Drawing the Figure at the Lafayette Art Museum

11" x 14"

It's difficult to explain to a non-artist how intensely enjoyable it is to look (gaze, stare, scrutinize) an object, landscape, or figure for an hour or more without stopping.  However,  it's almost unimaginable how FAST the time flies by when I'm drawing or painting it. That is interpreting the subject on paper or canvas with pencil marks or brush strokes,.  If I wasn't drawing the subject, it would probably be impossible to sit and just look at a figure for an hour. But when you draw or paint it, you're constantly comparing, adjusting, asking yourself, "Is it too big or too small, too high or too low, too dark or too light?  What part do I want to emphasize?  How will I lead the viewer through this?" and on and on...

10" x 7"

12" x 12"

Then there's the beauty of the mark itself to consider, i.e. the calligraphic stroke, be it pencil, pen, or brush and the sweep, looseness, pressure on the paper.   

10" x 7"

10" x 7" 

In the beginning, there is the gesture of the figure to consider, especially in a quick 8 minute study as in the two figures above.

11" x 14"

14" x 11"

And one of the MOST IMPORTANT things to choose are the MATERIALS AND TOOLS I'm going to draw or paint with.  After all, the materials I choose are what the viewer will actually see and possibly own and live with.   When drawing, the pencil and especially the paper is crucial.  The paper needs to be responsive to my touch, beautiful to see (as the drawing itself will cover very little of it) and yet tough and erasable.  That's why I always draw on Twinrocker handmade paper.  This paper has a sensitive, natural look like the marks I'm making on it; it's not mechanical looking like machine made paper.  Consequently, it's much more fun to draw on than machine made paper, and the result shows it.  Twinrocker paper is also completely archival, cotton rag, and light fast so the drawing on this paper, colored with pigments, can hang in someones home without ever fading.  Sometimes artists think handmade paper is too good for them or too expensive, but a large sheet of Twinrocker drawing paper, in a Text or Heavy Text weight is about the price of  lunch.

Well, I guess I sound like an advertisement, but if you purchase one of these drawings, you'll see what I mean.   All these drawings are priced at $45 which includes packing and shipping in the lower 48 states.  You can see them in a larger format and other work as well on my web site  www.kathrynclarkfineart.com  .  I'm happy to  say that soon, all the drawings and paintings will be available for purchase on my web site with PayPal, hopefully within the next few days.  I'm trying to make it easier for people to purchase works without having to contact me.  Thank you for all the comments and thoughts you've sent.  I enjoy them very much, and remember I'm happy to answer any questions whether it's about art, ideas, materials, or techniques.  Please share this with friends who may be interested.  And thank you for viewing this blog.   

"Swinging at Forest Park"

This past weekend, the Hamilton County Art Assoc. in Noblesville, IN held their annual three day Paint-Out, with two days of painting and a painting sale and judging, awards, etc. on the third day.  I painted in Forest Park, a dream come true park with just about everything from golf, to horse shoes, swimming, skate boarding, miniature golf, and amazing jungle gyms, swings, etc. As I was happily situated under huge old trees in the shade, I realized it was a great opportunity to paint figures in action on the swings.   There are large, circular disks which are large enough for two youngsters to sit or lye on while swinging.  I'd never included figures in a landscape painting before so thought this was definitely the time to try it.  Here is the result, a 14" x 11" oil which was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Oil category during the awards on the last day.

"The Yellow Scarf"-- 4th in a Series from a Model

Last Wednesday was the fourth and final life painting session from the model, Sara. After painting three watercolors of her, I decided to paint a 14" x 11" oil during the last session, my first figure painting in oil. After a month of lay-down-the-wash-and-leave-it-alone watercolor, I gradually got the "feel" back for ooey gooey oil.  It was a rocky beginning, and I don't want to remember it, but after the fear of "I don't know what I'm doing." subsided, I found it quite fun!  So far, I've left off the earring on this figure, thinking it might detract.  Do you think I should give her earrings? The fresh air and wonderful weather of spring and summer always pull me out into the landscape during the day, but I think I'll continue to paint the figure in the evening at the art museum's "model" sessions.   ---Enjoy the weather!  Remember, I always like to hear your comments.

You can see all my paintings on my web site www.kathrynclarkfineart.com and also sign up for a monthly Newsletter of events and exhibits.

Third in the Series of "Girl with the Black Ear Ring"

For the third of four sessions of painting from the model in the same costume, I decided to paint on one of the colored Twinrocker watercolor papers.  They make watercolor paper in White and four colors.  Ilove all the colors, but this is the palest and is called "Pale Dusty Rose" and is exactly that, a pale dusty rose color.  Also with this painting, I wanted to make the figure a little older looking and with a "mature character", i.e. not a twenty year old.  The paper color also made me want to change the color of her scarf and the white bloused to something more dramatic.  I could have painted the blouse with a White Titanium Dioxide, but white was just too close to the value of the paper.  Which figure do you like best and why?

Next week, I'm going to try to paint the same model in oil from a different pose. There are also new paintings on my web site www.kathrynclarkfineart.com.  Have a good week, and remember that I enjoy hearing your comments.  Also, please share this blog with friends who might enjoy it.

Another View of the Girl with the Black Ear Ring

A small group of artists are still painting from a model at the art museum in Lafayette, Indiana each week for four weeks, a three hour pose each week.  Everyone is painting in oil except me, as I'm still in my "watercolor month".  It's taking them all four sessions to finish one oil painting, but I'm finishing a watercolor each week.  This is my second "Girl with the Black Ear Ring."

This time I chose a Twinrocker White Watercolor paper with a "Feather Deckle", that is an exaggerated natural deckled edge that is rather decorative.  I think it's beautiful for images that are vignettes because it frames the painting beautifully.  I hope you like the painting as well as the paper.

Please forward this to others whom you think might enjoy the life of this papermaking/painting artist. Remember, you can now receive new posts by e-mail.

Drawing from the Model

For the past six weeks or so, several artists have been drawing from a model each Friday at the Art Museum of Greater Lafayette.  This is the drawing I did last Friday.  It's drawn with Prisma Verithin pencils as before and on toned Twinrocker "Cream" handmade paper.  The paper was "toned" with a very thin watercolor wash of DaVinci Raw Sienna Deep.