Tag Archives: drawing

Teaching and Being Taught in Lafayette

Last week I taught a one day iPad art workshop to a number of local artists in Lafayette LA and then attended a three-day workshop in watercolor journaling held by Don Getz and organized by my sister Ceci. Another sister, Mercedes, participated in much of the fun, including the iPad session. Since I was so close to home, Ceci and I swung over to Biloxi afterward to visit our dad and his wife and more brothers and sisters.

As for making art while out-of-town, I didn’t paint while teaching. And it was so cold and windy during the plein air workshop that I didn’t do anything of note then either. In fact, after a couple of watercolor/ink drawings, I resorted to my iPad to get something — anything — down before my hands went numb. Though everything is unfinished, I’ll show you the state of play (along with a few photos of what we were memorializing) so you can get a flavor for the beauty of Cajun country. Teaser: we painted the St. John Cathedral Oak, the third largest live oak in the country.

Nudes in Charcoal

A couple of weekends ago, I spent a pleasant two days in lovely Tilghman Island, MD, at a figure drawing workshop offered by Walt Bartman, of the Yellow Barn Studio and Griffin Art Center. Walt’s wife Robin provided superb hospitality, while Walt kept the seven of us busy with charcoal, graphite and conte. Maria, a professional model par excellence, served as our muse. Here are a few of my sketches from the weekend.

IMG_6518 IMG_6523 IMG_6525 IMG_6528 IMG_6529 IMG_6533 IMG_6534

Quick Sketches, Another Nude

Last week at the Yellow Barn, we were graced with a fit and angular male model, Wayne, who maintained a very difficult pose with few breaks.

I chose somewhat unconventional compositions. For the first, I was seated at roughly eye level, looking from the top of his head down the length of his prone body (he was laying atop a series of folding tables that seemed none too stable).

nude 1

For the second, which was done more quickly than the first, I sat behind Wayne, a vantage from which his body looked like a lanky wedge.

nude 2

From whatever angle, Wayne is a wonderful model.

Dancing Dervish – more ArtRage/iPad Sketches!

At our Yellow Barn class last night with Walt Bartman, our wonderful bellydancer model danced for us while we made quick gesture sketches and 15 minute studies of still poses. Exciting and intimidating all at once. We had to push way out past our comfort zones, especially those of us who aim for fairly representational paintings. I used ArtRage on the iPad, in support of my continued efforts to prepare for the class I’m teaching at Yellow Barn.

Another iPad Value Study, Followed by Color

At my iPad art class last Thursday, the students and I worked on additional monochrome value studies, based on a still life, and then proceeded to add color. Here is my initial sketch,

Initial sketch, raku pot still life.

an interim stage,

Interim sketch, raku pot still life.

and the final product.

Finished sketch, raku pot still life.

Gouache of Grandboy

I’ve been pondering making a series of gouaches about my family. As the ‘About’ section suggests, there is LOTS of material. My husband and I will head to California soon to help celebrate our grandson’s first birthday. So I decided to make Family No. 1 a study of Max on his original ‘birth day’.

Family No. 1 (Max, Day 1). Gouache on paper.

Another Reason to Use iPad or iPhone Art Apps

I love to use art apps to record color sketches quickly, whether sitting by a lovely scene or whipping by in the passenger seat of a car. Photos just don’t ‘cut it’ for this type of use. The camera does not capture colors accurately — at least without time-consuming gyrations. Hauling out paints and nailing the right color note on the fly is also improbable.

With an art app, all you have to do is select the right color from a comprehensive array at your fingertips. Here are several palettes from which I can dial the desired color, swipe it on the screen, and adjust intensity/opacity as desired. The slideshow also includes a few color notations made to capture relative colors, instead of a specific scene.

Living Room Tour via iPad

When I first got an iPad, I’d sit around the living room every night doodling whatever came into mind or view. After awhile, it occurred to me that I’d developed a prosaic tour of our living room from my sofa vantage, with hubby reading nearby, and a parade of accidental still lifes marching across the coffee table at my feet. None of these efforts is great art, but it was a fun way to gradually hone skills in this new medium.

Welcome to my living room!

A Very Very Oldie by Me + A Wonderful Painter: Chelsea Bentley James

I was just out of college, teaching in a Jackson, Mississippi Catholic school when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered. Throughout the school, all teachers cancelled regular classes so we could watch his funeral on TV and participate in the grieving.

During commercials and downtime as we watched, I began copying absentmindedly a photo of Bill Cosby from a record album on my desk, using my trusty Bic pen.

Lo and behold, the doodle began to look like a fairly decent representation. I was SHOCKED. That was the first I suspected I could draw a realistic portrait. I kept the little drawing as evidence of this surprising breakthrough, wishing I’d had some better paper at hand — without lines crisscrossing the page.

I came across it the other day while cleaning up some of my old papers. And here it is:

Bill Cosby, copy of album cover

Bill Cosby, after an album photo, pen on scrap paper

I plan to showcase from time to time artists who have caught my eye. Chelsea Bentley James is a recent find. I love her soft, atmospheric palette. Her landscapes are beautiful.

landscape, looking down from a height, misty horizon

Areal

And her domestic scenes are compelling as well. I love her painting of an elderly woman — her grandmother?

oil painting of elderly woman

Roselle 1, oil, 12 x 12"

Chelsea, kudos for your lovely and poignant paintings!

Exhibit Mechanics

Since I’m so new to this exhibit process, I collected a few mementos from the Yellow Barn drawing exhibit last weekend:

the invitation (my drawing is the very last one in the bottom right corner);

Postcard Advertising the YB Drawing Exhibit

Postcard Advertising the YB Drawing Exhibit

a shot of the opening reception last Saturday night;

Everyone Enjoyed the Show & Goodies

Everyone Enjoyed the Show & Goodies

and a picture of my two drawings hung side by side — look, the sunlight is falling on MomMom. Beautiful.

Light Shines on MomMom

Light Shines on MomMom

Next show? Labor Day Weekend in Glen Echo Park‘s Spanish Ballroom. (At least I think so — they never responded to my application!!)