December 17, 2017 December 17, 2017

I wanted to post a couple of additional pages from my journal. I don’t know if most of the world has become addicted to Adult Coloring Books but they are very popular in the United States. They present adults with an opportunity to be creative in a non-threatening environment and are wonderful for stress release (really needed in the US as you can imagine!). When an adult colors it takes you back to a happier time. You can get lost in the activity.

The first page I am including is really inspired by my love of mathematics and color. I have a university degree in mathematics and have always been inspired by geometric shapes and prismatic color. I thought I would play with these ideas when working on this page.

 

 

 

With this next exercise in coloring I was working with ink and markers and just experimenting. I usually go for blues but this time I pumped the color with pinks and purples and even green. Does it make you want to dance? Enjoy!

 

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November 26, 2017 November 26, 2017

I have been fascinated by a WordPress blog titled The Used Life. I do not know the blogger’s name but you can visit her website here. Since New Years I have been on a journey searching to have a better “used life”. I have been writing in a journal given to me by a friend. It is titled She Moves to Her Own Rhythm and was designed by Shiloh McCloud. Here is the cover of the journal.

 

 

 

 

Shiloh writes the journal is a place to feel safe experimenting and being your true self. That reminded me of The Used Life blog that I found so interesting and wanted to share with you. One of the things I really like about my journal is that it has quirky drawings that we are encouraged to color, paint, write on or otherwise use creatively. I love using markers, colored pencils, gel pens, metallic markers, glitter pens and other diverse and wonderful instruments as I move through the book. Here are two of my pages. I hope they make you smile.

 

 

 

January 6, 2014 January 6, 2014

A very happy new year to everyone. I have been busy with family activities and year-end tours at the Indianapolis Museum of art. I have been drawing sporadically but have not had time to finish anything – until this morning! It is amazing what a wind chill of 35 below zero and 12 inches of snow will do for you – stay home and work on projects you have in process!!!!

With my latest line drawing I wanted to move away from the very formal, symmetrical, precise style to something more random and unstructured. Here is my most recent gray scale drawing. I wasn’t totally happy with it because I felt it needed more “weight” in the upper left quadrant and I hadn’t yet worked out how I was going to handle that problem.

Lines 4 Gray Scale

I first decided to use my darkest values in the top half of the drawing but I really like color so indigo blue didn’t excite me. Instead I worked to get a balanced color composition and added additional lines to rebalance the composition. I started by making all of my colors muted and drab but couldn’t leave it that way. I just prefer cleaner, brighter colors! maybe it’s because I’m watching the portrait section of a Teaching Company class on Dutch art that’s full of blacks, grays and earth tones. I hunger for color…

Lines 4 Color

December 8, 2013 December 8, 2013

I am still playing with my markers and colored pencils.Using line and color is not only fun but is very rewarding. While doing these geometric drawings I think about every line – will it be thick or thin? will it be vertical, horizontal or diagonal? What value will it have? I felt so drawn to this design that I seriously considered leaving it black and white

Lines 3 Gray Scale

I decided to use a vibrant yellow-green and to use only this one rather neon color. The design is rather complex and I wanted to keep the color scheme simple. I think it works!

Lines 3 Color

The gray scale markers are cool gray rather than the warm gray markers. I think that’s why they look almost blue beside the yellow-green. The warm gray markers frequently look pink in photographs.

December 2, 2013 December 2, 2013

I am having so much fun working with my markers and colored pencils…with line and circle. Here is another drawing done with my gray scale markers. You may remember that I am trying to work on developing good compositions when I do these. This drawing has a major flaw (in my mind). I believe the top right section would look more balanced and interesting if the lines came off like rays of the sun or were at least angled more sharply.

Lines 2 Gray Scale

With this drawing I wanted minimal, soft color and used pink, blue and purple. I thought of color as an embellishment rather than a major component.

Lines 2 Color

 

November 29, 2013 November 29, 2013

I have become fascinated by Henri Matisse and his ability to integrate very complex patterns, colors and objects to make a unified, harmonious whole.  Composition is my weakest point and I continue to struggle, study and learn as much as I can about the subject. Thinking about Matisse and one of the paintings in the exhibit at the IMA, I decided to work with line again. I used my gray scale markers to draw a sheet full of lines and circles.  Maybe it is because I love math and logic but I seem to gravitate towards very orderly, balanced (does that mean boring???) arrangements.

Lines – Gray Scale

This seems very mechanical but I liked it. I had just about decided not to add color but gave myself a little poke and said – hey! this is an excerise! See if color makes it better – you’ve got nothing to lose! So I played with bright colors that I like and that work well together. Here’s the final drawing.

Lines – Color

Now if I could just learn to shot a properly positioned photo!

November26, 2013 November 26, 2013

I am preparing to do an hour long facilitation of Love Song by Norman Rockwell. This is part of a new program at the Indianapolis Museum of Art and is based on dialogue, open ended questions and deep looking. The viewers guide the discussion so it takes extensive preparation in order to effectively respond during the session. I just started studying the Rockwell and through my locxal library found a set of six videos about American Masters. The series was shown on PBS (public broadcasting) and includes a very good DVD about Norman Rockwell. It also includes an incredible DVD about Alexander Calder. This blew me away!!!!!! I knew nothing about his early days as a artist – what innovation, what inspiration, what FUN!!!! Oh my gosh, I was inspired! Grabbed my markers and colored pencils and went to work thinking about shape and line. I did not capture the sense of lightness that Calder was able to bring to everything he touched but I had fun trying.

Here is my gray color scale drawing. I was thinking about floating shapes and trying to get a good composition.

Homage Gray Scale Drawing

I then decided to liven things up by adding color. Calder added fun and interest through movement. Working in 2D I can only add color.

Homage Color

 

 

September 17, 2012 September 19, 2012

I am in the middle of a watercolor workshop with Cheng Khee Chee so I may have some watercolors to post soon. I did finish another face. This one is inspired by the artist Ai Wei Wei. Once again the eyes grabbed me – old eyes, strong and wise. Once again tweeked – I start with a contour drawing from a photograph and then do the rest from my imagination and in response to what happens during the drawing process.

Bearded Man Drawing

September 15, 2012 September 15, 2012

After I finshed preparing for the State Fair I was sort of like a ballon deflating. I felt a strong need to take a rest and regroup. Now, like a bad penny, I’m back, a little shinier after spending several weeks reading, thinking and resting. I am ready to get back to painting, drawing and doodling. I started by immersing myself in faces. My old friends know that I love to find a face that fascinates me and then I change it to make it my own. I’ve noticed that it is usually the eyes that hook me. I put my toe back in the water and here’s the result…a face depraved and with the potential for evil. Wonder what that means!

Gangsta Man

The drawing was done with a set of warm gray markers and is about 10″ X 12″. I made the eyes green. I wanted them to glint like emeralds.

May 14, 2012 May 15, 2012

I spent the last week in New York City immersing myself in art. Two whole days in the Met and visited the Frick Collection, the Whitney, the Cloisters and the Asian Institute. Can you imagine – 8 – count them! – 8 Vermeers and Rembrandts in less than 2 days. I was in heaven. We stayed on Times Square and also visited Ground Zero and the Lady herself (Ms Liberty). All this embellished by great food, the NYC Ballet and the Book of Mormon. Great week…

I was lucky enough to have about 3 hours to sketch in Central Park on Sunday morning. I did one sketch in the room earlier in the week. I will post my Central Park sketches later but here is Times Square from the room. First a photo.

Times Square

Then the sketch.

Times Square Sketch

Done with watercolor and markers. Oh yes – add MOMA to the list. I’m overwhelmed…