Thursday, January 31, 2008






























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 the
Natchez 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.)

Wednesday, January 30, 2008




















Prairie Night Fog

gouache
16.5 x 19.8 cm (6.5" x 7.75")


This was done from a memory of a night drive between Grand Forks, North Dakota and Winnipeg, Manitoba. The memory, like the scene, is vague.

Monday, January 28, 2008





























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.

The model is a student.

Friday, January 25, 2008

Gypsy
pastel and charcoal
21.3 x 29.5 cm (8.4" x 11.6")


This was done a couple of nights ago. The model was a former exotic dancer turned gypsy. I'll leave that to your imagination.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008



























Self-Portrait No.2
oil
27.9 x 21.6 cm (11" x 8.5")


This portrait was done more in the spirit of David Hockney or Pablo Picasso than of Edvard Munch or Francis Bacon. In other words, more in a spirit of play than of angst.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008



































D.L.
ink and pastel
29.9 x 21.1 cm (11.5" x 8.3")


This was only a thirty minute drawing, which accounts for the sketchy handling of the colour.

The model is an artist/athlete.

Monday, January 21, 2008
































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.

Friday, January 18, 2008



































Nose
ink and charcoal
30.5 x 21.6 cm (12" x 8.5")


Let's hope that the model's nose wasn't really so big.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008








































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.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008





























Head on Her Arm

ink and pastel
22.2 x 17.8 cm (8.75" x 7.0")


This was a twenty-five minute drawing done last night. It would have been nice to have has more time for this drawing. It has possibilities.

Monday, January 14, 2008

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.
Sand Island
oil
16.5 x 19.8 cm (6.5" x 7.5")
Sand Island No.2
gouache
11.4 x 17.8 cm (4.5" x 7")

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Self-Portrait in Green and Blue
oil
20.3 x 20.3 cm (8" x 8")


This is a reworking in oil of Digital Self-Portrait, posted not long ago on Wednesday, January 2nd.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Railway Bridge, St. Boniface
oil
16.5 x 19.8 cm (6.5" x 7.75")



Who had the patent on these bridges? They're everywhere in North America, where they add a certain 'je ne sais quoi' to the urban landscape.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

From The English Dance of Death by Thomas Rowlandson. 1815.

Coconino Classics is 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's Krazy Kat.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008
































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.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Small House, St. Boniface
oil
16.5 x 19.8 cm (6.5" x 7.75")



Winters in Canada can be pretty and fun. They can also be cold and dangerous. Take your pick.

Friday, January 04, 2008































Necklace

graphite and gouache
25.4 x 17.9 cm (10" x 7")


Despite inaccuracies in proportion and form, I quite like this drawing.

Thursday, January 03, 2008

amsterdam - howden, 2005
65 x 140/85 x 90 cm

Ellen Kooi. 2005.

I love this photo by Dutch photographer, Ellen Kooi. Click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.
Sand Island
oil
16.5 x 19.8 cm (6.5" x 7.5")


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.

I may yet repaint the sea in this painting.
Sand Island No.2
gouache
11.4 x 17.8 cm (4.5" x 7")

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Digital Self-Portrait
digital image

This started out as a photo collage. Thoughts of Francis Bacon and Jean Dubuffet led me astray.