Campground Message Board gouache
11.4 x 8.9 cm (4.5" x 3.5")
This small painting was done over a pencil drawing completed one night last fall in a campground in Mississippi, somewhere along theNatchez Trace Parkway. (The Parkway commemorates the Natchez Trace, an ancient five hundred mile foot trail, established by native Americans and then used by early European explorers and American settlers. The trail ran from Natchez, Mississippi to Nashville, Tennessee.)
Self-Portrait as Samurai oil 24.1 x 16.5 cm (9.5" x 6.5")
This is another experimental self-portrait. I wanted to see what effect that the distortion and dislocation of the image would have on a portrait.
Distortion is often very successfully used by children, naive artists, or very sophisticated artists such as Picasso, to draw attention to certain aspects of a drawing, painting, or sculpture. In this portrait, however, where the distortion isn't being used for any particular purpose, it only serves to irritate and distract (or, at least, to irritate and distract me).
It would seem that if you're intent on using distortion, it's best to be using it with some purpose in mind.
Orange and Green pastel 45.7 x 30.5 cm (18" x 12") After awhile you run out of titles. 'Orange and Green' will have to do, although I was thinking of 'Queen' since the model looks almost enthroned.
Blonde No. 2 graphite and pastel 30.5 x 22.9 cm (12" x 9")
This is a companion piece to Blonde, posted on Tues. January, 8th. Like the first Blonde, the figure is loosely defined in this drawing. The drawing tells you something about the actual scene, but it also omits a lot.
Dark Hair ink and pastel 37.8 x 23.9 cm (14.9" x 9.4") This drawing was done from a model last Monday evening. The pose lasted for twenty-five minutes. Parts of the drawing were reworked after the pose was over.
Woman Looking at Her Hand graphite, charcoal, and pastel 30.5 x 21.6 cm (12" x 8.5")
This drawing was done in a little less than forty minutes, which accounts for some of the mistakes. It was done in an experimental frame of mind. I was neither happy nor unhappy with the result.
Surf, Sand Island oil 16.5 x 19.8 cm (6.5" x 7.75")
This is the latest version of Sand Island. A gouache study, Sand Island, Palmico Sound, North Carolina was first posted on December 6, 2007. It was subsequently repainted and reposted as Sand Island No.2 on December 12, 2007. An oil painting done from the study was posted on January 3, 2008. The Surf, Sand Island posted today is a reworking of that oil. The clouds and sea were darkened, and some semi-convincing surf was added. (There was no surf in evidence while I was crossing Palmico Sound, but that's another matter.)
This painting is an improvement on the first oil. Overall, however, I prefer the gouache study. Both the original oil and the gouache study have been reposted below.
Coconino Classicsis a beautiful site from Angoulême, France, concerned with the history of the comic strip, or bande dessinée. The site is in both French and English, and it includes the work of many classic artists/illustrators. Coconino Classics and its' sister site, Coconino World, were created in 1999 by an association of writers, illustrators, and screen writers: Coconino & Co. Thierry Smolderen is president of Coconino & Co.
(Coconino Classics and Coconino World may be associated with the students and faculty at L’Atelier École de Bandee Dessinée in Angoulême, which in turn may be part of, or associated with, L'École Supérieure de l'Image (ESI). After a limited search I was unable to uncover any other information regarding the origin of the site, and whether or not it is still being maintained.)
The name "Coconino" derives from the setting of George Herriman'sKrazy Kat.
Blonde graphite, ink, and pastel 30.5 x 22.9 cm (12" x 9")
As with many of my drawings, this was done quickly, in about twenty or twenty-five minutes. The drawing was sprayed with a fixative, which darken it considerably, such that I may redo it to see if I can restore some of its' original vibrancy.
The model's hair was blonde, not the dirty gray you see in the drawing. And that's the top part of a parabolic heater between the model's leg and torso. The model was on a raised pedestal, and the heater was on the floor.
This is another version of a sand island in Palmico Sound, North Carolina. I think that I prefer the gouache study which I did several weeks ago, and which is reposted below. The sea, with its greater contrast of blacks and yellows, is more effective in the gouache than in the oil.
