Paper and Threads

A new Matisse exhibit opened at MoMA on Sunday - entitled Radical Invention, 1913-1917.  The paintings were somber in color and he was definitely experimenting with the human form, culminating in his painting The Bathers.  I sketched faces from one of his paintings and several of his prints for the Prisoners of Bohain-en-Vermandois.

I then use3d one of the drawings to inspire my "Eyedropper Face" which is Lab 13 from the Carla Sonheim book Drawing Lab.  I used a small eye dropper and FW acrylic ink to draw the face, then painted it with watercolor. 

I'm really enjoying the "labs" in the Sonheim book - and will continue to work through them even though my art buddies returned home after our evening art sessions at our beach week.

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Our group met at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Saturday, instead of in Central Park, because of the threat of inclement weather.  Our first drawing session was a major challenge - the Starn brothers bamboo structure on the Museum rooftop.  I decided to really limit my scope and to focus on the method that they used to connect the bamboo and creat a structure which supports many people on internal walkways. 

Our next drawing session was in the current exhibit called The American Woman - from the costume institute.  I already sketched some of the fashions in the exhibit on a previous visit and this time concentrated on the room called "The Heiress." 

Our 3rd and final sketch was in 19th C. European Paintings.  I am studying Cezanne's card players over a several year period and this time did a simple line drawing of one of the card players.  For more information about this project and my 2007, 2008, 2009 paintings, click here.

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Our Central Park Meetup Group met at the Conservatory Garden again and it was beastly hot.  However, there were enough non-wilted flowers to paint.  They are not labelled and I have little practical knowledge of flowers - but I love drawing individual blooms.

There are two wonderful fountains in the Garden.  One of the fountain areas was the site for a lovely wedding.  The other fountain, the Three Dancing Maidens, was in bright sunlight.  But we discovered that we could dangle our feet into ice cold fountain water until the guards reprimanded us.  I drew this fountain twcie before (see here and here) and this time I decided to just draw one of the maidens.  I had just enough time before the guards came!

Following Meetup, I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a special afternoon program on Picasso to go along with their huge current exhibit.  Francois Gilot gave a long and excellent lecture on her encounter with Picasso, She lived with him for 10 years and had two children with him.  Professor Michael Fitggerald presented detailed information about the first private American collectors of Picasso's paintings and the history of the Met vs MoMA and their Picasso acquisitions.  Then there was a wonderful French film (The Mystery of Picasso - 1955) in which Picasso drew on one side of a support and we the audience just saw the lines forming and colored inks being added.  It was mesmerizing. 

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 There are two weekly figure drawing sessions at the Society of Illustrators in New York City - and in one of them models are partially or fully clothed.  Last week was the first time that I was there when two models were fully in costume - a Marie Antoinette type costume for one and a pirate costume for the other.  It was the hardest sketching I've done there - a huge challenge.

Here is one of my 2 minute sketches of the woman model - complete with an elaborate wig and full ruffly gown:

Here is one of my 2 minute sketches of the male - in pirate costume, but without all of the braid and other decoration on his jacket, belt, and hat which I just didn't have time to include.

They proceeded to disrobe before the longer poses at the end of the evening.  This is one of the 20 minute poses:

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We took my 6 year old grandson Henry to Lincoln Center for an open rehearsal of the New York Philharmonic.  He takes violin lessons and is very interested in music - and seemed excited when we invited him.  He read some great children's books about composers and I sketched before the rehearsal began.  It was the first time that I sketched live musicians while they played.

Yesterday I went to a panel discussion about creativity and sketchbooks - presented by Rice Freeman-Zachary (whose 2 books I loved), with my friend Melanie Testa, and Wendy Hale Davis.  Rice is such a colorful character that I just had to sketch her while I listened.  And I didn't even put on all the jewelry that she was wearing.

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