Bat Marian

Bat Marian   watercolor   13.5 x 10

is the result of a life painting situation.  Marian and I were seated across from each other, both wearing masks.  Painting from life increases speed in decision making which results, I think, in a more spontaneous painting.  These works are often quite different from a more thoughtful approach, where sketches and decision-making are more prolonged and labored over.

Thinking sculpturally is a great advantage here where a knowledge of how a light source affects the landscape of a face helps it to read three-dimensionally.  Without this knowledge, which I like to call "understanding the nature of things", any work from life without a particular light source can become flattened.  Likewise working with a photo source.

Marian's mask was cast from metal....quite unusual.  I am pleased with this work.  I feel that it captures many of the effects which I constantly pursue.

Balls

Balls   charcoal, pastel and China marker on paper   8.75 x 22

Playing with balls is a bit like painting...a bit unpredictable...a bit out of control.  Balls are the tools of the athlete as brushes and pigments are to us.  And, although we set ourselves up for a successful outcome, the joy comes from the process itself...the playing, the painting.  Fluidity results from that wonderful place that lies somewhere in between control and the lack thereof. 

Swahili warrior song:  Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the gods....so let us celebrate the struggle.

Our project in drawing class was to be able to render the volume of a sphere by direct observation.  The brightly lit spheres in the "learning to draw" books are minimally useful, as the rendering requires astute observations culled from the light source (or sources) as well as attempts to understand the material from which the sphere is made, as well as its construction.  I used charcoal, with a bit of conte, pastel and China markers to achieve the effects that I desired.  The rendering is fairly tight, as the number of forms involved precludes a more expressive style....which, I think, would result in far too much visual confusion.  The two counterspaces between the balls at their base were necessary, I think for understanding, as well as a bit of vertical play to balance the extreme horizontal composition.

The struggle.  The athlete.  The painter.