Portraits

Martha Miller has been writing lately about her angst about doing a portrait for commission. I myself have thought over all of the pros and cons of doing portraits and whether the sitter will like the work. So far, so good, all my subjects have been to kind to tell me if they loathed my work.

Part of the problem is that where do you target your attempt at a true likeness of the subject. I have been doing some practice drawing for my blog from photos using charcoal and working from photos. I find that working for a more true likeness kind of like shooting fish in a barrel. You take time doing a really good layout using a transfer methods such as a grid, projection, camera obscura, or tracing and then it is a matter of paint by numbers. The hard part is putting more of yourself into the work.

June, Charcoal on paper, 8"x10"

Little Yellow Idol, Oil on canvas, 18"x 24"(Gallery View)

I like charcoal because it does so much of the work of for me. I like the way you get areas where the mark making is so lovely. Take for instance the portrait of Laura from my post of February 12, the hands turned out very nice. My take is that for a good portrait from a photo, the photo has to be good, well composed with good lighting. I'm not a good photographer so I take many photos and hope after the model quits posing I get photos that reflect the person I want to portray.

This goes to the heart of the matter. The portrait is a collaboration between the model and the artist. Both must relax and show themselves and they both have to bring part of themselves and invest it in the work.

But, then, I'm just kind of going on without knowing what I'm talking about.

Have an exciting evening.

Brad

Snowy Tuesday

It's a snowy Tuesday morning here in North Georgia, Looking toward the top of the mountain, I can't see it for the falling snow. The schools are closed today so, Laura is here and that makes Scooter, our silky terrier, very happy.

I've posted another charcoal drawing rendered from a studio study. I've included the study, which I have posted previously, also. 

Seated Nude, charcoal on paper, 8"x10"

Seated Nude, charcoal and pastel on kraft paper, 18"x24"

I think I will have some breakfast and watch the snow. It started about 5:30 AM and is now beginning to accumulate. Have a most exciting Tuesday.

Brad

Are We There Yet?

Spring that is. Today was sunny but cold and windy here in the North Georgia mountains. This after a Saturday and Sunday that was warm and quite spring-like with spring fever running rampant. I mean the daffodils  and crocus are about a week away from blooming; our neighbor has a tree in their yard that is full of pink blooms. I'm longing for warm and it seems so far off, like looking down a long corridor.

Hallway, ink on paper, 18" x22"

Hold out for Spring dear friend and have an exciting weekend.

Brad

Revisiting an Old Drawing

Dear Friend,

As I said in my previous post, I am revisiting old studio drawings, working on my use of hatching and value. I am trying to achieve depth and a greater feel of volume. Don't get me wrong, I am deeply enamored of the simple line drawings of Matisse but, I am a bit of a fussy worker liking to push and pull at the media working and working it. It gives me great pleasure to manipulate it.

Nude, Charcoal, 8x10

This is my original drawing, a fifteen minute studio drawing from life.

Nude, Conte on Newsprint, 24x36

Any comments or suggestions, either techniques or practices, would be appreciated. So, have a lovely afternoon.

Brad 

Back in Black...

and white. I apologize for my lack of postings for the last while but, life gets in the way, sometimes. I'm working on drawings again trying to get my sea-legs back. I am working on my hatching and changes in value leading up to doing some painting. This is a charcoal drawing of sweet wife and I am revisiting old studio drawings, redrawing them again with hatching and more value.

Laura, Charcoal, 8x10

Thanks for stopping by. Have an exciting weekend.

Brad

Friday Evening

Good evening friend,

On a Friday evening I thought I would tell you that if I hadn't started my art career so late in life I would certainly think about carving marble as my primary medium. At my age though, the amount of work involved daunts me. I might use it as a diversionary medium as I do love the tactile sensation of working the marble.

The photos are of a marble sketch, my first experience with cutting stone, I executed for a 3D class. I had a small piece of marble for the sketch and a limited time to work on the piece so, I decided to base my design on references such as the Elgin Marbles, fragments of classical stone carvings that could look finished with a minimum of effort. It still required several hours of effort.

Anyway, I thought I would share my love of the medium on this lovely, rain-free, yehh-h, evening.

Brad

The Sunday Prints

Dear friend,

On a lovely fallish Sunday afternoon I'm posting a couple of experimental prints. The first is a version of what I call gasoline prints. The plate is made by engraving the image with sand paper. I inked the plate with black Akua Intaglio ink and then rolled the plate with gray intaglio ink. The image is from a still from Casablanca, when Rick is at the airport at the end of the movie.

The second is a sugar lift print with aquatint. The plate was inked in green and then rolled with gray.

Well, just a quick post for A Sunday. Have an exciting start to the new week.

Brad