memory versus on location

Here are two sketches I did yesterday. The first one is done from memory and the second one was done on location. I am always intrigued by what the mind comes up with versus what we actually see. Granted, we often use the mind's eye even when we are sketching from life but when you have to conjure up the entire scene, especially one that you are trying to remember, invention and probably a host of other visual experiences come into play. I am very curious how much the subconscious mind brings forth buried thoughts about other art that we've viewed, and just how much those thoughts or remembrances, dictate how we construct our drawing. It is as if we have two cameras working; the first one only need look at the subject briefly and be turned on when we look down at our paper. The other is constantly on, scanning our subconscious while we intently draw, looking at out paper and nothing else.

My first sketch is of the place where I caught a lot of catfish last month. The second sketch is of the grounds outside the National Gallery of Art in D.C.

Becky

I did this portrait last night while sitting on the patio of my favorite bar. Sometimes I think it is an unwise thing to sketch people who are heavy because they always seemed to be a little annoyed with the image you create. It is a natural reaction and one where I know I'd react the same way. Most of us (me included) carry around in our heads a self image of how we looked when we were very young. Personally, I found this woman to be very attractive regardless of her weight. I was also pleased with the results of this sketch. I finally had the nerve to work a little bit slower and to stare at my subject. Frankly, I'm uncomfortable staring at people especially since I seldom tell them I am drawing them.

self portrait

I did this self portrait last night and in so doing I tried something a little different. Often, exact proportion and placement of the major forms of the face and their relationship to each other can be slightly off. This seems like a natural tendency to my mind but in making this error, the face winds up looking somewhat like the sitter but maybe not exactly. In itself, that error may not be such a bad thing but in the instance, I didn't want it. So, while drawing myself I ran my eyes back and forth between my mirror and my paper holding no more then two seconds on each. What happened is the drawing started to feel like I was tracing my face. Many of the proportion issues were resolved by this or at least drawn more accurately. If I was to critique my portrait perhaps my eyes are a tiny bit too large but the likeness is, I think, a good one. I couldn't maintain this rapid transition of my eyes throughout the drawing; it makes you a little dizzy but I did it enough to get the proportions down. My interested in doing this sketch was to complete it as fast as I could. All in all, I think it took about twenty minutes to do. I don't know how others do their portraits but this was something new for me.

at the bar

I've made many bar scene sketches in the past but now that I no longer drink anything except tea or diet soda (I put myself on a diet), I seem to have loads of free time sitting with my friends, so I've gone back to sketching. I did this one last night; it's of the patio area outside and it was a very pleasant evening to draw. When the woman in my picture arrived, most of the guys that I was sitting with relocated their seats to face the same way I'm facing...haha!!!

war with ticks

Yesterday was a challenging day to be painting. I was overrun with ticks at this location. If you look at my last post, the old asphalt driveway you see in that painting is where I am sitting in this one. I selected the spot to stay out of the tall grass around me but it matter little for the place was swarming with ticks. As I started to paint I'd check often for signs of the little crawling monsters and after completing about a quarter of my painting I noticed two crawling up my leg. No problem, I thought, I just picked them off and gave 'em a toss but then when I looked at my turpentine can, there were three more crawling on the lip. I once again gave them the toss but it didn't end there. Now I noticed three climbing up my easel and another two on my shoes. After picking them off, I started to study the asphalt and saw several more traveling about. I squished them with the butt end of my brush but decided I could not finish my painting without fixing this problem. I packed up my gear and walked back to the truck and drove about six miles to a shopping mall and bought a can of Raid indoor/outdoor garden spray and a can of Deep Woods Off. When I returned I sprayed down the area thoroughly and put the repellent on my shoes, socks, and legs. That did the trick but even when I left, I had to spray my bag because three more came crawling out of it. I would imagine a high concentration of wildlife in Manassas Battlefield due to encroaching development helps to bring the ticks. It also has been another wet spring which creates a bumper crop. At least these were the large variety of ticks not the little deer ticks which can barely be seen. I ran into those last year, to the tune of fifteen bites and luckily no Lyme's disease.

Anyway, in looking at the last painting I posted, the trees at left are the same ones you see in this painting. I was satisfied with the results of this painting even though it took at lot longer than usual.

Gray day

I got out today and made this painting. The sky was one of those silvery grey days usually not so great for painting since there are never enough shadows to make the forms stand out but it was very comfortable to be outside. The location is actually in the same spot as my last plein air painting done back in April except I'm turned 180 degrees to the east in this one. Ticks are in full force now and this place seems to have an over abundance; I'm sitting in an old gravel driveway while making this painting and I still got one off of me. Nonetheless, it was certainly good to return to painting after fishing for the month. I have a freezer full of catfish fillets to last me for a while. Incidentally, my painting belies the truth about this setting. Directly out of view to the right is Route 66 and this weekend was, "Rolling Thunder" here in the nation's capital, so the loud rumble of motorcycles could be heard continuously traveling down the highway.

Historically, you are looking towards the trees and remains of an antebellum plantation, known as William Lewis plantation. This is another in a collection I've painted of very old farms that reside within Manassas Battlefield Park. I am always enthralled when I find the remnants of the past standing alongside out world today. It gives me a sense of continuity.

Gone fishing

I would imagine most people have noticed a slow down in posts from me, I simply have felt like taking a little break since I wasn't painting much anyway. I'm afraid the warm days have me out fishing just about every opportunity I can find so I'll be back to posting in due time. I have also embarked on writing stories about fishing which I guess is my way of prolonging the experience as much as I can.

Burke Lake Park

Why I'd post a winter scene here in the springtime is unclear to me but here it is. This is a large watercolor at 18"x24". I have avoided working from photos these days but I felt this one and several older paintings like it are worth posting. I did this painting from a selection of photos I took once while walking through a local park here in Fairfax, Va. I turned the picture into a moonlight snow scene because the back lighting simply suggested it. By the way, talking about large watercolors, has anyone seen the work of Walton Ford? He does huge watercolors, there is one in the American Museum of Art here in Washington that is 7' x 11'. here is a link:
http://www.americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=76772

Three takes on one view

These are all older works but I thought I'd show them because they show how many times one subject can occupy my mind. Why this particular scene became an obsession, I do not know but believe it or not, I also have two more watercolors of this scene that I never photographed. I created the first version (the one on the bottom) from a photo I took of a farm that use to be not far from where I lived. It was one of those oddities, a hold over held captive in a suburban environment. It finally met it's fate and is now a townhouse subdivision but back in the eighties it was a small inactive farm. The building is I think a corn crib or smoke house, It doesn't matter, it was a focal point for me. The second version (in the middle) is a rare, for me, acrylic painting. I left my subject in this one and started to create my own scene. The third one (at top) is an oil that is pretty large at 60" x 60". I was probably thinking of British artist Samuel Palmer when I did this painting, his skies are the most other worldly I have ever seen and his intense color scenes of dusk and night transport my imagination. All three paintings are of the same view but they certainly range wildly from the original (first) which follows the photo I took pretty closely. I've painted over the last two paintings but I assure you, that nasty practice of mine has finally ceased.