When the Fat Lady Sings - 30 min. sketch 02

My second 30 min. sketch. It wasn't over until the fat lady sang... which was 2hrs. later. Gotta start bringing this back in the direction of 30 minutes.

McDreamy - 30 min. sketch 01

This is the first of hopefully many entries constrained by a new self-imposed challenge: to paint a picture in oils in 30 minutes (or less). The goal is better freshness, more speed, and better control over oils for my illustration work. I've been using this medium for a few years now and I love it, but I've gravitated towards working carefully and methodically over time, waiting for layers to dry, etc. Now I want to conquer the wet-in-wet technique and learn to avoid the mud monster.
So, the parameters for this exercise are simple enough: No initial pencil drawing on the canvas; just go right in with paint. And limited to 30 minutes. I blew it with Patrick Dempsey here by going overtime by 1 hour.

life drawing

I love drawing from life, but for me capturing total strangers in a public setting has sometimes been nerve-wracking. Once I sense that the subject is on to me drawing them I start to get insecure, as if I'd become some kind of creepy predator. I half expect the person to confront me about it or leave in disgust at being the object of so much attention. I'm finding this is pretty much all in my own mind as far as the drawing goes; the subject is really not as aware of me as I think they are, and all I get from this disillusion is a bad set of timid, stiff drawings.

This drawing is a couple of weeks old now, but here is an example of where I overcame timidity and stayed focused on the subject. The scrawl on the drawing summarizes the experience. I wanted to find out whether or not she knew I was drawing her the whole time. Her surprise told me "no" and even seemed to be flattered (or was it embarassed?). Right on, I thought. Then she and her group suddenly shuffled out of the cafe and I was left in the dust holding the drawing, feeling kind of creepy. Oh well, mission accomplished anyway, and I ended up with a better drawing than usual.

electro-dog

When I lived in New York, I remember hearing that at the time some dogs were getting electrocuted when walking over certain utility/drainage grates in the sidewalk. The insulation surrounding the aging wiring below had deteriorated, apparently leaving some wires exposed resulting in an electrically-charged grate above.

A spontaneous first rough sketch. I'd like to try a few more less-literal approaches to the idea.

random sketching

This is what I call a "stream of consciousness" approach to picture making. I start with random pencil marks and fill in color where shapes become suggested. Once the shapes begin to suggest actual objects, I start to refine accordingly. Plant life, mechanical doo-dads, and human forms typically factor in heavily. So far with this one, I've got something of a beginning of something. Not sure if I like the direction up to this point, but sometimes these exercises get interesting results if I stick with them long enough. Here's one I did in Japan that concluded as a fun and interesting image:

first entry

Welcome to my first post on my first blog... ever.
Having just seen Tomer Hanuka's blogger site, and others' like his before, I am now inspired to imitate. For now I'll post mainly sketchbook ramblings and write a word or two about them, and then just see where it leads from there...