Sketching in the Kitchen with Kay: Earth, Woman, Mountain

I was fascinated with a tiny plant arrangement that Kay had made. She called it "Heaven, Earth, and Man."  She explained "Ikebana" (ee - kay - bana) the Japanese art of flower arranging that brings humanity and nature together. (My second new word of the year!) The emphasis is on shape, line, and form. These attributes can refer to not just the flowers but the stem and the leaves of a plant.

So even though Kay had a lovely bouquet of roses and baby's breath, I wanted to sketch the plants because of their different heights, colors, textures, and interesting leaf forms!

I started with a really fun really blind contour sketch to loosen up. But I was soon to learn that it didn't help much! Maybe I was way to excited to use this set of Derwent Art Bars that had been tucked away in a drawer for a VERY long time. 

I was all agog and so focused on the texture that these water soluble waxy crayons produce that I was not "seeing" my sketch.

Kay looked up from her incredibly beautiful painting and was silent for a moment. She asked me what it was that I liked about what I was doing. Still focused on the media, I must have said something about the colors or the texture. Kay queried, "Is the picture about the paints or the plants?" (Below is the original sketch.)

Obviously, I was NOT in touch with nature. There was no FEELING in what I was doing. No CONNECTION to my subject. No SEEING in the true sense. So we went over the different dull and stiff aspects of the picture. Later on, while her lesson was still fresh in my mind, I made a second sketch. Here are a few comparisons between the first and second versions.

#1 The plant leaves stacked in a row. No feeling. Too stiff. No movement. Notice lower stems are bare and awkward.

#2 Plant leaves at varying angles. Livelier. Definitely more feeling. See below for lower stems.

#1 Kay said this plant looked liked "soldiers marching in a row".  Too uniform. Definitely too stiff.

#2 Dancers instead of soldiers! I also added some "ghost" leaves behind the dancers so the lower stem of the tall plant doesn't look so bare and awkward.

#1 Completely lost the form on this little plant!

#2 More shape and form.

#1 This flower stem is all wrong! Too stiff. Too few blooms.

#2 Closer to the real thing. More blooms on the stem.

#2 I added a second stem with flowers and put a touch of an bright aqua background. 

Happy with the final result that I named "Earth, Woman, Mountain."

Cloud Appreciation Day: December 30, 2016

On December 30th, just before sunset, I spotted these 4 types of clouds in the sky all in the space of about 10 minutes. I did REALLY quick gouache sketches to remember them.

Dark gray with a white edge.

Solid flannel gray.

White with gray edges.

And my favorite: Pink with gray edges!

2017 New Year's Resolution: Eat more oatmeal!

Shown here: oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon, and natural applesauce.

Happy New Year 2017...

Wishing everyone a joyous New Year! 

My first new word of the new year is "Bokeh".

It's the cool aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image; also small background or foreground highlights.

I tried, on this page in my Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media sketchbook, to produce some "bokeh" on a background of black gesso using pan pastels, Derwent Art Bars (waxy watercolor sticks), and Sakura Soufle Pens.  

Not sure what these shapes are but they looked appropriate for celebrating! 

"I want to die on Mars, just not on impact." Elon Musk

Just finished the mini-series Mars on Nat Geo. Starting to pay attention to interesting faces on the TV. Not quite sure what that means but this is one result.

South Korean multimedia artist Jihae played twins on the series. This is my sketch of her.

"I want to die on Mars, just not on impact." Elon Musk (SpaceX) Craters and canals on the red planet. Gouache in Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media sketchbook. 

Speaking of the red planet...

Just had to write this long quote from the movie "The Angry Red Planet" (1959) that I remember watching when I was a kid. It's part of the reason why I don't think we should go there. 

Martian Voice: Men of Earth, we of the planet Mars give you this warning. Listen carefully and remember: We have known your planet Earth since the first creature crawled out of the primeval slime of your seas to become man. For millennia, we have followed your progress. For centuries, we have watched you, listened to your radio signals and learned your speech and your culture, and now you have invaded our home. Technological adults, but spiritual and emotional infants, we kept you here, deciding your fate. Had the lower forms of life on our planet destroyed you, we would not have interfered, but you survived. Your civilization has not progressed beyond destruction, war and violence against yourselves and others. Do as you will to your own and to your planet, but remember this warning - do not return to Mars. You will be permitted to leave for this sole purpose. Carry the warning to Earth - "Do not come here." We can and will destroy you - ALL life on your planet - if you do not heed us. You have seen us, been permitted to glimpse our world. Go now. Warn mankind not to return unbidden.

Happy Winter Solstice 2016..

Sketching in the kitchen with Kay. She has a brilliant red poinsettia and I thought to add its color to my sketchbook.

Lots of layers and spritzes for texture. Sketched with a Lamy Safari fountain pen, more black lines with a Sakura Glaze pen, colors are Derwent Inktense pencils, and white gouache touches in my Strathmore 500 Series Mixed Media sketchbook.

I added a Winter Solstice Greetings to the opposite page:

Best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral, winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most joyous traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, but with respect for the religious persuasion of others who choose to practice their own religion as well as those who choose not to practice a religion at all;

Additionally,

a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the generally accepted calendar year 2017, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions have helped make our society great, without regard to the race, creed, color, religious, or sexual preferences of the wishes.

(Disclaimer: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others and no responsibility for any unintended emotional stress these greetings may bring to those not caught up in the seasonal spirit.)

How to Nature Journal like Henri Matisse...

How to Nature Journal Like Henri Matisse...

First, be inspired by nature. Now you can not possible tell me that Henri Matisse was not absolutely obsessed with the Turkey Oak, Quercus cerris. It is native to SE Europe and Asia Minor. These leaves are from a specimen which grows in a cemetery in Reading, PA. 

 

Nature on the top, Matisse on the bottom. You find the Turkey Oak leaf shape repeated over and over in many of his works.

As soon as you are inspired, get your studio assistants to cut up pieces of white paper for you. 

Then instruct them to paint the pieces with gouache. You, of course, should absolutely pick out the colors.

For good measure and to keep them busy (nothing worst than idle studio assistants), have them give the pieces a second coat of gouache.

While you lay in bed (or on the couch, as seen here) have the assistants hand you the pieces of colored paper. Take a pair of scissors and cut out organic shapes.

I've matched the shape of these Turkey Oak leaves. But you can be inspired by any natural object.

Have your studio assistants arrange the shapes while you supervise. Perhaps add a figure to the composition. Here's Happy Squirrel. She reminds me of Matisse's Icarus.

Glue your shapes down. Here's another example of Matisse's Turkey Oak leaves. 

Hand write some text in French and Viola! Fini.

Cutting into colour reminds me of the sculptor's direct carving. Henri Matisse

Art and Oatmeal and a bowl of tangerines...

Art and Oatmeal and a bowl of tangerines for breakfast today.

Huh, I guess I took up almost the entire table with art "stuff". I had a black pre-gessoed page in my journal and I was anxious to play with gouache. 

Thank you to a facebook friend for the inspiration!