Yes, this week I've decided to skip the nudes, the trees, the people waiting for car service or Xrays to talk about (Ta Daa!) myself! Yes, I know I've done that in the not too distant past but this time I will skip the drama of serious surgery and love gone bad in the comics and concentrate on the fun aspects of life. I'll even exclude the standard penciled self-portrait you expect to find on every self-respecting author's book-jacket blurb. There, I hit "delete" and it's back in the dark end of my files!
Seriously, for a moment, I want to show some work different from my usual and while I'm at it, tie these divergent works together. If you have been following this "Dailies" Blog for any length of time, you know that the principle thrust here is my serious interest in drawing. While I may have posted paintings or photos in the past, drawing is my primary art interest. I like many aspects from serious observation of the real world, all the way through illustration to simple cartooning!
These are two drawings which at first may seem quite diverse in approach. The first, a cartoony illustration shows me in my office / studio / art library working on a self portrait. (Yes, the one I just deleted!) It's not just a work room, it's a favorite place in the house. As both an artist and collector of art, I work here surrounded and inspired by the art of both the famous and obscure. I love it! One informs the other!
The second is an almost pedantic drawing of a mundane object, - a hot water bottle illuminated by a bed-side lamp. It's a welcome source of bed-time heat in a drafty old home. (Yes, it's more than you want to know so I'll spare you an explanation!) One night, still up long after twelve, I was struck by the light falling on that taut plastic (not rubber these days) surface. I retrieved my drawing pad from the studio and spent an hour drawing on the Canson toned pastel paper that just demands highlights to enhance to work. Even though the techniques in the two are different, - hard line vs. soft, - cartoon vs. realism, - they are united by the use of white pencil high-lights that enhance three-dimentional aspects of the subject. As you know, I often use the added white in my contour figure drawings. I find it a very versatile and satisfying way to work. It's a simple way to make a simple subject work. Try it, - you'll like it!
"Philosophy begins with wonder." Plato
"The simplest things are often the truest." Richard Bach
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