2 down, 46 to go

Just finished this one.

I titled it "What we are fighting for" because the origin of pinups (at least classic American pinups) is related to soldiers fighting in war to remind them of home. It is a tribute to the soldiers as well as the artists that began the whole movement.

It is also a tip of the hat to free speech. We are always fighting for freedom of speech. Even in our own minds. Should we say this or that, regarding the social settings we might be in.

Good stuff right here...

1 down...

So since my last post I have completed a nice charcoal drawing and started a pencil drawing.
The pencil drawing is just the base. When I have the composition complete, I will come back and use my Pitt brush pen and give it some dimension. Gonna keep it B&W line drawing.

Will post pics of the first one tonight and progress of second one.

My goal is to create 4 drawings/paintings/somethings a month this year and to burn through as many sketchbooks as I can with daily stuff.

I need to get crackin and try to have another show. It has been a year since my last one and I don't want to go another year before my next one.

***UPDATE 1/30/10***

Charcoal drawing

"Watch out, she's fast!"

  












preliminary pencil sketch detail

Reinvention

Time to reflect on the last year as an artist.

It came to me on New Year's Eve while working on switching bedrooms in the house. A lot of time to think while painting and stripping boarder off the wall. I asked a simple question to myself.

The question: What does and artist do? 

My answer: He creates.


The response: So get going.

Whether it is sketching at lunch to clear my mind of the workplace clutter or simply looking at other artist work, I need to dedicate my free time to doing something creative. I got away from that recently (since my last exhibition a little over a year ago) and have felt creatively lost. I have made a promise to myself to take a sketchbook with me everywhere. Just in case. It is always the case that inspiration comes when you are not ready and I need to make sure that I log it so I can come back to later.

Here is a link to an article that helps to explain the post-art show depression. There is a lot of good stuff on this site also.

Time to get back to the basics and get dirty with charcoal and use big paper to really make lines with emotion. The rest will come naturally.

And too boot, the first Sunday of the year, I had someone approach me for possible illustrations for a childrens book. Will see what happens with that. Don't want to push the project til it dies, just want to let that flame build til I am needed to help stoke the fire.

Trash Can Art REVISITED

So...Someone called and thought that my trash can painting had blood on the face of one of the characters. After thinking about it, it was the fireman. It's not blood, it's flames. So I touched it up and added yellow and orange highlights to the flames.
I guess art is truly subjective.

Trash Can Art overview

Here are the final images from the trash can art that I did. I was extremely nervous about this but after I finished, I'm glad that I did it. Some of the artists painted panels and then attached them to the trash cans. But I painted on the actual cans, right there, sitting on the ground. So I put in 8 hours with people driving and walking past, and got nothing but great feedback and conversations with curious passer-bys.

Let's see how long they last before the weather takes its toll.