I copied two of his charcoal drawings and then I had the urge to paint them.
Stillman and Birn Zeta Series sketchbook;charcoal, acrylic paint.
Archives for the month of: June, 2017
I returned the humungous Milton Avery book and came home with a gigantic Diebenkorn one.
Stillman and Birn Zeta Series sketchbook; charcoal, gouache.
How lucky am I. I was sitting on a bench in the shade of a few large trees and a group decided to have their picnic/get together right in front of me. It took that guy quite awhile to get the bubble thing working.
Goodbyes took a long time. Lucky me again.
I asked a park worker (she was painting a metal fence) where the ladies room was – this was a park and I required very exact directions. On my way from the worker to the “facilities” I spotted this pair so I changed my plans. They were quite close to my bench and kept turning their heads in my direction. A little disconcerting but I was in the groove.
Ah ha! They weren’t looking at me at all. Friends showed up with lunch. Meanwhile, the worker who gave me directions passed by and asked if I found it. “I’m still on my way there” I replied as I sat and sketched. Mark walked by in the other direction headed to a bodega and Karen jogged past me energetically. I resumed heading towards the ladies when I spotted Peggy sketching.
Oh yeah, by the way, the humongous Triborough Bridge was crossing over the park from the Bronx and Manhattan, there were trillions of trees, a large body of water, all sorts of boats, another bridge, Hellsgate Bridge – but …
iPadPro; Pencil
Apps Used: Procreate
Spent all day last Sunday in Astoria Park (who knew there was such a spectacular park there) with the NYC Urban Sketchers.
Morning:
I thought I was doing some stealth sketching but it turned out he was one of us. Jokes on me. The park was so large I didn’t realize that zillions of Sketchers had turned up in a not-Manhattan borough. Where he was sitting was the end-of-day meeting spot. I was thinking I was lost – too many trees, too much fresh air.
End of day:
#1 Gridded notebook, Sharpie Fine pen.
#2 iPadPro; Pencil; Apps Used: Procreate
After I left the collagraph workshop at MoMA I took a bus to 37th Street – and walked over to Madison Avenue and ate breakfast-for-dinner at Moonstruck. Promptly at 6:30 I entered The Morgan Library where a 2-hour free lecture on Rembrandt’s Indian Drawings was being given. Yikes. Very Scholarly! VERY. My brain started expanding rapidly. I discovered my eyes closed. I started sketching on the ticket. It was the only way I could keep my head from exploding.
Paper, pencil, ballpoint pen, marker. (Ticket was wrong – lecture only lasted 1-hour. Phew.)
On Tuesday I took part in a collage/collagraph/printing 2-1/2 hour workshop as part of MoMA’s Prime Time. It was fun. Years ago I made a few very elaborate collagraphs and used a press to make the prints so the procedure wasn’t new to me – but, it was free and the atmosphere at these workshop thingies is pleasant and fun. While we paused to let the fast-drying glue dry, I sketched three of the ladies at the opposite table.
iPadPro; Pencil
Apps Used: Procreate
IPat and I briefly got serious. I managed to draw for 7 straight hours altogether and finally called it a day at 9:30. Time just flew by.
Salmagundi Club Draw-A-Thon.
iPadPro; Pencil
Apps Used: Procreate
iPat demanded to make an appearance. This model was part of a 6-hour posing pair. There wasn’t a good view of the fellow sitting at her feet. I did manage to capture him in the large drawing I did beforehand on Kraft paper. After 6-hours they were replaced by a new pair.
At another station this model took the place of an earlier one – also posing for 6-hours. I did the charcoal sketch first and then iPat took a turn. Since the pose was kept the same I was able to walk about, sketch somewhere else and return.
The man in front of me was painting the other model of this duo. She was dressed very elaborately in a turban and white lace gown. The two women were not “together” just on the same raised dias. They seemed to be posing for the whole 12 hours. They were there when I arrived and this was the last drawing I did just before I left.
I sketched on four sides of two sheets of Kraft paper before I took out the charcoal or iPat. Eventually the paper will be covered with acrylic paint and formed into another book.
iPadPro; Pencil
Apps Used: Procreate
Last Saturday after work (I started earlier than usual – which is very early – and left at noon) I took a train into the city. The Salmagundi Club was having a whole day Draw-a-Thon from noon to midnight and I wanted to be there for as long as I could manage which turned out to be 7 hours.
I had 4 plans. One of them, after I scoped out the arrangements, I abandoned. Since the press downstairs would be available I thought I might try a monotype from life drawing but I realized it would be too messy and potentially disastrous to be walking up and down stairs, avoiding easels and sitting, standing, milling around artists while carrying an inked plate and tools. Yikes!
Everything else worked out as I had hoped. There were five areas set up with seven models, nude and costumed. Two were doing short gestural poses and the rest were hours long poses.
My 3 other plans worked out fine and I walked around, sketched all the clothed/costumed models, alternating methods, leaving and returning.
Gridded notebook; charcoal; stump; kneaded eraser.
I copied this painting of his daughter and then returned the library book which I had already renewed once. I enjoyed the drawers and drawers of little cards in the olden days library but renewing books from the comfort of the recliner has nothing wrong with it. I also located the location of the next “subject” while in said recliner – which is also the studio annex – and was able to head straight to the proper shelf in the real world. Another Very Big book.
Seeing this painting of his daughter gives me permission to not only screw around with chair legs but people are fair game also. A lesson.
Stillman and Birn Zeta Series sketchbook; litho crayon, acrylic ink.
reclinerart 