Eagle Symbol Progress

Eagle Symbol Pen & Ink Progress

   My recent experiments with pen & ink got me a little more comfortable with the media. Here is the current state of a project on Arches hot press watercolor board.  The starting pencil sketch is shown at the right.  In looking for eagle reference imagery I found that I never realized how often they are photographed looking down at their feet (almost as if they are surprised to see them there).

  I have a fascination with symbols & myths and how they function in our current world.  It is always interesting when ideal meets reality.  As far as my subject goes--if you've ever taken a good look at the one dollar bill you might have seen the US National emblem and wondered why the eagle is holding arrows & foliage in each talon....

    

  

broken zipper

"Broken Zipper"

Once again it has been a while since i've posted anything on here but i'm hoping to get back to documenting what I am up to on a more regular basis.  (I took a little detour trying to learn more about digital art & the tools of graphic design, ie photoshop & illustrator.)  Along the way I came up with a few designs I put on redbubble.com to experiment with printing.  Here is how the organic tee came out--

If you are interested in seeing more you can click here Go to Link.

People Studies

 

Two things that are on the edge of my comfort zone ---- drawing people & using acrylics.  I decided to practice a little with both in the above.  Unfortunately I didn't quite capture the smirk expression I set out to paint.  The sketch was done on day one & painted on day two (not sure if i'll do more fine tuning since it is a study).

Out of curiosity I went back to look at some of my old sketch books to see if my people drawings are getting any better.  Here are a few below.  My favorite view, 3/4s is the one that seems the hardest to get the right proportions.  (This gets trickier when the subject's head is tilted.)

Falling

Study for another project.
Do cats ever not land on their feet in the falling dream?...

By the way, finding a really large inexpensive compass is a challenge.

Dots Color Study

One of my New Year's resolutions is to try to post more, do more quick studies, and become more comfortable with color.  This took an hour or two using watercolor pencils on wet paper (sketch is a little skewed..)

Year of the Horse

First Printing Attempt

I happened to come across a pristine square of printmaking lino that I hadn't cut yet buried in my old supplies & thought I would put it to use.  Sketch, transfer,...Next step--carving.  I wonder if I have any ink left.
Might be interesting to create a large scale collage with a collection of carvings.

Bird Quixote

Sorry it has been a while since i've posted anything on here.
Here is something I created in my photoshop class (I had a great instructor, very inspiring).  I am finding that I am becoming a little addicted to photo montage (originally I just wanted to learn how to create a quick something I could use as reference to draw etc.).  I have a new found respect for all the work that goes into creating a seamless result.

     Here is another attempt to work "big" this time with charcoal primarily.  Working at this size forces you to move back periodically to get perspective on what you are drawing up close....good exercise too!  (It is good practice for me to work this way since I have the bad tendency to not to get up & look at a piece from a distance when the work is smaller.)  I used the red string and tape placed at different positions on the paper to get a rough idea of proportions while working....I think this is the first human I have drawn full size.
     There is a painting by artist Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835) of Napoleon visiting a plague-house at Jaffa that has always fascinated me.  In it Napoleon fearlessly & with compassion (of course) reaches out with his glove-less hand to touch a plague-stricken man.  As history goes, it is likely that this never happened but instead the painting was a fictional device to create good propaganda for Napoleon.  The subject of touch & positioning of figures in this work also reminds me of Caravaggio's "Doubting Thomas" painting...I wonder if Gros had seen his work?   
     As far as the subject goes...at one time or another in our lives I believe we all can relate to this character as well as Napoleon's character reaching out but with gloves on.  We all fear disease, death, poverty, but also surprisingly we fear passion.  It is understandable why--passion can be the spark for political upheaval and it is a short jump to associate passion with mental unbalance.
Here is the drawing in an earlier stage.  Interesting how the picture in its current state makes the surrounding room (not in the photo) littered with art supplies look less messy.

The View from Within

     Recently someone mentioned to me something that they heard Lily Tomlin say on a radio show.  I am not sure if the quote is correct but it went something like this "reality is nothing more than a collective hunch".  I found it interesting that this came up as I was finishing the drawing above since it seems to relate.  My idea for the picture came from thinking about the saying "a bird's eye view".  Discussing the nature of reality can easily take you down a philosophy rabbit hole which often leads to more disorienting questions than answers. (It seems it takes a comedian to successfully bring such stuff up in general conversation outside the academic classroom.)  Drawing itself can be an exploration of the nature of reality---sometimes what we see conflicts with what we think makes sense.  I wonder in our experience does any view besides our inner one exist?  How often are we aware of this?  Is this freeing or confining?

Project Sketching & Perspective Practice

One of the things I love when looking at another artist's work is the sketches of the idea or project to come.  I almost wish every art work could be displayed with its "baby photos" by the side so you can see its origins.  Of course not everyone works this way.  Some people just dive right in which I used to do when I first started drawing.  Recently I've been fascinated with all those preliminary sketches done with perspective, when the technique was first explored in the Renaissance from about the 1400s on.  Here is my sketch of a project I started a while back (it is currently in the "awkward teen-age" stage).

Progression.....

More done.  Not happy with the colors thus far, will come back to it.....

A Diversion in Clay

Of all my sketching I find that I prefer the drawings I did when I had the 3D object in front of me to work from.
Lately i've been missing the 3D world so I got out some clay and this is the unfired result (I haven't worked with clay for so long it is highly probable that this will crack in the firing process--if I can get it to a kiln we will see.....).  (In case you can't tell) yes, pelicans again, something about the beauty of a bird hidden in the awkwardness of a semi-bald, pudgy chick.    

 As far as construction goes-- I started solid, cut it into 3 pieces (head, body left, body right), hollowed it out and re-attached.

Not sure where this one came from...... I started out with the verb "shed" and it evolved from there.

Charcoal, pastel, colored pencil on paper.

Another bleach drawing

I've got a few more things to fix but at least the board is covered with paint finally.......

Pollock & Realism...?

For some reason I am drawn to taking pictures of what some might call trash.  Lots of lovely lines walking about here to inspire.....

This ground scene of leaves, wire, and ash reminds me of a Jackson Pollock painting.  I wonder if given a camera (and take away the stick + paint can temporarily---don't worry Jackson we'll give em right back) what imagery he might capture?