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. 

Jimmy and the Brooklyn Library

Jimmy 08/29/2015, Ink on Paper, 9"x 12"

I have been keeping up with my sketch booking when I met up with a friend who has been living in New York.  This is Jimmy and I sketched him as he smoked his e-cigarette.

He says my sketch doesn't have much of a likeness.

On his left I drew a portrait of a woman I saw reading on the subway.  I like how quickly I was able to capture the odd shape of her hat.

At the Brooklyn Library 8/29/15, Ink on paper, 9"x 12"

I was exploring a bit and wandered into Brooklyn.  I was having a good time walking until the heat got a little unbearable and I took refuge in a branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. The place reminded me of home and the libraries there.

It was a weird collection of prominently used dated technology, "Read" posters, strangely worded signs, kids quietly enjoying themselves, and some kids goofing off in the corner-- obviously there against their will.

I began drawing the kids playing on their phones before their mom took them home. Mom was carrying a large stack of books. Talk about a flashback. I have been in the same position as those kids many a time in my childhood.

"Books, the children of the brain."
~ Jonathan Swift

Self Portrait - Fountain Pen Ink

Self Portrait 8/28/15, Ink on Paper, 9"x 12"

August 28, 2015

So on my first day in New York, my landlord was gracious enough to show me how to get to the Art Academy on the subway from the house. It's an easy trip, the ferry is nice, and both the bus ride to the ferry and the subway trip are super simple.

While I was out and about I decided to do some art supply shopping. I brought both my fountain pens, but I had no ink. I felt really uneasy packing my 3 oz glass Noodler ink bottles. With my luck, and the way baggage is handled, I would landed in New York with two broken bottles of ink and a suitcase full of ink stained clothes, I figured I could buy ink in New York.

So for a few hours I went to art supplies stores and asked the workers for fountain pen ink. Then this process would repeat itself: 1) They would look at me oddly 2) Bring me to their ink section and finally 3) suggest a bottle of ink "they think" would work with fountain pens. Being unfamiliar with the ink, I would google "X brand use with Fountain Pens" and then it would link to to a forum where there is all capital letters saying "NOT FOR USE WITH FOUNTAIN PENS."

This literally happened three times before I thought to just google "Noodler Ink NYC" and I got the location of the "Fountain Pen Hospital." The store is impressive (And really fancy) and they had every variety of ink for my pens.

I spent a bit before deciding on the colors "Antietam" and "Walnut." Antietam is a red that is darker and bluer then the more orange red ink I have been using, The Walnut is a pretty nice and rich brown.

The lady who rang me up was really cute and reminded me of my mom.

"You need a bag?"

 "No," I said pointing to my messenger bag while placing it on the glass display case, I unfastening the clips and looked up.

There was a look of  knowing worry in her face as she said simply, "Use the bag, you'll make me feel better."

I nodded yes for the bag. I saw that I had no choice but to obey.

"They're gonna be banging up against each other in your bag. They're glass and if they break..." She paused as I placed the two boxes of ink in the bag, "At least if they break in your bag the plastic bag will keep it"

With that I raced out of the store.

So with a new sketchbook, new ink and new City I decided to do a self portrait.

It was pretty quick sketch, It's kind of unflattering and my lip is a little off.

I look tired.  Packing my life and moving 4000 miles was not easy. It's been a long couple days.

"If you must live in a city, New York is the only city in the world."
~ Katherine Neville

Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing 6/08/2015 - Sergio - Long Poses

Sergio 06/08/15 - Pose 2, 9"x12", Watercolor

These are the long poses from this Monday's figure drawing class at the Honolulu Art Museum School. Each of these are the 20 minute poses from the session.

Above is my favorite of the night. True to form it was the second pose of the night. I have been finding the second drawing/painting of the night is my favorite. It is becoming a very common trend.

I like extreme foreshortening in reclining poses. I actually usually move to the floor like with this drawing. I like how most everything reads except the left leg, it bugs me a little. I do like the other leg and foot.

Sergio 06/08/15 - Pose 1, 9"x12", Watercolor

This was the first pose of the night. I think there are some elements that are really working, but there are some elements that are really not working.

Sergio 06/08/15 - Pose 3, 9"x12", Watercolor

This was the third pose of the night. I do not thing is came out that good. I may reuse this page.

The Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing class is every Monday at 7 PM. It is located at 1111 Victoria Street. There is a $10 class fee.

Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing 6/08/2015 - Sergio - Short Poses

Sergio 6/08/15 Short 03 , 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

These are from the Monday drawing class at the Honolulu Museum of Art

I just bought some new watercolor brushes and was really desperate to try them out. So I was using Burnt Umber and Cobalt Blue watercolor for these. I like these two colors because they create a nice range of warms and cool tones and they cancel each other out very nicely to create a chromatic gray.

I really like these three short poses. So much so its that I wanted to make a separate post for them on the blog.

Above is the 10 minute pose. It was a pretty straight forward watercolor technique. I did a quick contour line drawing of the figure then added the watercolors starting from light then working to the darks.

The left hand is a little big. But other then that I really like this painting.

Sergio 6/08/15 Short 01 , 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

For the two 5 minute poses I drew a contour line drawing and then added the watercolor on another day. These actually came out very nicely. I may have to try this technique in the future as I am really satisfied with these two paintings.

This painting shows a lot of what I like about using the burnt umber and the Cobalt blue. The warm of the figures shoulder and face contrast nicely against the cool of the cobalt blue shadows. The chromatic gray that is created when the mix really makes for interesting shadowed tones.

Sergio 6/08/15 Short 02 , 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

This is the second of the 2 minute poses. I think i spent too much time getting the ears just right in the drawing phase. The watercolor looks great.

The Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing class is every Monday at 7 PM. It is located at 1111 Victoria Street. There is a $10 class fee.

Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing 6/08/2015 - Sergio - Gestures

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 08, 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

Monday was figure drawing at the Honolulu Museum of Art; I had a really good night.

I came to the session a little late. It's graduation season, and parking around the Art Academy was terrible. So I was walking into the class about 7:15. Apparently others also had this problem and when I walked in they were only starting the first of the gestures. 

I was kind of in a panic to start. So I started with what I am really great with, the Tombow pens. However by gesture four I realized this wasn't really going to help with what I had planned for the rest of the night. I just went to Fishers Hawaii earlier that day and bought new watercolor bushes that I really wanted to try. So I switched to a thin pen to mimic the contour line drawing I would have to be doing for the rest of the night. 

I really like the above gesture, number 8. It was an unusual pose, but I managed to capture a lot in the brief amount of time. The way the figure is splayed across the page is very dynamic. I also love the balance of the shaded areas on the page. I also find the differently weighted lines and their interactions very interesting. 

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 01, 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

I was using the gray Tombow then adding the black and the water afterwards. The effect created by this is really a lot of fun.

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 02, 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

This is a great pose and great gesture. The difference in tone creates a difference in the weight in the two legs. The darker back leg pushes deeper in the composition and the lighter leg pulls forward.

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 03, 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

This gesture has a Keith Haring feel to it. It could be the pose but it also could mean I over did the outline,

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 04, 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

This pose is hilarious. Looking at this gesture makes me laugh just remembering it.

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 05, 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

It was here I switched to the thinner pen. I focused on the figure's contour outlines and then with any remaining time I tried to block in the major shadow ares. This is to try and imitate the process I would have to zip through in the later poses.  Afterwards, like a day later, I added the crosshatching to the shade regions.

Above Number 5 is very dynamic. This is a great gesture.

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 06, 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

I like this gesture too. His arms are a little odd in this one but it's working in my opinion.

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 07, 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

I do not like this one at all.

Sergio 06/08/15 Gesture 09 , 9"x12", Ink on Paper.

For the last one I used the black Tombow and water to fill in the shadows. It creates a nice effect but I actually prefer the crosshatching.

The Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing class is every Monday at 7 PM. It is located at 1111 Victoria Street. There is a $10 class fee.

"See, when I paint, it is an experience that, at its best, is transcending reality. When it is working, you completely go into another place, you're tapping into things that are totally universal, completely beyond your ego and your own self." ~ Keith Haring

Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing 4/27/2015 - Sergio - Short Poses

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 02, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

So the model was Sergio and as always he was fun to draw and paint. I was really on this this night and am happy with almost all of the drawings today.

That night I had forgot my bag of Tombow pens. It was a rather sad discovery, but I did have a Pilot G2 10 millimeter, my favorite writing pen. The fact I have a favorite pen is sign of my mother's genetic expression. It's been a while since I have drawn with these pens. Normally I would draw with a thinner pen, but we make do.
   

Afterwards I went back into the gestures and added Sharpie to the drawings. I am very happy with the results. Above is one of my favorite drawings of the night.

A lot of elements are working in this gesture. The pose is very dynamic. The alternating lines and overall pattern of the ink lines is working very well.

Below are the rest of the gestures from the night. I am really satisfied with them.

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 01, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper.

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 03, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 04, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 05, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 06, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 07, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 08, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

There is a very neat feel to this one. I am a little unhappy with the hand. The darkness and the frantic lines of the gesture are working very well.

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Gesture 09, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

Normally when I don't have 10 gesture drawings it means something went wrong. I was late or one of the drawings was just terrible. However, Today's class was a "Field Promotion" day, the normal people who run the class were out sick so it left me in charge of the class. I miscounted the number of gesture drawings I had already done and thus we were one short. 

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Short 01, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

Short poses went pretty well. I need to watch myself when I'm doing my cross hatching especially in these shorter poses. These two five minute drawings show a problem I need to catch: I need to alternate my Hatch marks. The pattern created by them all going one direction is distracting. Above we see a drawing where I alternated the hatching.

The figure seems to have a greater volume to it and the different hatch directions help define the figure.  

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Short 02, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

This drawing shows what happens when I fail to alternate the hatch direction. One of many problems with this drawing.

Sergio - 4/27/15 - Short 03, 9"x 12", Ink on Paper

This was the 10 minute drawing. I like it. The head is a little off.

The Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing class is every Monday at 7 PM. It is located at 1111 Victoria Street. There is a $10 class fee.

Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing 3/30/2015 - Shilo - Long Poses

Shilo - 3/30/15 - Pose 2, 9"x 12", Acrylic on Paper.

Another week at the Honolulu Art Academy. The model was Shilo. I had a pretty great night.

Above is my favorite of the three paintings I did.  It was the second pose of the night.

I focused a lot of effort on the background. My normal solution to the background issue is a simple wall behind model or a nearly uniform color field but I have been finding them more and more dull . The semicircular shape in the background of color is my attempt at altering that a little.  My goal in the future is to  try and abstract the natural forms behind the model into color fields. I have been enjoying the results. 

I am finding these acrylic studies very time consuming. The refinement the paint allows has me spending the week working on these during my off periods however I am loving the results.

I am finding it troublesome to work on older studies from classes past. I feel that I forget what I found dynamic about the pose and I hate the final results. I am also learning that not every one of these studies can work. Sometimes 25 minutes is just not enough time to capture what is needed. 

Shilo - 3/30/15 - Pose 1, 9"x 12", Acrylic on Paper.

This was pose 2. I do love how I rendered this back. Its getting to what I really like about these acrylic studies. Quick and expressive brushstrokes while still rendering the form accurately. I know it's the accurate rendering that often suffers as a do these quick poses.

The Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing class is every Monday at 7 PM. It is located at 1111 Victoria Street. There is a $10 class fee.

"Art isn’t every­thing. It’s just about every­thing."

~ Gertrude Stein

Study of Olomana 03/27/15

Olomana - 03/27/15, 9"x 12", Ink on paper.

I have been wanting to do a few studies of Mt. Olomana for a while, perhaps to do a few more large scale paintings of it. It has been an idea I have been ruminating on.

One of my students had a seizure. I had to hold him on his side till the ambulance came and took his vital signs. We then kept a vigil on him during the postictal phase, where he was unconscious like in a deep sleep. It was during this awkward waiting time I sketched this.

Olomana is a really pretty mountain. There is not much to it but it is a great landmark on the windward side of Oahu. 

Dealing with the emergency situation of students seizure was a jarring and this sketch seems like a strange artifact of that experience.

Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing - March 23, 2015 - Tina - Long Poses

Tina - 3/23/15 - Pose 2, 9"x12", Acrylic on Paper.

It has been a while since Tina was a model at the Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing class. Its been more then a year.

This was a great pose and I love this painting. There is a great balance between the expressive brushstrokes and how well rendered it is.

Her hair is much lighter then how I rendered it here. However there is a great effect to the darker hair. It is doing a great job separating the figures torso from her other arm.

I am getting much better at utilizing the three colors and getting a pretty wide range of colors from them. limiting my palette to three colors and seeing how far i could push the colors hase been a great learning opportunity. I am fascinated by the differences in the flesh tones. How ocher the yellow in her legs look and how pink the highlights on her chest look.     

The Honolulu Museum of Art Figure Drawing class is every Monday at 7PM. It is located at 1111 Victoria Street. There is a $10 class fee.