Final Exit

Lucian Freud made his final exit at age 88 the other day. He was one of Britain's most celebrated painters. I remember being horribly fascinated by an exhibit of his paintings. Wonderful thick brushstrokes describe the forms of his subjects. His absolutely brutally honest paintings were captivating. No flaws are glossed over but instead are treated the same way that all the observed features were.  As I looked at his daughter's portrait I was thinking how glad I was that none of them were of me! I considered Queen Elizabeth to be very brave when she had him do her portrait. His work is like looking in a mirror at home without the tricks of nice lighting in those store dressing rooms. Cellulite, blemishes, blotchy skin...but oh that paint! Such brushwork!

Life Drawing Fun with Pastels

I had to miss life drawing last week because of my calligraphy workshop so I was excited to get back to it. I had fun drawing our model Lisa. Here are a few of the pastel sketches I did on various colored pieces of paper. Since these are pretty quick drawings and some days we do lots I use archival scrapbook paper for some of them. I have found tablets of paper at the dollar store or on clearance and enjoy picking a color that goes with my impression of the pose. It is always interesting to see how the different background colors and values affect the colors of the pastels.

Rabbits

I ran across this oil painting of some cottontails I did years ago. I still am captivated by the Sonoran desert and the wildlife and plants that manage to survive in the harsh environment. In the middle of the summer only the toughest can last until the mild weather returns. The beauty of the desert with the spectacular spring colors and lovely winters is earned by the season of summer. This is the season that really sets the desert apart.  If we have grown unaware, it snaps us to attention and lets us know what Mother Nature is all about. We have long harsh heat punctuated by dust storms, stunning thunderstorms and flash floods. Through it all the desert creatures manage to thrive in harmony with this amazing place.

But I Miss Painting!

I have been attending a national convention for IAMPETH this week. It is a group dedicated to calligraphy and handwriting. I have been amazed at the high calliber of the teachers, the passion of the attendees from all over the world and the depth of information about this subject. There are master penmen and traditions and history about letters that I never imagined. It has been fascinating! I write wedding invitation envelopes so I was interested in learning to write in a fancier hand. I learned a lot more than that this week. I am showing you a "vintage" piece of writing as well as a sample of modern pictoral calligraphy that Linda Schneider does. I have enjoyed this week ...but I have missed painting! Can't wait to get back to the brush and canvas, but this has been a delight.

Another Painter Gone

Cy Twomby passed away this week. He was a painter I always enjoyed and shared with my high school students. He was in his eighties, but still seemed to be so current. The influence of his paintings can be seen in contemporary galleries across the globe. His scrolling brushstrokes in bold colors, the interesting pencil marks that emerge from the neutral backgrounds are two different looks that can be seen being explored by many artists.

I was thinking that the work of Twomby seems so fresh and "now", but he was working in this direction for decades. Evidence that it does take the rest of us awhile to catch up to a foresighted artist like he was. I understand that he was a genuinely nice person who loved life. I am glad we have his paintings to enjoy in his memory.

The Painted Horse

A few years back I did a painting for a motorcycle and car custom painter. His shop was called The Painted Horse and my piece had that on a banner. I painted a horse with a V-twin engine for it's body and some reflections like metal on the rest. It was a cool assignment. Painting lightning in the sky was fun. I really wish I had a better picture of the results as this photo cuts off part of the bottom and has a weird light thing in the right corner. The guy has left town for parts unknown so this photo is all I have. I used acrylics on a 48 x40 canvas.

Sketching Fun

Life drawing the other day was fun because of the model. He has long hair and a beard which makes him look very Old Testament. He took lots of dramatic poses for our quick gesture sketches. He was more relaxed for this 20 minute pose. I used conte crayon and used a scribble line for lots of it.