Friday, February 23, 2007
ArtPact #11
Since I hardly had time for painting before we went to Grenada, and couldn't really paint while there, I turned to sketching.
It's a fun activity, very elating, the best way to pass time, and very, VERY asocial, as the person you are with gets totally bored.
And yet, 5 minuets here, 15 minutes there - and you get your daily exercise for the hand, the eyes and the right side of the brain.
Obviously, most impressions - and sketching time - were while on the beach.
Here is one from our brief visit to the pretty beach of Lance Aux Epines:
These two highly energetic toddlers kept the sand, the waves - and mostly their parents - very, very busy.
And, at the same beach, some older local kids, who were hanging out, jumping into and out of the water, pulling their boat, exercising like crazy and pretty much having a great time and looking very, very dude-ish.
A couple of days later we took a ferry to the little island of Carriacou.
The trip there was great, as you get to see the whole west shore of Grenada in quite a slow motion, then the ride gets bumpy - as you go over the infamous Kick 'Em Jenny - and when you get to Carriacou after the 90-minute trip, you have an interesting color, something between sickly-green and tan... So, here is an obligatory sketch of boats anchored in turquoise Caribbean water. I skecthed it while we were waiting for the ferry to take us back to Grenada.
It just started to rain, so this one is sketched with ink, watercolor pencil and a couple of raindrops. Oh, and maybe a spot of two of coconut ice-cream. (they didn't have the nutmeg ice-cream there!).
And - just before the ferry has arrive, that one is of a local Carriacou man talking to some tourists. (who obviously weren't interesting enough to sketch...).
A day or two later, back in Grenada, The JohnnyB and I have finally succumbed to what an island vacation is really all about: hanging out on the beach, having a lazy lunch, reading a book, falling asleep on the beach-chairs, and getting the ultimate sunburn. (that part was reserved for The JohnnyB, that is. I was good, and used sun-screen!).
We chose the beautiful and quite-secluded beach of La Sagesse for that day, and while the JohnnyB was being roasted, I sketched the people, one of them a very sweet elderly tourist, who would giggle all the way to the water, and then start screaming like a teenager, as the water were a bit cool.
She did it each and every time she went in the water, to the merriment of us all.
Labels: Art, ArtPact, Vacation
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A Thousand Words - And Then Some #7
The no-longer-smoking The JohnnyB in the making.
Why is he smoking while reading a book of how to stop?
Well, that's 'cause the book said so.
That is his story, and he stuck with it.
What can I say - I was skeptic, but it worked.
Like magic.
Two and a half days later - it actually happened!
(by the way, check out the very cool T-shirt he is wearing, with mooning moose, from Minnesota).
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Labels: Wonders of The JohnnyB
Sentence of The Month: February
"I am no longer a smoker.
.I have just smoked my last cigarette".
(-) The JohnnyB,
(-) February 11th, Sunday morning 9am Grenada Time (5am PST).
And the shameful response of his shameless lovely wife's?
"WHAT??
..and you didn't call me so I can take a picture???
..Go smoke another one, so I can document it".
Luckily, there was no other cigarette.
And I am still hanging my head in shame for letting the reporter in me get over the supportive loving wife.
There is no excuse for that...
Full report is here.
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Labels: Sentence of The Month, Wonders of The JohnnyB
Saturday, February 17, 2007
ArtPact #10
Ah, it's good to be home.
It's even better when there's a routine to get back to.
And to me, that is mostly what makes it home: the fact that I have people and things to come back to. After almost 5 years here, I think it does start to feel like home.
And part of this routine is the monthly advanced portrait workshop.
Today's lesson was about facial expressions. Our instructor, WackieM, provided us with photos she took of a very animated speaker, who spoke at our holiday party. Looking at the photos, you can see him covering most of the expression spectrum: from happy to amused to indifferent to disgusted to angry to sad to, well, constipated...
And you'd wonder: what was he talking about, that made him so emotionally involved? why is he so mad and agitated and all those other extreme moods that he clearly shows?
He spoke of what makes art. great,. as opposed to a pretty picture. Obviously, he was feeling quite strongly about this subject...
WackieM had us start with small drawings, telling us to look for the subtleties that make each expression what it is. It was harder than I thought - and once you get into it, it's amazing how every muscle in the face plays a role. Eyebrows, mouth, nostrils, cheeks - you name it. I think the ears are mostly out of the game.
I took a shot at the expressions that spoke to me the most, and discovered - yet again - how much easier drawing is, compared to painting! I even told WackieM that perhaps I should stick to drawing and stop painting whatsoever, and got a huge reprimand from her...
So, these are my attempts at capturing this guy.
He really does have a wonderful expressive face, looking quite a bit like the rubber-faced Jim Carrey, only with a great shiny bald head.
These drawings are 2.5 x 3.5 inch (as in 6 x 9 cm) each, pencil on paper.
(Hmm, I should learn to stay: "graphite on 80Lb paper". Sounds much more artistic, Eh?).
Then we moved on to the watercolor zone.
Remember those little experimental paintings we did a month ago?
(Yep, brilliant blogging AND art education!... can you ask for more?).
As we have lengthily discussed before, I hate painting in class.
Plus, I am still jetlagged.
And so, I only did one:
Watercolor on W/N CP Paper, 5"x7" (12.5x17.5 cm)
Now, at the beginning of the class, everyone showed what they did as homework during the month that's passed since last class. most of them completed all 18 rectangles with bozzettos, some even did one or two (or five!!) actual paintings..
And they all look so cool.
Even if some individual bozzettos were unsuccessful, seeing a whole sheet with 18 paintings made a big impact, so you no longer looked at them as individuals.
Very, very cool.
And there I was, homework-less (hey, we were away for 2 weeks, and jetlagged until tomorrow!), and very envious of everyone in class.
This time, I hope to actually manage to fill all 18 rectangles with different expressions.
Should be an incredibly fun exercise.
- - - and so, excuse me while I go and bozzettize.
One is pretty much done.
17 more to go...
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Friday, February 16, 2007
A Little Lunch For Thought (TM) #5
Sent to me by DaskieM (a proud American).
Thanks.
And I am still in an urgent need to know: what state does KFC come from?...
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Labels: Joke, Little Lunch for Thought, Meta Bloggin', People
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Zen Judaism
This one is dedicated to Michael Bains of the Silly Humans blog, who enriches us all with the Daily Zen wisdom.
Sent to me by LexieV, probably to remind me of my roots...
* If there is no self,
Whose arthritis is this?
* Be here now.
Be someplace else later. Is that so complicated?
* Drink tea and nourish life.
With the first sip... joy.
With the second... satisfaction.
With the third, peace.
With the fourth, a danish.
* Wherever you go, there you are.
Your luggage is another story.
* Accept misfortune as a blessing.
Do not wish for perfect health or a life without problems. What would you talk about?
* The journey of a thousand miles
Begins with a single "oy".
* There is no escaping karma.
In a previous life, you never called, you never wrote, you never visited.
And whose fault was that?
* Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness.
And then what do you have? Bupkes.
* The Tao does not speak.
The Tao does not blame.
The Tao does not take sides.
The Tao demands nothing of others.
The Tao is not Jewish.
* Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Forget this and attaining Enlightenment will be the least of your problems.
* Let your mind be as a floating cloud. Let your stillness be as the wooded glen.
And sit up straight.
You'll never meet the Buddha with such rounded shoulders
* Be patient and achieve all things.
Be impatient and achieve all things faster.
* To Find the Buddha, look within.
Deep inside you are ten thousand flowers.
Each flower blossoms ten thousand times.
Each blossom has ten thousand petals.
You might want to see a specialist.
* To practice Zen and the art of Jewish motorcycle maintenance, do the following:
Get rid of the motorcycle. What were you thinking?
* Be aware of your body. Be aware of your perceptions.
Keep in mind that not every physical sensation is a symptom of a terminal illness.
* The Torah says,"Love thy neighbor as thyself." The Buddha says there is no "self."
So, maybe you are off the hook.
* The Buddha taught that one should practice loving kindness to all sentient beings.
Still, would it kill you to find a nice sentient being who happens to be Jewish?
* Though only your skin, sinews, and bones remain,
though your blood and flesh dry up and wither away,
yet shall you meditate and not stir until you have attained full Enlightenment.
But, first, a little nosh.
Labels: Joke, Meta Bloggin'
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
A Thousand Words - And Then Some #6
So - we are back from Grenada.
Not as tanned as this little girl in the picture, but quite nicely colored.
And quite jet-lagged, too.
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Labels: Photohgraphy, Vacation
