Author: ssemchuk

And now, something a little different… Day One, Painting One.

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I have painted very little this year – I just haven’t felt like it. And I think that’s a pretty poor excuse. So now that I’m on vacation, I have decided to paint a small still life painting every day until I go back to work on August 1. I’m hoping this will motivate me to push through and just do the work. It may not be pretty, but I am determined.

This was difficult. I was tired and did not feel like doing it. But I don’t always feel like doing my daily drawing and I just do it anyway and I did the same thing here. I started by covering my 8″ x 10″ panel with a diluted layer of burnt sienna and then did a quick drawing of my subject with more dilute burnt sienna before wiping away the paint from the lightest parts of the image. From there I mixed a few colours and filled in some of the major pieces a bit roughly. Then I moved from area to area filling in details and adding tone. I don’t know that I have a really great process – I’m working on that concept yet – but it got me through this painting. I don’t love the result. I see some depth created with the apples and the bowl, but the background is really flat and weird. And you can see that I rushed at the end with the fabric that the bowl is sitting on. I included this bit of folded canvas because I like painting fabric, but I was just too tired. And that’s one painting done.

“If you are willing to do something that might not work, you’re closer to being an artist.” – Seth Godin

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July 3, 2017

June drawings complete and all in one place:

June 1 & 2, 2017
June 3, 2017
June 4, 2017
June 5 & 6, 2017
June 7 & 8, 2017
June 9, 2017
June 10, 2017
June 11 & 12, 2017
June 13, 2017
June 14, 2017
June 15 & 16, 2017
June 17, 2017
June 18, 2017
June 19 & 20, 2017
Jun 21
June 22, 2017
June 23, 2017
June 24, 2017
June 25 & 26, 2017
June 27 & 28, 2017
June 29 & 30, 2017

Last summer I challenged myself to draw every day in the month of July. I’m not sure I saw a lot of improvement over the course of the month, but in the end, I was pleased with my small book of ink and watercolour images. These were my favourite drawings coming out it:

July 5
July 9

My intention with my 2017 drawing challenge was to improve my drawing skills. Yet, six months in, I haven’t seen the dramatic change I had hoped for. My ability to accurately foreshorten objects is still atrocious and creating volume is hit or miss. I decided that I need to change something in order to see the return I’m looking for – I need to put more effort in and actually work to improve rather than just show up. So I’ve upped my game and committed to drawing for a minimum of 30 minutes each day. Now, before I pick up my Moleskine to do my daily drawing, I begin in my sketchbook – playing with different media or styles or maybe doing a blind contour or other drawing exercise. So far I’m pleased with the result and a little excited about where this might lead.

In June I started out playing with different media each day and that was fun – for a while. Unfortunately, my little Moleskine books have thin pages and I gesso and sand them to eliminate show-through. This creates a fairly smooth, not-very-absorbent surface that limits which media perform well. I’m currently pretty attached to a combination of Copic Multi Liners and KOI Coloring Brush Pens. But rather than commit to a medium or particular items to draw, this month I’m just going to go with what I feel like. We’ll see how it turns out.

 

“The world always seems brighter when you’ve just made something that wasn’t there before.” – Neil Gaiman

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June 5, 2017

My poor neglected blog. Fortunately, I have done a little painting in the last month – the results are below. I’ve been playing around a bit and am looking forward to more experimentation with dark outlines.

 

Vase Family, Apr 1, 2017, Oil Stick on Canvas Board, 9″ X 12″

 

Banana Shoes, May 21, 2017, Oil on Canvas Board, 14″ X 11″
Pears in a Storm, Jun 3, 2017, Oil on Canvas Board, 14″ X 11″
Single Lonely Pear, Jun 3, 2017, Oil on Canvas Board, 6″ X 8″

My drawing a day project is going reasonably well – another 31 days completed.

May 1 2
May 3 4
May 5 6
May 7
May 8
May 9 10
May 11 12
May 13
May 14
May 15 16
May 17 18
May 19 20
May 21 22
May 23 24
May 25 26
May 27
May 28
May 29 30
May 31

For June, I’ve decided on two rules:

  1. All of my drawings will consist of a few items selected from 21 still life props with the addition fresh produce I have on hand if I choose to add it. I’ve photographed all the props together to better illustrate how distant the resemblances in my drawings are to their real-life counterparts.
  2. Any medium goes – as much variety as possible – it’s about being experimental and knowing that some (or most?) of these drawings will be atrocious! This is my chance to play with all of those art supplies I was so enamoured with when I saw them in the store but I really have no idea how to use.
Still Life Props, Jun 2017

 

“Have no fear of perfection – you’ll never reach it.” – Salvador Dali

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May 1, 2017
Another month of daily drawing complete and another month of very little painting. My personal favourite was my folding chair from April 2nd. Here they are all together:
April 1 and 2, 2017
April 3 and 4, 2017
April 5, 201
April 6, 2017
April 7, 2017
April 8, 2017
April 9, 2017
April 10, 2017
April 11 and 12, 2017
April 13 and 14, 2017
April 15, 2017
April 16, 2017
April 17 and 18, 2017
April 19, 2017
April 20, 2017
April 21, 2017
April 22, 2017
April 23, 2017
April 24, 2017
April 25 and 26, 2017
April 27 and 28, 2017
April 29 and 30, 2017

“I’m only trying to do what I can’t do.” – Lucian Freud

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April 9, 2017

Three months complete in my 2017 Drawing A Day Challenge! Here is all of March in one place:

Mar 1 and 2, 2017
Mar 3 and 4, 2017
Mar 5 and 6, 2017
Mar 7 and 8, 2017
Mar 9, 2017
Mar 10, 2017
Mar 11, 2017
Mar 12, 2017
Mar 13 and 14, 2017
Mar 15 and 16, 2017
Mar 17 and 18, 2017
Mar 19 and 20, 2017
Mar 21 and 22, 2017
Mar 23 and 24, 2017
Mar 25 and 26, 2017
Mar 27 and 28, 2017
Mar 29 and 30, 2017
Mar 31, 2017

Thoughts so far:

  1. My drawings take me anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes to do and although I often don’t feel I have the time, I have continued to make it happen. Generally once I start drawing I stop thinking about time – generally. There are many days I struggle to get into it. And it shows in the quality of the drawing.
  2. What bothers me most about my drawings is the lack of accuracy. For April I will focus on improving on this.  I will work with diluted India ink at first and then darken up final lines when I feel I have them where they should be.

“Art has always been the raft on to which we climb to save our sanity.” – Dorothea Tanning

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March 20, 2017
Another Cezanne Lemon, Mar 18, 2017, Oil on Canvas, 10" X 10"
Another Cezanne Lemon, Mar 18, 2017, Oil on Canvas, 10″ X 10″
Only a couple of things to post this week. The first is a new copy of a master lemon painting. This one is from “Fruit and a Jug on a Table” as featured on the Museum of Fine Arts Boston site.
Colour Wheel 1, Mar 18, 2017, Oil on Canvas Paper, 12" X 12"
Colour Wheel 1, Mar 18, 2017, Oil on Canvas Paper, 12″ X 12″
I completed the next lesson in my Craftsy class – creating a colour wheel with Burnt Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Titanium White and Mars Black with a 50/50 mix of black and white standing in for blue. It was an interesting idea and I thought it turned out fairly well – especially as I avoided using multiple brushes by working with a palette knife instead.
Colour Wheel 2, Mar 18, 2017, Oil on Canvas Paper, 12" X 12"
Colour Wheel 2, Mar 18, 2017, Oil on Canvas Paper, 12″ X 12″

I liked this format for a colour wheel so much that I decided to go on and do another one using primaries and secondaries directly from the tube based on Betty Edwards recommendations in her book Color: A Course in Mastering the Art of Mixing Colors. Colours used are Cadmium Red Medium, Cadmium Yellow Pale, Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Orange, Cobalt Violet and Permanent Green. I added Titanium White and Mars Black for the tints and shades. I could have done some smoother gradations on this one, but it serves its purpose all the same. And no brushes to clean!

“One must go on working silently, trusting the result to the future.” – Vincent Van Gogh

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March 6, 2017

February 1 & 2, 2017
February 3 & 4, 2017
February 5 & 6, 2017
February 7, 2017
Feb 8
February 9 & 10, 2017
February 11 & 12, 2017
February 13, 2017
February 14, 2017
February 15, 2017
February 16, 2017
February 17 & 18, 2017
February 19, 2017
February 20, 2017
February 21, 2017
February 22, 2017
February 23 & 24, 2017
February 25, 2017
February 26, 2017
February 27, 2017
February 28, 2017

So my February drawing challenge was to draw from photographs using black ink and grey markers. I had thought drawing from photos would be easier, and although the actual drawing was easier as everything is already flattened, I did not enjoy it as much. It was a pain to find images that I liked and I doubt I’ll do it again. The grey markers were to help me notice value more, but it wasn’t until the 13th that I clued in that I needed to shift how I was working and focus on the various values of the forms rather than drawing outlines in black and filling them in with grey. There are a few drawings that I like in the group, quite a lot that I don’t care for and some that I consider cringe-worthy. And that’s ok. It’s an experiment and it’s all good.

What I gained most in February was more ease in jumping in and being less precious about the result. I’ve reached the point where I care less about how each drawing turns out and more about the practice of drawing.

I completed the second and third lessons in my Craftsy class with the result of the third lesson below. And although I understand the point, I’m getting a little tired of painting the same subject over and over. Apparently I have a short attention span. We’ll see what lesson four brings.

2017 March, Paint & Palette Essentials, Lesson Three, 14″ X 11″
2017 March, Paint & Palette Essentials, Lesson Three, 14″ X 11″

“Embracing the vulnerability it takes to rise up from a fall and grow stronger makes us a little dangerous….

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February 23, 2017

“Embracing the vulnerability it takes to rise up from a fall and grow stronger makes us a little dangerous. People who don’t stay down after they fall or are tripped are often trouble-makers. Hard to control. Which is the best kind of dangerous possible. They are the artists, innovators, and change-makers.” – Brene Brown

Between family ski trips and a lack of inspiration to paint, I decided to work on a Craftsy class that I purchased (and began) awhile ago. The class is called Paint & Palette Essentials and since I had very little recollection of my experience of completing the first assignment, I repeated it. Both versions are below. This was a Monochromatic Wipe Out Study – something new for me. I generally keep a lot more paint on my brush than this technique involved, so I found it a little frustrating getting the hang of this style of application. It turned out better than I had thought it might and I see the point of this approach. I kind of like my first attempt more than the one I just did though. I’m glad I avoided looking at it until I had completed it the second time around. I am looking forward to the next lesson to see where this leads.

2015 July, Paint & Palette Essentials, Lesson One, 14" X 11"
2015 July, Paint & Palette Essentials, Lesson One, 14″ X 11″
2017 February, Paint & Palette Essentials, Lesson One, 14" X 11"
2017 February, Paint & Palette Essentials, Lesson One, 14″ X 11″

 

“Draw lines, young man, many lines, from memory or from nature; it is in this way that you will become a good artist.” – Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres

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February 7, 2017

Thirty one days of pencil drawings complete! I think it went well. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I had thought that I’d run out of things to draw or things that I felt like drawing, but that didn’t happen. Even if sometimes my drawings were of very simple things like spheres or apples. It’s all practice.
Jan-1-2
Jan-3-4
Jan-5-6
Jan-7
Jan-8
Jan-9-10
Jan-11-12
Jan-13-14
Jan-15-16
Jan-17-18
Jan-19-20
Jan-21-22
Jan-23-24
Jan-25-26
Jan-27
Jan-28
Jan-29
Jan-30
Jan-31
For February, I’m trying something a little different. My medium is black fine tipped pen and grey markers. And I am drawing from photographs or other printed images. The switch to pens is to push myself to draw more confident lines. The grey markers is to help develop a better sense of value. February is looking like a busy month for me too and I am hopeful that marker will be quicker than my pencil drawings were. So far it’s been a struggle, but it’s still early.