Day two hundred and seventy-three: Reading about the drawings and etched prints of Italian mannerist Parmigianino made me want to try a sketch after something he made in the sixteenth century. By chance, I found a snapshot I took with my iPhone of a drawing of an angel attributed to Parmigianino at the Philadelphia Museum […]
Tagged iPad, pencilDay two hundred and seventy-two: Usually I refer to my drawings as sketches because I don’t consider them finished. This one, however, is VERY sketchy. I chose the French chateau, Chenonceau, as my subject, but then realized I didn’t want to spend the time necessary to make a polished image of the bridge-like palace. I […]
Tagged architecture, oil, pastelDay two hundred and seventy-one: Today’s sketch is based on a photograph I took of a marble sculpture at the Rodin Museum in Paris several years ago. I’ve always liked the way the natural light from the museum’s windows fell on the contours of the nude woman’s body and created her form in black and […]
Tagged figure study, pastel, pencil, sculptureDay two hundred and seventy: Costa Rica photos are a great source of subject matter. I looked at several in my travel stash before I selected one of an osprey launching from a bare branch. A very lucky snap of the shutter! As I studied each candidate (a landscape, a great heron, a mangrove swallow) […]
Tagged bird, nature, pastel, pencilDay two hundred and sixty-nine: This afternoon I was showing photographs by Philadelphia photographer Ray Metzker to a curator from another museum. Many were spectacular, but one caught my eye in particular. It captured the silhouette of a pedestrian and his reflection in wet pavement. Today’s sketch was inspired by that photograph, although the composition […]
Tagged figure study, oil, pastelDay two hundred and sixty-eight: Oh yes, my friends, we’ve been here before! My same favorite beach, looking in the same direction, but on a very different, hazy morning. Using pastels, I thought I was finished several times while I was working, however, repeatedly found myself returning to the picture, continuing to layer and blend […]
Tagged landscape, pastelDay two hundred and sixty-seven: On my way home from the the Undine Barge Club’s Captain’s dinner, I was walking on the bike path along the river. I noticed the repetitive arches of this stone bridge, and the shadows created by nearby street lamps. I decided then and there that it would be the subject […]
Tagged architecture, landscape, pencilDay two hundred and sixty-six: I showed dozens of modern prints in the study room today: this morning, Mexican, and in the afternoon Expressionist, mostly German. This sketch is an amalgam of the latter, I think, apparently brewed in of my subconscious mind to be poured out through the Wacom Bamboo. My title, Nachtdame, meaning […]
Tagged art on art, figure studyDay two hundred and sixty-five: My struggles with the clouds in yesterday’s pastel sketch, inspired me to try a close up of some of them. As I hoped, by zooming in I was able to more thoughtfully and carefully explore layering and blending the colors. I claim progress, not perfection, yet I am pleased to […]
Tagged nature, pastel, skyDay two hundred and sixty-four: Unsure what to draw, I found a photo I took in Maine of a sunset over pine trees on Burnt Coat Island at Phippsburg. I thought that pastels might be a good way to capture the phenomenal play of color and light in the wispy puff and streaks of clouds, […]
Tagged landscape, pastel