“There is freedom waiting for you, On the breezes of the sky, And you ask "What if I fall?" Oh but my darling, What if you fly?” ― Erin Hanson I almost distinctly remember the time that I decided I just could not be an artist. It was about 12 years ago on a cold and unbelievably-windy November day in Chicago. I was 18, and I had spent an entire day wandering the galleries at the Art Institute of Chicago's art museum. It was the best day, really. I remember standing in front of beautiful painting after beautiful painting, just staring at brushstrokes--I had never seen real paintings up close like that before, and I could feel them--I could see the artist at work there, and it was almost mind-blowing. I was completely overwhelmed. I wanted to soak it all in. I wanted to be a part of it. But there was this pervasive thought that kept running through my mind: "I could never do this." I wonder, now, why that thought--"I could never do ...
12x9", charcoal & white on gray paper This sweet little fella has been chanting the mantra "I need you" almost incessantly the past few days, which generally means, "hold me and don't put me down." Poor guy--just about breaks a mama's heart :( He finally fell asleep curled up on the rocking chair, so I grabbed some charcoal and sketched him quickly (about 12-15 minutes, I think). I haven't been doing a lot of quick sketches lately. But I think the more careful study I've been doing these past few months is definitely helping when I go to draw something more quickly. And the charcoal is not something I'm very comfortable with, but I think I could learn to like it :)
I went out to try a little plein air painting yesterday, but the forces of nature were not in my favor (wind, sun, rain, you name it--I didn't come up with anything worth sharing--and that's saying something, since usually I'm not one to gloss over my painting fails--I wiped the board off before even packing up, ha). So, here we are back with the Bargues. Doing these is feeling a little bit like a security blanket these days ;) Below is my five-minute start. I was fairly satisfied with it (it was only my 5th or so time starting this same pose and my paper had just about had it ;) so I went ahead and finished the drawing up a bit. It's not perfection, but it's moving in the right direction. Now, to apply the same process to drawing from life... :)
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