The end of a sketchbook

I have come to the end of a sketchbook that i have had for the last 3 years. It's kind of fun to look back through it and see the past years ideas and random drawings. Here are some highlights, in chronological order...



Time to throw out the old one and buy a new one. Actually, i said that so my sister would freak out. She always bugs me to keep everything when i tend to just get rid of things. Don't worry, jenny, i keep all my old sketchbooks, even dating back to art school. The high school ones went on a bonfire years ago. Just too embarrassing...

You can see as Jonah get older he gets more difficult to draw, as he doesn't sit still. I plan on doing more drawings from life in the next one. It's something i have neglected for a while, and it shows. I have already bought the next one, and will christen it soon.

early stages

For those of you who don't know, my painting process is a slow one. It takes me about a year to produce a full show. I work on many paintings simultaneously, letting one layer dry while i work on another. They can often have innumerable layers, bearing absolutely no resemblance to what they started as. It is a bit of a mystery, and not the most effective process, but it seems to work for me. These vary in size, which i will note later, and i will come up with a system of numbering them so you can see them develop. My computer keeps crashing on me, so i have to work quickly before it does so again.

These following pieces are all in their first or second layer. There are about 18 new canvases that i have prepared. Not all of them will become a complete painting. I have no idea what i am doing with any of them. Basically, i just start painting with colors that strike me at the time, and see where it leads.









We will see where it goes from here. Stay tuned.

more drawing

Here is the end result of that last drawing I was working on. I like this one. I think it is a successful piece.




There are several other failed drawings that i will not bother to post here. There is a new strange theme that is popping up, and we will see where it goes. I haven't done as much drawing from life as i wanted to, largely because the weather was so dismal the past week. It's much better now, so i do plan to get outside a bit. This is the only other drawing i think worthwhile, and i don't think of this one as a success. Some interesting things, but too illustrative.






I have enjoyed the drawings. I had forgotten about charcoal and what a fun medium it is. Here is one more that i also consider a failure, but has some good qualities. Again, too literal, too illustrative. I am always trying to shed my background as an illustrator.





I have always been a disaster with watercolor. I think it just goes against my nature. I like to fuss and work on things, change my mind, erase... Watercolor just does not allow that. So this piece i also consider a failure. I went back into it with some gouache, which only put the final nail in the coffin.



I think charcoal works better for me. I may do some more drawings, but I think it is time to start painting. I did some preliminary work the other day. Here is a sneak preview...




More to follow....

stumped

I have decided to take a couple of weeks to do some work on paper, sketches, and some drawing from life. I dragged this old stump from my backyard into my studio...




And this is what i came up with.




This was like using a muscle that is a little out of shape. You can see how i got a little distracted on that second one. I haven't really done that much drawing from life in years, and i can see i need to do so, and much more often. I think it is important, although i can't exactly tell you why. I remember those years of life drawing back in art school, and i still consider it one of the best parts of my art education. Unfortunately, i don't have all that much time for it now. Which is why i am making some time, before i get all wrapped up in paintings.




And this is just something i was just having fun with on a big piece of paper. I may work on it some more. We'll see...

Tabula Rasa

At last i am done priming my canvases and panels. This has taken me about a month, but now we are ready to begin painting.




I include this because jonah has discovered the miracle of making marks. And so it begins...




So intent and focused. Although the last thing we need in this family is another painter.

priming

Once the canvas has been sized with the rabbitskin glue, it is time to prime it. I hate to cover up that beautiful linen, but it's kind of fun to do.






After this, there is a little sanding, and then these are ready to paint on. We are almost there.

in production

So i have begun the next series of paintings. For those of you who don't know, I like to work on a whole series at the same time. It seems to take me about a year. I make all the canvases and panels in the beginning, about a dozen or so. I have lately been preferring panels over canvas, but for works larger than 6 feet, it is just not practical to use panels. This is one of the big canvases i just stretched. It is 8 by 5 feet.




I use the old school traditional renaissance methods with these. It's painstaking, but i just love the results i get with these methods. I seal the canvas with a glue made from rabbit hides...



which makes it tight as a drum, although a few rabbits have died for this cause.




I also make panels out of fine grain plywood, which i prefer for the rigid, smooth surface, although there is a noticeable difference in weight.



This is how the panels are made; with a lot of glue and clamping.



And then these must be sanded repeatedly, primed with gesso (I use the old rabbit skin glue/pigment/marble dust method) and sanded again and again. All in all, to prepare all these painting surfaces should take me several weeks. There are people (myself included) who wonder why i go to such lengths to make my canvases when most people do not bother. And i don't really have a good answer. Perhaps i am a bit obsessive.

Only a few more studio sessions and i will be ready to paint. Let's hope the paintings deserve the canvas.