man4art

Anatomy Course Moved to Guelph Studio

2011-06-28T08:10:00.000-07:00

We didn't hit the magic number needed to run it at Seneca, but the course lives on out of my studio in Guelph.

Course outline remains the same: same great model Ed, same visit to University of Guelph Anatomy Labs Tuesday and a beautiful place to run it in - Guelph!

Contact me to enroll and for any details: werner@wernerzimmermann.ca

See you in Guelph!

Drawing Day June 22

2011-06-22T18:59:00.000-07:00

Ed's left knee remained for the most part in the same place; Ed pivoting from front to back over it.

Played around today with overlying sequences, and studies of the back and arms in an extreme pull. Compressed Charcoal on Arches 88 top and middle. Bottom 7B Stabilo pencil on Arches 88

Anatomy course July 4 - 8

2011-06-14T05:35:00.000-07:00

Arm studies June 8 2011

2011-06-09T07:37:00.001-07:00

15 x 26" 8B on mat board

Master class in Human Anatomy

2011-06-01T18:56:00.000-07:00

Here it is, finally posting. please pass it on to anyone in the arts or industry who you may feel would be interested in an intensive course in human anatomy.

for more info, please feel free to email me at werner.zimmermann@senecac.on.ca, werner@wernerzimmermann.ca or through this blog.

Master Class in Human Anatomy

July4 - 8 2011

Focus:

This course is designed to give the student an intensive overview of the muscles that move the figure, and thereby affect the form and give rise to expression.

Focus will be given to reading the body through landmarks and changes in form based on anatomical insight.

Fee: $599. CAN +HST

Prerequisite: previous life drawing experience at a mid to high level.

(Previous anatomy study or familiarity an asset but not prerequisite.)

Length of Course :5 days 32.5 hrs 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. (less1 hour break for lunch)

Course outline:

Monday July 4 - Day 1: Studio with model

overview of the body as form influenced by muscles

skeletal study and relationship to landmarks
muscle trains
planes and their origins
overview of muscles that move the major joints
Muscles of the waist, neck and face

Tuesday July 5 - Day 2:

Full day of study in the Gross Human Anatomy Labs at University of Guelph

(Participants will be responsible for their own transportation to the University of Guelph. Go Bus available from York University or Downtown terminal.)

Wednesday July 6 – Day 3: Studio with model

· Muscles that move the arm from shoulder to finger tips

Thursday July 7 – Day 4: Studio with Model

· Muscles that move the legs from pelvis to toes

Friday July 8 – Day 5: studio with model

· Review and overview of figure

· study of interrelated planes & landmark review

· form changes due to movement

Materials:

· Newsprint 18 x 24 pads for studio work

· Drawing pad 16 x 20 for anatomy lab

· High quality tracing paper

· Conte B & 2B

· pencils 2 4 8B, pencil crayons assorted colours

· Journal or notebook

Each student will be provided with a model skeleton in kit form for daily homework: application of muscles in plasticine.

Werner Zimmermann

is a life drawing instructor at Seneca College to animation students. He taught at Sheridan College in the Animation Program from 1986 to 2001. Zimmermann’s years of teaching and illustrating have given him a unique insight into relating life drawing and anatomy to the needs of animation and illustration. His classes are renowned for the level of information and skills he shares with his students and his teaching methods have been rated by students as outstanding.

Professionally he had been an exhibiting artist and an award winning children’s book author and illustrator.

To enroll: Werner@wernerzimmermann.ca

Arm Studies June 1

2011-06-01T14:52:00.001-07:00

One of today's studies: 7B pencil on 9.5 x 17 mat board

Arm studies

2011-05-30T20:29:00.001-07:00

Some level sequences from an arm sketch

Back to Anatomy

2011-05-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

For two weeks now my plans to have the amazing model Ed Cz, who many of you will know from Seneca and Sheridan fell through. First I screwed up my schedule and then Ed's starter wouldn't start and he was stuck on the shores of Huron (I can't blame him for wanting another day at his place out there).

Ed's been at my studio and home many times for hours of studies and has inspired some of my best works. This time I wanted to get ready for the Master Class at Seneca for the first week of July and Ed's the best model to prepare from. Not having him in person, I went back to the piles of studies I have done. There is a lot to be learned from returning to old studies, re-interpreting them, taking poses and rotating or changing expression. Even scribbles can be valuable in that they will make you question what you were trying to say, whether or not you got it across, and whether or not you even knew what you were doing.

I found some studies of the back. Of course any part of the body is fascinating, but the back in particular, with its subtle forms created by all the overlying muscles that in many ways are simply muscles of the arms fascinates me in particular. Arms proper, usually thought of as from the shoulder down, and legs are much easier to depict, but usually the back is avoided or rushed over by students. I myself found the back confusing and frustrating until I understood it from the bones up, skin last.

I threw some tracing paper over the study and began to search out the skeleton, when it struck me I hadn't been up to the Anatomy Labs at the University in a while. So that is where I found myself a few minutes later. Unfortunately for me and studying the back, Students from Humber were there working on the cadavers so I moved into a corner, was provided with some arms and spent a few happy hours studying and sketching.

I'm looking forward to the first week in July when I will be bringing my master class students to Guelph for a day at the lab.

Spring walk along the Speed

2011-04-23T20:13:00.000-07:00

Today was one of the first warm spring days in a while. I took a break from marking and joined my wife and our dog Pippa to walk down to the river. While Lori strolled I hung behind to draw this massive old tree that still grows along the river. Something about this huge trunk that seems to twist and lean like a some old but still very strong old person always captivates me when I walk by. It's probably over 100 years old and like many of the trees that once lined the river it may not be here long. I will miss it.

Lion's Head Studio Thoughts

2011-01-18T16:41:00.000-08:00

I’m writing this in the last minutes, maybe hours if I stretch it, of time in my studio in Lion’s Head. Outside it is dark but the squall off Georgian Bay is shaking branches of the huge old maples outside my windows, rattling a warning that the drive home won't be that easy, but because I teach tomorrow I really should leave tonight and not chance an early morning start. I know I would stay up too late working on the painting I started today and the morning would come dark and far too early. Yet it is so hard to leave. Downstairs logs are burning in the fireplace and the shelves are full of great books. It may sound idyllic and it is, but there are costs.

As I was throwing paint all over the large sheet of watercolour paper stretched on a board on my table I kept thinking how much art is subconscious calculation. We don’t think of it like math, and not being a math whiz I shouldn’t be comparing, but as I am playing with tonalities and contrasting colours in an intricate balance of luminosity and visual impact the thought kept going through my mind how calculating it really is. Part abandon and part focused rigid method, it is illusion making that is as taxing in thought as any science or task that is not considered creative in itself, even though we know all things are creative in their way.

My painting or my attempt is a response to the light that plays across the yard in the evenings when it filters through the ring of tall evergreens that border the yard. They are now tall enough that the lower branches are sparse and create a lattice of branches that is played against a very simple but almost iconic trellis that sits in a bed nor far in front of the trees. The trellis is not extravagant in any way, just a simple gate that gets lost in the frantic growth of flowers each summer, but in the winter stands like a marker of space and scale.

On the weekend I grabbed a piece of paper that had something already sketched out on the front and flipped it over to try to capture the light and patterns of blues, siennas and greens. Of course there is the full spectrum at play as well as tonalities and values so subtly balanced that they can and do drive me to distraction.

The question is how to take a relatively dull piece of paper and make it glow with the luminosity of the warm background against more luminosity of the snow both in shadow and in streaks of light.

And so both joy and frustration as countless brushes full of colour splashed across the paper, and now unfinished I must leave, for a few days, perhaps weeks. But it has been good to feel that joy of seeing something emerge from nothing and to play with the balance once more.

Tomorrow I will visit the AGO after class and head off to the floor with the group of 7 to marvel at how well they achieved it. And then I will try again.

unfinished start after 3hrs of play

Wunderkammer

2011-01-09T19:52:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I like to just wander past the art at the AGO and let it talk to me, sometimes call me to stop, other times just wave me by. A very quiet conversation with the walls. But one stop I feel I must always make is to see the small study of knees by Michelangelo in a room shared by Ruben's studies from his Rome visit as a student. I know it is not a major work but there is something that speaks quietly from those lines. I love to listen to them.
In the rooms prior to the Michelangelo and Rubens are the magnificent carvings in ivory and wood. I love to pause there and wonder at the knowledge and control of those craftsmen.

The idea of Wunderkammer has always intrigued me. Here is mine if only for an interim.

Increible Day of Bouffon - Philippe Gaulier

2011-01-07T18:33:00.000-08:00

the insane hairdresser

dwarf Varrick

Life gives its gifts in unexpected packets. Today's packet was thanks to our son Justin who had been participating in a Bouffon Workshop given by Philippe Gaulier at the Canadian Stage in Toronto. We were allowed to attend the last day of classes and it was a treat visually as well as provoking thought through the art of Bouffon. Magical.

fascinating trio I will develope further

characters I assume from the swamps of medieval Paris

most had arms tied off into stumps

The Master Philippe Gaulier

Bouffon Info on Wikipedia

Drawing

2011-01-01T07:40:00.000-08:00

Draw lines, young man, draw lines; whether from memory or after nature. Then you will be a good artist.

J.A.D.Ingres”

No longer a young man or as good an artist as I would wish, it is how I started the year.

Yesterday, when my son visited with his daughter I took the opportunity to do a few sketches as he watched a movie. At first she slept in his arms, then awakened by the sound, became as captivated as he by the images moving before them. For her I’m sure they were just a swirl of colours and shapes, or perhaps something I am not even aware of, but for a moment her mind wished to absorb it all. In the same way I too was trying to absorb the swirl of shapes and forms in front of me, and to capture not only the physical, but also the moment that absorbed my attention and my heart. For me, that is drawing.

A few thoughts on drawing:

The quote at the top was taken from The Primacy of Drawing. It’s a large volume, a beautiful book I received from my wife this Christmas written by Deanna Petherbridge. From the scanning of the pages and the excerpts I’ve read so far it is probably the best book on drawing I have yet come across. I say this because Ms. Petherbridge no only has a great knowledge of drawing from the historical and museological side (should there be a word as such) but also is an accomplished artist and thus looks at drawing and the process behind it from the eyes and hands of an artist. To that I should add the heart too.

For me drawing has always been my greatest love. The magic that a line is capable of is of never ending fascination to me; and one of never ending challenge.

I teach figure drawing at a college in an animation program. When animation was hand drawn in the traditional,or classical way, it seemed obvious that skills in drawing were necessary. When computer animation came on, many foolishly predicted the end of the need for teaching drawing, much in the same way figure drawing had fallen out of favour in the University system.

I found it frustrating to express my concern for this attitude because I felt the reasons for drawing were deeper than just making an image. I felt there was a process in drawing that challenged the intellect, the faculties of observation and perception, and even of understanding.

äPerhaps they are all the same or very similar, for in that swirl of the moment where an eye is hit by the light reflecting from an image, where sensations go to the brain and the mind discerns elements both recognizable or new, filters them through prior experiences and emotions, or struggles to keep them fresh and untainted, and finally sends the appropriate impulses to a complex mass of muscles surrounding a structure of bone grasping a tool of relative simplicity or connected to the most intricate electronic devices and creates a mark or a series of interconnected dots that somehow communicate an idea or an impression to another human being and ends up telling a story: a drawing is born.

To me drawing is a matter of the eye, the hand, the head, and the heart and each playing its particular part in that magic that is drawing.

Happy Drawing to everyone!

The Primacy of Drawing by Deanna Petherbridge

Some Blogs I encourage you to visit - excellent artists each.

Daniela Strijleva http://danielastrijleva.blogspot.com/

James Robertson http://theironscythe.blogspot.com/

Dave Pimentel http://drawingsfromamexican.blogspot.com/

Vivienne sketches

2010-11-11T07:50:00.001-08:00

My granddaughter is a pure delight to watch and to draw. Sadly I don't do that enough. The other evening we visited, this time with sketchbook. First sketch she was asleep and I was so focused on her head (fascinated by what must be going on in there I guess) that I failed to take into account her tiny hands which I ended up drawing in after. So much for good composition! The second was a quick sketch when she woke and before we left. She is absolutely attentive to everything around her, which I know is not unusual but fascinating to watch never the less. Family commented that I made her look like an old man but to me I think that I caught that gaze of wonder. Must do this much more often.

Sometimes we just gotta play!

2010-10-29T08:53:00.001-07:00

I have a ton of work from both school and studio, and yet sometimes it is just fun to play. So still in my robe this morning I decided to sketch out a doodle of a house, throw it into photoshop and see what happened. The result: this year's Halloween card. Enjoy and have a great Hallowe'en wherever you frighteningly be!

Bad Day Drawing Technique

2010-10-06T19:03:00.000-07:00

This comes from an email I wrote to a student of mine in first semester who's greatest difficulty is not knowing where and how to start a drawing. There are many approaches and this is but one, but it is one I have used with students for many years now. I use it myself in varying degrees, especially on those days when I hardly want to draw or just don't feel up to it. I call this Bad Day Drawing Technique.

Beginners are often overwhelmed by the complexity of what they face in the figure or anatomy. Even with eyes wide open, the mind shuts them to true observation and what essentially happens is that one is no longer observing or truly seeing, rather just looking.

If this is the case I suggest you follow these steps:

1 - take a moment to look and absorb what you are looking at.

There is no race or rush to hit the paper. I would rather see 20 sec of observation and 10 of drawing during a gesture than 30 sec of scribbling while madly dashing off in all directions hoping to hit something of which you have no idea what it is.

2 - get a feel for the gesture and reduce it to as few lines as possible.

Gesture is the feeling of the flow of the pose, the impression it gives of the attitude it projects. Start at the feet and grow it upwards or outwards. Don't just think of what it is doing statically: ie standing, sitting, laying down, rather of the feeling it projects / the emotion however subtle: fear, defiance, sadness, etc...emotions we call 'attitude'

3- mark or break down the proportions

Proportions are just relationships. Whether they are shape, or length or forms, they are just comparisons of one part to another to the whole. But you have to ask the questions to get the answers. In the beginning it may seem to pause your drawing, but it is necessary. If you were traveling through unknown terrain you would pause to ask yourself which way to go otherwise you would rush off in wrong directions. Same thing for drawing. you must stop and ask. No questions asked, no answers given, and the drawing is simply the visual answers to the questions you pose.

4- position the boxes

this requires a few things:

-that you are aware of the proportions of the boxes in the way they relate to the the parts they represent. If you are not aware or care it won't be right.

-you are aware of which way the planes (surfaces) are directed.

-you can actually draw and keep the proportions of the boxes consistent as they move through space.

5- Sketch in the skeleton

- if there is little time note first the places where the skeleton influence the surface (landmarks and joints). This of course requires a good understanding of the skeleton, attained only through repeated drawing studies.

6 - Pull the skin over the skeleton.

I suggest you work on each stage until you are confident with that one before moving to the next.

My experience has shown that this works. With dedication and perseverance I have seen some initially very weak students progress to high levels.

It's up to you.

Nanaimo Poster

2010-09-12T13:51:00.000-07:00

Nanaimo B.C. has been the home of an exceptional childrens' book festival for over 20 years. I've been privileged to be a part of it many times and have numerous fond memories of those visits. When Robin Muller approached me to be part of a poster to celebrate the festival I was both pleased and apprehensive. The poster will be comprised of small images that represent what the festival has meant to us as presenters. With so many memories of children's laughter, festival hospitality, beautiful B.C. scenery and the chance to meet so many of Canada's top authors and illustrators, the task seemed daunting.

In the end I chose to represent a child buried in a book placed against the evening sky with a B.C. ferry and distant island glowing in in the setting sun's light. The place would be one of the original organizers of the festival, book store owner Thora Howell's lovely house and property on Protection Island. At the end of the Festival, Thora and friends would throw a lovely dinner for all the organizers and participants of the day's festival, and often we would sit and eat and talk as the sun set casting it's glow across the Georgia Straits against Gabriola Island. Just as often a ferry would pass by, glowing in the sun too. Just as a book takes you away, so does a ferry and for me it was in the end the perfect combination of what the festival was about and the memories it carried long afterward.

I'm happy to say this painting along with the others will auctioned next year to help fund future festivals.

Note: due to timing and space limitations the image is not longer part of the poster.

Bone Room Study

2010-08-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

Visited the 'Bone Rooms' at the University of Guelph yesterday to do some studies. Who would have thought a beaver could look this good.

First drawing of my new granddaughter

2010-07-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

This evening was my first chance to draw my new granddaughter. A wonderful experience.

Tonight's figure drawing

2010-07-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Joined the group over in Eden Mills for some drawing tonight. Took a pad of Borden & Ridley's bleedproof 14 x 17 inch paper for pens with a couple of 7B pencils. This was the last of three drawings for the night. Feels good to be drawing, only wish it had been looser.

Arm studies continued

2010-05-18T20:22:00.000-07:00

This summer I will be giving two anatomy workshops at Seneca. The 7 week will be a master class in human anatomy with the focus on sequential movements. Here are some studies in preparation.

For more info on the courses: http://sca.senecac.on.ca/portal/aac_workshops/ .

Studies of Ed from today

2010-05-10T20:20:00.000-07:00

Had Ed CZ over today for some studies of arm rotations. We all have good days and some not so good. Today I struggled with proportion, losing sight of relationships. These were the best of many frustrations. Too many weeks with no intense drawing has its toll. My intention is now to work back through the skin, through the muscles to the bone. I will post as I go.

More Lion skull studies

2010-05-05T09:42:00.000-07:00

pencil, ink, conte and watercolour on ingres

Montreal MFA & Bone Room Guelph

2010-05-03T20:11:00.000-07:00

I was in Montreal this weekend with regrettably little time to draw outside rough sketches of the architecture in Old Montreal during an early morning walk. Got a few minutes before closing in the Beaux Arts and had a moment to sketch this dragon from a painting by an Italian artist from the 17th century. I loved the way he made the belly feel as awful as that of a fat lizard or fish, and how he made the dragon's head different from what I'd seen before. Never got around to seeing my favorite Rodin before closing.

Today I spend a few hours a the Bone Rooms at the Vet College here in Guelph doing studies of a massive lion skull. I was amazed at the size of this animal's temporalis; his biting muscle. Absolutely huge. And I was equally surprised by the relatively small size of the brain. Pure hunter with only one way of thinking: the hunt. Hate to be the prey.

Tofino sketch

2010-04-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places in Canada is Tofino. I came across this sketch this evening and thought I would post it.

dragon from Dino

2010-04-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

after that last entry today I started wondering what a dragon based on one of the dinos would look like. After a few minutes with photoshop this is what I came up with. It's pretty messy but fun anyway.

Dinos a the ROM

2010-04-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

Fascinating in the way so much is similar to what we see now, and only a few million years apart. Wish I could be there for weeks, first study drawing what I see, then playing with it. Don't know why bones fascinate me so much?

conte on 18x24" newsprint

Armour at the ROM

2010-04-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

My first semester students along with their other instructor Todd Sullivan and I spent the afternoon at the Royal Ontario Museum. It started with Dino's but for me ended at the armour display. Fun just drawing those elaborate cans men wrapped themselves in to do battle or just look tough. Can't help but think of the incredible skill of the craftsmen. Also can't help but see the similarities to the dryer pipes in my basement!

figure studies with a soccer ball

2010-03-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

On the Opinicon Road

2010-03-12T16:32:00.000-08:00

I was visiting Smiths Falls this week and on the way home from friends who live on the Rideau Canal at beautiful Chaffey's Locks I stopped to sketch a quick watercolour of an island I've passed before. Not satisfied with the results I played with it in Photoshop and volia: not what I saw but how it felt.

Things I think you need for animation.

2010-03-02T09:20:00.001-08:00

I'm putting this entry into both my book and art blog because I get asked this often and I think it is important. I met a young lady, one of the winners of the Toronto Library Book Mark Awards last week. She wrote to me regarding what is needed to get in to animation. Her goal is Sheridan, and although I no longer teach there I think this applies to any other college or animation school.

My letter:

Dear Edith,

Thank you for your email. It was a pleasure to meet you at the awards ceremony. Congratulations once again.

In regard to your question about entry to Sheridan (or any other college) and to particular courses you need in high school for entry your guidance (if they are still called that) people at school would know that best. As to what would be valuable for animation I strongly suggest you get as much good drawing in as possible. Many schools offer a lot of digital studies, but since computer programs change so rapidly it is not the program that matters but the principles of good art behind them: design, observation, basic drawing skills with pencil and conte, and colour studies.

I suggest you do things such as watch your favorite animated shows in b/w without any colour or sound. Watch how they use design to keep your eye in the picture and not off to the fridge or phone. Learn to draw what you see as much as what you imagine. Learn structure through skeletons. Draw from life and not from pictures. Go to the ROM or any museum and draw animals. Go to the zoo or a farm and draw them live. Or draw your pet. Go to the AGO and discover how artists 'animated' their work through time and how they keep your attention in the picture. Draw boxes spinning through space. Learn perspective. Sculpt. Paint real and abstract: all realism is based on abstract principles, and all abstraction is based on reality.

That should give you lots to do while getting the requisite courses together. I think you would be a prime candidate if you can do it all. And oh yes, read books - to fill your head with ideas and see the world through other eyes.

Finally- learn to write a good letter. You will need it.

Good luck and keep in touch.

Werner

Dear Readers: correct me if I am wrong or if you have other suggestions.

Group of 7 day

2010-02-23T08:50:00.000-08:00

After a very poor showing of snow this winter we finally got a bit of a blast of white stuff, enough to make the trees outside my window look like a painting from the Group of 7. It's somewhat fitting in that I am reading a fascinating little book "A Painter's Country", the autobiography of A.Y. Jackson. Jackson was one of the founders of the Group and though I knew his paintings I confess I knew little about him as a painter or simply person. I highly recommend this book if you can find it or get it from a library (my copy is a used paperback from the '60's); it is one I can hardly put down.

And so to wake up this morning and see the pines and spruces outside my window as were they painted by A.Y. or his colleagues makes me feel like I fell into and woke inside the book. A very pleasant feeling indeed.

Tofino Long Beach 06 / 10

2010-02-17T15:50:00.000-08:00

With the games on in Vancouver, my thoughts go a bit further out the coast to the other side of Vancouver Island, to Tofino and Long Beach. I've been fortunate to get out there many times over the years, the last being 06 when I did this sketch of a sunlit log on Long Beach. I wasn't satisfied with it and it remained in a pile of papers until today when after an email from a friend out on the island I came across it again. With nothing to lose except perhaps the memory I threw paint all over it trying to get the feeling of the day when the sky would break open and shafts of sunlight would hit parts of the beach. So what started on the beach in 06 got finished in snowy Guelph in 10. Not bad. I've been slower. (so now I want to get back out there!)

River walk today

2010-02-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those glorious winter days with brilliant sky and luminous shadows that makes you love winter. As I walked our dog along the banks of the Speed River here in town this morning I was captivated by the beauty of the shadows under the pines; the way the colour changes from cold to warm blues as shadows pass under the trees to the open fields beyond; and how the water, where it still flows openly in the place where the Speed meets the Eramosa it has an elusive darkness in a colour that still eludes me.

When I got home I took some scrap strips of watercolour paper and played.

Bernini at the AGO - pencil studies

2010-02-11T10:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday at the AGO my fascination once again with Bernini's crucifixion. It's not the religiousness of it, rather the poetry of his form.

Puppet Tree

2010-01-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

When my kids were young we had a pole hanging from the ceiling with puppets and hats all over it. I came across a sketch and once again had fun in photoshop. It's like watercolour with lots of room to play and make changes. Doesn't replace watercolour, just adds another avenue of fun.

The sketch:

Thinking arctic

2010-01-14T12:36:00.000-08:00

We seem to have a January thaw happening and since I love snow my mind goes north. I came across a sketch done years ago outside Povungnituk (as it was known then) and played with it in photoshop.

More studies of my cat

2010-01-13T20:20:00.000-08:00

Cat on my desk

2010-01-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

Cat on my desk as I work. Comforting.

2010-01-08T12:53:00.000-08:00

So, after not getting anywhere with my work I decided to go for a walk and get fresh air. Then what do I do?... I look out my doors, see the shadows on the snow and the urn peeking out behind the beds and there goes the walk! But at least I have the sketch. Now, if I can still get out the door, there is still some light by the river....

2010-01-08T08:32:00.000-08:00

Happy January Everyone. With Christmas Survival days out of the way it is back to work. I make a point of starting each year with a visit to a gallery or museum and this year it was the AGO. My spots to hit: the Berninis, the Van Dyke, Sargent, the mini carvings and the boats. This year I did it with Dr. Rick Pottruff who followed the AGO visit with a part of his 'Strange City Tour: Toronto' in which he reveals, just as in NYC a part of the city and galleries previously unknown (at least to me).

School starts next week and with the talk of Strike it makes me sick to think of what this is going to do to students.In 2010 there should be a better way than confrontation. But perhaps that is becoming more and more the way of the world.

On that note, and because I truly do love January and winter I leave you with this: a card I did for my niece.

two drawings from recent classes

2009-12-19T08:47:00.000-08:00

Maybe because I just finished marking last semester's portfolios last night, or maybe simply because I like how these two drawings, as rough as they are, turned out, one by chance composition during quick gestures, and the other inspired but he chance pose of the two models, I decided to post them. Haven't thought of captions...I'll let the viewer decide. Hopefully with the Christmas season beginning now that school is done, my work will be a bit more festive from here on. That seems harder each year with the way the world seems to be going deeper into the dark and warmer as it gets there. Got to cheer up! Lovely doves outside my doors. Maybe I'll work on that.

today's drawing: Katrina

2009-11-21T14:49:00.000-08:00

Spent the day with sculpture but took a bit of time for some sketching of Katrina, daughter of some friends.

While I sketched she watched 'UP' with our cat in her lap. I have to admit, even though I was thoroughly enjoying the sketching, it was hard not to watch too. UP is such an amazing piece.

Cat & fate?

2009-11-20T10:03:00.000-08:00

I have a cat named MOUSE who is very elegant with a haughty look of disdain on all that is around him. Sort of regal and aloof. Next door my son has a cat named MEETCH who is the polar opposite. Meetch is twice Mouse's size, soft as a pillow and with the biggest eyes that one could assemble on a cat. His look is that of perpetual awe. I sketched this for my niece Natalie simply because I hit the tab on Sketchbook Pro and figured why waste the screen and it was time I sent her something.

This sketch is however one arising from the guilt of not getting out and walking as I should. I once passed a group of mall-walkers awaiting the opening of the mall. With something akin to a cold chill I thought "would that someday be me?" Luckily that will never never never happen but I still remember those faces and last evening, once again with the accidental screen of sketchbook in front of me (its on my menu bar) I started to doodle these guys. Aliens I say!

Sketches from the day

2009-11-18T21:29:00.000-08:00

pencil and watercolour on copy paper.

Fragonard at the Louvre and other small treasures

2009-11-12T19:35:00.000-08:00

My day at the Louvre started with the thrill of finally being there, only to find that nowhere were there drawings to be found. All had been removed for a show of drawings that was to begin the day we were departing. For the rest of the day I wandered the myriad of galleries spending time with not only many of the greats of the art world but small treasures tucked into sometimes larger boring paintings. But favorites were pieces like this small Fragonard, a painter in court of Louis XV. There is a wonderful exuberance in his brush stroke and a sense of pure pleasure in painting in his work.

I enjoyed this piece, a study of hands, and had a chuckle because it reminded me of a beautiful study by Gordon Janikowski, a student at Seneca, and a piece that still hangs in the hallway there.

This hand in the lower reaches of a portrait captivated me for its subtle beauty of form and modelling.

On the lower edge of a very large and pompous and quite boring painting by I believe Boucher I was enchanted but this parrot. I'm sure art historians would find significance elsewhere in the painting, but I found a refreshing life in this detail.

I couldn't wait for the lady to move ( I guess she was as fascinated by this work as I ) before taking the picture. The legs in particular in this work were amazing, and somewhat reminded me of Dali's treatment of the legs in his stunning painting 'St John of the Cross'. If you have seen that work, of St. John suspended before a cross of cubes with Dali's wife gazing up from below, you would agree.

Even the greats do their studies: these by Ingres of hands. Beautiful in real life. Sorry for the shake.

Today after my class I hung around to hear Rick Pottruff lecture about the feet and legs, and about the poetry and grace of lines that follow the form of the anatomy. These are the legs of one of Michelangelo's Dying Slaves sculptures. I didn't realize they were in the Louvre, and werer another lovely surprise as I wandered. I could have spent a lot of time just absorbing the beauty of his work but it was closing time and they were beginning to usher us out.

A lush Boucher. They had fun with their paint...rich and luxurious.

And finally my own little study of the Fragonard, since it was such a lovely surprise to meet it unexpectedly and the only way to really absorb is to draw.

Studies from the Musee Rodin, Paris

2009-11-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

A piece I had only seen in pictures, I am Beautiful captivated me even more in real life (as of course could be expected but when confronted in real life, the impact seems even greater than I would have thought). Situated in a corner by a busy door, it did not allow for much uninterrupted contemplation or study from as many angles as I would have wished, but I was able to do some quick pen studies from a spot mostly out of the way of the circulating crowds.

The museum of his work is a beautiful building with grounds that again were unexpected despite what I had read in advance. But most astounding to me was the work inside. I can't pretend to have ever been a great admirer of Rodin. It is only lately that I have been drawn more and more to the outer power and inner grace of his work. Had I had more time I would have visited the joint Rodin Matisse exhibition where I would have no doubt seen many drawings by both, but I couldn't pull myself away from the sculptures. I'm sure I missed out on an impressive show of both masters together, but one can only do so much if one really wishes to absorb and not just see.

Royal Winter Fair 2009

2009-11-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

Some of the sketches from today.

Body Worlds

2009-11-09T18:44:00.001-08:00

Went with a few of my Seneca Digital Animation students to Body Worlds at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto today. This is my first visit to this show and probably won't be my last given there is so much to learn despite the spectacle feel of the place and my disgust at the way they will not allow you to re-enter the exhibit unless of course you are in dire need of the washrooms. It's utterly rediculous if this is an educational venue that one is not allowed to take a break and return. Last time we visited we had to get PRESS passes to be able to draw....another absurdity. This time they did come around and ask if we had permission. I assumed we did. Again, if this educational then one should be allowed notes and sketches. But at least it is here and we can get some insight into the muscles as they lie over and intersect throughout the body. Enought grumbling....here are my sketches.

Tomorrow it is off to the Royal Winter Fair.

It's been a while since I posted...a whole summer. It wasn't without drawing or painting although not as much as I wish, but only myself to blame for that.

My garden in Lion's Head provided me with endless facination of the colours and particularly the green of the plants and the trees. Here's one of the summer sketches:

a day in class

2009-08-07T12:40:00.000-07:00

over the years of teaching I've been portrayed many ways by my students, most of them amusing and quite good (the drawing quality that is...as for depictions of me not always flattering, but that's ok, I get a chuckle out of them all.)

I came across this one today searching for another file and thought I would post it. Regretably I didn't not the creator's name in the file. Please email if it's yours or you know who did it.

Ollie Merlo did this one the other day when he witnessed one particularly frustrating day. thankfully they are not always like that.

Playing with photoshop

2009-05-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

I've been busy creating images for a Summer Reading program that will be part of libraries all across Canada this summer. Part of it will be a web game. These are some of the elements that I put together for the fun of it (one has to have some fun!) even though I am sure the game will look quite differently. I'm almost done and then it's on to a book that has to be finished for release this fall. For the book it's traditional pencil and watercolour, but for the reading club it's been a mix of traditional, photoshop, painter and sketchbook pro. Oh so many toys!

Easter Bunnies

2009-04-09T19:06:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again: bunnies, coloured eggs and chocolate. How the three got mixed up together I'll never know. I just enjoy drawing the bunnies.

Dreaming of Palm Trees

2009-04-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

I love snow but the weather of yesterday and today, and probably tomorrow too has me dreaming of palm trees. I did this sketch too many years ago on my last trip to Montserrat. I think it is time to go back again and paint more palms....or anything green and warm and preferably of the plant variety.

Old Man

2009-04-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

the other day in Toronto I saw an old woman in a door way. She was bent over, held up by two canes and looking like she was afraid to come out into the light for fear of being blown over by a breeze. It was sad. I never got to sketch her, being once again in a rush as usual, but I came across this sketch of mine the other day of a similar old man. I can't help but feel sorry for anyone trapped by age and circumstance with only canes to hold them up in a world rushing by. Rembrandt stopped to draw these people, and gave them dignity in his paintings as prophets and sages. I have a small etching by him, a restrike I bought in Amsterdam, and when I look at it I can't help but feel awe for the power of that man and his hand's ability as well as his empathy for the poor in the doorways.

Ignaz Elhafen at the AGO

2009-03-15T09:59:00.000-07:00

On a recent evening visit to the AGO I returned to the amazing ivory and wood carvings from the Thomson Collection. I forever am impressed at the ability of these carvers from Medieval to Baroque period for not only their ability to do such intricate work, but also the level of anatomical knowledge they possessed.

Ignaz Elhafen one just one of the many on display that caught my attention for his intricacy. He's not a common name, nor is he considered one of the greats since it seems he concentrated on the same theme over and over again (precursor to mass production?), but damn he was good. He must have had the hands of of brain surgeon, and perhaps the brain of one too to have such all encompassing grasp of form in space. To an expert Ignaz may not be impressive, but to me he is and once again I have to express my thanks to the late Ken Thomson for his inclusion of Ignaz' work in his collection.

Skeleton Gestures

2009-03-06T07:56:00.000-08:00

Haven't been able to do any life drawing lately, and when I came across this study it just made me want to get back at it even more.

I should add that although this hardly seems like 'life drawing' I find doing these kind of quick studies keeps me tuned in to the inner structure. When I pull the skin over the underlying bone structure, the skeleton effect on the surface form is a kind of punctuation that holds and moves the eye over, around and about the figure itself, holding it here and moving it there so that a sense of timing in the movement of the eye and the message to the mind is created.

Study of a Bird Skull

2009-03-01T09:57:00.000-08:00

Cheap Paper sketching

2009-02-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

With all the paper I have in my studios you would think I would pick a sheet of good stuff, but instead I find myself drawing on envelopes and cheap copy paper. I think it goes way back to when I was young and really couldn't afford good art supplies. Good paper was special and not for just any sketch or doodle. So I still find myself grabbing anything near, the cheaper the better, and happily sketching on it. It's not that I don't love great papers, but a roll of kraft wrapping paper is oh so wonderful to draw on. 'Just not permanent.

My other failing is buying sketchbooks and never really filling them before I buy another. I guess all that matters is just drawing, and not worrying on what, unless of course it belongs to someone else. Never a good idea.

Meanwhile I end up struggling with lots of sheets of cheap paper, rolls of kraft, boxes of envelopes, and shelves of great papers just waiting to be used. Ah, will I ever get it right?

Studies of Arms

2009-02-19T10:49:00.000-08:00

I was just looking at some old journals and found my scrawled notes from when I was taking human anatomy at the University of Guelph. I was desperately trying to make sense of the shoulder and all the muscles that overlap, go around, go under, go anywhere except where I could understand them. Top that off with all the plumbing: arteries, veins, nerves and lymphatic system and you may as well have tossed me into one of those manholes with cables cut and wires all over....I was just as lost.

Years later, all those extras aside (and a healthy respect for any MD) it makes sense and I find myself trying to bring some sort of simplicity of understanding to my students at Seneca. I can tell by their blank looks that much of it zooms by and disappears into the ether. But they also seem to come back and show a level of understanding that I wish I had had at their age.

All that anatomy is more than bone and muscle inventory and so important in my eyes to an understanding that can be visually conveyed in drawings of the figure. So if you are interested in drawing the figure, don't give up. Every time you take another stab at it, you'll understand a bit more, and just like the drop of water that can crack rock, you'll break through. I did, even if it took a bit of time. I'm sure you'll do it faster.

The studies above are some drawings for understanding the movement of the shoulders and the changes in form as they do. My suggestion: learn the skeleton first. Try to study from a real one and not copy from a book or a cheap model. Both will screw you up. You have to visit the real thing first and then books are good. My suggestion (and not because I can read German but because it probably is the best for the diagrams) is Gottfried Bammes' Die Gestalt des Menschen. It's not cheap but worth every penny. (I'll do a list of the best books I've found later). Don't worry about reading....the diagrams tell it all.

After you've studied the skeleton (without one we would be an amoeba) treat the muscles as cables. Leonardo did. Or at least he seemed to prefer the thinner cadaver. When I took human anatomy my cadaver was an old lady (I thank her soul for her contribution) who's muscles were cable. The other cadavers were huge and the muscles slabs. I didn't find much understanding in looking at them. Just looking at her muscles implied their use and movement.

Something I found useful with my students both at school and privately is laying on the muscles as plasticine cables. Our fingers seem to have a level of understanding and memory and doing this way has always been effective.

Arm Rotations

2009-01-25T17:48:00.001-08:00

These have been posted for my students at Seneca. Apologies for the quality.

2009-01-08T12:34:00.000-08:00

Don't have time to paint the light on the snow in the yard outside my studio doors. Something magical about how light plays on snow and how it reflects moods with the changing daylight hours into the night. These are digital sketches done when I had time.

At the AGO and even at the National Gallery in Ottawa, some of the paintings that captivate me most are the studies of snow by the Group of Seven. I may be doing a book tour to Flin Flon in Northern Manitoba in late February (my 3rd visit) and I will be looking forward to sketching the black spruce and snow. The north may not be an easy place to survive in (speaking of -47 with wind chill today) but you cannot beat it for poetry of light, line and form.

Speaking of black spruce and the north, I highly recommend Joseph Boyden's "Through Black Spruce." Perhaps because I used to fly north through Moosonee to Povungnituk, and even spent a few days there on a reading tour, I find that book beautifully written, so evocative of the place. I could feel the cold, see the ice on the Moose River or the light over James Bay. Wonderful characters, beautifully written (reapeating myself). Oh how I want to return if only it were not so expensive! Soon I hope.

I wish we coud send every school child north to experience it at least once in their life, to meet the people and to feel the land.

I left the trees out of this sketch...made me feel the light more.

2009-01-06T07:52:00.000-08:00

'Squirrels are outside again this morning. It's just too easy to sit and watch them. Fun to sketch them as a warm up. The black squirrels are very plump but their tails are thin, so unlike the grey squirrel who's tail is thick and fluffy and obviously quite warm to wrap up in.

While I was sketching the squirrels, my cat Mouse jumped up on my desk and decided the best place to sit was on the paper. It left me no alternative than to draw Mouse. Must have been his plan all along.

Outside my window

2009-01-05T09:57:00.000-08:00

It's hard to work today and not be distracted watching the squirrels outside my windows feasting on bird seed. They can be terribly aggravating (they chewed through wiring and insulation under our roof) and yet so pretty to watch in their fluffy fur and cute eyes. Arrrgh!! Back to work!

First day of 2009 at the AGO

2009-01-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

If you live in the Toronto area or visit the city you must, and I emphasize MUST, visit the new Art Gallery of Ontario. We decided to start our year with a visit today and we came away tired but thoroughly impressed with the new building and the collection on display. Toronto has finally joined the world of great art galleries. Matthew Teitelbaum, Frank Gehry and the late Ken Thomson must all be congratulated on what has been achieved here. I wouldn't know where to start with the praises. The building is beautiful. And it works. It invites, it holds the art well, beautifully in fact. The building is art. And the art inside is captivating in it's breadth and beauty.

I admit I am a sucker for the Group of Seven, and the collection is beautifully rich in works. The section on drawing is wonderful. The curators have done an excellent job of hanging, with the flow of one area into the next feeling like going from one section of a marvelous treasure cave to the next. But a cave it definitely is not since the rooms feel open and yet intimate at the same time. We bought memberships so that we can return again and again, and so we will.

The visit cannot help but inspire. I wanted to return and draw, but since I will leave that to tomorrow I've posted a small sketch from my Ungava works that was inspired not by a gallery, but by the land itself.

Happy 2009! It feels good.

2008-12-14T18:27:00.001-08:00

couldn't help but play with the sketch...

Gee, it doesn't take much to make me happy!

2nd Advent sketch

2008-12-14T08:25:00.000-08:00

2nd Sunday of December, 2nd Advent before Christmas. Makes me think back to childhood when there was a fuss over these days before the 24th.

Quick sketch of the lights over the breakfast nook. Brought some cedar in and laid it on...smells lovely. Not much time for better drawing due to the last of marking this morning. Never a fun time judging the work of students. Some tried hard and just didn't get there, others with tons of ability just did not push it. Others surprise me, and some sadly disappoint me. I have never found putting a number on something so complex easy and even frustrating. Part of marking is science, the other alchemy. The science part is the math, the numbers. When added up they don't always reflect the complete picture. That's when the alchemy as I like to call it kicks in. I stand back, take in the big picture and go with my gut. My gut has been correct more times than the math. I balance the two. With all these years of teaching, you would think it gets easier, but instead it becomes more complex as I am aware of subtlies that experience reveals.

Christmas Decorations

2008-12-12T12:44:00.000-08:00

This year I am determined to do at least one study a day of the decorations. It's a beautiful time around here. Work is keeping me from getting lights out but there's a tree in the shed waiting to come in, the Nutcracker is back up in the balcony in his house and hopefully I can get big wreath up on the house this weekend. I'm getting tired of tripping over a big pile of boughs in the basement.

This is a sketch I came across today done many years ago of decorations around the front closet doors.

Basset Hound Studies

2008-12-12T12:39:00.000-08:00

I needed to do some studies of Basset Hounds for a project. Where else to go but the web. Mind you I would have prefered a read model but with time constraints the web has been a life saver.

Landmarks

2008-11-25T19:48:00.000-08:00

I marked up a study of mine to show my students landmarks to look for. I sort of liked the look with all the marks. Good stuff to know.

Mooos and Mooses

2008-11-24T20:29:00.000-08:00

Been busy drawing since the last post. The Royal Winter Fair is always a treat, especially if you wait until the evening when the kids are gone, and it seems to settle into more of a farm feeling that showy exhibition feeling of hype. When things got quiet I found a nice bale of hay to sit on and did some sketches of the cows. They are a joy to do, given their bulk, bone and generally odd shape. But their eyes are always so kind, and they have a way of just existing in time, that drawing them is very calming.

The moose was done at the ROM on a half price (thank you Sun Life Financial) Friday. I need the moose for a book I am working on and this stuffed one is perfect, except for one thing: the screaming kids while I was drawing. Honestly, can't parents control their kids? I came close to going crazy with the noise. Not all the kids were like that, but it just takes a few. I did however meet one very talented little girl who borrowed paper and did a great sketch of the tiger near by. Given the right opportunities, she is going to be one great talent in the years to come. Always nice to meet kids like her and realize that the talent pool will never ever dry up. It only gets better.

Remembrance day 2008

2008-11-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

Remembrance day today.

this sketch is of the Cenotaph here in Guelph. It was done while waiting for the parade of soldiers and Vets. I mistakenly assumed there would be a ceremony there. Instead, after the ceremony at the sports arena, the Vets, the cadets, the police and fire fighters marched by. It gave me time to sketch and think.

Earlier, on my way to the Cenotaph,I was in the city square when 11 o'clock struck. I would not have known it for sadly no bells tolled nor traffic stopped, that is except for a lone bus driver standing beside his bus with head bowed and hands folded in front of him.

It made me stop. I checked my watch, saw it was 11. At that moment a lone 1st WW biplane passed overhead. As he flew over square, past the cathedral he banked his wings in salute. I imagined my grandfather long ago seeing the same sort of sight, and wondered what thoughts might have gone through is mind as he stood in the trenches. My skin was goose bumps and my eyes filled with tears, I was overwhelmed by emotion of the moment. Whoever the pilot who made this tribute with his plane, I must express my thanks to him: it was a beautiful tribute to those who must leave home to sacrifice their lives. Sadly, it would also acknowledge the sacrifice of those who did return, scarred for life both physically and emotionally.

I admit I had to think hard about leaving all the work I had in front of me today and go to the the Cenotaph here in Guelph. It wasn't out of lack of respect, rather life can be very busy, and having been away in Calgary at Kaleidoscope and schools since last Tuesday, there was a lot to get caught up with. But I went and am glad I did. I owed it to the veterans to be there, just as I feel we all should made the effort if at all possible.

Those old vets who marched by must carry incredible stories in their head and hearts. Some will be of adventure and loves, most of tragedy, carnage and sacrifice. I am sure many were silent heroes. One could not see their medals but I am sure each told a story that should not be forgotten.

One thing that I struggled with as I stood there watching the parade: it was the young cadets. Some seemed so young I was surprised that they even could join those ranks; the others made me think that war always takes the young and destroys something in them. In Calgary I heard the esteemed illustrator Ted Lewin tell us of his brother joining the Marines at 15 and fighting in some of the worst battles in the Pacific before he was 18. I think too of the soldiers in Afghanistan who are the ages of my sons.

I am not in favor of war. I was of the age that had I been an American as fate almost made me, I would have had to serve in Viet Nam. Being Canadian I did not have to worry, but I always worried that other conflicts that seems to simmer and boil over in far places in the world would put a uniform on me. I cannot understand war, yet respect and thank those vets who marched past this morning for giving a part of their young lives to allow me to live and thrive here in Canada in peace and freedom. To the old soldiers who I knew but no longer are with us, like Gerry Moses and Jack Spicer, thank you.

To those who never came back, who's bodies lie in cemeteries far from home and those who loved them and saw them leave, thank you.

As a last note: it was cold today with a biting wind. As I stood there waiting and sketching, my fingers went numb, feeling thick and unresponsive. But I couldn't help but think that while it was uncomfortable for me with a pencil, for some had been far harder holding cold metal in their hands and a question of whether they would see tomorrow. My greatest respect to their dedication and resolve.

I should end with one more note: the memorial was created by a Canadian sculptor by the name of Alfred Howell. After writing the note above I thought I should find out more about him and came across an interesting site by a gentleman by the name of Lawrence Hayward. He made it his task to find out as much as possible about sculptors such as Howell either by direct interview or research. Find out more about Alfred Howell and Lawrence Hayward at his site: http://www.xeroid.150m.com/index.htm

Arctic Memory

2008-11-02T16:15:00.000-08:00

I received an email from a friend who owns this painting. She was kind to send a picture of it to me. It holds a very special connection to me. It was done when I was still and advisor to the Inuit printmakers in what is now Nunavik (arctic Quebec).

I decided to post it because it takes me back to a time when the arctic was my passion and my muse. This painting is of the rocks that covered Fat Island which seemed to float in the Povungnituk River just outside my door. In the summer and fall it would seem like a lichen covered whale lazily floating up river. When the river froze, it too froze into place and became my haven to walk to when politics in the printshop became just too much. I would walk over these rocks, marveling at the infinite patterns between primordial rock and paterns of drifted or driven snow. At times I felt I could feel the forces of the earth push from below and drive these patterns up through the crust.

I did many sketches on and around Fat Island, and one of them later became this painting when I returned south. The sketch from this one, done on a large sheet of BFK outside in India Ink, and now in New Zealand, still carries the smear of drops of blood when I cut my numb fingers sharpening my pencil. It made a lovely addition. I must admit, I miss those days. Since returning from the north, nothing has captured my senses as did the arctic.

some drawings

2008-10-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

studies from yesterday in the studio. Not the greatest day, far too many scribbles and not enough hitting it right away. When I was drawing the hand on the thigh my thoughts went to a Bernini sculpture I saw at Villa Borghese in Rome, one in which Bernini managed to capture the pressure of the hand into the skin of a soft thigh, all the while in stone. I am always is awe of his work.

Royal Winter Fair Time

2008-09-24T11:09:00.000-07:00

It's now officially fall and I'm thinking ahead to the Royal Winter Fair in November. I am so bound by calendars these days with deadlines and commitments that it doesn't seem there is time time breathe. So when I was looking at November and felt there was something missing, it finally occurred to me that it was the Royal that made it's mark felt at that time. If you live in the area definitely take advantage of it to get up close and draw everything from horses to Lamas. Unfortunately they no longer have the farm birds as they once did. In many ways they don't have a lot of what they once did. I do get mad at all the cars and SUV's instead of animals, but if you pick your day right, it can be spectacular. One of my favourites was the Belgian Blue cattle...the Schwarzenegger of cows with their double muscles. Regrettably they are no longer considered worthy of the show. Regardless, it's worth it.

As for the donkey drawing...it's from a Seneca school trip this summer to the Donkey Sanctuary just outside Guelph. Another must visit for your drawing list. At least it is for me.

Drawing workout

2008-09-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

This week I had Ed Cz into the studio for some drawing that was a bit overdue. Over the next 5 hours Ed offered excellent poses and for me, over 150 studies and drawings later, a terrific feeling of exhilaration that one gets after a great work out.

For the first 3 hrs we had rapid pose after rapid pose, none more than over a minute. The floor was strewn with ripped off newsprint and dust and broken pieces of conte. I went through 4 pads before we broke for a bite.

The drawings started with studies of force dynamics. My only goal was to capture the force of life vs. gravity as well as the displacement of air as he pushed his body out from the central axis.

Next stage were linear studies done quickly with charcoal pencil. The evening ended with more sustained studies of form as well as stronger conte studies of the light over the form.

The last works above starting from the bottom are a continuation of the study of the back done earlier (posted below).

With the anatomy classes starting next week, and no afternoon class before, I intend to make the most of Ed's modeling every week now that I have him booked solid for the fall.

fun with skeletons

2008-09-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

that sort of sounds strange, but I did have fun yesterday when with an hour to kill in the studio, I started drawing a skeleton for practice and ended up with this group of laughing bones. Because of the angle of the teeth in the skull, it always seems if skeletons are smiling. Odd to be happy to be dead. Something so ironic.

It's always fun to play with images in Painter or Photoshop and this resulted.

New Drawing Courses in Guelph - Anatomy for Artists & Figure Drawing

2008-08-29T17:03:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is, the start of the Zimmermann School of Drawing. Not an official school of course, but based on my years drawing and teaching life drawing to animation students first at Sheridan in Oakville Ontario from 1986 to 2001 and most recently at Seneca@York, starting mid September I will be giving two figure drawing courses in my studio in Guelph.

Anatomy for Artists

Of interest to professionals, serious amateurs, comic book artist and illustrators.

A course in making a figure come to life through anatomy

This course will build weekly on an overview of the skeletal and muscular anatomy of the human figure. By examining the structure of the frame, moving from basic forms through an examination of the skeleton and finally to the muscles that move the the figure, students will gain valuable insight and knowledge of the anatomy of the human figure

Using a live model each week, we will do studies of the figure with conte and pencil.
.

Each student will receive a skeleton model on which studies using plasticine will be made as each muscle group is studied.

Both the valuable insights and practical understanding gained will aid in drawing human figures with movement, fluidity and confidence

10 weeks starting Sept 10 7 - 10 pm

Cost: $450.00

enrollment limited to 10

Weekly Outline:

September 10: Intro to the figure - the skeleton: complexity into simplicity / bones into boxes.
September 17: the skull, rib cage and pelvis:
September 24: muscles of the waist and neck: bending, twisting and turning
October 1: the scapula and the shoulders
October 8: muscles of the shoulders and upper arms
October 22: muscles off the pelvis onto the upper leg
October 29: Lower leg and foot
November 5: Lower arm and hand
November 12: head and face - muscles of expression
November 19: Review and summation.

Figure Drawing: from Gesture to Expression

10 weeks starting September 17 3hrs 2 - 5pm.

Cost: $300.

Limit: 10 students

Based on figure drawing for animation, students will be guided in the importance of the gesture in creating life drawings full of expression and dynamics. Anatomy, structure, form and balance will be examined.

To register or for more information email me at: werner@wernerzimmermann.ca

2008-06-27T18:20:00.001-07:00

Eden Mills again. Couldn't help sketch the dog.

When I arrived the model was standing in the cast light of the setting sun. The shadow from the window played across her body so I toned my paper with charcoal and using my gum eraser painted in the light and then cut the lines of her body. It's a nice painterly way to draw.

Eden Mills

2008-06-24T19:47:00.001-07:00

Out drawing the other night in Eden Mills again. Our model Sarah seemed so serene in her poses, seemingly angelic, that I couldn't help but add wings, thinking of all those cherubs from old paintings that must have gotten older at some time or other. Very enjoyable evening with pen and nib, and my trusty Lamy fountain pen.

Katie & Alex, studies for sculptures

2008-06-18T12:42:00.000-07:00

I've been commissioned this summer to sculpt two children, life size, to be cast into bronze. It will be an interesting challenge given I haven't done any serious sculpting in a long while. Most of my work has been in clay for myself, never cast, always remushed and reworked. I've often worked out problems of form with clay, whether figures , horse commissions, or characters for books.

I recently was invited into the home and studio of Hanna Boos. As her website will tell you, Hanna first studied sculpting in Germany and later with Frances Gage, notable Canadian sculptor. Hann'a work is beautiful and she graciously shared her knowledge with me. No doubt if she is willing, Hanna will be a valuable resource as work progresses.

At this time I am beginning the first clay and wax studies of the children based on the sketches I have made in the first few visits to their home. Below are but two of the many scratches one makes as young children move and shift uncomfortably under the gaze of the artist. Slowly I think they will warm to the experience, or at least become more comfortable. I think I have begun to get through to Katie by way of a quick sketch of her dog. Alex is far more comfortable but no less restless. Time will tell.

NYC West Village Musician

2008-05-21T07:00:00.000-07:00

Spent a weekend in NYC restoring my soul in the museums, galleries and streets of this incredible city. This guy was happily playing his cello sitting at the end of a street closed off for a neighbourhood yard sale. I only had the back of an envelope and a stub of a pencil but his pleasure was too much to pass up.

Bone Room Study

2008-04-15T17:22:00.001-07:00

Past students of mine will remember the trips to the Bone Room(s) at the University of Guelph. It's probably no more than a few kilometers from my house and yet I just don't access it enough given the wealth of knowledge those bones can provide. The picture above is a small study of the hind legs of a young lion. I am forever amazed at the similarity most creatures have to each other; us included. I can wait to take my current class there this May or June. Possibly I may offer a summer course of drawing there if I can work out details.

We all gotta start somewhere

2008-04-14T07:48:00.001-07:00

Hell, why not? This is my leopard from grade 5. I lived for drawing and it got me trouble at school all the time.

Thinking of the zoo lately and reminded me of the visits of Qadesh to life drawing classes at Sheridan and Seneca. For those who didn't know her, Qadesh was a magnificent Siberian tiger who would come once a year for a day of drawing. I have to admit that inside I always was a bit afraid of bloody mayhem breaking out, but in retrospect I think driving the 401 is more dangerous.

Sadly Qadesh died a few years ago and I doubt there will be another like her. The relationship between her and her keeper Bill Fraser was truly unique . I think everyone who experienced those classes would agree.

Tenderness at the Zoo

2008-04-12T18:09:00.001-07:00

Looking for something today I came across this study of a mother and baby from the Toronto Zoo. I guess I could have posted for mother's day in a few weeks, but just thinking of the tenderness between the two of them, made me want to pop it up now.

I'd like to organize a zoo day of all the Sheridan and Seneca students I've know...maybe use it to raise a drawing prize fund. Anyone reading this and interested, email me.

Toronto Consort

2008-04-07T09:20:00.001-07:00

Went the other night to hear The Toronto Consort, an ensemble that plays medieval and early rennaisance music. On Friday it was the music of St. Marks in Venice....Monteverdi being one. It was beautiful, but unfortunately either I am getting hard of hearing or we were too far away to really enjoy the nuances.

Much of the time I sat with eyes closed and imagined myself back in Venice, in St Mark's Square listing to the music as were it coming out through the doors of the basilica to where I was standing. It actually was quite the sensation...I wanted to open my eyes and really find myself there.

Regretably it was not to be so, but while my eyes were open, I took the opportunity to do some quick sketches of the musicians and singers. The lute players were quite interesting and this is one of them...someone I am told regularly plays in Tafelmusik.

If in Toronto and either venue is playing, I encourage you to go, listen and sketch.

http://www.torontoconsort.org/ http://www.tafelmusik.org/about/orchestra.htm

Debbie

2008-04-04T19:54:00.001-07:00

The other day after classes at Seneca I returned to the studio and found everyone busy in extra life drawing Debbie. She's one of our favorite models, both for her sinuous beauty and her ability to cut wonderful poses. Regrettably I had no time to stay and draw. Thinking back to that evening, I've posted this pen study from a class a few years back that I've always liked for its simplicity. It's not exceptional by any means, but never the less I have always liked it.

Dr. Sketchy Birthday PartyToronto

2008-03-27T21:07:00.001-07:00

Birthday party for Seneca student Diana at Tequila Bookworm. A few sketches from the evening.

Time for bunnies

2008-03-24T07:51:00.001-07:00

Georgina

2008-03-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

three reclining nudes

2008-03-20T10:42:00.001-07:00

after the snow

2008-03-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

After the wild blast of snow yesterday and the night before, today was one of those magical days.I didn't want it to end.

Everything outside was beautiful.The evergreens hung heavy with the powder that traced the patterns of the individual boughs. We shoveled for hours to get the driveway cleared but it didn't matter. The sky was an opalescent cerulean blue and the shadows a luminescent violet.

This evening we took a long walk along the river. I have tried to capture the feel of days like this in the past while practicing digital painting (or more like it, struggling to learn). I didn't paint today, so I'm posting them. One is of Tom's house across from my place in Lion's Head. The other done after I returned from a similar walk along the Speed River last winter.

Saturday morning at Zehrs

2008-03-08T18:49:00.001-08:00

Stormy morning sketching at the coffee counter at the grocery store. Every one bundled and weary from shoveling.

Bad day drawings

2008-03-08T16:55:00.001-08:00

Some days you are so tired by the end of them that to go out and do more drawing seems simply hard. Thursday was one, not because of art work, but instead paper work. How I hate it and it hates me!

Never the less, I grabbed my paper, picked up a friend who wanted to join and went to catch the last hour of drawing in Eden Mills.

Earlier that day I had taken a nasty spill on an icy sidewalk while out with the dog and when we got there I started to feel my drawing side seize up. Excuses, excuses! Never the less, I got a few drawings in of Sarah....not doing her justice, so I call these Bad Day Drawings....when you do what you know you need to do but the soul just ain't in it.

Studies

2008-03-05T13:17:00.000-08:00

Every thursday evening a group gets together in Eden Mills to do some figure drawing. We're lucky to get some excellent models and I try to be there as much as possible. The studies above and below are of Ed CZ, one of our best. He also models at Seneca and Sheridan and I know that regardless of where is goes, he is very much appreciated for his dedication to taking excellent poses.

The drawings above were with charcoal pencil and white prismacolour pencil on Ingres. Those below are pencil and conte in my sketch book.

The last study is Jeff, pencil on paper

Figure drawings

2008-03-05T12:20:00.000-08:00

My passion is drawing. Whether it is the figure, landscape, animals or simply things of no consequence other than they caught my eye, it is with pencil and paper I am most at home.

I'm looking forward to sharing works old and new, figure studies and doodles of things around me. I intend to add even paintings, which for me are in essence coloured drawings in themselves.

Anyone who has felt the magic of making a line that not only dances for itself, but conveys a reality or feeling far beyond the simple mark on the paper will understand the joy and sometimes frustration that these works gave me.

I hope that they prove interesting.

2008-03-05T12:15:00.001-08:00