Charcoal

 

I rendered this lovely Wren with charcoal. The result is good but the process not so good. I don't know why but, as I was drawing, I felt like it would never be over. In fact it took 40 minutes. And as you can see the image is lovely. I do on occasion draw with charcoal pencils but this is really only the 2nd or 3rd time I drew with willow. During the entire project I never felt I was getting it right. But I did. I suppose that it really is the process not the result that matters. 

I won't be working with charcoal again, I don't think. I packed it and all the other media and materials away in boxes in my closet and if, at some time, I think I need it or have some desire to try again over the course of the year, I'll shop in my closet. 

I've packed away my Pan Pastels as well but this morning my Sister in Law asked for a portrait of her dog for Fiona's (that's the dog) 15th birthday. Mary has many portraits by me but she likes to commemorate. So I agreed to a pastel portrait because I'm not painting with anthing anymore. I did a painting this year for a nursery and it was lovely and fun and pure torture to complete. Painting is gone. Except for the classes I teach at the library. 

My focus is graphite. Except for this time. Mary created an AI protrait of Fiona so the AI portrait is my reference photo. Art imitating science imitating art?

And I'm drawing again.

 ...this time with white pastel on black paper. Not that that's new. Take a look at the top of the blog page. Every time I look at that image I know I can't give up this medium. I love it and what I love most is the comic sense. My tiny stint with drawing with wire brought me here. So here is the first piece, an Asian baby elelpant. Isn't he/she adorable. Not all Asian elephants have tusks.

I completed this drawing with white pastel pencil, a monozero eraser and a black pastel pencil on Canson black paper. I was aiming for humor; almost cartoonish, a bit, only a bit, distorted. I think I'm ba

I packed away my wire wrapping tools into my Betty Book lunch box and set it under my drawing table. I can see me making the odd piece when inspired but this is my medium. And I can relay attitude and humor with white pastel on black paper. Nothing to distract. No color getting in the way. No hyperrealism backing me into a corner. All free hand

This is a 9 x 12 inch drawing and it took 50 minutes total including the initial fidgeting. The video is up and running. Just click HERE to watch it.  

Thank you.

 

y.. ck. 

An update on wire art...

 I bought many thicknesses of wire and a few more tools. I practiced some techniques, realized that my fingers aren't quite nimble enough but some of the tools helped make it easier for me. I found that I wasn't as interested in making jewelry as I was interested in wire sculpture. 

I created this pendant. 

I created this sculpture of an Ibis. 

The video above gives you the sense of movement i achieved with this Ibis.

Okay. So after a few weeks, well 2 weeks, of watching many videos and trying some different techniques, I'm not in love with wire sculpting. I can see picking up some beads to create bracelets or keychains for the holidays but ...

I hope that somehow wire sculpture has somehow changed my view of drawing and moving me on to next plateau. I hope. That's what this was all about.  Wish me luck.

A new avenue

So, as many of us are want to do I asked for guidance about my art. I want to be more creative, more something. I asked this come to me during my sleep. The message came: wire and crystal jewelry design. This was totally unexpected. I am, as you all know a 2d visual artist. I was looking for inspiration in my approach. Surprise! 

Well, over 40 years ago I studied jewelry design in college. I learned what I wasn't good at. I kept my tools and they are in perfect working order.

Over the years I've tried beading bracelets and necklaces but was not all that impressed with my work. I've never worked with wire in jewelry making although I did work with it in sculpting class over 40 years ago. 

Now I don't expect this to replace drawing. My best guess is that I need a creative avenue of the 3d variety to inspire my 2d art. So I'll be taking a break while I watch more videos on wire art and practice. I have plenty of crystals about and my tools and I purchased three different gauges of wire. I'm set. I will be using pencil and paper to design the jewelry as I learn the methodology of wire and crystal jewelry design so I get to keep my hand in 2d art. I'm looking forward to creating an Ibis with wire. I almost have it worked out in head. 

My next post will be an update on jewelry design. See you then.

Freshened up art space

 Here it is. Photos of my art space after some reorganizing once again. The five foot long desk is still eating up a log of space but I use it since it is here and ignore it the rest of the time. I still have conainers of media and paper I don't use very often tucked away in the closet but what I need is at an arms length, mostly.

I have my various materials on either side organized and easily accessible. 

My large portfolios and papers are still in the corner along with a cart of papers I use most frequently and a smaller cart of my portfolios. And yes, there is the desk.

And my photos, some books, and art work along with all of my gnomes are resting on my bookshelf under a painting of Renard.

I have plenty of workspace and I'm no longer scrambling to change out my medium and papers when I chose to use a different medium. And, I have natural light. So cool. 

Toucan in white pastel on black paper

 

Click on the image of the Toucan to watch the video of it's creation.

 

Finally, i have the delicate touch i was searching for.

 

This is a white -pastel painting of a Bullfinch. Just click on the image to see it's creation on YouTube. I used Stonehenge-hotpress-watercolor paper. I love it. Unlike other  white on black paper drawings, I used the reverse of the rendering method I used with graphite powder. I built up the light areas and erased away the dark areas. I realized as I was working that all the work I'd been doing with graphite had strengthened my hand and I am not able to work with a more delicate touch. 

This drawing took me just over an hour to complete and it's beautiful; as good as my best graphite drawings. Down the line I may be adding color but right now this is the technique I need to use. This realistic rendering is so much easier for me, for my hand and I get to create. I love to draw with graphite but I think I will love white pastel on black paper even more; more than any other medium I've used in the past 72 years. I've strived for this, for the best medium, my best medium for all of my artistic career. I'm  always drawn back to pastels but leave it in favor of something else. I know I will go back to color media (colored pencils, acrylics) in some form but I'll come back to pastels. 

When I sat down to draw the Bullfinch, I knew exactly what I was doing. Usually I don't know quite where or how to start. This feels like home.  I know. I've said this before about other media and this one. I feel as though I've been on that endless journey of self discovery only to lose myself at every turn. I've felt quite often that white on black was too quick and somehow art  should take more time. Why? Why does it have to be a slow and arduous process? It doesn't. It has to take however long it takes and there are no rules about the quality of art based on time of completion. I've created plenty of crap now in a landfull somewhere that I sent days on. It takes as long as it takes and it is as good as it is. 

I hope you enjoy the video and if you would like to take a look at my Threadlests store, you'll find this image is now for sale.