Melon Man

Melon Man   charcoal and conte on Rives BFK   27.5 x 21

Each Wednesday I trudge on up to our township center to the farmers' market.  I use the term loosely, as there are usually only 3 booths...a gal who bakes scrumptious cookies, a guy who sharpens knives......and the melon man whose booth offers up luscious late-summer produce...a vast array of peaches, squash, sweet onions and much much more.  He was less than thrilled when I asked him to pose with one of his melons.  But, despite my trepidation in asking him, I knew that I would be able to invest myself in this project, as we have a shared experience....him as a seller, and me as a hiker with a backpack heavy with produce.

I began by taping off the right hand side of paper, knowing that I want to create a split visual.  I worked on his figure first of all, which, for the most part, is composed of large and simple shapes.  My next step was to turn the support 90 degrees to the right.  In the taped off area, I created a melon patch.  This part happened quite easily, as I was charmed by the rhythms of the leaves...and the counterspaces that occurred as a result.  In the final stage of the work, I removed the tape and began to integrate the two parts into a "oneness" that satisfied  my sense of aesthetic.  I am quite pleased, as this project offered up a satisfying mix of challenge and fun.  I began by using vine charcoal, then threw conte crayon in the mix, as well as some broad swipes of green pastel...just enough for a color suggestion.

This project renewed my love of drawing (as most of my time is spent painting), as well as renewing my love of conte crayon.

Come October, I will miss my Wednesday treks to the township park.

Winter Naps

Winter Nap   charcoal/pastel   28 x 18

come easily in the dark season....even if you don't wish it.  It must relate somehow to a kind of hibernation...layers of  warm clothing, the warmth of an engaging fire and an early sunset all collaborate to induce sleep.  Drawing a napping person has always been one of my favorite things to do.  The model is happy and relaxed.  Weight is suspended.  I enjoy the articulation of the intersections of person and pillow, of person and support.  "Winter Nap" was drawn from a model at Summit Artspace as a poorly-attended demonstration one winter afternoon.  I so enjoyed this undertaking!  The green was added later - to merge, to liven and to soften.  That year my son was married in San Francisco.  Their wedding photos were shot by a pair of Portland twins who journeyed south for the event.  All of the photos seemed to have a greenish cast which conveyed an earthiness as well as visual mystery.  I decided to try it myself and was pleasantly please with the results.

Spooky is as spooky does.............

Skeleton   sketchbook drawing

Skeletons are intricate and complex.  Yet I am attracted to the drawing of them since I do so many paintings of the human figure.  It is helpful to understand what lies beneath the surface.  Although I am not a memorizer of bones or muscles, and never have been, I can only hope that the structure of the human form finds its way into my brain by osmosis.  Lucky for me, Judy Adkins, the art teacher whose wonderful classroom I borrow for my class, has one constantly hanging around.  Our assignment was "pot luck", as we used our view finders (standard rectangle) to scope out subjects for drawing.  We are working on composition and creating 4-5 major shapes in the work that fit together in an exciting combination.  Believe me, there is enough subject matter in this room for a lifetime of drawings!  We all worked quickly and quietly....the time passed so fast I couldn't believe it!  Although I could easily have spent 2-3 more hours refining all the shapes and honing details, I am pleased that this drawing  still retains the original energy that excited me from the first.  I will, in this case, let sleeping dogs lie.

Or would that be sleeping skeletons?

Figure Drawing...using a horizontal format...Ethereal

Ethereal   Charcoal/Pastel   5.25 x 17.5

For the last session of our drawing class, we elected to draw the figure.  The art teacher whose room we borrow at night was happy to recommend a high school art student willing to pose and make a few Christmas dollars.  Yeah!  Maggie was athletic, long and lean.  She was able to relax well for us in this extremely horizontal pose.  Results can be seen in the accompanying slide show.  I felt that we all did well as far as simple shapes and proportions.  There were a few angles(especially for the pillowed head) that were slightly off.  Judging angles visually is difficult but can be aided by using one's pencil at arm's length to find it and replicate it on the paper.  An angle that is off just a smidgen causes the head to lose its state of relaxation and appear to be full of tension, as if getting up.  Once figure drawing is mastered, an artist will be able to use photos for reference without point to point copying without anatomical understanding thereof.  Another problematic area occurred for those whose perspective involved the foreshortening of the head area.  I recommended treating this head and shoulders area as a shallow bowl, with a losing of edges and slight shadowing in the middle with the more complete rendering around the diameter where most of the light would appear.  A difficult, but interesting illusion.

For me, nothing is more rewarding than the curves of the human figure.