Turpentine diaries 12/31/17
One day in the park at Playhouse Square, I saw a young lady sitting alone and eating her lunch. As usual, I was taking photos and I wanted to take some of her but I didn’t want her to freeze as people sometimes do when they see a camera. So I asked if she would
Multiple treatments of the same subject (again)
Here are two more treatments of the same subject. I’ve written about this before. This time, I made two drawings. The top drawing is charcoal on toned paper heightened with chalk. The bottom drawing is pen and ink on bristol board with watercolor washes. The subject, although obviously the same in both instances, feels different, which
Multiple treatments of the same subject
Just now, I’m interested in multiple treatments of the same subject. I make drawings (cartoons) and transfer them to multiple surfaces. So far, I’ve limited the process to two instances per drawing. When I do an ambitious drawing perhaps I will expand to three or more treatments. This photo shows two versions of a small winter
Turpentine diaries 9/9/17
The studio is busy just now. The drawing is a study for a large painting I’m preparing to launch. The figures, except for the right-hand two, are prominent in the new painting’s design. I plan 2-3 more figures in the large painting. ‘Large’ in this case means 4.5′ by 5.5′, The drawing is pen &
Draw this
Cezanne, I think, told a young artist that the best way to learn was to draw and paint the stove in his studio. I think this is excellent advice. If you can draw the mundane, you can draw anything. There’s a catch, of course. What the hell is mundane? No one has answered that question, as
Drawing transferred for new painting
I worked on the drawing/cartoon for Down on Prospect Avenue for a week. In the top photo, I just finished tracing the cartoon, which you can see still stapled to the canvas. I removed the transfer paper to examine the drawing. If I miss something, I can cover the canvas with the cartoon and trace it
Pastels on canvas
These two recent pastel drawings are on canvas. Primed canvas is an unusual support for pastels or charcoal because it’s not absorbent enough. Pastel chalk falls off too easily. I originally intended to use these canvases for paintings. I had actually started painting on the larger of the two (the gray area in the lower left),
Drawing, drawing, drawing
Drawing is the heart and soul of art. If the drawing is strong, you have to work hard to screw up a painting. If the drawing is weak, you have to work hard to just produce mediocrity. I’ve gone through periods during which I did more drawing than painting, especially when I was young and painting