Paper and Threads

I love having a January special project for the cold days spent indoors.  Last year I didn't do anything with my figure drawings, as I had hoped, so that became my 2017 January project.  I had a $4.00 used accordion book with black paper which was perfect for my idea - with a full spread of 80 inches.  Each "page" of the accordion was 8" high by 10" wide.  I selected drawings that I did between July 2012 and October 2016, resized them, printed them out, and then carefully cut them out.  They were collaged to the book using a UHU glue stick.

The Cover:  This was a large drawing that I did during a figure drawing class at FIT - my first semester there in the Senior Learner program.  I still need to add a title.

Here are the 8 pages - scanned and uploaded.  I'm thrilled to have completed this project and have so many memories of the figure drawing sessions.  All of the clothed models, except two, were drawn during the last 3 years at the Adult Art Program at Battery Park City. And those two models were sketched at the National Art Club and MoMA. The nude models were sketched at the Society of Illustrators, Drawing New York Meet Up, or FIT.  All of the poses were 5, 10, or 20 minute poses.

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Deliberate Practice:  I know that I need to practice drawing hands, and over the last several years I've drawn many hands from photos, even from an American Sign Language website.  When drawing models, few of the poses are long enough to spend much time drawing hands, but occasionally I can now do it!

"To learn any new skill or gain expertise you need to practice, practice, practice. There isn’t much debate about that.

But here’s what you might not know: scientific research shows that the quality of your practice is just as important as the quantity.

And, more interestingly, these scientists also believe that expert-level performance is primarily the result of expert-level practice NOT due to innate talent.

This concept is known as deliberate practice, and it’s incredibly powerful."  This is the introduction to a good article describing deliberate practice.  http://expertenough.com/1423/deliberate-practice

These hands were drawn with a Caran d'Ache mahogany watercolor colored pencil, using the New York Times Style magazine advertisements for inspiration.  I recently started selecting photos with two hands, instead of one. 

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Last week was a blur of food shopping, cooking, cleaning up, fixing leftovers, and lots of time with wonderful family and friends.  I literally didn't think about a blog post until I was awakened at 4:10 this morning by someone who called the wrong number from California. 

I was finished with my figure painting in my FIT class last week and spent the session doing a "portrait" of the model. 

My painting is still in the FIT Studio for our critique session tonight, so I haven't photographed it.  I'm not thrilled with the painting, but I am achieving my goal of learning how to better use acrylic paints.  I still love pen, ink, and watercolor sketchbook art, but I believe it is a good idea to shake up my brain on a regular basis, and my two acrylic painting classes have done that.

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This is a huge art exhibit month in New York City.  In addition to the Fall Museum Exhibits, there are terrific gallery shows, and the huge auction previews.  Both Sotheby's and Christies now have combined auction previews for Impressionist /Modern and Post-War/Contemporary that last in each auction house for more than a week.  During my visit to Gagosian Gallery's exhibit "Nudes" and both Auction Gallery Previews I sketched pieces of sculpture that I liked and photographed many paintings that inspired me.

Matisse Sculpture at Gagosian Gallery on Madison Avenue:  The balance achieved in this life-size sculpture was fascinating.

 Maillot and Degas Sculptures at Sotheby's:  These life-size sculptures were next to each other making it fun to place the drawings together.

 Mbole Figure from the Congo:

 Moore Sculpture from Christies:  I love the family series of sculptures done by Moore and this one was very small and just right for my sketchbook drawing of the day.   

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This past Wednesday I attended a Collage class at MoMA.  Before I went I gathered some recent mail, and two drawings I did in ballpoint pen on index cards.  I cut out or ripped headlines and photos from my mail, looking for a theme.  I had items from the newspaper and a magazine, and even a return address on a manila envelope from Hillary Clinton.   The bowed head I sketched represents to me one of the muslims that Trump wants to keep out of our country.  The news headline "Art of Frustration No Matter the Form" made me think of the stress of this election, where a totally incompetent, sociopathic candidate like Trump could be nominated by a major party.  I  interpreted this quote literally as ART born from frustration and included images of a dancer, singers, my drawing, Dubuffet's painting, and a photograph.  "Be Creative, Get Active," and stay sane, is my mantra until Nov 8th.

I went to Figure Al Fresco in Battery Park City in the afternoon, but only stayed for part of the session.  Here is a quick sketch of Regina between poses and a ten minute pose drawn with a soluble graphite pencil and shaded with a waterbrush. 

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