Day two hundred and thirty-two: Designed to continue exploring a classical theme, and to practice line drawing, tonight’s sketch is based on an ancient figure of Eros in flight. The original can be found on an Athenian vase from around 480 BCE, painted by an anonymous craftsman known today as the “Dresden painter.” The vase […]
Also tagged ancient, figure study, oilDay two hundred and thirty-one: If Picasso has a “blue period” and a “rose period” then I must be in a “Picasso period.” I guess this is the result of looking at nothing but Picasso prints all day. I noticed the figure on the left in an etching by Picasso titled La Danse (The Dance), […]
Also tagged ancient, face, figure study, oil, picassoDay two hundred and thirty: Today’s sketch is based on a lithography by Picasso that I admired this morning, but I’m afraid that aside from general areas of light and dark, my version doesn’t look much like the original. Picasso’s is beautifully printed and looks like a rich soft pencil drawing with thick, carefully placed […]
Also tagged face, pencil, picassoDay two hundred and twenty-eight: Continuing to catalog Picasso prints, I was working all day on a portfolio of animals he made in aquatint and drypoint in 1936. The series was made to illustrate an edition of the 18th-century French classic, L’Histoire Naturelle (Natural History) by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, and published in Paris […]
Also tagged animal, oil, pencilDay two hundred and twenty-one: The general rules of those making daily drawings, state that the they can be anything, even just a scribble or line, as long as it gets done. I usually do much more than that, but tonight I got a later start than usual. More ready for bed than a drawing […]
Also tagged animal, pencilDay two hundred and eleven: In some ways it doesn’t really matter what the subject of the daily sketch may be: it’s can be very peaceful and relaxing to simply figure out how to represent something with line, light, dark, or color, as it flows spontaneously. Tonight I found a photo that I took a […]
Also tagged oil, pencil, sculpture, woodcutDay two hundred and seven: A colleague at work showed me a book with pictures mimicking heads designed by the 17th-century French academy artist Charles le Brun. The original illustrations were made to demonstrate “Heads Representing the Various Passions of the Soul as They are Expressed in the Human Countenance.” I couldn’t resist making snapshots […]
Also tagged face, pencilDay two hundred and three: My sketch today is based on an artwork that was based on an artwork. Confused? Abraham Blootling made four engraved prints of lions around 1665 for a series titled Variae Leonum Icones. Each sheet pictures two lions originally designed by Peter Paul Rubens. I’ve found six of them so far […]
Also tagged animal, pencilDay two hundred and one: Today I saw a drawing titled Haystacks by Vincent van Gogh. I am so accustomed to seeing his paintings, that I was surprised to see something clearly by his hand, but without the vibrant color. In the 1888 original, van Gogh used reed pen, quill and ink, over graphite. I […]
Also tagged landscapeDay two hundred: This morning I came across a beautiful drawing of a Sybil based on a color woodcut by the 16th-century printmaker Ugo da Carpi, which was in turn, based on a work by Raphael. The layers of green, black, and white on the page mimicked a chiaroscuro woodcut so well, I had to […]
Also tagged face, figure study, pencil