Disconnected Thoughts From an Artist’s Brain

  1. Samson matches a breed of cat called “Bengal”. That accounts for his distinctive markings, his thick and silky short hair, his busy nature and his propensity to play in water. This is just a lucky accident of random breeding, but the discovery and description helps explain some of his peculiarities.
  2. Two of my drawing students and I will join our works together for a Visalia show in May and June that we have titled “Gray Matter”.
  3. Drawing water is both forgiving and precise. I’m on my second new drawing this year of running and flowing water. Water is a big thing right now – 4 dry winters followed by abundant rain and snow in January, and now my interest in drawing water. I’ve drawn water for years, but now I want to draw nothing but water.
  4. My website is definitely broken on the For Sale pages. It was rebuilt only 2 years ago. This is too fast for me to comprehend, and a decision needs to be made.
  5. The Farm Bureau coloring books are at the printer.
  6. The “new and improved” laptop means this: my scanner won’t work, the email program is arranged differently and has lost some options, the dictionary is no longer on the computer but online, Powerpoint won’t work, Word won’t work, the photos aren’t as easy to find or edit or export or email or get printed. I like “tried and true” quite a bit more than “new and improved”.
  7. Still no decision on a cell phone. I don’t want one. That is an opinion rather than a decision.

If you made it to the bottom of this post, you deserve to see a pencil drawing of water. Makes me feel better.

I have made the decision to pay to repair my website. Anyone want to buy a painting?? Too bad the For Sale page is broken. You can use the contact button, and I can email you some specifics. 

What’s Wrong With This Picture?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, TAMMIE!

Last week I took a small stack of pencil drawings to a framer because I have a show coming in the spring. As I was lining them out on his counter, I decided that there is something wrong with this picture. It isn’t anything I can put my finger on; I just don’t think it is good enough and I don’t know why.

One of the things I teach my drawing students is honest evaluations of drawings. We tell each other the truth (kindly, of course) because it is how we learn and grow. It is too hard to find flaws in one’s own work, just like it is impossible to proof one’s own writing.

This is what I heard:

  1. not enough darks
  2. weird road curve into the distance
  3. something wrong with the shoulder of the road
  4. edges of bridge arches too clean – should be more pock-marked for its age
  5. furthest pillars wrong size

I thought about just shredding the drawing. Please forgive me for inflicting this on those of you who bought a calendar – try to be brave through the month of February. At least it is the shortest month!

Then I thought that seeing the photos might help us all understand.

I actually worked from 3 photos, picking and choosing the best and most visible parts of each. 

This sort of dissatisfying result is probably because I worked from photos instead of standing there on location with a sketchbook. Of course, then I might have gotten run over, bitten by a rattlesnake or a mosquito with a nasty disease, gotten too hot or too cold or sunburned or maybe bugs would have landed on my paper or the wind might have blown it away.

I hate it when that happens.

Will I try to figure it out and rework the drawing? Probably not. I used spray fixative (actually called “Fixatif”, which on of my drawing students says ought to work on any marriage!) which makes it not erasable.

He Liked It!

The Commissioner and Mrs. Commissioner were very happy with their commissioned oil painting of the Kaweah Blacksmith Shop.

This little building used to be up the North Fork of the Kaweah where the Kaweah Colony was. The flood of 1997 took it away, and in recent years, The Commissioner and his wife bought the property and began learning about it. 

He liked this one too. This pencil and colored pencil drawing has a story to it, several stories, really.

I drew this from some photos taken at a friend’s farm yard north of Sacramento. The tires were taller than I am, and my friend said it is quite A Thing when one needs to be changed.

The piece in the Madera Ag Art Show got 1st place in Equipment and Machinery, but it didn’t sell. I showed it around for awhile and finally just put it in my studio. Classic example of what I like not resonating with the general public. . . sigh.

When I was scrolling through old emails looking for Mrs. Commissioner’s name because I forgot it (rude), I found an email from 2007 mentioning the fact that The Commissioner might be interested in this piece. There was no way I was going to call a stranger to ask if he wanted to buy a drawing, even a 1st place one. Not happening!

He is no longer a stranger, he remembered the woman who suggested that I show this to him (she died in a skydiving accident, so you can see what a memorable person she was), and he has very good reason to want this drawing.

That reason will remain a secret, because I am not in the habit of revealing personal information about my customers. I may be rude enough to forget important people’s names, but I have my limits on rudeness.

Mineral King From My Pencils

Why didn’t I choose to finish one of those other drawings?

I dunno. Sometimes I just don’t wanna. (Why doesn’t my boss fire me??)

This picture grabbed my attention because it is in Mineral King (White Chief, at the very top end of the trail). It also was appealing because of the reeds and grasses in the foreground, and the reflective quality of the water. It fits the theme of Tulare County, although I doubt many people have actually been to this spot. There was no particular spot that called for color.

White Chief, Mineral King
White Chief, Mineral King

Hard Water in Mineral King

This is Tulare County, pencil drawing, from Mineral King. It is Spring Creek. It could be anywhere. If I have this at a show and someone says, “Oh! Is that Yosemite?!”, then my answer will be, “If you would like it to be Yosemite, then it is Yosemite for you”.

Spring Creek, Mineral King
Spring Creek, Mineral King

Let the record reflect that YES, DRAWING WATER IS HARD!! (Tee hee hee, perhaps the title of this piece should be “Hard Water”.)

More From My Pencils

When deciding what to draw next, this particular subject seemed like a good compromise of my theme of Tulare County and what I want to draw because I want to draw it.

Strawberry fields have become a common sight in our area over the past 10 years or so in the springtime. That makes this drawing qualify as Tulare County art, yes?

strawberry

Using colored pencil for extended time periods hurts my wrist. This little bit of color is possible without injury, and it is very pleasing to see one item in color. Not every picture has a place for color, but this was an easy decision.

What Came Out of My Pencils

Sometimes I want to draw because I love to draw. I want to draw what I want to draw, and don’t want to think about what might sell.

I ignored my common sense, ignored my theme of Tulare County, and this is what came out of my pencils. (as if it just showed up on its own, no effort or decision on my part, I was just a tool, a vessel, and a victim!)

caesarea-arch

 

This is an arch that is part of the Roman aqueduct system along the Mediterranean at Cesarea Philippi Maritima in Israel. As you may recall, I love architecture, stone work, bridges and archways. We had about 3 minutes to view this and then BAM, back on the bus! It just grabbed me. . . the beauty, the antiquity, the Med Sea . . . I was gobsmacked.

So, I took a few photos, and now here it is as a drawing.

My sister, niece and I were all just thrilled to be at the Mediterranean. We were the first and the only people in our group to run to the water and get it without any discussion or delay. It was one of the highlights of the entire Israel adventure for me.

 

us

The sharp eyes of one of my fellow Israel travelers caught my mistake in the location of this drawing. I knew better and have no excuse. Thanks, Cog! 

What Should I Draw Next?

What Should I Draw Next could be the call letters of a radio station east of the Mississippi – WSIDN. Okay, there are one too many letters, but tell me how KMJ gets away with only three?? I stole this from Anne Bogel, Modern Mrs. Darcy, with her podcast WSIRN – What Should I Read Next – a wonderful resource for readers.

I digress.

I will be participating in an art show of pencil in May and June. Right now I am in between jobs – murals, coloring books, and fall shows coming, but all are waiting for decisions. That makes this a good time to draw ahead for the upcoming show.

A crystal ball would be helpful. There are too many ways to make this decision:

  • Draw what I like. My opinion doesn’t always coincide with the opinion of the art buyers and appreciators.
  • Ask for other people’s opinions. Which people?
  • Draw what I think might sell. Based on what?
  • Finish pieces already in progress. Why didn’t I finish them earlier? Lack of interest on my part, some instinct telling me the subject matter didn’t hold any appeal to my audience (who are they??), or an interruption such as a mural or a coloring book or an art festival/boutique/bazaar.
  • Something local, or something from my travels, but which travels? – China, Israel, the Central Coast, Lake Tahoe, Washington DC, Washington state, Oregon, North Carolina, Alaska, where??

Life is full of decisions, or as my Wise Friend often says, “Choices and Consequences – life is full of choices and consequences.” Oh yes, a crystal ball would help.

  • How do other artists make these decisions? Probably by sticking to a theme.
  • What is my theme? Tulare County.
  • Why Tulare County when it is so poor? Because I live here.
  • Why do I draw? I draw because I LOVE to draw!
  • Why don’t I just draw what I love? Because it has to sell.

Now, what should I draw next?

img_4315
Photos from Israel that have promise for pencil drawings.
pencil drawing in progress
A drawing of the Central Coast that is languishing (or mulling) in my flat files.
pencil drawing in progress
A pencil drawing of a fascinating scene in Beijing that I stopped drawing for some forgotten reason.
pencil drawing in progress
A local scene – Lake Kaweah when it was full.

 

 

Thoughts on Success in Art

I have 3 nephews. 2 of them are “creatives”, one an accomplished graphic artist supporting a wife and 2 children, and the other about to start his junior year in college as a music major. Might be performing arts, might be music theory. . . can’t remember exactly and embarrassed by asking him too often.

Music Nephew and I have been having an email conversation about “the arts”, and he mentioned how a musician friend of his gets in the way of his own success. I responded with something that I think you might enjoy, Oh Blog Readers (all 4 of you or so. . . maybe 6 or 7, but I still don’t know how to access or read the blog stats).

Most of us trying to make it in the arts are usually in the way of our own success. I’m gradually learning to redefine success. I know I don’t want to spend hours and hours on social media trying to build up a following, so I’m not – that’s success. I’d rather have real people that I know just happily following my blog and thinking of me when they have an art need – they do, so that’s success. I also don’t want to do the crazy hard work of building up a body of work that might appeal to galleries, which I’m not, so that’s success.

My life’s work is to discover and display the good things of Tulare County, a place I love to hate and hate to love. Sigh. Thus, the mixed ideas about success – I am portraying this place, but sometimes I want to live somewhere with a less hostile climate, cleaner air, and richer more educated populace.

If you made it to the end of this bloviation, you deserve a reward. Here, have a look at a successful pencil drawing of a bridge.

Marblefork Bridge, pencil on paper, 11x14 framed, currently hanging at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter.
Marblefork Bridge, pencil on paper, 11×14 framed, currently hanging at the Courthouse Gallery in Exeter.