Auto retrato en Gris

I like to do self portraits often. I do a lot of my self portraits looking into a mirror, but I also use photos. I have a folder on my phone with various reference photos of family, friends, places and things that interest me or that I eventually want to draw. The photo I used for this drawing is in that folder and I think I've done three different drawings of this same photo so far.

I bought three cool grey alcohol markers from Blick : 20%, 40%, and 60%. I use black ink for the drawing and try to leave room for the marker to take over, instead of flooding the drawing with hatching lines. I want to try to use the markers to express different values. I'm going to keep my work kind of loose since the Ecru sketchbook I've been using has really tight and calculated drawings. I think the grey marker sketchbook will be more about getting to understand values with only these three markers. As always light is the most important issue to tackle.

ps: Auto retrato en Gris is spanish for Self portrait in Grey.

-R

Quick watercolor sketch

This is a pretty quick self portrait done in watercolors. I used Sennelier (half pans) in my Canson watercolor sketchbook (140lb cold press.) I tried to do it as fast as possible that way I could practice mixing colors and just get a knack for moving the watercolors around. I'm pretty satisfied with this sketch, I'm going to try to do a watercolor painting/sketch daily. I really like the way watercolors look and it's definitely way less time consuming (set up specially) than oils and acrylics. I'm still painting in oils here and there I'll post some stuff when I get a chance. I got some nice alcohol markers today so I'll post some of the stuff I've been doing with those soon.

-R

Ram drawing after Andrew Wyeth

This drawing is based on a painting I saw at the Nassau County Museum of Art. I'm almost 100% sure it was an Andrew Wyeth painting, but I can be mistaken. Whenever I head back to the museum I will find out for sure and post it here if it wasn't him. This drawing is in the same Ecru sketchbook that I've been schlepping around everywhere. I thought it was a good way to practice doing different textures (hair, horn) and also improve on my abilities as a draftsman. I'm pretty happy with the end result and it was a fun drawing to do, especially the horn.

-R

Auguste Rodin

I actually wanted to draw Rodin since I visited the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia. I was bored earlier today and decided to take a stab at drawing the famous French sculptor. I love my new sketchbook and have been really trying to stay with black ink ( Pilot V7 pen) so I can really concentrate on making more levels of shade and therefore adding more depth to my drawings. I've been doing this for a while and I think it's somewhat a success. I feel like using the pen with crosshatching is forcing me to think more before I make lines.

Rodin was a 19th century French sculptor, Most well known for The Thinker, The Kiss, The Three Shades. All made originally designed for The Gates of Hell, an entrance for a French museum that was never made. Rodin was well known for being an admirer of Michelangelo and in my opinion (and many other people's) the most important sculptor since Michelangelo and Bernini. If you have a chance visit the Rodin museum in Philly , which is under construction but still an excellent place to see Rodin's beautiful sculptures and even his plaster studies.

-R

New sketchbook new drawings.

 I recently ordered some stuff from Dick Blick, and one of those things was a new sketchbook. I have used a lot of different brands of sketchbooks but my favorites are : Moleskine (of course) Cachet earthbound, Handbook journal co, and Fabriano classic sketchbooks. I've use many other, but I stick with these, mostly because of quality and availability.

            I ordered a Cachet classic Ecru sketchbook and I love it. The paper is about the same shade of cream as Moleskine sketchbooks, maybe a little darker. The paper is 70 lbs and has a little tooth, which is nice. I've only used a regular ink pen but I will experiment with light washes of watercolor. I've been carrying this book with me for a couple of days and the size and the wire binding make it very easy to to use for travel. I'm still looking for perfect sketchbook, but this one so far is doing very good. 

PS: The last one of the three is a self portrait, the middle is a sketch of a woman at B&N in NJ, the first is a hand study with a hard light source.

-R

Painting on school campus

Yesterday I had my Italian final and afterwards I met up with my good friend Victor, who is an talented painter and artist. I don't paint in oils much , I've done a couple of paintings but I feel like I still have a lot to learn about this medium. I recently bought a french easel so I wouldn't have an excuse to NOT paint. My home studio isn't very ventilated and painting in oils there is rough.

So this small painting is a result of 2.5 hours of work. I'm debating wether or not I will continue to work on it after it dries down a bit. I think i'm going to leave it "as is" so I can use it as a starting point to see how I progress with every new 2-3 hour study. This happens to be the back side of Jefferson Hall at Queens College. The older buildings on campus are really nice to paint, the watercolor I posted on the 29th is actually one of these buildings as well. I'm decently happy with the outcome, but I know i have a long ways to go before I am satisfied with my oil painting. I look forward to learning and I definitely enjoy the slow process of painting in oils (this photo is actually about an hour into painting)

-R

Philadelphia part I

My weekend in Philadelphia was pretty incredible. I didn't draw or paint as much as I originally intended. That's not because I was being lazy or didn't feel like it, it's just that there are so many places and things to explore. My girlfriend and I walked around the entire city, but my favorite place of course was the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The building itself is beautiful, the architecture is similar to classic Greek temple fronts, which I love. My favorite piece of artwork that I saw in person was at the Perelman building (The Perelman building is off the main property, but there are shuttles that take you to the Perelman frequently and for free. ) The painting that I admired the most and was most inspired by was "The Gross clinic" by Thomas Eakins. Eakins being a native to Philadelphia is a very important part it's museum.

The "Gross clinic" was on display at the Perelman because it was just recently restored. I think they did an excellent job of restoring the painting and explaining why and how they did it. I stood and stared and stared for at very least an hour. This painting in person is 100 times more incredible than it is in photos. I suggest everyone make the pilgrimage to Philly to see this. They also have the "Agnew clinic" and some oil studies at the Perelman, but in the main building the have a lot more work of his to look at, including sculptures, drawings, photographs, etc. I know there's been a lot of things being said about Eakins and his life, but I try to separate the artwork from the personal life of the artist. At least somewhat.

-R