Studio Update- May 27, 2024

 It's been a busy week here at the beach!  I have finished the large landscape drawing I was working on and am pulling several prints this week.  In addition, I learned that I have been accepted by SAGA-Society of American Graphic Artists as a member.  I am so pleased to learn this news.

I'm working toward the autumn shows and Lewes Artists Studio Tour.  Our new brochures are out and the website is being updated.  There is a link on the lower right of the blog for the Lewes Artists Studio Tour website.

 

Mary Vessels Park 3/25

After the Storm-AP

Pleistocene Nomads- Graphite and charcoal on Canson paper- 24 x 28

Studio Update May 14, 2024- and more good news!

One of my drawings has been accepted in the 46th annual painting, graphics and sculpture exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in New York.  I'm so pleased to be part of this exhibition.  I will update this post as more information is available.

https://salmagundi.org/2024-scny-46th-annual-open-painting-sculpture-graphics-exhibition/

 

 A Day in the Woods, graphite on bristol 14 x 17 inches

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I received notification last evening that one of my prints has been selected for the International Society of Experimental Artists (ISEA) 33rd Annual International Juried Exhibition!  This is an exciting honor!

https://www.iseaartexhibit.org/

Here is the statement I wrote about the submission:

My primary practice is realistic work in graphite and charcoal. White line woodcuts are by their very nature experimental. It is almost impossible to achieve realism in this media. It is difficult to know what will happen with the grain of the wood, or if the color work will be successful. The reference photo for this piece was a small black and white photograph I took more than 25 years ago. The subject was a dilapidated bait shop in Maine. I had no reference for the colors in the work. I always imagined this in bold bright colors, as it would look if everything was new. The sign in between the windows caught my eye from the start and still makes me smile.

 

Worms for Sale- White line woodcut Print, 22 x 30 inches

Both these works are special to me in a number of ways.  I's so pleased they will be shown in these wonderful venues.

UPDATE:  May 21, 2024

The new brochures for the Lewes Artists Studio Tour are back from the printer and the website is being updated.  I'm very excited to be participating in the tour again this year!  I'll be featuring many new works and lots of prints!  Stay tuned.

Studio Update May 12, 2024

 I wanted to show my sketches from the "Lessons in Classical Drawing" course by Juliette Aristides.  This is intended to be a semester long course and I am doing more than one version of some of the exercises.  I'm still working on some of them, and in the book she tells you not to make finished drawings (something that is HARD for me to do).  I'll keep posting them as I get through the chapters.  I have a very strong background in drawing with many excellent teachers, but there are always things that present challenges to even the best draftsman.  I'm enjoying the approach she has to solving the challenges.

These are intentionally light drawings, one of the things she stresses in the book is starting out light!! Some of the exercises involve master copy drawings but all the rest have been drawn from life in the studio.  I am working on a master copy drawing that is not far enough along to post yet.

Lesson 1:  Beginning Lines:  Master Copy Sketch

Note the lines of reference from all the angles and directions in the figure.  It becomes easy to see where your drawing is off when you do this.

Lesson 2: Harmonious relationships:  Measured drawing.  Again, lines of direction aide in seeing where the drawing is off.

Lesson 3:  The Elegant Contour: Rhythmic line drawing

Her example was a branch of a tree, which I will go back and do when the weather improves!

 

Lesson 4:  The Illusion of Depth:  Volumetric Drawing

I chose several subjects for these exercises, and am still working on the still life with the onions-

Studio Update May 4, 2024

New drawings and prints are in the works in the studio this spring.  Here are a couple of quick photos.  The first is a scene in British Columbia, the second is Deception pass looking toward Whidbey Island.  The boulder in the drawing is so large you can see it on Google Earth photos.  It is nearly the size of a VW Beetle!  They were carried there by glaciers during the last ice age.  Impressive!

In addition to my studio work, I have been studying Juliette Aristides courses from the books "Lessons in Classical Drawing", and "Lessons in Classical Painting".  Some of the information is review but some of it is a fresh perspective on drawing and painting. More on that later!

 

After the Storm-Vancouver BC

White line woodcut print, 16 x 20

 

 

 

 

 

"Pleistocene Nomads" -Deception Pass 

Charcoal and Graphite on Canson paper, 24 x 28