Day 2 of Drawing Challenge Sketch #1 Cat Asleep

 This will probably be my quickest entry.  I barely got started and the phone rang. Stupidly I went to answer and when I got back moments later the cat had shifted.  So this one will stay as the quick doodle of sleeping cat (in my chair of course).

Challenge Day 1 #3 of 3 Pippa Asleep

Last drawing of the day. Almost didn't but found our dog happily snoozing on my side of the bed.  'Had to be the final sketch of the day.  Ah, a dog's life!  Make good subjects too. 

The picture, I should add, is somewhat unfinished. Just as I stopped the cat hopped up on the bed and curled up nose to nose with the dog. I guess I could have added him too, but that can wait for another day. I'm sure it will be repeated.

Day 1 sketch #2 Variation on a sheep's skull - Alien Bug

I purposely drew this skull vertically.  When I moved it around in my hands I was struck how much it looked like an alien bug.  Perhaps for my last drawing of the day I'll explore this. 


Two done, (at least) one to go.

Drawing Challenge #1 of 3 / 5 days

Clive Powsey invited me into the 3 drawings per day over 5 days challenge.

This is my first.  Early morning wobbly finger sketch of my back entrance from the top of the stairs.  It also responds to my desire to draw the view through the windows of my house.  Not great but a start.

Die Gedanken Sind Frei

'Die Gedanken Sind Frei'

It's the 7th day of January 2015 and news out of Paris is that the offices of a satirical magazine were attacked by gunmen with the result of 12 dead and many injured.  Many of the dead were artists, or cartoonists as some would know them (unfortunately this always carries a connotation of being a lesser artist).  Whether or not I would agree with their work, they had the right to say it, to express their thoughts.  Sadly there are many who would not agree and use violence to make their point.

This image was done many years ago when I was doing lithographs.  Drawn onto stone and pulled in a small edition it was a self portrait of sorts entitled the thoughts are free: 'Die Gedanken Sind Frei."  A protest song with roots in the middle ages that I learned as a child from my mother.

Sadly I question how long, given the advances in technology and the radicalization of the world, that that will remain true.

One can only hope.

more on the song: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Gedanken_sind_frei

Cat in (my) chair. New Year's Day 2015

I've long given over the fight for my studio chair. So much so that he now enjoys a nice comfortable blanket.  That's not to stop him from sitting on drawings or paintings.  Many have been discarded with his signature muddy footprint.  But such is the cost of the comfort of a cat.

New Year's Day Celery

My previous post on the Amaryllis mentioned that I was disastisfied with the the stems - that to me looked like celery stalks.  That led me to study celery stalks.  There is, I found, a beautiful gestural poetry to the poor lowly celery.  The stalks aren't much to speak for, but the foliage is worthy of note.

Regardless, it was fun way to spend a few minutes with the pencil.
 

2015 Window Nr. 1

It's not exactly looking out a window, but this little fellow is a regular every Christmas on the window sill in a small window just off the kitchen.  So he got the first attention of the year.  Always makes me happy to see him (her?).  Kitsch but cute.   Happy New Creative Year everyone!

Last day sketches 2014

I thought I would spend part of the day sketching the tree and some of the decorations around the house. I was interrupted doing the tree which I will return to.  The ribbon and cedar rope over the door was fun. It reminded me of the filigree on the decorations in palaces and castles, albeit just a bit on the simpler end of things.  It's nice just to explore your own world and make notes before they are forgotten. 

Next project will be out each window.

Last day of 2014 Amarylis study

Thought I would sketch some things around the house on this last day of 2014.

The role of gesture

One of the hardest things in teaching life drawing is convincing students of the value of gesture.  Gesture drawing has a lot of confusing meanings and uses, everything from just loosening up to much more.  The more can be defined as establishing the movement or pose of a subject or object as well as the proportions or character of the subject.  Think of it as quickly establishing the verb and subject - the 'what' and the 'who' in the very first moments of a drawing.

What is posted here is an exercise I did with both my Humber and Seneca College students in which we started with a 20 minute study of a skeleton. It was followed by 10, 5, 2 and 1 minute studies of the same skeleton. In each the focus would be to reduce the drawing to the essentials for the allowable time.

In the end the purpose was to show them that regardless of the length of time allowed, the drawings began the same way, but just allowing for more work to be done.

I suggest the same exercise for anyone wishing to understand what is truly essential for the start of any drawing, regardless of subject or time.

Dream of being a cartoonist

Eons ago I thought of becoming a cartoonist. I even had a strip in a few small newspapers for a while.  But plans change and other stuff took over.  I guess the kids' books have been the later expression of that dream.   Never the less here is a sketch I found from that time.  I did have a beard and I often was stuck for ideas not realizing that they were never very far. Some things never change. Except the beard.  It's gone.

Royal Agricultural Winter Fair 2014

I went today to the Royal with my students for a day of sketching. Didn't get much done other than assisting students, but then, that's what I was there for.  However near the end of the day there was some time to myself. Posted below are a few done for myself.  Wish I had time to return.

A note to myself on what to remember

I recently found a  note that I wrote to myself following a book I illustrated in 1998.  It was pertinent then and still is now.

I need to glue this to the wall in front of my work area.  Especially find exclusive time.

August 1998

Plan!!!

Find exclusive time

Organize

§  sketches

§  photos

§  pages

§  space

o   Establish characters

§  Location

§  Colour sketches

COMMUNICATE -  don’t hide – admit what you don’t know

Re-Learn your colours – what comes off easily /who can cover who

o   Skin tones

o   Colour in shadow and light (what colour is a shadow)

o   Colours under different moods and illumination

o   Colour harmonies

PREP

o   Paint anything and everything

o   Ask what is the nature of this thing

o   Paint  - mood

§  -texture

§  Personality

KEEP NOTES

 

Flora Asleep

My granddaughters  were up this weekend.  Flora at 3 months is just a feeder, sleeper and giggler.  A joy to draw.  Should have done many more. More to come.

Last Boat at Old Woman River

It's September and many have packed up and returned to civilization, leaving the beauty of the Bruce Peninsula behind.  I took my sketch pad out on the the first day of what might as well be called the New Year and did this watercolour of the last boat on the shore of this tiny sandy beach.  Welcome to the real New Year!

Winnie's 100th anniversary and my son's Steiff bear

Today is the 100th anniversary of the real Winnie - the bear cub who went to England with Canadian troops and inspired A.A. Milne to write the stories so beautifully illustrated by E. H. Shepard.

I've always loved the drawings of Shepard and can never look at them without amazement at the man's ability.

Shepard was inspired to his design by a Steiff  stuffed teddy bear.  That got me remembering a sketch I did of my son's Steiff. The bear was passed down from his great grandfather and  one evening, two year old Christopher lovingly tucked him in on the couch before he himself when off to bed.

The bear ended up in a book for a German publisher, although in a very tiny way on the rocking
horse.

Shoreline Sketches

August 22 L. Huron from Old Woman R. w/c on arches  4.5 x 9 in.

Some pencil and watercolour sketches done around Lion's Head this summer.  Rock patterns and light over water and reflected off the cliffs here are endlessly fascinating.  Hopefully these sketches get worked up into larger paintings in the coming weeks or months.  But if not, it's just nice to sit outside and throw paint and draw lines.

August 23 Lion's Head cliffs  watercolour on arches  9x12 in

shoreline patterns  graphite on BFK  4.5 x 13 in.

Vilppu Drawing

During one of Vilppu's demos I grabbed my pad and sketched him drawing. 

It was fascinating to watch his hands carve, almost caress the drawing out onto the page. His hands moved elegantly,  feeling the form with lines and tone emerging seemingly effortlessly, yet within his mind there must have been innumerable calculations going on both in measure and emotion.  Drawing, he said, is in the mind.  'No rules, just tools.'   The man knows his tools.. And the rules.

Drawing Workshop with Glenn Vilppu

day one combined study of 5 minute poses with Vilppu's notation in red below.

Today I had the great fortune to be a participant  in a weekend drawing workshop presented by Taafi, the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International featuring none other than the master Glenn Vilppu. As anyone in the animation industry knows, Glenn Vilppu is internationally recognized for his work with the industry for his workshops with studios and animators around the globe.

Thanks to Taafi and its sponsors such as Seneca College, we are able to have Glenn here for over a week. 

Day one has been an excellent experience and looking forward to more tomorrow.