Staying Motivated in the New Year. Again.

There always seems to be a large gap between collections of entries.  The past year has been pretty hectic. Running a cat rescue through your home is no joke.  Cute cute cute, and very time consuming. Now we are down to just three adults that have decided to stay, and one lovey Mama who will be going to her forever home at the end of the week.
In other exiting news, Spring semester starts tomorrow, and I am looking forward to two studio classes- Color Theory and Intro to Digital Art. While these are essentially repeats, the classes I took at TCC were credited to electives, and these are a bit more specific. Either way, it will feel good to be back in the studio (and not just because mine is covered in cat fur. lol) I also came across this awesome site for professional readers. This will be especially awesome when DJS becomes more than just a business plan.



I have also finally broken down and ordered a few varieties of colored pencils, which will be arriving over the next few weeks, and I plan on testing thoroughly and sharing my findings here in detail. I have read so many reviews and watched other people's videos where they have compared products, and maybe it is because I am looking for something so specific, but I just haven't found any to be conclusive for me to invest hundreds of dollars into any one brand. I will probably just pick and choose, then use them all just like I do every new medium I come across anyway.  :/

I have been continuing on a portrait series lately, so will leave you with my latest.

Ugh

Day 17.
I was catching up from yesterday so decided to do two sketched of the same subject. For these I sought to do them both badly, but in different ways. For the first one I used a pen (something in itself I personally never do) and proceeded to start with the mouth of my kitten and work from feature to feature.  The result was disproportionate and askew. 

For the second one I laid out the shape of the face and then filled in the features. I did them both quickly and without really stopping to check accuracy.  The second result was a better shape and accurate features, but only separately.  Put them together and the spacing is off.
With a goal of improving on my ability to quickly lay out a portrait, I wanted to see what does and doesn't work for me.  I mostly use a grid to assure accuracy in my work, but want to be able to sharpen my eye for things so as not to need it and have more confidantly done pieces drawn from life. It pains me to publish these crappy sketches, but it's all a learning process, and I'd rather stay humble than pretend everything comes out perfectly the first time.

I have also been working on a watercolor commission of a full body cat. I was up to the challenge and have so far drawn it 3 times before being satisfied. I am currently at a standstill with the color as I have little extra time and it will take a solid single session to get the main fill. The cat is black, and being just over 5x7, will take just the right brushstrokes to make it work. With four little rescue kittens currently running rampant in the studio, things can be tricky, but at least I am never without inspiration.

Sherlocked

Day 4

I have recently been catching up on Sherlock.  Being winter break with my regular shows and taking off a semester of school, I actually have a bit of time to finally check out some of the shows I have been missing.  So, having been thoroughly Sherlocked for the day, I of course had to do today's sketch of Benedict Cumberbatch.  Having never been one for sketching and laying down a quick and solid foundation of a drawing, I ran out of time before I had much more than his eyes in place. Too much drawing, not enough sketching.  My problem has always been focusing too much on the details from the jump, instead of the whole shape.  This is one of the main areas I am trying to fix by doing this project.  I figure a few months down the line I will revisit this reference and see if I have made the improvements I am hoping for.

Day 5
Spent all day at work, was so tired, and it was 11pm. No sketch yet.  I initially thought of vintage toys, like my oil painting from last semester.  Well, I ended up looking through images of vintage trucks.  There is a photographer I discovered through Deviant Art years ago who is awesome, so I thought I would try something different.  Of course, last night I couldn't think of his name, so settled for what I could find. Eh, maybe I need to make my time limit 15 minutes instead of 10? I have only been using a basic B drawing pencil for my sketches so far since I just carry the book around to work and stuff.  I'm thinking tonight I might add a splash of color. :)

There Is No Owl

I didn't really know what to expect from myself when I set my Sketch A Day goal.  I guess I assumed the same thing would happen that always does when I think about having to sketch something- I dread it. As it turns out, I spent my time in the bath this evening finally reading the copy of The Once and Future King that I had purchased no less than 8 years ago and my mind wandered to what I might sketch tonight. One of the rules i had set was "No planning," but I don't think this really counted since I was already counting on knocking out today's page right after my bath.
I found I was looking forward to tonight's page, thinking about how much I loved the Disney version of King Arthur and used to play the vhs tapes at night and pause them to sit and draw it out on a large sheet of drawing paper on the coffee table (I should dig this out of my box in the attic just for nostalgia).  Being eager to do any sketching is definitely not something I expected.  I know it's only day 3, but I am starting to believe I may actually get to enjoy this project.  It's definitely nice not having to worry about homework and deadlines for a change and just throw down whatever image interests me. Today it was Archemedes, Merlyn's owl.

I pulled T.H. White's book down from the attic the other day when I was going through some boxes.  I also happened across a small journal my best friend had sent me for my 30th birthday.  It would seem it all had perfect timing, so now I am also using the journal for my sketches since it is nice and small.  The paper is also handmade and toothy, so I like it much better than the bristol board I was using earlier.  I don't know how people can draw on such a smooth surface. It was horrible for just doing quick sketches.

Another day down. I am looking forward to where tomorrow will take me.

Sketch A Day 2015

It has been long established that I am bad at keeping a Sketchbook. I have been since high school. For this past semester oil painting class I had to keep a book updated with regular assignments. Honestly, I did half of them the day before I turned it in.
So, why I am I setting a goal to complete a sketch every day for the next 365 days?  I see the benefit of sketching, and now that I am taking a semester off and won't necessarily 'have' to sketch regularly (Yes, the "having to" part makes a big difference for me) I am taking it upon myself to learn and grow by doing unplanned daily sketches that I will not let be the detailed portraits that often take up so much time and frustration because I am a perfectionist. 
My main goal with this project is to learn to let go (stop thinking of Frozen, that was so 2014)  When i do any sort of drawing or art project, i know ahead of time that have at least several hours of work ahead of me. I often envy the quick and confidant strokes of many artists. I get caught up in the details, and while it all comes together in the end, I would like to broaden my scope by practicing quicker techniques and different subjects.
For this project I will also have to accept the fact that much of What I share will be crap, but I will share it anyway because no one is perfect and I am setting a time limit of 10 minutes each to keep myself from overlooking like I am prone to doing. Be prepared for lots of cats, faces, and hopefully a few non-boring sketches over the next 365 days. I'm starting off with Koopa wishing everyone a Happy New Year. She wouldn't stay still, so I had to take a picture for reference  :/ 

Portrait- Video Review

   Yeah yeah yeah, so I tend to use my blogs for doing homework.  I usually do so on a different one, but I am going to try to just use this one from now on- mainly because more and more of my papers will be art- related anyway.  I am taking an oil painting class this semester, and have to write a review on a video, any video that's relative.  Well, if any of you are in college, you may be aware of Films On Demand, which is an awesome resource for free educational films.  I went through and, while I found many that looked interesting, watched Portrait- a film documenting UK artist Tai-Shan Schierenberg's portrait of Lord Hartington.  
   The film was only just under 30 minutes, so it flowed smoothly and went through Tai-Shan's entire process, from his initial call to set up the meeting with his sitter, to the presentation of the finished portrait.  Narrated by the artist himself, you feel intimately into his studio. We start out with Tai-Shan leaving his modest apartment and soon arriving at Chatsworth House, a beautiful estate that also holds one of the most extensive private art collections in Britain.  Tai-Shan begins with just two three-hour sessions where he initially paints his subjects head and face only and then photographs the sitter in various poses to use as reference for a full body painting. I was surprised to see that he made no other notes and drew no sketches while with his subject.
   Back in the studio, Tai-Shan spends the next month on the large painting (approximately 4x6'.)  Tai-Shan sits in a chair at the back of his studio, often staring and contemplating the progress of his portrait.  He continuously scrapes the paint away that had portrayed the Duke's face and repainting it.  His brushstrokes tend to be large and sweeping.  His subjects hands are very large, as the artist admits he has a tendency to do, and he leaves them that way. The final portrait is quite serious and rather formal, despite the quick and casual style Tai-Shan has with his brush.  Stoker Cavendish feels in the end that his tie is quite nice, and it is hard to be objective when presented with a larger than life portrait of oneself.
  This video offered a nice peak into the day to day of a portrait artist.  He mentions the fact that about 50% of his portraits are either disliked by the sitter or their spouse, as they most likely had an image of what it should look like already in mind.  Painting royalty has changed greatly since Van Dyck and the days of Henry VIII.  History buff, art student, or anyone looking to catch an interesting glimpse into an artist's thought process should pick up this film.

A Few Updates

Okay, so I am not very adept at utilizing social media, and am slow to get the ball rolling here as well, but this semester I am finally taking my Portfolio and Resume class, so I need to get my butt in gear!  I have added a separate page here dedicated to my trimmed down and properly flowing portfolio.  The pieces chosen are the most recent and relevant, placed in an order that makes sense- there is actually a narrative that I could include, and perhaps one day I will, but for now I will let it speak for itself.
Also, I am excited about a new group I am part of on Facebook- Sarah's Street Gang. This is not mine, but Sarah Pekkanen's Street Team group.  Way back when I first started this blog I was also working on getting books for the 302nd Bookworms I sent an email to Sarah requesting some copies of The Opposite of Me.  She was awesome, keeping me posted about getting some from her publisher.  With crazy shipping restriction, we couldn't get the books, but she did send us  All Is Bright- her just released short story.  As part of her "Street Gang," I get to virtually hang out with other awesome fans and continue to share her books.
I am such a book nerd, and still hope to one day have the time to do some paintings inspired by some of my favorite books.  So many projects, so little time!  Well, I am learning a bit about oil painting at the moment, so expect to see another twist in my paintings as I find a way to integrate it!  Since I have been working on my Tyrion in Different Media series, looks like I have to throw another one in there.  I will leave you with it's current progress.  So far, Watercolor/ Mixed Media, and about half way through silverpoint.