Blabbering elsewhere

This time, the post is about my recent experience leading a group of Free-Drawing.

Lots of words, no drawings.

It is in my other blog: The Scrum'em Bear.

Confused?

Till nextime!

Me.

Hall full of mirrors

The first time I was in the Louvre (about six years ago), we went to see the famous La Joconde, Mona Lisa, or whatever name you call her (or him?)
The Louvre is full of Clichés, by that I mean works that have so much cultural clutter it is hard to see them clearly, and this one is exceptionally hard.
In a lecture I heard about the Louvre by someone who works there, I learnt about 80% of the crowd at a given moment is in the halls of the Mona Lisa, and Venus du Milo.
Furthermore - you can't get near the painting (there is a guard), and it is covered with a double vitrine, so the only thing you get to see is its real size, which is no surprise as well, since you know Leonardo traveled with it all the time, so it couldn't be huge.
Still, being in the presence of the real thing (assuming this is not a copy, while the real one is deep in the safes of the Louvre) has its impact...

The stuff I am interested in is the process of visiting it, people (me included) came to see it so they can say they did (to themselves, to others), to mark a V on the must-sees.

Nowadays, this ritual is supported by the ever-accessible photography, and since the purpose of a photo is to mark the event, and not document the richness of the work (you can see the work in meticulous proximity on the web), a simple phone-camera may do the trick as well.

And since art is about reproduction of a reproduction, I was fascinated by the details of this process.

I've been doing some past-surfing lately, so I dag these from the archive, I hope you like them...

*Note - these photos are not the originals, but merely copies :)

And Mine:

And finally, the girl didn't have a camera (don't worry, she has one now...)

And just so you see the full picture: look here.

Research & Discovery with a Model

Those of you who follow my post may already know that:

- One of the reasons I draw is to explore and experiment with the boundaries of vision

- I love to blabber (but usually try to restrain myself)

It's been a long time since I did painting, and a longer time since I drew a live model, and since I have my drawing-group I didn't find the time to take the time and paint in a relaxed manner.

So yesterday I treated myself to a meetup of a live model, which was 90 minutes of pure pleasure,

Partly since Scott (the host) Lucie (the model) and the group were so friendly and fun.

But mostly since I had the chance to introspect and extospect, experiment with colors, compositions, lines, and just plain listen.

So today - the five are colored drawings, the two are hidden colored drawing, and there's a pencil one as well.

And for the blabbering part - I'd like to share some of the noise that crossed my mind while drawing, and the drawing experience a bit...

You may find it boring or obscure, but I wrote this one mainly for myself.

I brought a block of colored paper, and red and yellow acrylic left from a workshop I did. chose purple and yellow since it clashes so well, and started drawing using a finger. soon enough I discovered two things:

- Thinly spread yellow actually darkens the paper. so some places I wanted to lighten became dark.

- The finger is too thick to draw facial expressions.

Than used red to define the darker-than-purple, and the outer bounds.

What I'm mostly happy with are the arm on the left and the rib-cage.

And a general rule - sometimes I make a move I regret (the nose, the red part of the chest), I take a breath and accept it, and try not to fight it or cover it.

After a pause, a new pose. I choose another paper color, borrow a brush (thanks, Scott), and go for a more detached set of spots, again starting from the yellow.

I search for the shadows, try to examine whether their border is well defined or not, how do they define the body, the yellow works, but it remains too flat, so I take the red again... just to find that the the color combination doesn't work at all (I still have to understand why...)

Covering the yellow of the hair (that should have been left blue) makes the hair come-out even more. what I do like is the face and the knee. and I realize I may have confused the yellow on the right... sometimes use it as a definition of the border, and sometimes as part of the arm.

Also - I have lots to learn about holding a brush - a finger is waaay easier.

And for the first hidden painting - to illustrate why the color combination doesn't work, watch what happens when I remove the colors... suddenly the darks and lights work much better.

Next, I left the colored paper for a while, and drew on white. 

The idea was to clean the red brush from the color left from the previous drawing, to have some background, and than draw on it with a pencil.

The red part passed quite easily, though I wanted sharper edges. than the pencil - starting from the face, I put too much details on it (but what's done is done)

The sofa turned out strange.

What I like:

- The contrast between the softness of the red and the sharpness of the pencil.

- Textural changes: radiator on the left, hair, stomach, toes.

What I don't like:

- It came out quite like I 'envisioned' it. not a lot of surprises.

- I'm sorry there was no place left for the left foot

- The face is too heavy.

Deciding when it is 'done' is quite arbitrary, it is really a matter of decision and not knowledge (unless the time is up for the pose). Since I ended before Lucie changed her pose, I took a shot at a quick sketch.

Not much to say about it, the haste to make the sketch in two minutes didn't do justice to her face (she was soft and smiling), the last few seconds I added the lines of the shoulders and arms, and it makes a movement I like.

Last pose.

Not playing favorites, I do like how this one turned out...

This time the paper color doesn't clash with the yellow, And painting with the finger I get good control so I can well define the legs, the foot, the breast and the rib-cage.

The pencil part adds different textures: the curved long lines, the vibrating hair and stomach.

I find the shadows (the hand's shadow on the sofa and the space between the sofa and the floor) are confusing and too automatic. (does the leg bend or is it extended)

And a thing I like is the open-ness of the form, that the lines don't frame the body but only help shape it (the arm extends with no limit)

Another thing I like is the two layers that interact without mixing, like two separate slides one on top of the other, defining separately light and shape.

Next, another take at the same pose.

This time only with spots. trying to define only the major outlines.

As I said, my brush technique sucks, still I like the way it turned out.

While drawing I tried to leave out as much as possible.

The jagged line below is an attempt to define the border between the leg and the tissue on the floor. The shoulder blade is so square it may be confused as part of the sofa. and the hair is the only dark part that is not a shadow. 

I like it mainly since even I have to struggle to find the model in the painting, she keeps appearing and disappearing. (if you don't see her - use the drawing above it as a reference)

And for the second hidden drawing...

when I came back, I was surprised to find a pose I didn't draw, and it took me a while to realize I was holding the above drawing at another angle. funny, isn't it?

Till nextime!

End of the world as we know it (and I feel fine)

Been doing a lot of drawing lately, but a textual post this time, SVP.

As the end of the world approaches, along with tectonic movements in my close vicinity, here are some lessons learnt in the past year.

Teaching is the best way to learn. 
The more time passes, the more I appreciate the gift I got from my teachers, be it Naomi for Tai Chi, or Shir for the drawing. furthermore I realize how much teaching gave them a chance to re-examine their skills. hence I just started a drawing teaching adventure.

Any movement is good if you use it well. 
Be it Job, Family, Location, A movement is a chance to wake up and see yourself bear (pardon the pun) before diving back in, did lots of it this year.

Friends are important.
Having someone to share your reflections, problems and just plain freestyle with is great,
And sometimes you receive such great gifts, in such a casual manner, that you can't even start expressing a thank-you for. (but thank you anyway :)

No risk, no gain.
When you finally take a risk your afraid of, you will probably either lose less than you imagined, or gain more than you expect, happens numerous times lately (mainly the latter).

Life is what happens to you when you'r busy making other plans.
Totally true (even if are shot by a madman in NYC)


So, these are the five, the two are animated poems I adore by Bill Collins:

Forgetfulness

Walking across the Atlantic

See you at the other side of the (yet another) end of the world.

Me.

Threefold commuters

(Subtitle: Thoughts outof the frame)

מחשבות מחוצלתמונה

Double exposure is not just photography-related.

This time - commuters in motion (or is it me?)

(and due to a special request - a double language full-of-text issue)

חשיפה ארוכה או כפולה היא לא רק רעש או כלי צילום

(?והפעם - נוסעים/נושאים בתנועה (או שמא זה אני

...לאפרת

Three and two are one

When does one (say - me) decide the subject deserves to be re-shot?

we move in time and space all the time, is it just the fact you note it that makes you re-draw?

,מתי מגיעה ההחלטה שהתנוחה או המצב השתנו עד כדי צורך בהתייחסות 

?בתחילת רישום חדש

.הרי המצב - או אני - זזים כל הזמן, וגם צילום, רגיל ככל שיהיה, מקפיא פלח זמן

non reader

three books

OK, I know the answers (or at least have one...), when the pose changes, I re-draw, and when it changes back, I go back to the previous one... 

טוב, בסדר, אני יודע את התשובה (או לפחות יש לי אחת...)  - כאשר התנוחה משתנה, אני רושם רישום חדש,
אבל שומר על האפשרות לחזור לקודם אם התנוחה חוזרת

תשומת הלב שלי והיכולת להגמיש את המציאות כך שתתאים לרישום
 מגדירים האם התנאים השתנו עד כדי הפסקת הקיים ותחילת רישום מציאות חדשה

Two sitting before one

And, in fact, It is a matter of decision, since even if there was no movement, the object would have been drawn differently every time.

.ובעצם, ההחלטה גמישה, שכן גם אם האובייקט יכל לא לזוז, הוא יירשם אחרת בכל פעם

hair covered and my stop arrived

And time poses its limits as well, will they exit at the next stop? is my stop approaching?

On the other hand, I prefer not to draw top down, 

not to define priorities just to win the race. 

והזמן, גם הוא חלק מהמשוואה,

 ,חלקו לא ידוע, האובייקט רשאי לזוז, לרדת בתחנה

.וחלקו בשליטתי, התחנה שבה אני אמור לרדת

מצד שני - מעדיף לא לרשום מבחוץ פנימה 

לא להזדקק להגדרת עיקר מול טפל רק כדי להספיק במירוץ מולו

two daily papers

When drawing, I mainly look at the subject, 

so sometimes one line works against the previous take, 

and sometimes it blends with it seamlessly.

,בזמן הרישום, אני מסתכל בעיקר בנושא 

ולעתים קו ברישום אחד מתנגש בקודם או מתמזג בו לחלוטין.

three reading one

A big question is the definition of done.

A question which can be diminished only if the face value of the drawing is zero at all stages.

ובין כל אלה ניצבת השאלה מתי לסיים, שאלה שלא מציקה רק אם הציור חסר ערך בכל שלב שהוא

Till nextime.

להתראות