Rantings of a middle-aged art student

Module 14

2009-12-29T10:22:00.001-06:00

Roses in a copper vase. Not my favorite.

Module 13

2009-12-29T10:18:00.002-06:00

A low-key still life. It's supposed to be kind of dark and brooding. The abstract ceramic head in the box was made by local artist Nina Cork, it was a real challenge to paint because of the colors involved.

Module 12

2009-12-29T10:14:00.002-06:00

This was supposed to be a high-key painting, where all the values are on the lighter half of the scale. It is light, but just not a big success. That's a red and yellow onion with garlic.

Module 10

2009-12-29T10:09:00.002-06:00

Drapery study in oil. This is tedious, but fun. It's easy to get lost in the folds. I need to do a lot more of this if I'm going to do draped figure work.

Module 9

2009-12-29T09:57:00.003-06:00

A bird's eye view still life. I tried to get artsy with this one. The translucent plastic glasses kicked my butt.

Module 7

2009-12-29T09:26:00.004-06:00

For module 7 we had to use a reflective item, I got the bright idea to go with a chrome jigger, it was all downhill from there. I just couldn't get into the feel of this one. I like the idea of it, and may do something like it again later, but this one was just not how I wanted it to be.

Homework #2

2009-11-02T16:35:00.003-06:00

Ok, same as before, we started with sketches and worked our way to a finished painting. This one cost me a few brain cells. I could not match the color of the red satin cloth. Most of this was painted and repainted at least twice.

Homework #1

2009-10-23T10:11:00.003-05:00

This involved drawing 4 setups and getting one of them ok'd to paint, then submitting a 50% completed painting to be critiqued. For the final painting we had to make any changes the professor recommended and finish.

Module 6

2009-10-23T10:08:00.001-05:00

Copper, not my favorite to paint. Need I say more?

Module 5

2009-10-23T10:01:00.002-05:00

How do you paint clear glass? You don't, you paint what's behind it. That's the theory anyway. The small glass to the left has a rippled surface, not a wise choice for the first time. I'm going to need a lot more practice with this stuff.

Module 4

2009-10-23T09:56:00.002-05:00

Finally working with a full color palette, so what did I do? I went with primary colors, of course! I was actually trying to loosen up a little and did this one pretty fast. A little too fast though, since I forgot my horizon and didn't get good shadows under the bowls to keep them from looking like they're floating.

Module 3

2009-10-22T11:25:00.003-05:00

For module 3 we got to add cad yellow to the mix. The proportions on the gravy boat are off, but I'm pretty happy with this one. Again 11x14 canvas board.

For figure modelling I give you.........my left foot!

Module 2

2009-10-22T11:17:00.003-05:00

Ok, yes I've been a slacker and not been posting much. I'm going to try to get that caught up. Here's my module 2 exercise, still life with a limited palette consisting of; terra rosa, yellow ochre, ivory black and titanium white. It's on an 11x14 canvas board.

I'm leaving my figure modeling homework off here since at this point it's just some geometric shapes.

Module 1 of the fall semester

2009-09-14T10:51:00.003-05:00

I actually finished my mod 1 homework before the due date. Looking ahead, it looks like this might be the only time that happens. I've got major amounts of work to do, in two subjects that are totally new to me. While I'm looking forward to it, I'm a little worried about getting it all done.

In Still Life I'm using oil paints for the first time in my life, actually this is the first time I've even attempted to paint a picture since probably grade school. We started out just working in shades of gray, cool since I've been working in charcoal for a while. Next week we'll be adding some color to the mix. I can tell I was concentrating so hard on getting the paint to bend to my will, that I totally messed up the structure of my forms. All in all, I'm still ok with how it turned out.

Figure Modeling was pretty easy this week, but it's going to ramp up quickly to hurt me, I can tell. The main part objectives this week were to build our armature, which is the skeleton we'll be putting our clay on, and gathering our supplies. I'm really happy with how it turned out.

Two more weeks!

2009-08-20T18:32:00.003-05:00

Fall semester is just around the corner, and I'm ready. Fees are paid, books are purchased, supplies are present and accounted for. Today was the first day we could log in and download the files we'd need, demos and lectures and such, and that's done. Nothing left to do but get started.
On the menu for this term we have FND-131 Figure Modeling, one of the few foundations classes I have left, and FA-110 Still Life Painting in oil, the first of my fine arts classes.

Since I don't have any post-worthy artwork at the moment, I'll leave you with a pic of the present I gave myself for my 46th b-day.

Get drawing!

2009-06-04T21:57:00.005-05:00

Well, at least the half dozen that may see this anyway.
Saturday, June 6th is Drawing Day, so draw something and post it here or at the Drawing Day web site. Check it out here
http://drawingday.org/index.php

Spring semester grades

2009-05-25T10:46:00.000-05:00

Looks like I did better than I thought. I got an A- in both my Figure Drawing class as well as English Composition. I'm doing much better than in high school. I guess paying this much to go to school is more motivational for me. I'm sure it has nothing to do with being older since I'm still a kid in my head.

The last of spring semester.

2009-05-16T22:55:00.003-05:00

The last 15 weeks have went way too fast. Here are my final two works for Figure Drawing. I think they're my best so far. The mad dash to the finish has left me exhausted. I may sleep for 24 hours.

I'm not taking any classes at AAU this summer, but I'm going to be studying on my own and will still be posting work here.

Last of the exercises

2009-05-11T20:39:00.002-05:00

Here's the last of the exercises for figure drawing. Now just two more drawings for my final homework and I can put this class to bed.

A first

2009-05-07T11:11:00.003-05:00

More foreshortening this week.

Can you guess what "first" it was for me?
Only two more weeks of spring semester!

And, foreshortening time

2009-04-27T23:05:00.002-05:00

This week we worked on foreshortening. That crazy thing that happens when you look at a long object from the end, instead of the side. This crap is hard, people! So, enjoy the booty show!

Whoops!

2009-04-27T23:00:00.002-05:00

Almost forgot the feet! Nothing special here, just trying a different technique. I built my tone up slowly with many layers instead of blending it to death.

A couple more hands

2009-04-14T10:33:00.002-05:00

Michelangelo is spinning in his grave. The reference for this is obvious, the models were my daughter and ex-wife.

Now, on to the feet!

Can I get a hand?

2009-04-13T09:02:00.003-05:00

While they have their flaws, these are the first hands I've ever drawn that I don't mind people seeing. Hands are HARD!

Another Master Copy

2009-04-06T10:25:00.003-05:00

Here's the latest of the old masters work that I've butchered. Michelangelo deserves much better treatment than what I've given him here. Anyway, here's my version of the study for the Libyan Sibyl.

Module 8 "Raphael"

2009-04-02T23:27:00.003-05:00

Ok, so we had to copy a Raphael, no pressure right? I must admit, the intimidation factor was running pretty high on this one. I judiciously measured for hours to get all the parts in the right places. In the end it was worth it though, I received my first "A" in Figure Drawing.

Module 5 and 6

2009-03-10T16:34:00.003-05:00

I'm late again. To catch up I'll post my homework for 2 weeks.

First up is this drawing of a head for Module 5. I sucked bad on it, the mouth is totally wrong and my values leave something to be desired. The drawing we copied from was a lot darker than this. I actually received a decent grade but I don't know how.

For Module 6 we were supposed to concentrate on positive and negative shapes to find our forms. I used charcoal and General's white charcoal pencil on grey Canson paper. I'm pretty happy with this one, she has a few problems, but on the whole, I'm satisfied. I also seem to be able to find my forms a little faster, this only took me about 3 hours. I remember doing a lot less in a lot more time.

Enjoy!

I've been bad

2009-02-25T21:28:00.001-06:00

I haven't updated in quite a while. The truth is I haven't done anything in Figure Drawing that I thought was post-worthy. Were not even going to talk about English. So, here I am and week 4 of my second semester is over and I need to post something. Here are a couple drawings I did last week. I'm not too happy with them, but I guess they'll do.

Final Grades are in!

2008-12-27T21:18:00.001-06:00

Well, the first semester of school is over. I actually got good grades, an "A" in Photography and a "B+" in Analysis of Form, my basic drawing class. Spring semester starts Jan 26 and it looks like I'll be taking Figure Drawing and English Composition.
So far my experience with The Academy of Art University is great!
I'm working on a drawing right now and I'll post it when I get done and give it to the person it's intended for. They don't know I'm doing it and they check in here from time to time, so I don't want to give it away with a WIP.

Module 15 final, DONE!

2008-12-18T22:30:00.003-06:00

That's it. My first semester of college is done.

Module 15 last update

2008-12-18T15:26:00.004-06:00

This is the last update before I finish this, hopefully, that will be tonite. Still some general cleaning up to do, fixing outlines and such along with finishing the dragon. A little work left in the bottom right and doing something with the background. 4-5 hours tops.

Module 15 WIP 3

2008-12-17T11:53:00.003-06:00

All's going fairly well, but I've found some items that are going to have to be reworked. I'm still trying to decide what to do with the background. I guess I'll let the time constraints dictate how detailed that gets. Going to tackle the skull tonite, somehow blend the cheap styrofoam reference with some pics I found of a real one. 3 day left!

Module 14 & 15 WIP's

2008-12-15T23:14:00.003-06:00

Final project for Analysis of Form class. Using charcoal and white chalk on grey paper. Another new thing for me, I've never used colored paper before. So far so good, I'm really liking how this is turning out.

Module 13

2008-12-09T15:50:00.003-06:00

Only 2 weeks left in this semester. I can't believe it's gone by this fast.

In photography this week, we had to do a Diptych or a Triptych. Which is to say 2 or 3 pictures meant to be viewed together. They could be pictures that commented on each other, or told a story or even pieces of the same thing. I chose the later and came up with this.

This is the downtown post office here in Texarkana. I though it would be a good subject for this because it's the only post office in the United States that sits in two states at the same time. It also holds the only Federal Court to do the same. On the left side is Texarkana,TX with Texarkana,AR on the right. There's a spot in front where tourists can take pictures with one foot in each state. Originally, I had planned to put a shot of Stateline Ave between the two halves, but couldn't get what I thought would be a good shot, too many stoplights and wires in the way.

One funny piece of trivia, the men's room is in Texas while the ladies is in Arkansas.

On to Analysis of Form. For the last 2 weeks I've been working in pen and ink, actually using a Micron pen, which has a very fine point. I scouted out buildings, took pictures and sketched some things, even got questioned by the local P.D. as to what I was doing downtown looking suspicious on a Sunday morning. Can't really blame them for that one, there was an alarm going off at a building a couple blocks away and I was sitting there with the motor running.

But, I digress. This is the old Hopkins Feed store in downtown Texarkana,Ar. It's been closed and vacant for some time and I've heard rumors it may get turned into a bar. My first time working in ink, which you can't erase, so I did more than one before finally deciding to go with this one. I would have liked to take it further, but just ran out of time. Be kind.

That's it for photography assignments. Still have the final exam in there but not much more. One more big still life for drawing class, and my first semester in art school is over.

Module 12 self portrait

2008-11-30T16:46:00.002-06:00

Self portrait time in photography class. I've always liked Norman Rockwell's "Triple Self Portrait", so here's my version. The "drawing" on the easel is actually a photo that I manipulated to hopefully look like I'd done it with charcoal.

Module 11, late nights with Ernie

2008-11-25T10:36:00.003-06:00

Done!!

I've spent far too much time looking at this man. This has got to be the most time I've ever put into one drawing in my life. I know I've got more than 40 hours in this in the last two weeks. I've also got the back ache and squinty eye from looking at all those stitches in his sweater. I have to say I'm happy with it, but just feel like I could have done better on the sweater. But, after drawing and wiping it back off at least 6 times, it'll have to do.

I must say though, it's amazing how far I've come since Sept 4th, I never could have done this before.

Photography class had us taking pictures with intentional motion-blur or selective focus as this weeks assignment. I caught this guy in mid-leap with a slower than normal shutter speed. I think he looks kinda liquidy.

Module 10, What was I thinking?

2008-11-25T09:42:00.003-06:00

In my Analysis of Form class we're copying a photograph and scaling it up from an 8x10 to somewhere around 18x24. We had 8 different photos to choose from, so naturally I had to pick the one with bushy beard and knit sweater. Here's my 1st week rough in of Ernest Hemingway. I'm writing this all after the fact, so I already know how he turns out.

Photography class has us taking a picture with color as he subject. This is a macro photo of the floats in a Galileo thermometer.

Module 9, The good, bad and ugly.

2008-11-13T16:38:00.003-06:00

A little late posting this time as work and internet issues have intruded on my school work. Lets start with the good.

This weeks photography assignment was to use the "rule of thirds" to make an image. Luckily this also coincided with the purchase of a new 70-300mm zoom lens. I spent about an hour and a half at the park taking pics of the ducks and geese. I'm glad it was digital because I took nearly 100 shots, including this one. It's one of the few shots I've been really satisfied with so far.

On to the bad and ugly, drawing class. I could spend another 10 hours on this for sure and maybe get the shading right. I think proportionally it's good, I did a ton of measuring. But, schools moving fast and I have to get on with the next thing.

Now I'm working on drawing a picture from a photograph. Scaling it up from an 8x10 to around 18x24. Wish me luck, it's Earnest Hemingway with a full beard and knit sweater. Time to sink or swim!

Torso 2.0

2008-11-05T12:14:00.003-06:00

We didn't have an actual drawing due this week, so I decided to rework the background on my torso drawing from last week. The background was too light and splotchy, so I darkened it up and tried to smooth it out. I also played with some of the shading, but you may not be able to tell in the pic.

Next week, Head cast!

Module 8 Photography assignment

2008-11-02T21:16:00.003-06:00

This week we had to photograph the same scene under two different types of light. Not the same as last week when it was flash vs natural. In the "spirit" of Halloween (sorry) I chose to go to the cemetery. I found a ton of beautifully carved old monuments but this one really worked well due to the placement and how light fell on it.

The first photo is just before the sun went down behind the trees, I love the warm color and dramatic shadows.

The second pic is the next morning around 10:oo. The sky was cloudy and grey. This picture lacks the detail of the first one and just feels cold.

Module 7 done early!

2008-10-26T19:54:00.003-05:00

Here's the finished version of my torso drawing. I'm pretty happy with this one. There are a couple of places I could tweak it a little, but I don't want to overwork it. I'm finally getting used to working with the charcoal, learning it's little idiosynchrasies.

Photography this week had to do with observing the differences in the lighting of the same scene taken two different ways. I chose to take my pics of one of my drawing casts both in open shade and with flash. Can you tell which is which?

End of Module 6

2008-10-21T21:26:00.003-05:00

Another week, another pair of homework entries.

First up, we've finally started drawing something that looks like people! Like the drapery study, the first week is the contour and basic light and dark shapes. There's a couple of things to fix form-wise yet, but I think I've got a handle on it. This coming week is all about finesse and gradually bringing the forms out. And I'm jazzed about the grade I received on the drapery, much better than I had expected.

And here is my lovely model, she stayed still the whole time.

Photography this week was all about movement and how to show it by manipulating exposure times. I laid flat on my back on my bedroom floor for an hour taking pic after pic. I experimented with all sorts of shutter speeds and apertures. I settled on using the slow-sync feature on my camera with a long exposure then firing off the flash on my other camera so I could get two sets of blades in the pic.

Module 5, or Why cold meds and drawing don't mix

2008-10-13T22:40:00.003-05:00

Here we go, not as good as I'd have liked, but I'm about out of time. Besides the sinus medicine is messing with me and I keep getting lost in all the folds. It did turn out better than I thought it would from looking at the block-in from last week.

And in photography "energy" was the theme of this weeks assignment. So I went hither and yon looking for the perfect pump-jack to take pics of. Oh, for those that don't know, a pump-jack is the thing that pulls the crude oil out of the ground. It only took me 2 separate trips and 20-30 miles to find this fine specimen right here.

Module 4

2008-10-10T12:07:00.003-05:00

I know, I'm behind. My drapery drawing is taking forever, but here's where it was at at the end of Mod 4. We had to just squint and do the big light and dark shapes. Refinement will be in Mod 5. At this point it just looks like a big mess, but having worked on it since I can see it may just workout.

For photography the assignment was a shot of hands. My hands, your hands, the hands down the street, whatever. But me being me, I just had to bend the rules. So we have a picture of my work gloves with my chainsaw. I like the light in this one and the way the gloves look.

So, as all the kids say on myspace, leave me comments! Let me know what you think or that you were here so I don't feel like I'm talking to myself.

Module 3 homework

2008-09-30T10:07:00.003-05:00

Here's my entry for the detail shot for my photography class. She's a little garden fairy from in front of the house.

Then we have a still life that I'm really not that thrilled with. It seems I keep making the same mistakes. I need more practice, but the class is moving pretty fast and I draw so slow I'm barely getting these done in time. I do think my sphere is better in this, but my ellipses continue to suck ass.

This week we start a 2 week asignment on drapery that I'm really looking forward to digging into.

Module 2 homework

2008-09-23T11:39:00.005-05:00

This is my first multi-object full value drawing. Around 6 hours worth, did I mention that I draw sloooooow?

Module 3 is all about composition. After reading this weeks goals and assignments I realize I made at least one major boo boo here. It seems the sphere and cube shouldn't line-up like I made them, even though I did it on purpose, it flattens the picture space. OK, guess that's why I'm in school.

I also added a pic of yours truly working on this masterpiece of compositional blunders.

Back to the drawing board!

Two more shapes in full value

2008-09-20T23:34:00.004-05:00

Damn! These are taking me way too long. I still have to do one more drawing with all four shapes in it, with shading and shadow. I've got just over 48 hours and I STILL have photography homework.

I must say though, I'm learning alot in a short time, both from the class and my class-mates, some of which are waaaay better than me.

Grades and Stuff

2008-09-18T22:59:00.004-05:00

Well, I got my grades for module 1 in my two classes. Lets just say I'm happy and I think they're fair. Oh, what the hell, I got a B+ on my "Front Door Photo"!!!! And High C's in Analysis of Form (drawing).

So for module 2 my exercises are to draw a value scale and draw all four forms in full value. Here's what I got so far.

Value Scale

Cube in full value

Cone in full value

Now all I need to do is the cylinder and sphere in full value then all four in one pic in full value. Due Monday night, Cake!

Oh, there's some photography classwork in there too.

Outsmarting Ike

2008-09-15T16:57:00.004-05:00

Ike tried to stop me, but I was too smart for him. True, I've been without power now for over 48 hours, but Ike forgot about the job. I may be back in the stone-ages at home, but work is up and running!

So Sunday I loaded up my car with art supplies, camera, tripod and every rechargeable piece of electronic gear and went to work. I was alone, it was quiet and I churned out 4 of these little masterpieces.

And here's a look at where this was made. Look at that nice easel disguised as a file drawer. Is that too cool for school or what?

Cubes!!!!!

2008-09-15T10:27:00.003-05:00

Here's a sample of my cubes. I think I'm having some perspective issues. I only got this one sheet done before hurricane Ike took my electricity away. But that will be the subject of my next post. Stay tuned!

Vine charcoal = Hell

2008-09-12T15:35:00.005-05:00

For those of you who don't know, vine charcoal is just what it sounds like, a burnt stick. Actually, it's pieces of willow stem, around 6" long, that have had their bark pealed and burned in the absence of air. It's soft and crumbly and smeary and just plain hard to deal with. It's also one of the first things that humans ever put their mark on a cave wall with. And now I have to draw with it, for a grade, many grades. I've used charcoal to draw with before, nice clean ground up and formed into a pencil with wood around it and everything. What can I say, I'm evolved, I like my art supplies to be also.

Maybe this wouldn't be such a big deal if I'd ever used this stick of Satan before, but I haven't. I've used graphite, pastel, conte', but no burnt stick. Did I mention it damn well might fall of the paper if you breath on it too hard? That at least makes it easier to erase all the mistakes I'm making since I've never drawn at an easel before now. But that's another whiny rant.

So I offer up this page of ellipses, one of 2 that I did last night, but only 2/3 of what I wanted to get done. And for a really good laugh, it only took me 3 hours to do 2 pages.

Tonight, it's 1 more page of these, then dun dun dun, CUBES!

My first class photo

2008-09-09T23:30:00.002-05:00

The mandate was simple,"take a picture of the front door to your home" easy peasy, right? Well, yes and no. Anybody can snap a shot of their door, but how to make it look different, to show a little about you. So this is the shot I decided to go with, I had another that I preferred the quality of light in, but the composition of this one won out in the end. I hope anybody that sees it will understand why.

School's going great, 2 quizzes, 2 perfect scores. Still have some drawings to do, but I've got almost a week to get them done.

First day of school

2008-09-04T12:23:00.001-05:00

Just wanted to let everyone know you may not be seeing me til late December. I've logged on to my classes today and have no idea how I'm going to get all this work done! If you see me out in public with a glassy stare and drool coming from my mouth don't be offended if I don't speak, the part of me that knows you may have to be overwritten with all this new stuff I have to learn.

Pray for me.

P.S.
It's going to be great!

One more week

2008-08-28T10:07:00.008-05:00

Ok, here we go, T minus one week. Am I ready?

Pencils? Check!

Paper? Check!

$300.00 worth of casts to draw? Oh yeah!

Actually, I'm pretty twitchy with anticipa...........................................tion! Can't wait to finally get to it. I also thought I'd post a pic of my latest creation. Didn't really mean for it to go this far, as I was using cheap paper that wouldn't take the graphite very well. It does however show the things I need to work on, hands and faces! So here it is, 9x12 canson drawing pad, misc 4h to 4b pencils. Taken with my new, oh, did I forget to mention my new camera? Anyway, taken with my new Sony Alpha a200 DSLR w/flash.

Pic ref was something I found on the net with no credit given.

Here we go!

2008-07-19T23:14:00.002-05:00

Ok, kids, here we go. Follow along as I slowly devolve from a mild-mannered, middle-aged parts manager, into an art school freshman. Will 50 hour work weeks and 20-30 hours of class and homework turn me into a pimply faced kid, or cause me to Van Gogh my ear?
Pull up a chair, school starts Sept 4!