Ben

Ben   vine charcoal and conte crayon on paper   20.5 x 12

Bassham is an Emeritus Professor of Art History at Kent State University and one of my colleagues at Group Ten Gallery in Kent.  A few Saturdays ago, during our drawing exhibition, Ben agreed to sit for me while on duty.  My drawing, done in vine charcoal, was fairly complete after a couple of hours.  Actually, it might have been finished at that point...everything was in the right place.  I wished, however, to take the drawing to more completion, which is always risky, as too many details tend to detract from, and take power away from, the spirit of the work.  On the other hand, it can also lead to a more creative work, as contemplation allows for more push and pull, as I make decisions about which information is more significant.  (there is an absolute flood of information in the human face).  I also wanted to try my hand at suggesting his horn-rimmed glasses and his tiny-checked wool sportcoat.  Conte crayon was used for those passages.  A charcoal pencil, which allows for more concentrated dark marks, was used here and there for punctuation. A photo reference was used for this final session at home. I am pleased with this work.  Thank you, Ben!

Window Seat

Window Seat   watercolor   13 x 10

is a painting of an apple blossom geranium, a sprig of which was given to me by a friend not a year ago.  The plant amazes me and delights my soul daily.  Painting flowers is a bugaboo for me...I don't really enjoy floral works, but feel that their complexity is a great learning and re-learning experience...now and then.  In this case, the "reality" of the subject (the plant next to a southern-exposure window) was competing with my need for abstraction, and to diminish the importance of the support and the background.  Woe is me.  I did my best to meld the two stories.  It was also an extreme temptation to over-describe the leaves, when most were being burnt out by the sun's late winter light. 

I gave it my best shot.  Will see how I feel about it in another year or so....while I anticipate the growth of this organic beauty.

A Place

A Place   vine charcoal on paper   15 x 21

Drawing is a wonderful way to spend time.  Drawings help one to refine draftspersonship, and to explore all of the design elements and principles without the sometimes confusing elements of color and color relationships.  Drawings are faster and can be left for a period of time without fear of the drying up of materials.  As with any endeavor, the complexity of drawing slowly reveals itself, the more we practice it.  Vine charcoal is a softer material which allows for a slower contemplation of the subject matter.  Yet, it is not capable of the darkest darks which are possible with charcoal sticks.  Charcoal sticks are appropriate, in my opinion, for a bold and sure, as well as minimal, application.  Too much stick charcoal without a sure goal, can yield a muddied work, as removal of the charcoal becomes next to impossible.  Conte crayons are wonderful, yet cannot be easily smudged or moved around.  Papers matter as well.  A paper with much texture results in a drawing where texture reigns....good if that is your goal.  And yet a plate surface does not provide an absorption of the pigment. Newsprint quickly turns to acid. One figures all of this out as one continues to draw.

"A Place" was drawn from light to dark, similar to a watercolor process, where whites are cherished and left untouched.  I started with vine charcoal to move around the paper....it is relatively forgiving.  Darker darks were added later with charcoal pencils and sticks.  My eraser(kneaded)was used as a tool in order to achieve a push::pull relationship.  This application, I believe, was appropriate for this subject matter.  My use of materials might change given another subject, another desired effect.  Although I have many drawing papers, I chose a sheet out of a pad of Strathmore 400 series 90# drawing paper and am quite happy with the result.  This paper would not stand up to a more aggressive application.

"A Place" reveals a place at the table, a place of acceptance and of comfort.  I don't think that there could be a more important thing to have...a place.  I wish it for all.

Also Julie

Also Julie   watercolor   12.5 x 10

is so named, as I have, in the past, done another work of a different Julie.  This one, in watercolor, was painted from life with the model sitting two table-widths away from me.  She was painting me.  Facial planes were painted bit by bit, so that the facial features (eyes, nose and mouth) almost end up painting themselves.  It really does require a different way of "seeing", and is sometimes hard for beginning artists to grasp.  It was cold, cold, cold that night.  A few cools were added, as well as some minute details, when the paper was dryer at home.

I am pleased.