Sunday Stuff

Yesterday morning I went to the new local Ocean State Job Lot for their grand opening, and got a ton of supplies for my foray into acrylics. I was going to go to Michael's but OSJL's sale was too good to ignore. I got a stack of canvases (8x10, 11x14, 16x20) for super-cheap, 2 boxes of paints (18 colors - 0.4 oz tubes), and a wide selection of brushes of various sizes, both synthetic and hair. Plus a sturdy easel for ten bucks. I am going to supplement with a trip to Michael's later this week for larger (4 oz) tubes of paint and some palette knives. Later, I spent the afternoon drawing (pencil, and then black ink) the beautiful surfer Erica Hosseini (a favorite subject of mine, dynamic and athletic) while I watched the Patriots beat Buffalo.

Nature's Majesty

I was down at the lake today, floating in the middle of it with a local beer in hand. This is what I saw after an hour of peaceful contemplation, when I got out of the water:

Incentive

Michael's is having a sale beginning Sunday, and Liquitex Basics acrylic paint is "buy two get one free". Also, canvas 2-packs are "buy one get one free". I think the universe is telling me to finally jump-start my desire to experiment with brushes. So once I make those purchases (along with the aforementioned brushes, palette knives, etc...), I'll have some large-scale work to display.

Long Day

I got up at 8 am, organized my things, and spent nearly 7 hours (with short meal breaks) drawing in front of a big chunk of season 1 of "Mad Men". I got some figure drawing done, and several 'spirals' (a style of drawing I came up with a few years ago, wherein the female form is rendered with as many spirals as possible, with minimal non-spiral lines). It's amazing how swiftly the time always goes by when set up to draw in front of the tv this way.

I also came to the conclusion that not everything is interesting enough to photograph. Suffice to say I am happy with my work, and will share finished projects, but probably little 'practice' work.

Oh, and I broke out the tablet yesterday afternoon, to give it a test run. It was a bit difficult to get into the swing of things (lining up the action of my hand with the point on the screen), but it was an hour or so of exploratory fun. I'll delve deeper into it later this week. It's definitely a technique that requires a lot of refining, and customizing the keys will take some learning.

Pencils

I spent several hours using just a regular #2 pencil to draw in front of a UFL football game (Sacramento Mountain Lions @ Hartford Colonials). I worked on several sketches of the photo at left (the photographer, Kait Dean is pretty talented), refining and improving with each repetition, and then I made another attempt at the surfing girl I did on a previous day. It's clear that I need to work on negative space, as my figures are coming out the way I want them to, but the spaces between limbs and surrounding the figures don't quite match the photos I am working from. A fun afternoon, nevertheless!

Production

I had a good day today. After waking up at 5:30 for no good reason, I spent the morning drawing the woman, trying my darndest to make it look like the photo, and then I spent the afternoon drawing and inking the alien bruiser. I wasn't going to color him, but after I took the photo, I just had to. I got lazy on the bottom half and just cut him out and pasted him on a piece of dark burgundy colored paper (haha). Enjoy:

Outdoor Inspiration

  I'd been getting rather sedentary lately, so today I decided to begin what I have been calling "Mountain Quest". I want to climb as many local New England mountains as I can before winter sets in. So today I climbed the Mountain House Trail on Mt. Wachusett. The climb was strenuous in the best way possible, the view at he summit was incredible, and listening to Abbie Barrett's "Dying Day" on my iPod on the descent was perfect. There is nothing like fresh air, majestic vistas, great local music, and physical exertion to get the brain wheels turning.

Back to Basics

I decided to draw all morning as I watched my New England Patriots clobber the Cincinnati Bengals. I had a couple of cool surfing photos to work from, and this is what I came up with. I went with the dual tip markers again, to practice with thickness variations and shading on both drawings, and as you can see, I also used colored pencils on picture #2. The markers tend to smudge if enough time isn't allowed for thorough drying, and I don't have any proper colors for large areas or the particular skin color of the girl, so I went with peach and light gray pencils. They were both fun exercises, and I feel it was time well-spent. And while I prefer my work on the left-hand figure, I am more happy with the way the gray marker and pencil work together to give a good 'stormy ocean' feel.

New Toy Part 2

I'm in the midst of downloading all the free software that is included with my new tablet:

• Nik Color Efex Pro 3 WE6
• Wacom Brushes 3
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 8
• Autodesk SketchBook Express 2010
• Corel Painter Sketch Pad

Also, this morning I ordered a Bluetooth dongle from Amazon (only $2.97 - amazing!), which I will have in a week or so, but until then I can use the tablet at  my computer table, because (duh!) it has an eight-foot cord. I'll post some cool new stuff (and some handmade stuff) over the next few days. I am going to structure next week as if I am going to an actual office: work 9-5 on various projects, with two 15-minute breaks and an hour for lunch. I'll try to post nightly again, with bits of each day's accomplishment(s).

New Toy

A few months ago I moved into the renovated apartment in the back part of my aunt's house. It is a lot less expensive than my last place, and is a lot closer to most of the rest of my family. Anyway, she had mentioned on a few occasions that she'd like to help me out the way she's helped out my younger siblings in the past, with a financially significant contribution to better my life, and this is the marvel that she came up with:

A Wacom Intuos4 Wireless Professional Pen Tablet! It came via UPS early this afternoon, and I am SO excited. My computer isn't Bluetooth-enabled, so I haven't been able to use it yet, but my head is absolutely spinning with the possibilities (and gratitude - thanks Aunt JM!). I just need to run out and get a Bluetooth dongle (stupid word!), and I'll be ready to install it, set it up, and bring my artistic skills into the 21st Century. The software that comes with it should exponentially increase how prolific and professional my work will be going forward.

Photo Time

I spent the evening floating in the middle of the lake my family has owned a piece of land on for the last 46 years. The sun was setting and the water was warm, so I couldn't resist (sorry sketchpad, you lost out today!). What a dreamy, carefree feeling, just floating under a blue sky, watching airplanes fly way overhead, and birds fly a bit closer. There were only a few scattered wispy clouds, and hardly anyone else on the water, so it was a peaceful end to a low-key labor Day. I snapped a few photos both before and after my 'swim'. Check out the colors! I am always psyched when I get such memorable pictures down at my favorite lake.

Everything Looks Better in a Frame

...or at least this project does! I finally finished the cityscape today. I'm not sure if I like the inhabitants, but I am pretty happy with the way the rest of it turned out. I never had any issue with the glue, and I wisely saved the colored pencils for the end, so there was no smudging, and very little flaking. It didn't look right with the sun in the upper right, but it felt perfect when I made the leftward shift, even though I had to sacrifice the solar panels. Sometimes it feels a bit empty of buildings, but I think it was better to go with three strong ones rather than clutter the image with too many indistinct ones.

What a feeling of joy and accomplishment I feel every time I look over at the finished (and framed) final work! I took a few pictures of it when I was done, but it was after dark, and the indoor lighting isn't quite right. I'll take a few of the piece in the sunlight tomorrow, so a full appreciation can be had. For now, here is the best of the dark shots (see left).

I also did some sketches for another paper project, as well as for a surfer girl in action illustration. The ideas just keep coming, "and that ain't bad".

Miscellaneous

I realized that I haven't added any images for the last few days. Here is the initial colored thumbnail for the mixed media (various plain & patterned colored papers, ink, colored pencil, glue) cityscape, which I spent a good deal of time on last night. I also ran out to get a frame for it, to fill a blank spot on my walls, and also so I can point to it when friends & family drop in, and say "I did that!" (haha).

I did some more work on a political slogan that I came up with last year about Sarah Palin. Has there ever been a more divisive figure of so little substance on America's political stage? Once it's refined (if properly marketed), the t-shirt profits alone could make me a rich man. I just hate to add to the publicity surrounding her (no matter how small), even if it's in a negative (albeit humorous) light. I just want her swept off the stage so more intelligent heads can do some work on the other side of the aisle. Food for thought.

The heatwave of the last week has ended, so perhaps I'll venture outdoors with my sketchpads. Now that all of the kids are back to school, the lake and parks and mountains (such that they are here in New England) will be a lot less crowded. And I need to finish that cd cover.

Today's Tasks

I set myself three tasks today:

1. Draw the female form non-stop for several hours.
2. Practice my neglected guitar for a couple of hours.
3. Shave my head.

It's 3 pm now, and I drew for 2 hours, and am mid-head-shave (I use a Norelco electric, which allows me to multi-task!). Another update in a few hours...

It's nearly 4 am now. I went to bed at 1 am after reading for a bit, but couldn't sleep (too many ideas and stuff going on in my brain). Anyway, I never did get to my guitar, but I did finish shaving my head (haha), and drew for another hour in the late evening. A very solid day, and the guitar was never a priority, just a good idea.

At The Table

I spent most of the day working on the cityscape. A day of glue, colored papers, colored pencils, black ink sketches and brainstorming. Spurts of activity broken up by uninspiring meals, the always inspiring HGTV, and reading breaks. This is the first long-term project in ages on which I've kept a steady level of enthusiasm throughout. I can't wait to pick out a matted frame for the completed work.