Paper and Threads

There is a large Andy Warhol Exhibit at the Whitney Museum.  This is one of several exhibits of his art in NYC that I've seen - at the Met, MoMA, Morgan, and now at the Whitney.  The MoMA and the Morgan introduced me to Warhol the Illustrator and I loved his drawings and book illustrations that were featured in their exhibit.  I never had any feelings for his screen prints - too commercial and mechanical for my tastes. 

After looking at the exhibit, and drawing, I joined a 4PM tour of the exhibit given by one of my friends, who led us, for an hour, from early Warhol, to late Warhol.  Below are two Sketchbook pages I created while walking around the exhibit. 

Here are a few of the early pieces that I liked.  His ad for rhinoplasty led him to narrow his own nose. The Diana Vreeland shoe is one of his slipper series, in which he "designed" and made shoes and boots for a handful of celebrities.   I used gold gouache to paint the shoe, he used gold leaf! 

Hearing about his life, and the reasons behind his artistic development, allowed me to better understand his work.  In addition, I'm taking an experimental screen printing class at FIT, and soon will understand some of his printing methods.  The exhibit will close at the end of March, and then travel to 2 other major museums in the US.  The website for the exhibit is huge.  https://www.whitney.org/Exhibitions/AndyWarhol 

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We saw a working dress rehearsal 0f Apollo at the New York City Ballet - to be performed that evening at the Winter Season Opening.  I quickly did a pencil sketch of the 4 dancers while they warmed up and the lighting technicians projected the sun, and then the lights went out making further drawing impossible.

Posted by Shirley at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Accordion Sketchbook with Fabriano Artistico 140lb Soft Press paper:  I made 3 of these and used them for sketching during NYC Urban Sketchers meetings when weather permitted.  This is one of those three.

I am teaching a friend from NYC USK how to make books and last week, in lesson 4 - (first 3 lessons: pamphlet book, double pamphlet book, recycled book) we made accordion books using Fabriano Artistico 140 lb soft press watercolor paper.  We tore two 8" strips from a 22 X 30"sheet of paper and glued them together with a 1/2" flap.  The pages are 8"H x 7" W for a full length of 56".  I used paste paper I made previously to cover the binders board that I made while she was following along.

Posted by Shirley at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

In March 2015, during Asia Week in NYC, I discovered Modern Indian paintings at Sothebys and the first painting I copied was by M.F. Husain.  Since then I have seen many more paintings by the "modern" artists at Sotheby's and Christies.  Last week I saw a wonderful, big, historical exhibit at the Asia Society here in Manhattan - The Progressive Revolution: Modern Art for a New India. From the exhibit "On August 15, 1947 India threw off the shackles of British rule and in the ensuing period of transition, turmoil, and hope, six young firebrands came together in Bombay, now known as Mumbai."  Their group was called the Progressive Artists Group and they became known as the Moderns.  M.F. Husain (1918-2011) was one of those six artists.  Here is my copy from the exhibit, inspired by M.F. Husain's Village Woman (1954).  

Brochure from the Asia Society: Exhibit through Jan 20, 2019.  See website for hours, including periods when entry is free. 

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There is a wonderful exhibit at Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University.  Black models depicted in drawings, paintings, and sculpture by major artists are included in the exhibit.  I enjoy sketching sculptures, and loved African Venus by Charles Henri-Joseph Cordier (1851).

Here is the exhibit information which doesn't close until February 10th.  The Gallery is in a building at 615 E. 129th Street, and is part of the newest campus for Columbia University.  It is worth the trip uptown.

Posted by Shirley at 1:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)