T., New York
charcoal, pastel, and conté
8.5" x 11" (21.5 x 17.9 cm)

This drawing was done at David Klass's studio in New York. David Klass is a sculptor who hosts a weekly open drawing night in his studio on West 24th St. If you're in New York and need a Wednesday evening drawing fix, check it out.

For more on David Klass try his website: David Klass Sculpture.

Mannequins, Manhattan
oil
4.5" x 3.5" (11.4 x 8.9 cm) ■


This sketch is oil over graphite. The original drawing was done outside of Bergdorf Goodman in Manhattan, looking in at two odd mannequins. The mannequins appeared to have mishaped heads. Maybe they did have misshapen heads, and this is all the rage in mannequin fashion these days. What do I know? I just drew. The colour was added later.

417 No.2
oil
6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 cm)

Another small study based on a night drive from Montreal to Ottawa on Ontario provincial highway 417.

417 No.1 was posted on Friday, November 10th.

Another new link: (Notes On) Politics, Theory, & Photography. It's excellent, and, you guessed it, about politics, theory, and photography.

Aimé
graphite, ink, and oil pastel
11.5" x 8.3" (29.2 x 21.1 cm)
Do you have a bed of nails that's going unused? A sword that should be swallowed? Fire to be eaten? Or a car that you would like to crash into a wall? Call Aimé. He'd love to help you out.

What's happening in art in Montreal? Zeke's Gallery has the answer.

Landscape No. 1
oil
6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2cm)

Another small study for a larger work.

This landscape is completely imaginary. It is not meant to represent any particular landscape.

Obsessed? Try Modern Art Obsession. The name says it all.

Night
oil
6" x 6" (15.2 x 15.2 cm)

This small painting is a study for a larger painting. It is not based on any particular scene, nor is it a particular realistic representation of any night.

Regarding realism I like to remember a quote from Pablo Picasso: "Everything you can imagine is real."

Andy
ink, charcoal, and pastel
8.4" x 11.5" (21.3 x 29.2 cm)

The lights in the face were achieved by lifting off some of the smudged pastel.
This is not a technique that I use very often.
It's too fussy. However, in this drawing it seems to work.

The odd object beside the model is an old parabolic heater. Last week when this drawing was done, the studio was cold, even for a clothed model.

Robert
encre
21.5 x 27.9 cm (8.5" x 11")

Alexandra Paquette. 2006. Collection de Robert Sim.

Ce dessin était fait par Alexandra Paquette de Terrebonne, Québec. Alexandra est une artiste en herbe. Qui peux résister de mettre un si beau dessin sur son blog?

Les grandes oreilles, les petits yeux, les lunettes, et les cheveux bizarrement plats, tous sont exacts.

Quelle merveilleuse réalisation du sujet! Mais quel mervielleux sujet - Moi !!!

Remerciements à Alexandra.

Alexandra, juste une seule question: Qui est l'autre figure dans le dessin?

Théatre St. Denis, Montréal
graphite, ink, and oil pastel
9"x 7" (22.9 x 17.8)

The Théatre St. Denis is the blurred building in the mid-ground. The view is looking west from La Grande Bibliothèque, Montréal's new public library.

I know nothing of the Théatre St. Denis, other than that was the name on the building. The name was originally visible in the drawing above the three small windows in the centre of the building.

The initial drawing was done in pen and pencil and was fairly uninspiring. Instead of throwing it out, I decided to rework it in oil pastel, which I think has improved it considerably.

Lilith
digital image
9" x 6" (22.9 x 15.2 cm)

This image is a simple photoshop manipulation of the drawing in the previous post of Kiki Smith's, Lilith, in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

I prefer this image to the original.

Kiki Smith
ink, charcoal, conté, and pastel
9" x 6" (22.9 x 15.2 cm)

This is a drawing done in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston of the Kiki Smith sculpture, Lilith (1994). The sculpture is attached to a wall with the head pointing down.

I was happy with the ink layout of the drawing, but not with the shading in charcoal and conté. The drawing in the end is overworked and has lost its' original freshness.

Rotunda, House of Commons, Ottawa
ink and charcoal
9" x 7" (22.9 x 17.8 cm)

This drawing of the rotunda of the House of Commons in Ottawa was done while waiting to be admitted to the public gallery.

I'm not sure what the original architects' intent was, but I find the Canadian parliament buildings rather dark and oppressive. You wonder what affect, if any, the buildings might have on the people working in them, including the elected members.

Another link worth taking a look at: Modern Art Notes, by Tyler Green. It's a daily digest of what's happening in the art world. A terrific site which is part of ArtsJournal.com

417 No.1
charcoal and conté
6" x 4.5" ( 11.4 x 15.2 cm)

This is the first of several studies resulting from a night drive a couple of weeks ago from Montreal to Ottawa on Ontario provincial highway 417. There was not much to see except an indistinct road and landscape.

If you are interested in collecting art or art in general you might be interested in The Intrepid Art Collector, a Montreal/New York based blog by Lisa Hunter.

Two photographs today: the first a photograph of myself doing the Maillol drawing which was posted yesterday, and the second a photograph of the Maurice Stone sculpture, The Awakening, a drawing of which I posted on Monday, November 6. The photograph of the Maurice Stone sculpture has been added to Monday's posts, immediately below the drawing of the sculpture.

Robert with Maillol at the MFA, Boston

Maillol
ink, charcoal, and conté
9" x 6" (22.9 x 15.2 cm)

Another drawing done in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. This is an Aristide Maillol sculpture as seen through a set of glass doors.

Angry Model
graphite, ink and charcoal
18" x 14" (45.7 x 35.6 cm)

I hope that she wasn't angry with me. I mean the drawing's not great, but still...

Actually this model is a delight to work with. Although it must be said that she does go through a whole range of facial expressions depending upon what she's thinking about at the time.

Three posts today: one a drawing I recently did in the MFA in Boston, the second a photo of the sculpture that I was drawing in the MFA, and the other a piece by fellow Winnipeg artist, Jordan Van Sewell.

The Awakening
ink
9" x 7" (22.9 x 17.8 cm)

This drawing was inspired by the sight of an art student doing a drawing of a sculpture in Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The sculpture in this drawing is The Awakening by Maurice Stone, dated 1926. I couldn't find any information on Maurice Stone, but in truth I didn't look very hard.

The drawing is a little funny. The breasts seem a bit odd. (The painting in background is a Hopper.)

The Awakening, 1926
Maurice Stone
MFA, Boson

Jordan Van Sewell
ceramic figure

What is it? Not Jordan Van Sewell, he's the artist who made it. There was no title for it on his website, so I guess you can name it for yourself.

(It does look a bit like Jordan, I mean, weird and all. So I'm calling it Jordan Van Sewell.)

For more of Jordan Van Sewell's work check his website, which of course is called Jordan Van Sewell.

Man Reaching
graphite, ink, charcoal, and pastel
11" x 8.5" (27.9 x 21.5 cm)

I am not sure that I like this drawing, although I would be hard pressed to say why.

Edward Winkleman's blog on art and politics, edward_ winkleman, has been added to the links. It is worthwhile taking a look at it.

Jersey
graphite and conté
4.5" x 7" (11.4 x 17.8 cm)

This drawing was done while waiting for a bus at Jersey Gardens, a large shopping mall in Elizabeth, New Jersey, not far from Newark International Airport.

Although this drawing is fairly accurate it does not really represent the scene that I was drawing. It was not a dreay day, but a bright, cool, windy day, full of colour.

5th Avenue, New York
graphite, ink, charcoal, pastel, and conté
7" x 4.5" (17.8 x 11.4 cm)

This is a view of 5th Avenue, looking south from Lord and Taylor, and done in about fifteen minutes. Of necessity, more was left out than was included.