The Treasure Chest Progress Report!

I've been doing some work on Mary Lu's Treasure Chest. Full sheets (22" x 30") can be so intimidating to paint! The jewelry pieces are coming along. Right now, there's no shadows in there so you still have that floating effect.

I haven't had much time to paint lately so every minute I do, I work on this because it's late and I really want to get it finished for her. I have not been able to work on anything else until this is done - and I mean not been able. I have a major block for doing anything because I feel so badly that this is not yet finished.

Long holiday weekend coming up here in Canada so I should be able to finish it this weekend. As well as start some other things I"m itching to do and get back to some drawing!!! Have a great Labour Day Weekend, Canucks!

Here's a few closeup shots:

I'm Dead Weight ....

Note: This posting has been edited to remove most of the 'rant'. I strongly feel that it shouldn't be included here with my art due to the negativity it contained and the negativity it constantly reminded me of each time I'd see it here. So, most of this post has been removed.

Online art groups are great. They are fantastic opportunities to learn and to grow and to share. I have found, through experience, that they can even be so much more beneficial than real time art groups. I belong to several of them. My absolute favourite is one (which shall remain un-named) in which four other friends and I started our own art group with the mandate of learning together and keeping the group private. (Since we often ‘rant’ together about anything we wish to rant about. For example, demanding group owners who want total obedience but it’s okay for themselves to break any rules. Shades of "all animals are equal but some are more equal than others".) Anyways, the five of us have grown so much and have become very good friends.

Then there’s the types of groups that are open to any painter who wishes to join. More great and wonderful opportunities to share. Over the years, one tends to ‘collect’ the best spots for sharing, the best spots for learning and the best spots to stay away from.

EBSQ Ripped Off Show

Due to some serious illness in the family, I didn't get my two entries finished on time for EBSQart's Ripped Off Show. I won't be able to enter them into the show but I will get them done. Here's what I've got so far for Mary Lu's rip. I was really intrigued by her references to pirates for the pirate ring she did for the Paper Show. My two boys are fascinated by all things pirate so after many years of reading piratey stories to them, I had to do this. I went to Mary Lu's site to view her many beautiful, beautiful designs in jewelry and decided to create a treasure chest filled with her pieces, with a treasure map lying in front of the chest. Here's some progress shots, you can click on any for larger views:

This is the drawing, surrounded by several printouts of Mary Lu's gorgeous designs. The drawing is laying on the full sheet of arches watercolour paper, 22" x 30".

A bit of a close-up of the chest. The blank spots inside the chest will be filled with coins. Old pirate coins. Arrrrrrrr, Matey!

The start of the painting.

I'll post more tomorrow but for toight, I'm bone tired!

More Drawings .....

Haven't had too much time this past week to draw (or anything else, for that matter, but get ready for a backyard birthday party that was held today) but last night, I did. And tonight, I will have more time.

First, I'd like to say that I was getting concerned about copyright issues of posting drawings I had done of Dan Gheno's drawings included in his many articles in the latest issue of Drawing Highlights. (See the previous post for more info on that.) So, I wrote to him, asking if it was okay with him that I posted my own copies of his drawings. He wrote a very nice letter back saying yes.

I've been reading and re-reading and re-reading again, the many fine articles in there. Each time I do another drawing and re-read the articles I'm working on, more sinks in and more makes sense.

Dan makes a very complicated subject become much more approachable, not so formidable and better to understand. Yes, his work definitely does speak to me.

I've posted an arm I did. Working on those muscles is not as easy as it looks in the articles! With each one, though, it gets a slight bit easier. I erased the hand - I just couldn't include it here. It looked more like a bear paw! I'll get to those in time, though.

Again, the scan is a bit poor. I'm sure as I post more of these, I'll get better at shooting them. It is so much easier to shoot colour work.

The second one I"m posting is a torso from his Shapes and Planes Diagram. Drawing this torso a few weeks ago would have been pretty grusome, but this one came easy.

I just love drawings of torso's and was really happy this one turned out reasonably recognizeable.

As usual, I ran out of room at the bottom of the page. (These are all drawn in an 11 x 14 inch Robert Bateman sketchbook, 90 lb paper.)Otherwise, there'd have been the upper section of a thigh there also.

Maybe tonight, I'll have another one to post.

Hope your weekend's been good.

I need a real model, but this magazine is great 'til then!

I bought a new magazine yesterday, "Drawing Highlights" by American Artist magazine. It features ten drawing articles by Dan Gheno, whose drawings I have greatly admired since I first saw them in print. It's an awesome collection of his articles and work and he's an awesome teacher. If you want to improve your figure drawing or learn from scratch, this is one magazine/book you should get immediately before they're gone from the news stands. (Just for the record, though it may sound like it, I'm not affiliated with the guy at all, just really impressed by his work and teaching!)

I absolutely love, love, love good figurative nudes and want to learn to draw them, so I plan on drawing many of the examples he illustrates his articles with. Here's the first, from the first article "1. Learn to See Form". It was done today, a Sunday afternoon, sitting outside after the sun FINALLY peeked out from the rain clouds that had taken over for the weekend. It's a bad scan but drawings seem to be so difficult to photograph. It's an unfinished thing, just like his own illustration.

When looking at it on screen, I can see that the arm muscle is too small and so is the calf muscle. Gotta work on that. But I do like, and am happy with, the muscle work!

PS - please excuse that little drop of rainwater that dropped onto the page (by the poor guy's head) from the umbrella!

PS #2 - I found his website ---> http://www.dangheno.net/ Check it out!

Pastiche of Francis Towne, and Saturday notes....

I've not worked on the Rain Man for a few days but will tonight. For now, I wanted to post the pastiche I've finished for June's Landscape Study Group's work by Francis Towne. I joined the group two or three weeks ago and just finished this up. (It was supposed to be done by June 30. Insert a shame-faced smiley here!)

When I did a colour correction in PhotoShop on the original, I found the colours to be more alive. Probably more like he painted it. I think it's probably faded a bit over the many, many, MANY years since he painted it. So, I worked from the colour corrected version. Below, on the left is the original and on the right, is the colour corrected version that I kind of like better.

This piece is titled, "The Source of the Arveiron: Mont Blanc in the Background" and was painted in September 1781, 42x31cm. 1781! That's a long time ago! If you'd like to read more on the artist and the painting, you can click here: ttp://www.handprint.com/HP/WCL/artist49.html

I've learned a lot from painting this. This is a great way to learn - copying from the works of the Masters. Here's my version:

I didn't do the ink on the mountain in the background and that ice flow river gave me a great amount of grief but while painting this, it was very easy to put myself in Towne's shoes. I could almost feel his thoughts while painting it!

Painted on Arches (of course!) 140 lb cold pressed paper, 1/4 sheet. (Though the painting does not take up the full 1/4 sheet. I kept room for experimenting with colour in the margins.)

July's artist of the month in the Watercolor Landscape Study Group is Winslow Homer and the painting we're painting is called The Guide. Should be fun and quite a learning experience.

Now, to get back to the Rain Man!

Have a great weekend!

Edible Art

Happy Canada Day!

I am very lucky to live in the best country in the world! I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Here's my contribution of art for today. Very yummy art! About fifteen years ago, I cut a picture out of the newspaper of a cake made like this for Canada Day. Every year since then, I planned on making it but never did. This year, I did! Without the picture to go by, just the image in my head. There was just one little glitch. I had bought a 2-litre basket of berries but ended up using them all in a rhubarb-strawberry pie and a strawberry pie. I totally forgot about needing more berries for this and ended up buying berries from the supermarket which had been imported from the US. How unpatriotic - a Canadian flag cake made with American berries! :-) They sure saved the day though, and tasted great!

I did do some painting though, this holiday weekend! I've been working on the rain man painting and on the pastiche for a landscape painting group I'm in. I'll post something later when it's looking decent enough to post. Right now, they're in the ugly stage.

Happy Canada Day, Canadians! Hope you had a wonderful weekend! I did.