Working with watercolors on campus.

 I did this watercolor painting in an Arches sketchbook using Sennelier half pans. After spending a couple of hours in the studio, I decided to take a break from copying a Bargue plate to do this. I walked around campus at school and sat in a nice spot in the shade. These buildings are: Lloyd Delaney Hall & Laura and Arthur Colwin Hall.

 I'm going to try to dedicate more time to doing watercolor sketches . I'm visiting Philadelphia for the weekend with my lady, so I will have plenty of drawings and watercolor paintings to show. I have a nice new set of sable travel brushes and a couple of cold pressed Arches watercolor sketchbooks. So I have no excuse ! 

-R

Another completed sketchbook.

I just completed another sketchbook !!!! Now I can add it to the pile. It feels extremely good to finish a sketchbook from front to back, and know that you've recorded a lot of ideas and places. As I look from beginning to end I see in my own books how I learned and picked up different tricks and techniques. As I look from the oldest to the newest I see a big difference and a big improvement. Not only an improvement on aesthetic and technical aspects, but an improvement on sensitivity of subject matter and also a manipulation of various mediums. In my opinions sketchbooks are the most important part of being a creative person/artist. It's showing dedication as well as allowing you to see your own progress. It isn't just a finished piece, it's a record of the work, thoughts, and research you have accumulated. I don't think I will ever stop filling sketchbooks even if I slow down and stop doing art seriously. It's just the most complete way of document your life and your creative thoughts. So with that said... onto the next one.

-R

Copying Bargue drawings.

Charles Bargue was an academic painter in the 19th century. Bargue produced over 200 plates that were used in ateliers to teach students about proportion, three dimensionality, and tone. An artist friend of mine suggested that I start working on making copies of these important drawings. I've been working on this Bargue plate for about 7 hours, I plan on working on it for at least 40. I'm going to try my hardest to produce it to perfection, but I will continue to do these and hopefully my improvement will be self evident.

-R

Drawing couches at Queens College !

After my Italian summer course I usually walk around the campus at QC to look for things to draw before i start doing my homework. I found myself in the Lefrak concert hall and I decided to draw some of the furniture. I didn't always love drawing furniture but i'm quickly very motivated to doing so. I think once the furniture is out of the context of a room it looks much more interesting. Plus it gives me a chance to use some sort of geometric perspective which is usually lacking when I do portraits. I did these with a Rapido-sketch pen filled with black india ink, I also used a light watercolor wash and a white pen highlight.

-R

Alexander Calder

Alexander Calder was an American artist mostly known for his sculptures, but he also painted, made toys, did etchings etc. This piece is called "Sandy's butterfly" and I saw it in person at the Nassau County Museum of Art. I love all of Calder's work I was introduced to him by a printmaking professor of mine. His work is always fun to look at. So if you're in NY you should stop into Long Island and visit the NCMA. It's worth the trip, the property is huge and has a lot of history, plus you'll be able to see work like this plus works by many other artists installed all over the grounds.

-R