's big. OK". But - it's not that obvious, so it seems. Thinking of it, I realized it's a bit like how you look at a painting. So many times I heard the comment "Ohhh, look at that painting - look at all those details!", which is likely to be said by most people who do not paint or draw. But those of us who do, tend to stop at their tracks at the sight of a very minimal artwork with very few details, admire it forever and sigh "Ah, if I could only do that! Just suggest rather than feed all the information to the viewer with a silver spoon".

And maybe that's why I lean more towards his clean-lined work, rather than all the spiky thorny swirly multicolored look-at-me pieces.

As DiploK and I were having lunch, trying to digest all the wonders that we've seen, we mentioned the pieces that were for sale at the gift shop. There were a couple of glorious bowls by Chihuly, for the symbolic price of several thousands dollars (well, the dollar did go down, so if you think if foreign currency, maybe it's not so pricy...). I was drooling about those, when DiploK's imagination started to get into the fast-forward mode.

"You think we could load one of those big pieces from the exhibit into your Beetle?", she pondered.

"Sure!", I joined her little fantasy game, "my Beetle has a sun-roof, we can open it. And leave the windows open too, for the spikes to stick out".

She grinned at me, about to continue, but then I stopped her thread of thought.

"There is one problem", I said sadly. "I am not sure they are microwave safe. Y'see, those huge bowls would be perfect for baking a casserole in them".

But a person like DiploK would not let such triviality stop her.

"Ah, we can go back to the exhibit hall and turn them over, check if it is microwave safe", she solved my problem.

At this point, the woman eavesdropping from the table next to ours almost choked on her food.

Some people just don't have any sense of humor.

Fun with a 99 cent Pencil

Thursday again. Figure drawing class begins in less than an hour, and I am - yet again - amazed by how fast the week has gone. Been busy putting the house back in a civilized state of being, so obviously, I didn't paint this week. Nor sketched. Nothin'.

But before I rush to class, I might as well post the fruits of the last one.

I almost didn't go last week. I was so demoralized by the previous one, that all desire to go through it again became extinct.

And yet - I know very well that this is the best mood to go to class with - zero expectations. I decided I'll go and see who the model is, and then make up my mind.

I arrived late, went into the room, sans my drawing board and paper, and one look at the model made me rush out to get the rest of the stuff. For once - someone who dressed for the occasion! She had a black fancy hat on, with a feminine figure and carried herself in a great way.

Only... this class was about 10-minute poses, and by the time I arrived, she went through the more interesting ones, so it seems. Or maybe she never had any.

I didn't feel like messing around with charcoal this time. So I took fun kids pencil I got a while ago (Michael's. 99 cents..), the one whose nib is made of endless colors and any line you make comes out very rainbowy.

A 10 minute pose is tricky. It doesn't allow enough time for a drawing, but it's too long for a sketch. I tried to keep it short - spent time examining the model, deciding what it is about her pose that makes me want to capture it, and then took the pencil in my hand.

That impressed the hell out of the teacher, who announced to the class "I want you to follow what this lady is doing" (lady? moi!?).

"You see", he carried on, "how she sits and first looks at the model, deciding WHAT it is she wants to paint? That's what I would like you all to do. Don't just jump at the paper - LOOK first. OBSERVE".

Being the sweet soul that I am, I did not share with him the fact that some poses were so uninspiring, that in some of them I spent the whole time observing without doing anything... especially when the model threw a shapeless sweater on, as she was getting bit cold. All that did not prevent her from repeatedly annoucning to us - and to the world in general - what a good model she is, and how she's been modeling for her mom (who's an artist) her whole life.

At the end of the day, I had 3 sketches that I like. I worked on losing edges, keeping it simple - putting in only what's necessary. All in all, I'm glad I went.



OK then - time to run to the next class.

Downhill?

Had the second session of the figure drawing class on Thursday. This time, a male model. An Asian man, who held the same pose throughout the whole 3 hours (yes, of course with 5-minute breaks!). The teacher intended that we have the opportunity to draw him from different angles, and have a sculptural comprehension of the figure.

The guy sat in the chair, very upright and calm, and took an emperor-like pose, looking very dignified and royal (save the missing teeth in his mouth). He had a great face, wonderful arms and expressive hands, his poise was so utterly perfect! everything I could wish for - - -

- - - and it made me feel so intimidated, so inadequate to capture him. The words of Alex Powers echoed in my head, yet again: "When a subject for a painting is extremely exciting... it inhibits changes and consequently curbs creativity".

Sure is.

In such a situation, one should make it easy on oneself, get acquainted with the new subject via drawing, keep it simple. Right?

Well, not when the one is yours truly..

Rather than going for charcoal, I decided on watercolor as my first attempt, introducing color to the challenge. This time, I did use my better paints, but did not get rid of the low-grade paper (I know, I know, Sandy... but hey - one step at a time).

I was loose, and daring, and colorful, and expressive - I was having a good time!

Then came the teacher.

"Too much line", he said.

"Too much information", he said.

"Less is more", he said.

"Too much going on", he said.

"It reminds me what my pappy used to say to me: 'Don't put on your plate more than you can eat'", he reminisced.

Ahhh, the hell with it!

I put the watercolor aside, abandoned my table and went to sit on the floor below the model, this time reverting to the charcoal, which gave me fame last week.

But - I was already pissed. I keep telling myself that I should not draw/paint in order to get a "wow" from the teacher, as teachers tend to wow about results that match what they like (by now I know that critique is never objective, nor is it detached from personal taste). And yet, negative feedback still gets to me, carrying a short-term impact.

I started to draw aiming at putting less details in, trying to leave a lot for the viewers to complete in their minds.

I came up with quite a decent drawing, that got a lot of appreciative looks from a fellow-drawer who was sitting next to me. Cool.

Then I started to ruin it. Don't ask me why. I was annoyed, hence I got into this vicious circle of making myself more irritated. I am good at that.

Then it was time for the last 20 minutes.

10 minutes, actually, as the end was near. (of class, that is).

I rushed to the restroom, restored the pinkness of my hands (I believe I broke a whole new record of being covered with charcoal!), and reached for the watercolor crayons and a new piece of paper. All these preparations have cost me 5 more precious minutes

"I'm just gonna have fun now!", I exclaimed to my angry self.

I chose to concentrate on the hands this time, did a quick study in 5 minutes. Wrong proportions, totally unfinished, but I kinda like it.

The good news is that the model allowed photography. ("only for reference, not for publishing", he warned me. Well, Duh!). I cannot grasp how come I was the only one who took his photos!

So, some day I might actually make a successful piece with the photos and based on these studies.

He really does have a great face!

Back To Basics

it's been a long time since I last took a drawing class. Way too long.

On Thursday, I started a new one - figure drawing. Clothed figure this time. Yeah, I know - a lot of you non-artists think w'all stare at naked bodies under the excuse of drawing them. Well, not quite. At some point, you kinda get tired of it. And clothed models become much more exciting. Clothed figures have more movement to capture (well, yes, some nude models also manage to produce movement, but let's not get into this...).

So - that was the first class, with the first model. A pretty woman in her 30s, which immediately made her an uninspiring subject. Plus, she wore a simple dress with an annoying greenish patterned-fabric, that was visible enough to obscure the light and shadow, but not interesting enough for shapes. She then took an ordinary pose, just standing there, and to top it all, I had the luck to face her back. With too many students in the class to relocate to a different spot, I was stuck.

OK...

When the subject is conventional, you can either give up - or turn to your creativity glands.

I took the charcoal stick (which I have not used forever!), and started to render the figure, recalling my long-forgotten measuring skills. Still boring. I blocked in some dark areas, then used my kneaded eraser to add highlights (one of my favorite things about charcoal), and started to have fun. Luckily, I brought with me the whole bag of charcoal goodies, from the fair shy vine charcoal, to the darker willow one, to the compressed charcoal, and when she took the final 20 minutes of the pose, I went for the big daddy of charcoal, a thick stick of the darkest charcoal that makes wonderful dramatic darks. Not for the faint hearted, as there is no way to erase it, mind you.

When I was done, the teacher picked up my drawing, and raved to the class, pointing all the good things about it, while I busied myself looking for a place to hide, as you don't quite what to do with yourself at such occasions.

A short break - and it was time for the second pose.

The model slumped herself on a chair, and - lo and behold, had her face towards me!!

Inspired by what MembieM did in the previous pose, I decided to go for a close up, and use watercolors this time. I have never ever painted a portrait in a drawing session (well, once, and on pastel, but that was 4 years ago, and it was disastrous). Aha - much trickier, especially when all I had to work with were my cheap pad of paper and my low-grade watercolors that I keep taking to classes and workshops in order to get rid of them, but instead I only get lousy results, as I resent working with them. Well, a lesson for next time.

Needless to say, this time the teacher did not glorify my masterpiece, except for congratulating me on my free and loose style (yes, he is a sweet encouraging soul). Instead, he chose to embarrass MembieM, who came up with an incredible charcoal drawing.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed the exercise, even if not the result. Poor gal, I may need to go back into the painting and save her from the fate of an unshaved woman with a shiner... I do like the way her dress turned out, though.

.

And Now for Something Completely Different...

Our critique group is having an exhibit at a hi-tech company. The opportunity presented itself when someone from that company was at the gym with BearGal, they got into a conversation while being bored to death on the Stairmaster - - - and so the idea was born.

At first, I wasn't very keen on painting anything for that show, to say the least. Y'see, I used to work for that company, and, well... let's not dwell upon the past.

Then, a week ago, WebbieM emailed me about her needing to paint for that show. After I replied to her with a lengthy explanation that I am NOT going to do anything special for that place, and that the maximum I am willing to do is dig some artworks and toss it at their general direction, I thought to myself... like... we are showing at a hi-tech company... The JohnnyB is working for a hi-tech company... well - wouldn't it be fun to make a homage for his stressful time and create a piece of him in that context?

It would.

Spent hours downloading all kinds of chip-design related stuff and images (Google is a wonderful thing!), spent gallons of ink printing them, and was very happy with the pile of material I had to work with.

Then I got stuck. An essential stage in the artistic process.

On Tuesday night, came the muse. at 10pm, I chose an image of The JohnnyB which I have already done for his personal calendar, drew it on a canvas (a first! I always work on paper or matboard for collages), and started to collage, using pieces from the printed material.

My sister watched me, following the process from the start, through the stage of what-the-hell-do-I-do-now, and then went to bed.

By 2am, I was done.

Of course, it had to pass a preliminary review by The JohnnyB in the morning (as, after all, he is featured in it). He gave it a lukewarm look, filed an official complaint about his arm being too big (that's called foreshortening...) and claimed it is still unfinished. Yup, I married him for the ego boost.
I added some finishing touches with a brush, and rushed to the house of BearGal to deposit it in her trusty hands, and see if it would make it into the preview display they were about to hang that day, featuring some selected works.

And lo and behold - - - It made it in!

I guess it is finished, then.

Masked Fun

I am not painting these days. Haven't painted for several weeks before we went on the trip to Utah and Arizona, haven't really painted since we came back.

I'm busy and distracted. My one and only sister is coming to visit us for a month (she's landed in New York today for 5 days on the East Coast, and will arrive to our house on Monday), and it got us in a frenzy of house improvement, or at least converting the house from a pigsty (lot of neglect in the past year) to a welcoming cozy home - not just for her, but mainly for us.

And yet - I do have the urge to dip a brush into some paint and go for it. And am in the eternal catch 22: I have so many images I want to work on that I cannot choose any of them. Plus, after not painting for a while, you kinda get into regression, and need to start two steps behind (at least two, that is). Armed with all these lame excuses - no wonder I haven't visited my studio for quite a while.

In the last couple of days I've been browsing through Rhonda Carpenter's Watercolor and Words art blog, and was inspired by her recent work, of going nuts with masking fluid, letting it dry, and then pouring watercolor all over. I decided this might be a good way to loosen up and get over the well known fear of a white paper staring you in the eyes. Plus - I am on a quest for new ways to get away from tight realism, and this process has really appealed to me. Nothing frees you up like making a mess and then creating a painting from it. (Thanks, Rhonda, for the inspiration!!)

I took 3 different color triads, and played with five pieces of paper this way. Without thinking of the subject, I simply tried to create interesting shapes with the masking fluid, smearing it with a scrap piece of foamcore and using spray bottle to move it around a bit (hmm... still need to work on that). Waited for it to completely dry (which wasn't hard, as we're having a heat wave as I write. 94 degrees tomorrow!), and then poured the paint. It was pure fun to see the colors intermingle and become acquaintances without the interruption of the brush. When this dried out too, I removed the mask (which is a very annoying stage - I hate doing that!), and was rewarded with five pieces of paper with interesting colors and patterns.

OK... now what?

I can see things in some of these, but nothing really screams at me yet.

Because it's so much fun to make these, I think I'll just start a pool of poured papers, and use them when the right mood and subject strikes. Some will serve as backgrounds, some as under-paintings, and some will sit in the dark closet until their day comes to be torn and reincarnate as pieces for collage.

Still, they look really cool even as they are now. So, I played with them a bit on my "Picture It!" program (the poor cousin of Photoshop), and - lo and behold, just juxtaposing them together came out as a cool abstract piece! (The JohnnyB claims he likes it more than most pieces of nonobejctive work he's seen).

Sometimes, art can be just for fun - I need to remember this more often.

Lose That Edge!

No, I have not disappeared.

Been busy.

Busy planning an upcoming trip of The JohnnyB and me, busy preparing for an upcoming (and a very long awaited) visit to us, busy with contemplating some art competitions, and busy with some ongoing mood swings that seem to follow the weather.

And, in between, I've managed to paint.

LimaB told me recently, "Looks like you are on to something - keep going". Indeed, I seem to be on a new path now, style-wise. I am not quite sure where I am heading, but the journey sure is fun.

This image just called for some lost edges, interesting shapes and ambiguity, and I decided to try and keep working with it for a while and find new ways to express it, until I find this 'something'.

As WackieM reminded us all in her blog, "you keep changing the image, you do the same thing but change the image. If you keep the image, you do something different each time". That's the great idea behind Mike Bailey's Beyond The Obvious class, and it's good to be reminded of it once in a while.

So, here are the first two versions of Jethro.

Both on Tyvek (a surface I am falling in love with more and more).

The first one done in watercolor, with a limited palette. The second done in walnut ink (I love this stuff!!!) - and an even more limited palette. (click to see the bigger version).

More to come.

Bouquets to Art

Sometimes you live in a place without really knowing what it has to offer. In my defense, I only live here for 6 years (in fact, TODAY is the 6-year anniversary to me moving to the USA!!!).

Still, I am amazed that we never heard of this.

Apparently, every year, there is a special event called "Bouquets To Art". It used to be at the Legion of Honors and is now at the de Young museum of art in an Francisco - and it's been going on for 24 years!

What is it about?

In a nutshell, for five days in March, this event features floral arrangements by prominent Bay Area designers and garden clubs, to interpret and complement the museum’s collection of artwork.

Who knew??

I heard of it through WackieM's blog post, and so The JohnnyB and I decided that we have to see it.

That is, I decided.

I mean , I sent an excited email to The JohnnyB, but - being too busy at work - he had no time to look at the links I attached, so he thought it was yet another art show, and said "Sure". He had no idea what it's about - which contributed to his surprise and delight when he found out what it was as we stepped into the museum.

As for me, I went with very high expectations - and came out stunned! It was so beautiful, so bursting with color and creativity, and so incredibly unique. Dozens of bouquets and floral arrangements were scattered throughout the museum, each interpreting one piece of art, be it a painting, a photograph. a sculpture or even a building you see through the window.

As in any art show, some of the pieces were pretty lame, looking like someone just made a bouquet and looked for a place to put it, with no relation whatsoever to the artwork it was suppose to echo. Most of what we saw was really neat, and some were truly superb.

I can see some of you asking, "How can you interpret a work of art by using flowers?"

Ahhhhhh, let me count the ways... some bouquets echoed the colors, some imitated the shapes, some went for the mood, some went with the movement and direction - all the elements of design were used there in a spectacular demonstration of creativity. The JohnnyB commented it's a very nice way to look at art, as it suddenly makes you look at pieces you may have otherwise passed by, as you stop next to each floral and wonder how it relates to the piece of art it's doing the tribute for. With the more successful ones, it brought up elements in the artwork that you never saw before, and it made you look at it through the eyes of the floral artist, seeing what s/he saw, and appreciating their unique way of interpretation.

It wasn't easy to choose which ones to capture, as there were so many, and so many good ones!

So, I took photos of the ones which appealed to me the most.

Those that to me were less obvious, and went beyond just copying the image.

Click on each image to fully enjoy the view!

Enjoy!!

Oh, and - a HUGE THANK YOU to WackieM for sharing this event!!