Sketch of a figure sitting

One of the things that I struggle with most  in my art making practice is value and tone. My eyes are opening to seeing the variations and nuances of light and shadow. My work tends to be flat and graphical but I have always wanted to have the traditional skill set of the old masters, to do this takes dedication, patience and some gentle massaging with the pencil.

 This sketch was done entirely with a 0.07 HB mechanical pencil. I really tried to push it to get as much of a range of light and dark from the single lead type. It would definitely have been easier to use some other tools, but the task I set myself up to do was a great challenge and learning opportunity.

I threw down some copic cool grey (C3) which happened to be the value behind the model in reality. It took me quite a while to decide on that marker and then I quickly filled in the background just in time for the critique. I think this is one of my most successful drawing from like sketches ever. Onward and upward.

That's Mike in the yellow shirt behind my sketch.
He liked the drawing so much I gave it to him.  = :D

Small town and port pencil and ink

I started this drawing of a small port town in Portugal. I began by sketching out the placement of various elements with my mechanical Pencil.

Then a couple of days later I went back in with my copic markers cool gray scale to do some tone work and shading.

Now it is starting to have some depth and shape. It really punches it up to see the reflections in the water.

B-B-B-Bodyworlds

If you live in cow town or any town that gets the opportunity to go to Bodyworlds and like to draw anatomy, this is the place to be! I think exhibits like these are very important for artist's to attend.
This is my second time going, it is well worth the price if you walk out of there with some good drawings! I just brought in my sketchbook one pen and a mechanical pencil to do these studies.

 No food or drink allowed, even if you crave beef jerky for some odd reason. I don't really have an appetite when looking at plastinated cadavers. This one kid in there kept saying, "they keep the meat on so they don't fall over", I turned and said it's only MEAT...... if you're going to eat it! and cracked a wry smile. Note: There are no places to sit and it can get very crowded so it may be hard for to draw, for some.

It astounds me at how uneducated/uninformed the average person is about the workings of their very own body. I mean really? Do they not take interest in the mystery of their very own, immensely complicated design and functions outside of this one spectacle. I was telling people what the parts were as they pointe to the liver and told their kids it was a lung. I hear " What's that?" from both adults and children alike.

 Another interesting thing to do is watch people making faces as they emotionally react to each display. A lot of disgusted looks all scrunched up like Popeye drinking bitter beer. The seniors tended to have more interest in disobeying the signage and touching the specimens an explaining to one another their friends or their own surgeries, injuries an diseases. They treat the specimens as other, as if they are only a spectacle, unable to relate themselves to their biology, keeping distance between the body they have and the display bodies a s 'other'.

While having a green tea in the cafe I over heard a daughter ask her mother "Is the soul outside the body, then?" Some of the kids were really smart. I watched one 7 year old explain to his schoolfriends the nuances of the workings of the digestive tract, he only missed naming the duodenum. Maybe his dad was a doctor or he watched a lot of educational television......regardless, my faith in humanity had been restored.

 It may not be the best place for the little ones. You may not want your daughters to be engrossed in the penises;P Vegetarians an the faint of heart may have a hard time with it as well.

As ART and SCIENCE..... I feel the display is very effective, maybe a little garish and some of the displays were poorly mounted, but it was awesome to see animals, like this camels (infant camel is the first drawing on this blog). Sooo cool. It brings it to a new level. For so long religious groups such as the catholics have held relics of their popes etc. in the same way,  doctors an biologists do the same thing and the history of artist's learning about the body have filled volumes, now it is a little more accessible.

 Our bodies are amazing. What an intricate, complex an mysterious organism. Everything fits together so well and has a specific task or function that works symbiotically with the rest. Totally amazing!
 The main thing about the Bodyworlds exhibit for me, is it not only brings about awareness and questions about our own biology, but more importantly........ I think it helps in shaking up our complacency an makes us faced head on MORTALITY! And that alone is worth the price of admission.

Hare what I'm saying?

Here is a start to a drawing of the 'big race'- Tortise vs. Hare.

Have I mentioned how much I love mechanical HB pencils?