And more on the collage

This is St. Patrick. Or, more accurately, this is a statue of St. Patrick.

This is a statue of St. Patrick with a bit of a glow, the outlines of gorse, and the outline of a headstone where the man who was born in the cottage was buried.

Irish Collage

Ever notice the word “collage” is the word “cottage” minus the t-crossing? I confused myself with my sloppy handwriting and couldn’t figure out what my notes meant – collage drawing or cottage drawing! Here is the Cottage Collage for Mrs. Bob in its current state of development:

And, for the sake of Mr. Google, this is a California artist’s report on a pencil drawing, a commission pencil drawing of several Irish scenes. Instead of being politically correct, I am trying to be technologically correct.

That Wisconsin Art Show

Remember I posted about entering a competition – juried and judged art show in Wisconsin? My 2 pieces are now in the show. They did not place, but they were juried in and look great on the site! This is the piece that is in the exhibit book but not in the show (go figure. . .)! The show is The Richeson 75, and as a California artist, I am quite pleased to be showing off the beauty of our state in Wisconsin.

WIP, part 2

Work In Progress, remember? Wowsa, that castle is full of teeniny little parts. Have a look at hours and hours and hours of drawing. Of course I exaggerate to make a point – you knew that, right?

Back in the olden days, the latter part of the last century, before digital cameras and personal computers and all that, I used to regularly draw from 3-1/2 x 5″ photos from a film camera. Hard to imagine. These days a 4×6 seems like a pathetic little miniature photo!

W.I.P.

That means Work In Progress. I just made it up, but I’m probably not the first to do so. I’m also making this up, revising as I go, and Mrs. Bob said the most wonderful thing to me about that:

“Do whatever!  You’re the artist and I relish that…I love your work so do what you think looks best!”

Wow! This is the most fun possible with art – the challenge of a collage, Ireland (sigh), drawing with pencil, and complete freedom to use whatever ideas develop. Life is good. 😎

Did you really think those were armadillos??

Delight Abounds (more on the Collage)

Mrs. Bob reviewed the sketches. To my delight, she had an immediate first choice! Bob looked it over and suggested a change. To their delight, I immediately erased and redrew the good suggestions, and we were all pleased with the results.

Isn’t that a royal mess? Good thing Bob and Mrs. Bob know that I can draw or they might just say “I’ll think about it” and hit the door!

Beginning a Collage

Drawing is one thing; planning a drawing is another; planning a collage is on another planet of complexity! I love love love to do these. The first time I thought of it was on a backpacking trip. In order to take my mind off my aching feet, I began designing pictures in my head. Because I wanted the trip to be a real vacation, I brought no pencil or paper along. This meant I started scratching in the dirt with a stick so I could see if the idea of multiple subjects in one drawing was even feasible. When I got back from the trip, I began the planning of 3 pictures I referred to as My Big Fat Masterpieces. This will have to become another posting, because the point of today’s post is to show you the beginnings of the collage for Mrs. Bob, lovely wife of My Favorite Customer.

Here are the steps involved.

  1. Spread out all the potential photos.
  2. Decide which photos are the most likely candidates.
  3. Choose which are the main subjects and which are secondary for filling smaller spaces.
  4. Draw boxes that are proportionally correct to the size of the finished piece.
  5. Begin sketching the general shapes.
  6. Rearrange the shapes several times so there are options for the customer.

Here is the result of those six steps:

Hint: Turn your head sideways for the 2 on the bottom. Which arrangement do you like best? Hard to decide, hunh?

Cottage Commission Completed

This is the photo provided by Bob, My Favorite Customer. (That is a lot to type so I will refer to him simply as Bob for the rest of this posting.)

It is in color, and probably taken with a wide angle lens which makes the perspective look a bit distorted. In addition, there is a lot of unnecessary and unsightly material in the photo. Real life is messy and artists get to clean it up without even getting sweaty!

Here is how I drew the cottage. Bob was very pleased with the results, which is always a great relief to me. (Someday I may do an entire posting on the emotions of commission work.) Now, his wife and I have plans for a collage of the high points of the entire Irish trip. He may have the title of Favorite Customer, but she is an utter delight to work with! Would you believe we have known each other since 1973?? I just love living in the place where I was born and reared, unlike the adventurous and determined man who was born in this cottage, emigrated to the USA, and now has a descendant who is a great patron of the arts!

Cottage Commission Commenced

I am creating a piece of art to the specifications of Bob, My Favorite Customer. (Since he calls me his Favorite Artist, it is only fair that I return the compliment!) He and his family discovered a piece of their history while in Ireland, and I have the privilege of drawing it in pencil.

Bob requested a sketch before I began because the cottage is dilapidated and needed some artistic remodeling. That’s to be expected of something built in 1873.

Good thing Bob knows I can draw or this sketch might have frightened him away. Instead, he approved it, and I began the drawing. Notice the use of 2 separate words to describe what is taking place – “sketch” is loose, rough, for the purpose of conveying visual ideas. A “drawing” will be much more careful and refined.

Bob likes to see the process as it is taking place. Some people prefer to just be surprised at the end; others like to be included and involved. I do my best to accommodate my customers’ wishes.

In teaching drawing, I urge my students to develop the habit of shading from top to bottom and left to right (left handers should move right to left) because it lessens the smearing. Me? I’m experienced enough to do it any way I want and not have a smearing problem! Or it may be that I am experienced enough to know how to deal with the smearing problem, should one occur!