Paper and Threads

We had a live model in costume and his 8 year old pug this week in my FIT Watercolor Comps class.  The dog shifted positions lots, but was otherwise a perfect model.  The model was short and round, dressed in a wizard costume - and during breaks he gave his dog plenty of loving!

When I finished the first painting, I practiced "being looser" and just painted the model's head.

We will next begin work on our final project - working each week to a finished illustration of a subject of our choice.  This was a very enjoyable class and I only hope that FIT offers more classes from the Illustration department in their Senior Program. 

Posted by Shirley at 6:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One Last Drawing from our Last Gallery Visits:  Max Ernst at Paul Kasmin

Saturday Subway Riders:  I haven't drawn on the subway for many months, but I forgot to bring a book!

Posted by Shirley at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last Wednesday (4/12) Pat and I met at Phillips for their Art on Paper auction preview, had lunch for sustenance, and then went to the Whitney Biennial for a tour led by my friend Gail.  During the winter months in 2013 I used every art medium I had in the apartment and spent the months sketching elephants from online videos.  I even learned how to make an Eric Carle collage from one of my paintings (see below).  So I just had to sketch and paint this multiple layer wood sculpture by Karel Appel at Phillips.

At almost 2PM on 4/13, my friend Benedicte sent me this image from the Paris Modern Art Museum, completely unaware that I saw another copy of the same sculpture 24 hours before!.   

She also sent this photo of Appel's Circus, from the exhibition that she visited.  During another trip to Paris she sent me a photo of a beautiful, flower-covered ballet tutu, not knowing that I photographed it when visiting Paris several months before.

Posted by Shirley at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My friend Pat and I visited a few galleries in Chelsea last week,  and sketched at several of them.

DAVID ZWIRNER:  Alice Neel Uptown through April 22nd

Photo of Alice Neel (1900-1984)  Alice Neel was primarily a portrait painter of people who lived in her neighborhoods in Spanish Harlem and the Upper Westside of Manhattan.

Her Portrait of Ron Kajiwara 1971

My Painting inspired by her "Ballet Dancer" 

Romare Bearden(1911-1988)  Bayou Fever and Related Works at DC MOORE GALLERY through April 29th: A large exhibit of his watercolor paintings and 21 collages he created for a dance called Bayou Fever.  Many of my favorite pieces are a combination of watercolor and collage. 

And my painting inspired by one of his collage characters from Bayou Fever 

RBKitaj (1932-2007) The Exile at Home:  An illustration at MARLBOROUGH CONTEMPORARY which closed this past weekend.  I loved an exhibit of his work at a museum in Berlin in 2012, but didn't like these paintings as much.

Max Ernst (1891-1976) Big Brother at PAUL KASMIN GALLERY through May 13th 

We also visited Garvey-Simon Gallery where Linda Lindroth's photography exhibit was about to close.  Linda is one of my college friends, and her exhibit, Trickster in Flatland, was great inspiration for abstract compositions for both of us.   

Posted by Shirley at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This semester I'm taking an Illustration class called Watercolor Comps and our professor is covering many basic skills that can be used for illustrations.  This week it was dip pens and India Ink on Smooth Paper to see how the type of pen can influence your drawings and lettering.  I used Bainbridge Illustration Board Hot Press-#172.  I did one quick sketch with pen and ink, and diluted ink and a brush for shading.  My second drawing was of my "imaginary friend" AXEL and friends with pen, ink, and watercolor.  I didn't like the way the watercolor went on the illustration board, and didn't take the time to try other smooth papers. 

I used two pen nibs:  A Zig Kuritake Pen Nib for a Manga Saji pen from the professor and a Brause Steno nib that I bought.  Both were flexible nibs and could make very fine or thick lines.  And both are available from Dick Blick. 

Posted by Shirley at 7:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)