Day two hundred and ninety-four: After picking a subject for my sketch today, I opened the Corel Painter program, and I don’t know what setting I accidentally hit, but when I started applying color to the canvas, a strange cluster of roses appeared. I decided they were meant to be, and drew my picture of […]
Tagged face, figure study, pastelDay two hundred and ninety-three: Caprica has almost entirely regrown his primary wing feathers (an annual event), and after bragging at work about how beautiful they are, I thought perhaps I should make a quick sketch before they have to be trimmed. I love the turquoise color, and after they’re cut it’s hard to see […]
Tagged bird, pastelDay two hundred and ninety-two: This evening I was compelled to open up some windows in my apartment, and enjoy the sound and fresh air of an Autumn rain. I found the view looking down the street named Waverly to be particularly lovely. This pastel sketch attempts to capture the quiet melancholy inspired by the […]
Tagged cityscape, pastelDay two hundred and ninety-one: This afternoon I looked at the Rembrandt print from which I made yesterday’s sketch under a microscope. With the help of a few terrific paper conservators, we confirmed what I suspected: the print shows the effects of drypoint burr. Drypoint uses a sharp point to scratch the lines directly into […]
Tagged animal, oil, pastel, Rembrandt, watercolorDay two hundred and ninety: I spent a lot of time looking at impressions of Rembrandt prints today, seeking out particularly nice ones. One I had never seen before included a bearded man with a floppy brim hat. Close inspection showed that the shadow from the brim on the man’s face was made mostly with […]
Day two hundred and eighty-nine: Before I went to back to school to get an MA in Art History, I used to visit art museums, and whenever possible, take pictures. I was fascinated by the ways in which the art was installed and displayed, and I wanted to someday put together exhibitions of great art […]
Day two hundred and eighty-eight: What a great day! After shopping at the market in Rittenhouse Square, my colleague and friend, Samantha, came over and we made butternut squash ravioli from scratch. It was a lot of work, but when we finished, and coated the ravioli in browned-butter sage sauce, it was truly delicious. Today’s […]
Tagged food, oil, pastel, still lifeDay two hundred and eighty-seven: I generally try to keep a positive attitude about my sketches, but I must admit I’m less than delighted with the last couple of figure studies. So I decided to take a little break from that, and dabble again with watercolor. I’m quite pleased with the sky in this landscape, […]
Tagged landscape, watercolorDay two hundred and eighty-six: Quite simple: more drafting practice, playing with pen and wash to improve my draftsmanship. Like yesterday, sculpture seems to serves as a good model. This Roman woman hails from the archeological museum in Naples. I added pupils to the eyes, because while the sculpture looks fine with a blank stare, […]
Tagged figure study, pen and ink, watercolorDay two hundred and eighty-five: I decided today that with only 80 sketches left, I might want to do less copying of the work of master draftsmen, and more creating of my own. Early in the year, I toyed with the idea of learning how to draw human figures well, but I never really sorted […]
Tagged chalk, figure study, pen and ink, watercolor