Saturday, June 28, 2008
ArtPact #57
it's been a long time since I last took a drawing class. Way too long.
On Thursday, I started a new one - figure drawing. Clothed figure this time. Yeah, I know - a lot of you non-artists think w'all stare at naked bodies under the excuse of drawing them. Well, not quite. At some point, you kinda get tired of it. And clothed models become much more exciting. Clothed figures have more movement to capture (well, yes, some nude models also manage to produce movement, but let's not get into this...).
So - that was the first class, with the first model. A pretty woman in her 30s, which immediately made her an uninspiring subject. Plus, she wore a simple dress with an annoying greenish patterned-fabric, that was visible enough to obscure the light and shadow, but not interesting enough for shapes. She then took an ordinary pose, just standing there, and to top it all, I had the luck to face her back. With too many students in the class to relocate to a different spot, I was stuck.OK...
When the subject is conventional, you can either give up - or turn to your creativity glands.
I took the charcoal stick (which I have not used forever!), and started to render the figure, recalling my long-forgotten measuring skills. Still boring. I blocked in some dark areas, then used my kneaded eraser to add highlights (one of my favorite things about charcoal), and started to have fun. Luckily, I brought with me the whole bag of charcoal goodies, from the fair shy vine charcoal, to the darker willow one, to the compressed charcoal, and when she took the final 20 minutes of the pose, I went for the big daddy of charcoal, a thick stick of the darkest charcoal that makes wonderful dramatic darks. Not for the faint hearted, as there is no way to erase it, mind you.
When I was done, the teacher picked up my drawing, and raved to the class, pointing all the good things about it, while I busied myself looking for a place to hide, as you don't quite what to do with yourself at such occasions.
A short break - and it was time for the second pose.The model slumped herself on a chair, and - lo and behold, had her face towards me!!
Inspired by what MembieM did in the previous pose, I decided to go for a close up, and use watercolors this time. I have never ever painted a portrait in a drawing session (well, once, and on pastel, but that was 4 years ago, and it was disastrous). Aha - much trickier, especially when all I had to work with were my cheap pad of paper and my low-grade watercolors that I keep taking to classes and workshops in order to get rid of them, but instead I only get lousy results, as I resent working with them. Well, a lesson for next time.
Needless to say, this time the teacher did not glorify my masterpiece, except for congratulating me on my free and loose style (yes, he is a sweet encouraging soul). Instead, he chose to embarrass MembieM, who came up with an incredible charcoal drawing.
Nevertheless, I enjoyed the exercise, even if not the result. Poor gal, I may need to go back into the painting and save her from the fate of an unshaved woman with a shiner... I do like the way her dress turned out, though.
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Sunday, June 22, 2008
97 Degrees In The Shade...
...That's where the temperatures were aiming at on Saturday, totally ignoring the dozens of artists who assembled on the grounds of the Triton Museum in Santa Clara to display their art.
97 degrees (36 Celsius) before the end of June - as if the weather decided to justify the name of the event "Midsummer Art Celebration".
I was showing with two organizations - watercolors with one of them, photography with the other. It took A LOT of preparation and work, from choosing what to display, to printing it (photography) or adding last-minute touches (paintings), to matting and framing and creating labels and deciding on pricing and designing myself two business cards (one for each display) - throughout the whole time, The JohnnyB provided moral support and helped me choose, price, frame, assemble, arrange, stay sane...
...After a night of troubled sleep, I woke up early Saturday. We loaded our two cars - and off we went, to the fair. A frantic email from one of the organizers has sent The JohnnyB off to buy loads of ice and bottled water, to make sure his lovely wife and her artist friends (well, at least the ones in both groups she was showing with) would not go into a domino-effect of fainting. While he was away, I hung my paintings in one place, ran to hang the photography in another, ran back to the paintings site to arrange and rearrange, back to the photography display - it was damn hot!
But at 10am, as the place opened to the public, we were a all smiling and calm, (I wish I could say 'cool', but that would be a lie - we were all flushed and sweaty by then), awaiting potential collectors.
It was my very first time to be in an art fair as one of the displaying artists. I never thought I would, as I always felt there's something sad about sitting around waiting for people to come see your art. I mean, you put your soul on the display panels, you wait for appreciative eyes, and sometimes all you meet is a bored indifferent look - - -
- - - ah, wait, but that happens anyway, even with people who come to our house and look (or don't) at the art hung on the wall with no comment.
So, I decided to go for it, with both organizations.
It was a hot, hot day. One booth (with the watercolors) was underneath some nice shady trees, the other in what seemed to be the hottest spot on the planet - no shade, save for a couple of clouds who came by to visit around noon, and then decided to pull a joke and rain on us all for 2 minutes. It was short, but enough to send some artists flying in panic to save their art from the conniving drops. I just enjoyed the much needed shower, and then it got a bit more bearable, with some breeze.
All in all, it was a fun day.
Lots of mingling with fellow artists, not so much - alas - with visitors to the event, as, well, not many have come. Lack of publicity, plus a tucked away location, topped by the heat, kept people indoors and away from our art. 
As the more experienced amongst us exclaimed, it was the worst sales event ever. I wouldn't know, as it was my very first time at that. Yes, I hoped to sell something; I have never showed such a body of work at one time (6 paintings plus 6 photographs plus 5 matted pieces) - but once I saw that most people came looking for small inexpensive things, with very few exceptions, I managed to reset my expectations, and prevented myself from being disappointed. All the artists got into this sarcastic mode, in which a sale of a $4 card was celebrated with cheers and cold water. I didn't have time to print cards, so I wasn't amongst the celebrated ones.
It was a huge learning experience, an intoxicating feeling of getting very positive feedback on my photography (which was a novelty to those who know me mainly as a painter), and an initiation by fire (well, it was hot enough!) to the world of art fairs.
And now, we rest.
Labels: Art, Major Achievements, Nature
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
A Little Lunch For Thought (TM) #15
A recent study conducted by Harvard University found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year.
Another study by the American Medical Association found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.
This means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.
Kind of makes you proud to be an American. Or at least live here.
(Sent to me by Adriana - Thanks!!)
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Labels: Acculturation, Culture, Damn Technology, Joke, Little Lunch for Thought, Meta Bloggin', People, Profoundness
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
A Little Lunch For Thought (TM) #14
Got this in the email yesterday:
A bit oversimplified, I'd say.
Just a touch.
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Labels: Desecration, Little Lunch for Thought, Meta Bloggin', Profoundness, Stating The Obvious
Sunday, June 01, 2008
ArtPact #56
Our critique group is having an exhibit at a hi-tech company. The opportunity presented itself when someone from that company was at the gym with BearGal, they got into a conversation while being bored to death on the Stairmaster - - - and so the idea was born.
At first, I wasn't very keen on painting anything for that show, to say the least. Y'see, I used to work for that company, and, well... let's not dwell upon the past.
Then, a week ago, WebbieM emailed me about her needing to paint for that show. After I replied to her with a lengthy explanation that I am NOT going to do anything special for that place, and that the maximum I am willing to do is dig some artworks and toss it at their general direction, I thought to myself... like... we are showing at a hi-tech company... The JohnnyB is working for a hi-tech company... well - wouldn't it be fun to make a homage for his stressful time and create a piece of him in that context?
It would. Spent hours downloading all kinds of chip-design related stuff and images (Google is a wonderful thing!), spent gallons of ink printing them, and was very happy with the pile of material I had to work with.
Then I got stuck. An essential stage in the artistic process.
On Tuesday night, came the muse. at 10pm, I chose an image of The JohnnyB which I have already done for his personal calendar, drew it on a canvas (a first! I always work on paper or matboard for collages), and started to collage, using pieces from the printed material.
My sister watched me, following the process from the start, through the stage of what-the-hell-do-I-do-now, and then went to bed.
By 2am, I was done.
Of course, it had to pass a preliminary review by The JohnnyB in the morning (as, after all, he is featured in it). He gave it a lukewarm look, filed an official complaint about his arm being too big (that's called foreshortening...) and claimed it is still unfinished. Yup, I married him for the ego boost.
I added some finishing touches with a brush, and rushed to the house of BearGal to deposit it in her trusty hands, and see if it would make it into the preview display they were about to hang that day, featuring some selected works.
And lo and behold - - - It made it in!
I guess it is finished, then.
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Labels: Art, ArtPact, Damn Technology, Wonders of The JohnnyB
