Day 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 — aside from the walking figure — is my own invention.
Tagged figure study, oil, pastel
Day 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 colors, adding details. In a way, creating this landscape became the next best thing to being there in person, and so I lingered, enjoying the view.
Tagged landscape, pastel
Day 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 of today’s sketch. It made a fun study, and a perfect way to conclude a delightful evening with fellow rowers.
Tagged architecture, landscape, pencil
Day 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 “night lady” was borrowed from a little lithograph by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880–1938), which looks nothing like this queen of the evening. Incidentally, this design was originally inspired by color, but in the end, I thought it worked better in black and white.
Tagged art on art, figure study
Day 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 feel like I’m improving.
Tagged nature, pastel, sky
Day 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, but I don’t think I’ve mastered the medium enough to layer and blend the colors to create a consistent result. Still, I’m glad I made the effort, because now I’m one step closer to figuring it out.
Tagged landscape, pastel
Day two hundred and sixty-three: I wasn’t satisfied with Adam’s head in yesterday’s sketch, and so I tried a closer study of the profile from Dürer’s masterpiece. One of my favorite things about the entire engraving is how much Adam and Eve look like statues of Greek deities, perhaps Apollo and Venus. Of course, the snake and the apple give away the biblical narrative, but by zooming up in this drawing, I think the classical male head becomes very apparent. I must learn to draw classical hair, however. It’s very tedious, which is why this part is incomplete. Quick sketches of curly Greek-god hair like this can look like a sloppy mass of squiggles, if I’m not careful.
Tagged classicism, Dürer, face, pencil
Day two hundred and sixty-two: Some of my favorites themes that have emerged over the course of the last 261 drawings include parrots, original prints, and classicism. This sketch incorporates a little of all three. It was inspired by a 1504 engraving of Adam and Eve made by German printmaker, Albrecht Dürer. Made between Dürer’s two trips to Venice, his Adam embodies the Greek and Roman ideals being explored by artists of the Italian Renaissance (feebly reproduced here). What my study doesn’t demonstrate is his intensely Northern attention to detail, and the remarkable density of his engraved lines. I love the parrot, just because, and like to pretend it’s Caprica (even though it’s too big to be a green-cheeked conure).
Tagged art on art, bird, Dürer, face, figure study, parrot, pencil
Day two hundred and sixty-one: I joined the Undine Barge Club this week, so I can row regularly. This very rapid sketch is Undine’s boathouse, based on a very old photo I saw hanging in the stairway. The building was designed by notable modern architect, Frank Furness, and was built in 1882. It looks about the same today, except now it is crowded on either side with other clubhouses on boathouse row. I colored the Schuylkill River blue, because the ancient photograph seems to have been hand tinted, although only the blue remains today. Maybe someday I’ll make a more complete sketch of the boathouse, but I’m so tired from rowing all weekend, I’m too tired to try any more than this.
Tagged architecture, pencil, water
Day two hundred and sixty: I found myself in a pastel mood today, and wanting to play with the rich chalky layers that I began experimenting with a couple of weeks ago. Turning to my photographs to find a suitable subject, I expected to choose a colorful sunset or ocean scene. Instead I was drawn to a photo I snapped years ago as a passenger in a car, traveling during a dark, stormy afternoon. The highway was filled with cold rain and fog, which had a remarkable, hazy effect, especially on the lights of cars and trucks. The original photograph had dozens of vehicles, but I decided to simply the scene for sake of time, and only include three.
Tagged landscape, pastel