Wednesday Sketch

Untitled graphite sketch
small leather sketchbook

Tovero Dream: combining old and new styles

"Tovero Dream" partial
graphite sketch
small leather sketchbook

Today I decided to combine a more realistic style with my recent experimentation in abstraction, and this sketch was the result.  I used a photo of a tovero stallion as my template for non-abstract conformation, and his patches as a map for my topography-like lines.  His mane originally hung over his neck and chest, but as I find myself fond of a Roman or Trojan horse look, I decided to change that.  This is a graphite sketch, but I feel that this would have the most impact in ink or a clear crisp paint such as gouache.

Leaping the Moon- graphite sketch

"Leaping the Moon"
graphite
small leather sketchbook

Today I was looking at videos of some eventing horses.  Cross country jumping is always impressive to look at, and the bold spirit of these horses in soaring over solid obstacles served as my inspiration.  Proudly arched necks, neatly tucked forelegs, grace and athletic power- all this I hope to capture.

It's been freeing moving away from realism, yet having a grasp of equine anatomy lends authenticity to these drawings.  On a deeper level, they are symbolic of the lines of power and life in our own bodies.  They express my journey towards finding balance in life and connection with my inner spirit.

I'm mentally turning over how to execute one of these style figures into a color painting.  Should each line be a different color?  Should I fill in the in between spaces?  One color family?  Complementary colors?  Acrylic?  Gouache?  Oil pastels?  I imagine that I'll try everything at least once to see what looks best and what works on a practical level.

More primitive op art ponies

"Spirit Pony"
pen
small leather sketchbook

I'm still on the subject of these primitive op art ponies, as you can see.  Drawing them has a therapeutic effect for me.  They are not overly taxing to draw and have strong visual interest.  "Spirit Pony" was inspired by a painting I found online called "Navajo Dreams" by one Shellby Young.  My crappy ballpoint pen blotted all over, but I still like it, and it is just a sketch.  I enjoy the expressive quality of this style, and look forward to trying it out with paint and brushes.

"Pinwheel Pony"
graphite
small leather sketchbook

Primitive Op Art- trying a new style

Leaping the Wave
graphite
small leather sketchbook

As I was drinking my tea yesterday morning, my brain said to itself, "Today, you will draw an abstract horse with exaggerated features and many contour lines."  I needed a break from improving my realistic work, and from working from photos.  I wanted to tap into that inner creative child who was inspired by Disney's hand drawn Fantasia.

Traveling has been on my mind lately; a trip to the Caribbean or southern hemisphere sounds very appealing with the cold days of January and February ahead.  I was thinking of all the nontraditional art I had been exposed to in my art history classes from around the world, and also of a children's book I used to own called The Desert is Theirs.  I always loved the austere and line dominated illustrations by Peter Parnall.  While drawing these horses, line after line, my mind entered a Zen like peace.  I began with an outline of a horse figure and worked within its body afterward.  I purposely exaggerated some features, such as the above horse's neck being so broad and arched, and went for a geometric yet natural feel to the drawings.

I might do a painting with this sort of theme in mind; I would use warm subtle earth tones like those found in the cave paintings of Lascaux.

War Cry
graphite
small leather sketchbook

Arabian stallion sketch, v2.0

"At Attention"
graphite sketch
small leather sketchbook

I was still feeling attracted to the theme of black Arabian stallions, perhaps from having looked over my bookshelves and seeing Walter Farley's The Black Stallion.  This was the result of having spent about 45 minutes sketching from an online photo.  It's been very difficult for me to muster up the same enthusiasm to draw at least every week day as when I started this blog, but that's why I set parameters for myself such as running an ideal blog post schedule of every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

The end of the holidays and the old year lead to a sort of limbo in the beginning of the new year for me; no major holidays to plan for, a relatively clean slate, but rather forbidding weather.  Despite the rain and ice-covered sidewalks, I still walked my beagle this morning for our usual thirty-five minutes; I have no wish for my dog walker to risk life and limb in this weather.  As soon as I got back home, I wanted nothing more then to put my pajamas back on and resume watching nature documentaries on Netflix.  Instead, I salted down my bit of sidewalk, got in my car, and headed off to my 9-5.  

Resisting the urge to hibernate is a real struggle, including when it conflicts with my creative impulse.  This is part of the reason that I have not created anything on a larger scale than my little sketchbook recently.  I also will reluctantly admit that I haven't yet finished matting, framing, and taking my prints off to the floral shop.  One of my New Year's resolutions is to complete this goal before the end of January.  Today, I am considering opening up a Fine Art America or SmugMug account to further spread my art and potentially sell a print or two.

Arabian stallion graphite sketch

Arabian Stallion
graphite
small leather sketchbook

I was browsing pictures of black Arabian horses, and a picture of this stallion was among the search results.  His beauty and almost geometric conformation captivated me at once, and I thought to myself, "I'm going to draw that horse."  It is easy to draw beautiful pictures when one has beautiful subjects.  That being said, I will critique myself on my rendition of his body (it being oddly angled/proportioned in the photo), and I'm not sure I like having added his tail or not.  I thought that the composition was lacking without it, but the execution isn't quite how I pictured it.  I was trying not to be a slave to my reference photo; this will take even more practice.  However, I am satisfied with the way his head and neck turned out.  Lines and patches of graphite flow smoothly and elegantly, capturing the stallion's form and grace.

First sketches of the new year

Chiaroscuro Arabian
graphite
small leather sketchbook

Leaping OTTB
graphite
small leather sketchbook

Longwood Gardens Photojournal

I went to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania this past Friday with a few good girlfriends to have a look at the holiday display.  My sister-in-law and I had never been there before, and didn't know what to expect.  Both of us brought our D300s.  It was absolutely beautiful, if much more crowded than anticipated.  We began in the atrium and came out just after dusk, where we were wowed by all of the sparkling strings of lights.  It was a rewarding photography experience, although somewhat challenging with low indoor lighting and then taking photos at night.

My camera did not quite capture some of the true colors of the lights, but I was able to use Lightroom to correct this to some extent.  Many of my photos were taken on a manual setting and required little to no editing; as it grew darker and the crowds grew larger, I ended up setting the camera on automatic.  It was a tight space in the atrium and there was only a little time to set up each shot as we were literally pushed along by the tide-like crowd.

There were lots of beautiful subjects in all of the flowers and decorations.  I particularly enjoyed photos where I was able to take advantage of evening light pouring in through the windows of the atrium.  I've noticed that I gravitate towards close-ups, and could use a little improvement in non-landscape scene shots.  All in all, Longwood Gardens was exciting and almost magical with the wonder and peace that it inspired in me.  I look forward to going again someday.

Dusting off my cameras

Dusted off the D300
digital photograph
Nikon D100

Having a little bit of time off after the holiday rush led to me dusting off the Nikon D300 which I got for Christmas last year and used... once.  It sat staring balefully at me through its lens cover, neglected for nearly an entire year, sending little tingles of guilt through me every time I glanced its way.  Both of my cameras and nearly all of my accompanying equipment are very generous gifts from my dad, who does some amazing bird photography for his own blog.  I originally pilfered his old Pentax film SLR for my photography class at Mason Gross.

One of the most important and lasting lessons from my professor, LaToya Frazier, was trying to take the shot so that little to no editing is required.  This (can sometimes) result in quality photographs, and requires patience; taking many shots as various aperture settings, compositions, and shutter speeds are adjusted; and an understanding of lighting and your subject matter.  Doing all of this with a film camera and developing my own film was both highly stressful and rewarding.  I remember sweating in the dark room, fumbling with rolls of film as I transferred them from the camera to the spool for developing, praying that I didn't wreck a few hours worth of shooting.  I felt like a wizard dodging and burning the photosensitive paper, and putting the paper through its chemical washes.  I also keenly felt the high prices of film and other equipment.  Often, I would not take more than the minimum three shots recommended per composition so that I would not have to buy as much film.

Access to a DSLR and a computer took away a lot of that stress, but also a little bit of the magic, too.  Digital photography is a boon for a hectic schedule, yet even so, my photography dropped off during my long artistic hiatus.  Of course, my battery life was nearly exhausted for my D300, so instead, I got out the D100 while I began charging the lithium batteries, which is a slightly older and heavier model.  I currently have a 77mm telescopic lens on it.  I just stuck around the house for my re-entry into photography, taking advantage of the slanting winter light streaming into my home.

Ficus Leaves
Digital photograph
Nikon D100