Book of Spirits #2

Some of my friends are donating their interesting bottles while others I will happily purchase for the sake of art (Tank). I have 5 pages left in my Stillman & Birn journal and then I'm going to really challenge the paper by doing the flip side.

Book of Spirits

The collection is growing......

Last Assignment

Here's the last of the assignments from the online acrylic workshop. I have to admit, I did learn a lot of different things from the artist, Robert Joyner. One being how much I enjoy using the acrylic paints and inks with some mixture of charcoal and crayons.  The second is how free and liberating it is to use the abstract style and putting into a 1:1 ratio against the more concrete, realistic style of painting. I think I'm still weighing in more with realistic than abstract but I can work on that some more. It was a fun workshop for me and I'm looking forward to the next one at the Strathmore Online Workshops link. In May it will be on Sketching and Drawing with Toned Paper. Check it out and sign up....it's free!

Sketching and Drawing with Toned Paper

Roller Derby is making a ripple of a comeback. It's been struggling for the past few years. I went to a meet 5 years ago right in town at an old roller rink. They did have the sloped track and the skaters were able to get up to some fast speeds. Those two teams disappeared and never came back. Now I'm hearing some action is happening on the East coast and also on flat tracks. I don't know how the two tracks compare but having a skater get thrown half way over the rails would be missing on the flats.

 Getting Ready to Roll - Acrylic paint, acrylic ink, compressed charcoal. 12"x16"

Free Jammer -  Acrylic paint, acrylic ink, compressed charcoal. 12"x16"

Gone Fishing

I'm really getting into the loose style with the acrylic paints. The 3rd week of the workshop was to show reflections in water. I used a photo that I took a while ago at Dixon Lake of a fisherman out in one of the rented boats. Robert Joyner, the artist who is teaching this workshop, shows us to have a fairly even balance between abstract and actual to keep the painting interesting. I can't compare my results against his paintings but if I continue to practice at some point mine will get better. Until then, I'm having fun learning something new.

Robert Joyner

Robert Joyner

New Medium

Acrylics and a very loose form!

Both are with acrylic paints, acrylic inks, water color crayons, compresses charcoal on a 16x20" 500 series Strathmore mix media board.

Old Mill Tavern

Tavern by the rails in Rockaway, NJ.

Potbellys

Rockaway, NJ

Coney Island Beer

I'm having a good time with bottles.....especially when they're filled with something good to drink!

Weekend Van Gogh

I'm still having fun learning about Van Gogh,  copying his work and seeing how his style changed over the years with a lot of it depending upon his state of health. I have to say he's a very interesting character.   

I'm continuing using colored pencils as the medium of choice when I'm doing past artists work.  It's a much slower process than watercolors which allows me to appreciate the master's artwork even more so. I have a lot to learn about using these pencils, for instance I just found out about a blending pencil which should cut down some of the harsh lines. Anyway, I'm having a great experience and open to any suggestions too.

 And back to a water color....My oldest brother had requested a painting of this bottle so he could give it to his neighbor as a card for his upcoming birthday on the 19th.  I guess this is his favorite choice of drink. It gave me the idea of filling up my Stillman & Birn beta hardbound journal with nothing but bottles so maybe by the next to the last page I'll finally have more equal than slightly cockeyed sides to these bottles that is as long as I keep the bottles closed until the sketching has been completed.

The Art of Stealing

I'm reading a book that was recommended by someone in my internet circle called Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon. In the book the author hi-lights various ways to unlock your creativity. The first chapter is about how nothing is completely original and that all "...creative work builds on what came before". And with that piece of knowledge you are free from being stressed out about creating something original because everything is a "mashup" of a few ideas. Some people might be offended with the thought about their stuff not being original. For me though I always was afraid to copy others work for fear that the plagiarism police would come after me. But now I know that to develop my own style, I need to study from other artists that I like. So I've chosen a few artists that have always appealed to me and with the help of the local library, will learn about their lives, pour over their styles and copy some of their paintings. And in a sense I'll be developing my own style by the teachings of the best.

Here are the first two artists that I have chosen to mentor me in style, light and colors.

Last Three Days

Here's the last three day's of the 75 day sketching challenge. I can honestly say that I DID IT! It was fun but it wasn't easy either. I learned there are days that I don't feel like drawing and those days are very visible in those sketches too.  To do the drawings without the aid of a pencil or in my case, the eraser was at first very intimidating but after a week, I was able to loosen up some and enjoy my good as well as not so good lines and perspective. I'll definitely keep with a journal for this purpose, I just won't make it an every day requirement.
Thanks again goes to the artist who supports this challenge, Brenda Swenson. You can find the details here on her blog.... http://brendaswenson.blogspot.com/2011/07/75-day-sketch-challenge.html

I highly recommend doing the challenge. 

3 day mix

Three days here and only three days to go. I can't believe I'm going to finish the challenge that begun 2 and a half months ago. It reminds me of the saying that "time passes" anyway, there's no stopping it and I might as well be doing something productive so in the end I get a sense of accomplishment.

Berries, Sponges and Abe

Abe's face is from a jigsaw puzzle box top showing the art work of Stephen Fishwick. If you get a free minute, google the name and you'll see the unusual painting technique that Fishwick uses. I stuck with my ink fountain pen and water brush to do my rendition.

I See Flowers

I have to say that I'm having fun with this one picture of potted flowers. Maybe it's the colors from the window or the striped wall paper, there's something about the picture that is enticing me to keep drawing and painting the same.
My framed painting turned out okay until I realized that watercolors should not be displayed like an oil painting. One badly aimed shot from the water bottle (the dog barking deterrent) and I could end up with a much different painting. LOL. Another lesson learned. 

Three more days.....

The flower pot was good practice for a painting I'll be doing on the same. I'm experimenting with a sheet of watercolor paper stretched and stapled onto a frame.  I did the set up yesterday and today, with the paper dried I'll begin painting and see how it turns out. Since I can't be where I'd like to be, camping in the middle of a snowy somewhere watching the aurora borealis, I'll take a short flowery vacation into my creative zone.

Challenge Update

I'm getting very close to the end of this challenge found here and supported by artist Brenda Swenson......

http://brendaswenson.blogspot.com/2011/07/75-day-sketch-challenge.html

 

75 days is a long stretch but I'm finding out that using only ink to sketch out a drawing, even though my shapes are not perfect, I now have more confidence in my lines than I did 2 months ago when I began this challenge. 

The Perfect Place to Be.

Today was a all blue sky day with the temperature at perfect degrees. I found out the best place to spend some time sketching outdoors was at a local winery. Afterwards, sampling the product of the vineyard was an absolute necessity. We will return when the leaves are full on the vines for another sketch and more samples.

Half Way!

Actually, a little over half way through to the 75 day sketching challenge. YAY!

Just Add Water...

Cape Neddick - Nubble Lighthouse, Maine

After my one brother saw the lighthouse I did in water color class, he put in a special request for a painting done of the Nubble lighthouse that's located in Maine. He spent some time in the northeast area between collage and living in N.H. I hope he's going to like this painting.