Anatomy Drawing 2015-02-25 - Lecture Sketch

Anatomy Drawing - Sketching During the Lecture 9"x12', Ink on Paper.

I think I'm getting sick. I can tell because 6 hours of drawing is not seeming as appealing as it normally is. I will power through it.

I did a great sketch during the demo today. Amaya was demoing building tones. I should have included the drawing.

I'm loving the Tombow Pens again. I think I will be using them for a stretch. I'm loving how I'm able to quickly capture a location with the pens. Not only creating a figure, but a setting and a room.   

Sketchbook 2/18/16 - Woman on the Bus

2016-02-18 - Bus Ride Home, 9"x12" Ink on Paper.

When your back is to the wall what else can you do but fall back on what you know?

I was out of ink in my fountain pen. My sketching has been furious in the past few days. I've been having to refill my fountain pen every couple days.

I was riding home and there was a woman on the bus that I wanted to sketch, there was something about her coat and her stance that I had to sketch.

But my poor planning almost stopped my creative desire. In addition to my fountain pen being out of ink my light brown Tombow was dead dry. I have been keeping my Tombow pens around for long periods of time after I should toss them because there is a line texture and almost dead pen gives a drawing that is really fun to play with. But when I wanted to sketch I had a completely dead pen. I adapted from my normal process and drew with the sepia. It's a little cold.

This drawing is done with sepia and black.

I have to be so sparing with the black because it is so powerful and intense.

"An artist is alone with the brush."
Maggie Murphy

Sketchbook - Billy

Sketching during the break

This is Billy my sister's boyfriend's blue faced Amazon. I have to do a watercolor of it.

After America by Daniel Chester French

After America by Daniel Chester French, Ink on Paper, 9"x 12"

So I'm calling this sketch sightseeing. I think that is the term I will use to describe my copying famous statues in areas. I think it describes the activity well.

For some setting. There are 4 statues in front of the National Museum of the Native American or the Alexander Hamilton US Custom House as a quick Wikipedia search of the location and statues informed me. The Statues were done by Daniel Chester French, who also carved the statue of Lincoln and was called the "Dean of American Sculpture in the 20th century."

I really like the four continent statues. The kneeling male figure in the foreground really caught my eye. It looks really stylized and almost art deco to me. Just the structure and the exaggerated heroic pose.

I spent a while drawing this, I think I will try to do at least parts of the other sculptures.

I really have been debating going into the symbolism of this statue. It is worrisome and dated in the "grandma's racist" sort of way. The other ones are notable worse.

I still had a lot of fun with this drawing. I am mainly enjoying the challenge of multiple figures in a scene interacting to each other. I also love how French's chisels rendered the fabric in these statues. While not the most realistic. It is really stylized and dramatic. It was also a lot of fun to render. 

Tombow Pens - A Happy Reunion

I walked up to a woman at the Honolulu Academy Drawing Class, eagerly I asked, "Where did you get Tombow pens?" As I pointed to the set I saw in her clear art box. "I love them."

For the Unfamiliar, Tombow pens are duo-sided, water-based markers. On one tip, they have a marker reminiscent of the thin crayola markers I used as a kid. The other side has a quarter-inch felt brush. The ink is thick and bold and the pens last for a good long time.

Unfortunately, living in Hawaii, there was only one distributor that was bringing them in, so regrettably I had gone without them for a while. After seeing this woman work with them, I bit the bullet and purchased two boxes of them online. 

When I got them, I opened them up and began drawing with a fury. These sketches are from a Starbucks visit where I drew waiting for a movie to start.

I went into the drawings with water, and washed out areas of the drawing, creating a neat effect. I am loving how quick and fast these drawings are.

Love, my friends, is sketching with Tombow pens.

“The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, 

this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, 

which helps us regain our equilibrium.”

 ~ Norbet Platt

Sketchbook - On the Bus

So on the bus ride back from Zwick Studio, I managed to get some drawings done. Above is a fun one of a guy sleeping in the aisle across from me. I really like how I rendered his hands crossed in front of his chest.

The bus had to stop for a good 15 minutes because the till broke. I only mention it because I was able to use the long period of not bouncing around to get some very straight crosshatching work done. 

"Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor." 

H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

Sketchbook - Work Meeting 11/15/2012

Last week I had a meeting for work. I took the opportunity to draw the other people at the meeting.

Above is my favorite one of this session and it is the one person I do not know. I like how I rendered her hair in this drawing. Her backpack also looks good. I am having fun using the varied thicknesses of pen. 

This is Noel. I have worked with her a few time before. She is a really nice woman. I made her head a little to big in this picture.

This is Matt. We have also worked together once or twice. This was the last of the sketches I did because the meeting was wrapping up, so I did not manage to get all the details I wanted into it. It is still a nice sketch.

"Take time learning new skills and principles...

 Knowledge acquired quickly, flies out the window. 

In art the tortoise wins."

 ~ Harley Brown

Sketchbook - On the Bus - Red and Brown

Here are a pair of drawings done while riding the Honolulu city bus. I switched to red and a brown ink. I think they look a little better then red and black for these kind of sketches. It still allows for the variation in line and color, but is a little warmer because of the brown. 

Above is a woman playing a game on her cell phone. I like how I rendered the playboy bunny logo on her bag.

Above is a student at Kailua High School that catches the bus out to Kaneohe with us. It is a great whole figure sketch. I like the juxtaposition of his rendered figure and the contour lines that create his backpack.

"Love is the greatest refreshment in life." ~ Pablo Picasso

Italy Sketchbook 7: Defeat of Hippolyta

So this is the last in the set of these sketchbook drawings from my study abroad trip to Italy.

The real lesson from these is there are so many great works of art people have not simply heard of.

This is from the Labors of Hercules by Giambologna. I only knew about them because my teacher Snowden Hodges did a series of huge drawings of them which are amazing.

I drew this statue three times total and really liked it. I did three close ups of different parts of it in the next few pictures. 

“And no one will listen to us until we listen to ourselves.”

  ~Marianne Williamson

Italy Sketchbook 6: Galleria Borghese

So this part of the trip was to the Galleria Borghese. This was actually a rather weird experience.You had to make reservation before hand to visit this gallery. They only allowed a certain number of people in for the 1 hour block. Both of these drawings were done in that time frame.

Above is Bernini's David. I remember this drawing being better then it looks now. I must have lost some crispness in the sketchbook.

This is Bernini's Apollo and Daphne which is an incredible statue. I took a rather unusual view of the statue and I like the page layout. In the foreground is most of Daphne's torso and in the background is Apollo's face.

Italy Sketchbook 5: St Catherine - Roma

So this was one of my favorite drawings in this sketchbook. When I went to Rome I fell in love with this sculpture. This sculpture is of St Catherine.

It is located Piazza Pia a public park in Rome just outside the Vatican and Castle San'Angelo.

I love the hand and the profile of this drawing. I really think I started to play with the gray background in this sketch. I also managed to keep the dark and light parts well separated.

Italy Sketchbook 4: The Bargello

So the next four sketches are from the Bargello, one of Florence's oldest public buildings. Above is Michelangelo's Bacchus. There is some awkwardness with the torso, but I really like how I rendered the hand.

I spent an afternoon there and was struck by a number of things. One all of the sculpture's penises have been broken off, which was apparently at the request of the owner.

Second was this statue below, Florence's Victory over Pisa. I had never seen it in an Art History class but really liked this statue.

I did one drawing and wanted to do a wider view of the statue. So I did the next one.

The next one is the statue from behind.

So the next section of this book is from my week in Rome. 

Italy Sketchbook 3: Florentine Masterpieces

The next two from this sketchbook are from giants of the art world; they are ninja turtles, even: Michelangelo and Donatello.

Above is a sketch of Michelangelo's Dawn; it is located in the Chapel Medici. The vault where the statue is located is at the bottom of a few staircases. I remember it being really cold in the vault because of all the marble.

I actually got kicked out of the tomb, by the security guard, while I was working on the drawing.  There is apparently a time limit to how long you can be in the vault. It's understandable because the vault is kind of small and there are a lot of visitors.

Below is Donatello's St. George. I actually drew it from the bronze cast outside the St. Michael's, Orsanmichele, so it is not the real statue. I drew it in the alleyway where the statue originally stood. I got a lot of good comments about the sketch from random tourists and Florentines.

The original statue of St' George is located in the Bargello, which is where the next series of sketches in this book are from. 

Italy Sketchbook 2: Perseus

I really like the statue of  Perseus with the Head of Medusa by Cellini in Florence, Italy's Piazza Della Signora. After I did this sketch, I wanted to do a larger version of it.

I remember having a little difficulty rendering the dark bronze as opposed to the white marble. As I look at this sketch, I think it is because the piece is rather dynamic. I think this has a lot to do with the dark tones as well as the composition. I also enjoy the fact the subject is larger than the page, so is gives the sketch a cropped photograph feel. 

Timeless strength and majesty.
I was so happy with this sketch and this statue, I decided to do a larger more finished version. The larger drawing has already been posted. I have included it again below.

Italy Sketchbook 1 : Piazza Della Signora

I have been looking though my previous posts, labeling them, tying to figure out what is up on this blog and what I have left to input.  I realized I didn't share with you some of my favorite sketches from my study abroad trip to Italy.

It was a fabulous trip, a joy to remember. I am so happy to share.

I prepped a book full of toned paper before my trip with the goal to try and draw as many marble statues as I could. I had already done cast painting in the Atelier with Snowden Hodges and had been quite successful. 

There is no place like Florence, Italy!

The Piazza Della Signora is an an L-shaped square in front of the historic city hall of Florence as well as the Uffizi Gallery. There are many marble statues in the Piazza including a replica of Michelangelo's David. The David was originally in the piazza until concerns of the weather, riots, and falling roof shingles caused the people of Florence to find a safer home for the beloved David.

So all these statues are located in the Loggia Dei Lanzi which has an outdoor sculpture gallery. I spent several afternoons drawing in my sketchbook.

So its been 7 year since my trip to Italy and looking back at these drawings gives me a good idea of how far I have come artistically. I am struck as I look at these how heavy my hand is.

My favorite sketch from the Loggia Dei Lanzi will be in the next post of my Italian Sketchbook. 

"Gratitude is the memory of the heart."

~ Italian Proverb

Sketchbook - Red and Black

So I have been riding the Honolulu city bus a lot these past couple weeks for work. I have been working on a few sketches while on the bus.

I have been experimenting with this red ink in my fountain pen. At first, I thought it was far too light to be of any real use. I then had the great idea to go back in with black ink and the results are kind of neat.
I can really play with depth of field using the two color inks. With thick black lines, I can push certain things forward on the page.  By relying on the red ink, I can have things sink into the background. It reminds me of the technical drawings with red and blue pencils.

I really like the above drawing it was one of the first with the duel ink. The seat and the pole really push to the foreground in this.
  

 I like how much I played with the two color inks here. Its interesting to see the effects of the different color cross hatching.  

 

"Everyone is an explorer. 

How could you possibly live your life looking at a door and not open it?"

 ~ Robert D. Ballard

New Pen

So I just got a new fountain pen for my birthday, which is tomorrow by the way. I decided to try it out with a few drawings.

The Ink is 'Beaver' color from the Noodler ink company.

I'd also like a moment of silence for my previous fountain pen that died because of complications and clogged inner workings when I put unsafe ink inside.

My favorite of these drawings is above. I drew a guy typing on his laptop at a Starbucks. I'm really happy how clean it came out.  There is also a really good likeness to the guy.

I had a work meeting this weekend. So in normal fashion I took the opportunity to draw both at the meeting and on the bus ride to and from the location.  

This is Jon. He has worked with me a few times. He is a photographer in his spare time. I am a little unhappy with this drawing and I think I drew him a little wider then he actually is. It's one of those "looking back I see some problems."

 This woman was sitting in front of me at the meeting. She has been at the company awhile and I should really remember her name. She was wearing the coolest earrings.

 

This guy subbed with me on my case one day. I remember him because he cannot swim.

 So we're on Bus riding sketches. This woman was sitting next to what I assume was her husband. They looked like a cute Asian couple.

This was a interesting sketch. When I sat on the bus there was an old man with a long beard sitting in the front of the bus. I really wanted to draw him, mainly because of how interesting looking he was. He had his hand grasping the pole and that's where I started the drawing. I really wanted to capture the pose he was in.  On the next stop the woman came in and sat down. I was a little peeved because she was blocking my view. I debated about just drawing him and ignoring her from the drawing.
However it really didn't matter as the next stop was his. I managed to draw enough of his hand and arm to make is look correct. I ended up with an interesting layered drawing that I really couldn't have planned better.

I had a few minutes after the last drawing and started this sketch. His curly hair was a little fun to render.

My Sketchbook 03/10 - 07/10

"Life is not a support system for art. It is the other way around." ~ Stephen King

So here is some material from one of my more recent sketch books. It is actually kind of an amazing one, with a lot of satisfying drawings in it. I obviously had a pen and ink crave. I also took some serious time to go to my two favorite drawing places, Starbucks and Borders.

It's very clear I was attempting to make completed drawings with background and setting taken into account for most of these. I also really was playing with what I could do with pen and ink. I think the end results are pretty impressive.