Day three hundred and forty-four: I am repeatedly amazed when I make sketches after old masters. Their technique and skill is unbelievable. This detail is based on an etching by an unknown artist who was copying a print by Daniel Hopfer. I like the way my drawing ended up, with its peculiar, modern patterns and […]
Tagged face, pencilDay three hundred and forty-three: Today’s pencil sketch is the view mountainous view from the peak of Machu Picchu mountain, which towers over the ruins given the same name. The lower peak just beyond the Incan complex is Huayna Picchu. I probably could have spent some more time enhancing the shading throughout the picture to […]
Day three hundred and forty-two: This evening I had the pleasure of hearing WW2-era Tuskegee Airman, Eugene Richardson speak about his experiences and the history of the Tuskegee Airmen. Today’s sketch honors the equal-rights struggle of these black American men to become military pilots, and for their outstanding and successful service in the United States […]
Day three hundred and forty-one: I spent some time this afternoon browsing through boxes of prints by anonymous artists from the 15th and 16th centuries. There were many interesting sheets, both peculiar and lovely, and largely forgotten. My sketch this evening is based on a detail from one striking 16th-century Italian engraving of Christ healing […]
Tagged art on art, pencilDay three hundred and forty: This evening I attended a dinner party with fellow fellows from the museum, during which I was asked if I had plans for my last drawing of the year. I replied that I did not, but expected to select a subject that day just as I have every other day […]
Tagged pencilDay three hundred and thirty-nine: I so thoroughly enjoyed sketching Ganesha yesterday, that I quickly turned to another ancient sculpture for today’s sketch. This study is based on a 1st-century Roman puteale, or round well-head, decorated with twelve deities. The original stone well can be seen today at the archeological museum in Naples, Italy.
Tagged ancient, art on art, pencilDay three hundred and thirty-eight: A visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Asian galleries this afternoon led to my encounter with “Dancing Ganesha,” a sandstone sculpture made circa 750 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India. Today’s sketch focuses on a detail of the Hindu deity’s elephant head. I was quite pleased to find myself able […]
Tagged art on art, pencilDay three hundred and thirty-seven: I’ve been watching Stephen Hawking’s “Into the Universe” series on Netflix, which gave me the idea of sketching something galactic and fascinating. Nebulas the size of several light years seemed too complicated to begin with, so I decided to start closer to home. Today’s drawing using oil pastel is an […]
Tagged landscape, nature, oil, pastelDay three hundred and thirty-six: Ever since I studied 16th-century Italian woodcuts intensely about a year ago, I’ve been enchanted by the bark-crusted trunks of twisting trees and stumps. I have a theory that every great artist has made one or two during the course of their career. This evening I visited the Pennsylvania Academy […]
Tagged landscape, nature, pen and ink, woodcutDay three hundred and thirty-five: Here’s a silly sketch. I began with no idea, but started trying to draw a woman’s face. Then I had extra space above, so I gave her a crown, which reminded me of fairy tale princesses. Adding a little goofy frog seemed like the perfect thing to do. She was […]
Tagged pencil