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{ Tag Archives } oil

Eros in volo

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 […]

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face off: Picasso vs. Epiktetos

Day 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), […]

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Le Poulpe

Day 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 […]

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30th Street Station

Day two hundred and twenty-six: The neo-classical building of the 30th Street Station is one of the visual highlights (as is the building of the Museum of Art) along the Schuylkill River Trail, which I use when I ride my bike to work. Today’s sketch is a study of the train station from across the […]

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hot peppers

Day two hundred and twenty-five: Yep, it’s Saturday, which means fruit and vegetable shopping at the Rittenhouse Square farmer’s market. Last week I bought a 50 cent jalapeño pepper — like the green one here — and every day I chopped up a slice or two of it to heat my salads a bit. This […]

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strange encounter

Day two hundred and twenty-four: Just as I sat down for lunch today on the patio at work, an extraordinary and wonderful thing happened: a praying mantis landed on my back and crawled up onto my shoulder. You should have seen the face of my friend, Samantha, when it happened! Next it flew about and […]

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happy birthday

Day two hundred and twenty-three: August 11th is my birthday, and I had a wonderful time. No big party or special dinner, but I certainly didn’t mind. I got to do everything I love to do: work at my awesome job, eat my favorite lunch, bike around Philadelphia, and enjoy dinner and a TV show […]

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Sandy Beach Island of Foa, Ha’apai Group, Tonga

Day two hundred and nineteen: After I painted my favorite beach in Costa Rica the other day, my dad sent me a couple photos of his favorite beach in Tonga, where he and my mom are stationed as Peace Corps volunteers. This is a study of one of them. I particularly liked the deep grays […]

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sunrise at Corcovado, Costa Rica

Day two hundred and seventeen: After several days of black and white pencil sketches, when I pondered what I should draw today, the first thing that came to mind was COLOR. Then I remembered what I have been calling my favorite beach in the world: the stretch of sand between Carate and the Corcovado National […]

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Vigeland sculpture, Oslo, Norway

Day 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 […]

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