Mr Bean in Art Class

Figure Drawing Practice

Mechanical Pencils

I put the charcoals away and started using mechanical pencils . With the variety of tools I feel like I have more control to draw lighter, keeping the drawing open longer so I can make adjustments and changes as needed.

Drawing Practice

Figure Sketches

I haven't had much time to blog lately, Hurricane Sandy has kept me busy at work,and even though I missed a few classes I've been trying to keep active by drawing at home. My mission is to practice figure drawing at least three times a week.

Here are some charcoal figure sketches  from class and my home studies.

                                                       

          

Figure Drawing Classes at the Arts Guild of New Jersey

I was happy to see that this semester the Arts Guild of New Jersey has offered figure drawing and portrait painting classes, just what I needed to get back into it after a long summer off !

The Newark Museums traveling loan exhibition, Angels & Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art

Angels & Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art is a major traveling loan exhibition, which is the first to examine nineteenth-century depictions of girls in paintings, sculpture, prints and photographs. Featuring approximately 80 masterworks by John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, Winslow Homer, Cecilia Beaux and William Merritt Chase, the exhibition analyzes the myriad ways that artists 

vigorously participated in the artistic and social construction of girlhood while also revealing the hopes and fears that adults had for their children. While the sentimental portrayal of girls as angelic, passive and domestic was the pervasive characterization, this project also identifies and investigates compelling and transgressive female images including tomboys, working children and adolescents.

Words of wisdom by Pablo Picasso

The whole gang, hard at work in art class

Art Show

Arts Guild New Jersey is pleased to present its firstCOMMUNITY: Members/Faculty/Student Art Show

Arts Guild New Jersey is pleased to present its firstCOMMUNITY: Members/Faculty/Student Art Show, featuring the artwork of Arts Guild New Jersey's current artist members, and its talented instructors and students. The exhibition opens on June 10 and runs through June 30, 2012,   bringing together and showing appreciation for the many diverse people who are involved with the Arts Guild and who make its programs possible.

How Can This Be? by Pat Turturro Pastore

Join us for the free, public reception on Sunday, June 10, 1-4 PM. Refreshments will be served.

The exhibition includes over 50 unique artworks in a variety of mediums. Artists: Natalie Addeo,Julie Barkin, Stacy Bober, Jill Caporlingua,Angelito David (Faculty),Tracie Fracasso(Faculty), Michael Anthony Galante, Janice Gossman,Alison Hooper, Ray Horner Jr. (Faculty), Francesca Iannelli, Stephen Jelinek, Sheila R. Lenga, Bruny Lynch,Cindy Malhotra, Donna Marlowe, Frank B. Marshall III,J.D. McGuire (Faculty), Art Morales, Paul Moran, Eric Muise, Pat Feeney Murrell, Pat Turturro Pastore, Prapti Paul, Barri Rifkin, Cindy L. Salsbury, Vince Salvati,Julian Tejera (Faculty), Jean Wright, and Sue Zwick.  

Member support helps to sustain Arts Guild New Jersey.The Guild's instructors are all noteworthy artists with impressive backgrounds and extensive teaching experience. Some teachers work for universities and colleges such as the prestigious Mason Gross School of the Arts and Kean University, or for other non-profit art centers.Many of Arts Guild New Jersey's students have been loyally enrolled in classes year after year; others included in the exhibition are fresh additions to the community.COMMUNITY: Members/Faculty/Student Art Show is a celebration of Arts Guild New Jersey and the people who make it a premier NJ organization for the visual arts and art education.

Gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays, 1:00-4:00 PM. The exhibition is wheelchair accessible. For more information on the exhibition or gallery, call 732-381-7511 or visit www.agnj.org. 

Which subjects sell best for paintings ?

I looked up “Which subjects sell best for paintings” and this is what I came up with!

1. Traditional landscapes.
2. Local views.
3. Modern or semi-abstract landscapes.
4. Abstracts.
5. Dogs.
6. Figure studies (excluding nudes).
7. Seascapes, harbour, and beach scenes.
8. Wildlife.
9. Impressionistic landscapes.
10. Nudes.

Oil painting inside when its nice out is tough !!

I got up early to put some time into this painting, although I would like to work on it all day, I find it too difficult to paint inside when its nice out, so after five hours I think I’m ready for some mountain biking. Besides the little faces fingers and feet are starting to irk me !!

Jack Richeson Orange Synthetic Oil Color Round Glazing Brushes

I had to call a time out on this painting because I couldn’t get the small details with the brushes I have, so I ordered a few small Jack Richeson Orange Synthetic Oil Color Round and filbert glazing brushes from ASW.. They just came in today so I should get back into it tomorrow

Freedom Tower, a glimmer of beauty in all the madness.

I work in a really bad industrial section of Newark NJ...."Here let me paint you a picture".... the building I work in sits on top of a landfill,  to the left is a prison, to the right is a raw sewerage treatment plant, in the back there's some plant that melts animal bones for soap products and in front there is ....of all things a garbage transfer station. 

As if breathing all that wasn't enough to make for a long day, were located at the port,with the busiest diesel truck traffic in New jersey ! Sometimes I would pay for a breath of fresh air. Anyway I always keep my camera around looking for something worth taking a picture of in this dump.

Here are a few pictures I stopped to take on my way to work yesterday morning of the Freedom Tower going up in Manhattan. I can only wonder how many people drove by and didn't even notice this glimmer of beauty in all the madness.

Fredrix Cotton Canvas Pad - 16x20" Review

Ten sheets of genuine artist canvas, primed and ready to use with any medium. Economical as a practice medium, yet entirely reliable for permanent work and mounting.




Framed canvases can become a storage problem as they quickly accumulate while learning to paint, I find Fredrix 16x 20 Canvas Pads to be well made and useful for oil sketch practice, color charts and for figure painting class. They are easy to carry around and store in minimal space, a great value and useful tool for any artist

Color Evaluator II - #5002

I was reading a post in a portrait artist forum and some people are using ( red acetate) red color glasses to see tones more clearly and to highlight drawing mistakes.

They say when you look through the lens to take note which areas stand out as the lightest on the model and then check to see if those areas are standing out as lightest in your work.

Looks like a useful and inexpensive tool.  I’m thinking about getting a pair only $7.99 at Cottagemills.com

http://www.cottagemills.com/default/colorevaluator.html

Peter Paul Rubens PDF Files on Color Theory

There is a wealth of information on line in free PDF files, you just have to know where to find them. Here is a great PDF file I found on Peter Paul Rubens about his color theory :

Peter Paul Rubens PDF on color theory



http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/-?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=28850&silo_library=GEN01

100 Lectures for Art Enthusiasts at Online College.org

100 Awesome Lectures for Art Enthusiasts

Whether you’re studying art, or are just interested in learning more about it, there’s plenty of information to be found online. Some of the best resources for learning about art online are lectures, many of them offered by top universities like MIT, Princeton, and Harvard. Here, we’ll take a look at 100 incredible lectures for your art education.




http://www.onlinecollege.org/2009/09/07/100-awesome-lectures-for-art-enthusiasts/

Pachi's critique

Pachi .....an astute art critic and dear friend of mine stopped by this weekend to critique my painting, She said it  was coming out just fine but thought there was something missing that she just couldn’t put her paw on. 

She suggested to balance the composition and to make it more interesting, that “adding a poodle would certainly do the trick ! ”......I told her that I would have to think about it.

Bouguereau's Charity, Oil Painting Study

This started out as a loose sketch for drawing practice and I was going to let it go at that and move on but I miss painting so much I decided to go ahead and start blocking in the colors and refining the drawing a little with paint.

first step in oil painting

One step backward......this is the starting picture I forgot to post the other day. I basically started by toning the canvas with burnt umber then began pulling out the lights with a rag. Paper towel work best for the highlights because they lift out more paint. For lifting out the fine details I use all kinds of erasers . I do my blending with round and flat badger brushes.

Oil Sketch Practice, William Adolphe Bouguereau's Charity.

The alarm clock went off this morning at 5:30AM........ I got up, put on a pot of coffee and started getting ready to go to work .....then it hit me.......its Saturday you block head ! "I hate when I do that ".....  Well instead of going back to sleep, I slugged down the coffee and started an oil sketch. This is a masters study of one of my favorite painting by William Adolphe Bouguereau called Charity. 

Procrastination

Venus cast drawing practice

This is my first try at drawing the Venus cast, and I was surprised at how much detail came out of it when I turned all the lights off and just focused one spot light on the figure. 

I don’t know why I thought I could render it all in one session, because I just couldn't capture all the detail I would have liked to. I’m not sure how long I was working on it, but I just tired out and let go at this point.

I plan on drawing this thing many, many  more time using different angles, mediums and focal points. It looks like its going to be a good and affordable tool to use for drawing practice.  

Affordable anatomical and figure casts suitable for drawing practice.

I've been looking around on line for affordable anatomical and figure casts suitable for drawing practice and anatomy studies. But when it comes to casts, you get what you pay for. Many of the cheaper ones skimp on detail. 

But I found this (11.5" tall on an 2 7/8" X 2.5" Base A.Santini   made in Italy ) Greek sculpture of Aphrodite of Milos ( better known as Venus De Milo ) to be rich in detail, so I gambled 60 bucks and ordered it on e-bay. It just came in this week and I have to say I’m pleased with it . Its made of alabaster so it has some weight to it. It has loads of detail and it fits into my shadow box so I can easily sketch it at my desk using the desk lamp to bring out the shadows.

Reading is essential for unlocking creativity in your art work.

Here is a great video that explains how essential reading is for unlocking creativity in you art work.

Anatomy practice in oil

I've been reviewing and taking notes on a lot of the old masters drawings. I find them to be an intriguing glimpse into the mind of the artist. There is also a wealth of anatomy to learn from them as well.  Now what I really need to do is start copying  them for the practice.

Here is a arm I did a quick free hand drawing of in oil. I don’t think the drawing came out that good and I didn't even fit it all on the canvas.LOL....,but I did figure out some tricks for constructing  muscles in oil .

Skull Oil Painting

I finely got around to doing a oil painting sketch, using the LWW Plastic Human Skull ( Numbered-A21),  I got from the Anatomical Chart Company.

Self Portrait Practice, using a Mirror

Using a mirror I did this self portrait last night, as this was only drawing practice for me, I did it on a Fredrix medium texture canvas pad with burnt sienna oil paint.

 Although I have a long way to go with anatomy and aligning the facial features correctly, I have become more aware of all the shapes, angles, shadows and highlights that make up the face.

 I think this is the next best form of drawing practice from a life, when a live model isn’t available, and I will continue to practice using the mirror.

 I do have one tip to give, mark the floor with blue masking tape so you stand in the same spot, because nothings worse than a model who won’t stand still !

This is the way I like to draw....with my paint brushes and a rag.

Ok, now this is the way I like to draw....with my paint brushes and a rag. I start with a toned canvas and pull out the lights....its that simple, no line drawing required. I start loosely at first with the big shapes and gradually get to the details. Using a photo of John Maler Collier’s painting titled Lady Godiva as a reference. This under painting sketch took me about five hours to do. 

For some reason I have much more control over shading and highlights with this method apposed to drawing over charcoal. 

Anatomy drawing at the kitchen table...

I've been practicing anatomy drawing at the kitchen table, by copying pictures from the book Anatomy for the Artist by Jeno Barcsay

Professor Barcsay (1900-1988), who taught applied anatomy at the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts, offers a detailed portrayal of the human body for the fine artist in 142 full-page plates, illustrating magnificently a subject that has fascinated artists for centuries. It contains anatomical terms, details of the skeleton, joints, form and function of muscles, bones of the upper limb, joints and movements of the bones of the upper limb, the form of the arm in general, muscles of the upper limb, muscular system of the upper limb and its function, similarly for the lower limb the trunk plus muscles of the neck, the neck in movement, the bones of the skull, connections and movements of the skull bones, the facial angle, articulations and movements of the spinal column and the skull, muscles of the head, eye, mouth, nose and ear, proportion of the parts of the body, osseous and muscular system of the human body, proportional differences of the male and female body, female breast, the centre of gravity, contrapposto, movements, simple delineations of movements.