Day three hundred and sixty-three: Although it doesn’t look much like him at all, this sketch is based on a photo of my Grandfather when he was in the Coast Guard around the time of WW2. My brother sent me some old family earlier this week, which reminded me of some others I had scanned […]
Also tagged figure study, oil, pastelDay three hundred and fifty-five: For those who have studied Surrealist photography, this image may be familiar. It’s a photograph made around 1930 by Man Ray of the movement’s leader André Breton. I’ve known about it for several years now, and have always found it strange and delightful. When I started sketching it this evening, […]
Also tagged abstract, art on art, oil, pastelDay three hundred and fifty-three: One thing I’ve learned this year is that I love making lots of vertical lines with a pencil. It’s especially satisfying for me at the end of a long day because it doesn’t really require much thought. My hand seems to naturally make the gesture, and I enjoy watching the […]
Also tagged abstract, pencilDay three hundred and forty-seven: One image that has come up a few times this year, rather spontaneously, is that of a face emerging from darkness. I don’t think any prior attempts at creating the image have been particularly effective. But now, near the end of the year, I think I’ve finally drawn enough faces […]
Also tagged oil, pastelDay three hundred and forty-four: I am repeatedly amazed when I make sketches after old masters. Their technique and skill is unbelievable. This detail is based on an etching by an unknown artist who was copying a print by Daniel Hopfer. I like the way my drawing ended up, with its peculiar, modern patterns and […]
Also tagged pencilDay three hundred and thirty: Last night of finger painting on the iPad before I’m back in Philly with my computer and the digital drawing pad. I started by playing with a strange brush setting in Sketchbook Pro that made the background look like granite. I thought about trying to make a face carved in […]
Also tagged iPadDay three hundred and twenty-five: About the time I put the digital pen to the pad, my good friend, Dana, called from Minneapolis. As we chatted, I started doodling away, and by the time I hung up, half the white space was filled in. The face and surrounding shapes I had drawn looked a little […]
Also tagged abstract, pencilDay three hundred and nineteen: Tonight I felt like playing with ink and wash in an old master style. So I found an 18th-century drawing in the Thrivent Financial Collection, and tried to imitate a small part of it. What you see here is the head and shoulders of Joseph, as drawn by the Venetian […]
Also tagged art on art, pen and ink, watercolorDay three hundred and eighteen: Since I usually work with prints, I guess I’ve tended to make sketches after them. There are, however, illuminated manuscripts in the collection at work, which date to a time before printing. At least in the West (the Chinese were using woodblocks for printing as early as the 9th century). […]
Also tagged art on art, gouacheDay three hundred and twelve: Today’s sketch is based on a detail in a mid-16th century drawing in the Thrivent Financial Collection. The artist or artists that made the drawing are essentially unknown, though it is generally in the style of Michelangelo. My sketch is not, however, as I used a pencil instead of ink, […]
Also tagged art on art, pencil