Out of My Comfort Zone

10 minute figure drawing

Life Drawing, Layman’s Definition; drawing naked people. 

Life Drawing, Artist’s Definition; exploring the human form through drawing the live, unclothed figure in various poses, paying attention to anatomy, proportions, volume, soft and hard edges and the play of light across the figure. 

That pretty much sums up what any good equine or animal artist does as well, except that you have to deal with fur and feathers.  So when I heard about a two day life drawing class being held at the Dennos Museum in nearby Traverse City, I jumped at the chance to attend.  The instructor was Mary Guntzviller who is a well known local artist and an excellent teacher. 

It had been twenty eight years since I last did any life drawing back in art school, but I do remember learning a lot in those classes. Even so, the thought of doing life drawing was way out of my comfort zone! 

I arrived at class the first morning with a great deal of trepidation but was soon put at ease by Mary’s relaxed teaching style. It seems I wasn’t the only duck out of water, so to speak, with little or no experience at life drawing. 

Our models consisted of two males and a female who each modeled during one of three sessions. We worked at easels and used mostly very large sheets of newsprint. We were admonished to fill  the whole sheet and use our shoulders as pivot points for our drawing arms to prevent us from getting too tight with our drawings. Our medium was vine charcoal with some use of graphite sticks and pastel for shading.

We started out each session doing gesture drawings while the models changed poses every 30 seconds. Yes, I did say 30 SECONDS! We were taught to start with a  stick figure and then to build the body on that - if you had the time to get that far! A quick wipe off of the paper between poses was all we got. The purpose of this is to teach you to look for just the gesture of the figure and not for details; grab the basic movement and form of the figure as fast as you can before you can think too much about it. 

These little stick poses can be very graceful. 

The final gesture exercise was to draw the volume of the figure using spirals. 

Spiral Man, charcoal on paper

From there we progressed to ten minute line drawings using  a pencil to measure the proportions of the body and the angles of the figure, just as you often see artists do as they hold a pencil out at arm’s length toward their subject. It’s amazing how much your mind can fool you about proportions. What you THINK you see, isn’t what you see at all! 

20 minute figure drawing, charcoal

And then we progressed to longer poses of 20- 40 minutes which gave us time to add some volume to the figures by adding shadows and defining the form by indicating bones and muscles. 

30 minute figure drawing, charcoal and graphite

The most challenging of all were poses which required us to draw the foreshortened figure.  In other words, drawing the figure with the body or parts going away from or toward you. Your mind can REALLY play tricks on you here! 

exercise in foreshortening

30 minute foreshortening drawing, charcoal and graphite

But the exercise I enjoyed the most was one using a light and a dark pastel to indicate the form of the model using no lines. On the first try, the lights were turned off, and the only light we had to work by was the floodlight on the model. It was impossible to get too fussy with the figure this way, but I couldn’t resist doing some blending  of lights and darks to create more than the required two values. This turned out to be my best effort of the three drawings we did. 

volume study, pastel

I found the class to be both exhilarating and exhausting. I was definitely way out of my comfort zone! However, the benefits to my art are probably enormous. I can apply what I learned and practiced in this class to drawing horses and other animals from life, and when I have to put a human in my painting, I’ll have a better understanding of human anatomy and how to render it. 

Going out of one’s comfort zone once in a while is a very good thing. And, I’m already looking forward to any other opportunities to do life drawings that might come my way. I wonder if my husband would be willing to pose...

40 minute figure drawing, charcoal and graphite

Never A Dull Moment

Lamb oil painting on linen

It seems like there’s never a dull moment around here. Just when I thought there would finally be plenty of time for painting, Scottie developed another hoof abscess. 

But, I did work on the lamb painting a little bit more, adding the first layer of color to the lamb, mostly white, but also defining facial features and shadows. This should give me a good base for further adding more color and definition in my next painting session. 

I’ve also been giving some thought to the polo painting and have decided on some of colors for the leg wraps and rider’s shirt. Still to be determined are the saddle pad and helmet colors. After that I can proceed with this painting, and I’m really anxious to work on it. 

As for Scottie, I’ve been making daily trips to the barn again to soak and dress his foot, and I think the abscess has now begun to resolve. The vet was out on Monday and drew blood to test him for Cushings disease again since he has such a long, wavy coat. She is pleased with his appearance and condition this Spring versus how thin he came through last winter, and she gave me some advice on conditioning him over the summer. 

While waiting for her to arrive, I got busy with the clippers and clipped his lower legs, hocks, jaw line and belly. I also tidied up some of the trace clip I did in March during the hots spell we had, so he looks a lot more like himself now and less like a stuffed pony. The vet referred to his “poodle cut”, but Scottie and I don’t care. 

There is a bison farm on the way to the barn, and last Saturday I had the good fortune of having the camera with me when there were some bison in the pasture next to the road. Better yet, they were fairly close to the fence, so I stopped and took a few photos. Two cows, two yearling calves and a bull obliged my picture taking with only curious looks. I wasn’t sure whether to expect a charge or not and didn’t want to trust the flimsy fence to stop it, so I didn’t get too close. Maybe with a little luck, next time there will be some newborn calves to photograph. 

This weekend I will be taking a two day class in life drawing at the museum in Traverse City. Much fun is promised, and I’m very much looking forward to it. I haven’t done any life drawing since art school many years ago. Maybe I’ll share some of my drawings next time. 

Here is Scottie with his poodle cut. His mane seems to be getting lighter, and I’ve noticed that there are quite a few gray hairs in it now. 

Spring Lamb - New Oil Painting

"Spring Lamb" oil painting study on linen panel

The week before last I managed to get back in the studio and started a painting of one of the lambs that we photographed on our Easter trip. I didn’t get very far, but it’s a start. Tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, and I’m setting it aside to work on another painting in progress from last year, the polo painting.  

The lamb painting will be just a simple study. My intention is to capture the freshness of Spring and the renewal of Life that it brings. I also want to experiment with getting a lot of non local colors into the painting which should be fun working on the lamb’s almost white coat. You can see a lot of colors in white in Nature if you really look. 

“Local Color” for you non artists refers to the color an object appears to be: grass is green, the sky is blue, a fox is reddish orange and black, etc. But, local colors contain all sorts of other colors too if you look closely, and artists can take artistic license in adding them where they don’t exist in Nature in order to create a richer, more interesting painting. 

It’s been so cold and windy that I pretty much lost interest in doing any gardening, but the plants are progressing slowly so I mustn’t put that off too much longer. Another tulip has bloomed, but none of the daffodils even have buds on them which means we’ll have to wait until next year to enjoy their happy little faces. And to paint them! 

I have big plans to get outside and paint this year, even if it means just around the yard or from the deck overlooking the lake. I did sign up for a plein air painting group through the Parkside Arts Council, though. It will meet once a month all summer and should be fun to be out with others. Doing some painting in the yard will give me a chance to do dry runs on using my french easel and figure out what works best for transporting supplies. 

In the meantime, I’ve been busy going through hundreds and hundreds of photographs from my camera cards, throwing out the useless ones and sorting the rest into folders by subject. They are all backed up onto CD’s now, and next I tackle the project of setting up Time Machine on the new computer so that it can back up regularly without me having to do any of the work. Since I haven’t yet backed up this new computer (from last summer!) it’s a task I don’t dare put off any longer. 

On the horse front, I’ve been riding regularly, and we’ve gone on a couple of more trail rides. Scottie is going so much better on these last few rides that I ‘m very encouraged about riding this summer. I was afraid that he woudn’t be able to handle trail rides anymore, but if I continue to ride regularly and build his muscles back up, I’m hopeful again. 

"Kaia" six week old German Shepherd puppy

There is a new dog at the barn now. The owners have a six week old German Shepherd puppy, and I’ve been able to get a few good shots of her. Here’s one of them. Such a sweet face! I hope to be able to do many paintings of little Kaia as she grows up and becomes a beautiful German Shepherd, my very favorite breed of dog. 

That’s all for today. I must get back to figuring out this Time Machine thing so that I can rest easy again. Hasta la Vista! 

Little Lambsey Divey

Spring lambs on the farm

 We had a pretty nice Easter this past weekend at our house. Both of our adult kids were home with their new cars, and now Mom doesn’t have to worry about them breaking down on their long drives home. 

On Saturday we took a drive over to the old family homestead near Gaylord to see how the place had survived the big storm of a few weeks ago. All was well as they didn’t get the heavy snow and wind that we did. Because it was so much colder inside the unheated house than outside, we ate our picnic lunch beside the pond and then drove around the two tracks looking for wildlife. We flushed two partridges, but that was all. 

I was happy to see a poppy plant in the old flower bed which I had missed digging up last year. There were also some daffodils that were missed, so I’ll be digging them all up and moving them to our house some time later. 

My favorite part of that trip was when we stopped at a farm on the way home to photograph a herd of ewes and their lambs which were right up by the road. I got lots of photos, and some of them are good enough to turn into paintings or drawings. I can’t wait to paint one of those cute lambs! And what could be more perfect than lambs at Easter time!

For Easter Sunday, we all went to brunch at a local restaurant, and since it was another gorgeous sunny day, we took another drive afterwards over toward Lake Michigan this time. We managed to find Rex Beach, a beach on Grand Traverse bay that another artist had told me about, and I was thrilled to find that you can drive practically all the way to the water! I’m looking forward to doing some plein air painting there since it’s so much more accessible and at the same time more remote than any of the beaches we explored last summer. Since it was extremely windy and very cold, we didn’t linger long before retreating back to the warmth of the car and heading home. 

Rex Beach, Lake Michigan

When we got home, my husband took some photos of me outside and in the studio to use on my website and so forth. I don’t get dressed up and put on makeup very often so this was a good time to do the photos. The old photo on my website is about 20 years old now and needed to be changed for something more current. 

The artist, April 2012

Both of the kids have now gone home, the taxes are completed and waiting for our signatures and the house is clean (for a change). I am now looking forward to resuming daily activities and getting into the rhythm of Springtime activities. And, I’m determined to start back with some artwork again to refill my meager inventory of completed works. 

It was quite disappointing that the painting class I had looked forward to had to be cancelled for lack of interest, as was the acrylics class I’d hoped to take. Maybe when the snowbirds return for the summer, they’ll try again to fill those classes. I’m hoping so, anyway. 

After our record-breaking hot spell last month, it turned cold again, and all the plants that had begun to green up and grow went into a holding pattern waiting for the return of more warmth. This is the perfect time to get out in the yard and clean out the flower beds and plan where to move plants this year before they all get too big and in the way. I was pleased to see that the daffodils and tulips I planted last Fall have come up and some even have buds on them. So far we’ve had one lone yellow tulip bloom, but I’m hoping for more. 

The artist in her studio

A couple of weeks ago, Scottie and I went on our first trail ride of the year; a short one; but it felt awfully good to get out of the indoor arena. Scottie wasn’t as enthusiastic as I, but I hope that will change, and we can have another summer of good trail rides. He will be 27 next weekend, so every ride is a plus at this point. 

That’s all for this time. Be back in a week. 

My Biggest Sale Ever!

SOLD! "Breezing By" 

I’m going to make this a quick one today since I’m working on taxes and hope to have them finished and off to the accountant by tomorrow. 

I had an unexpected surprise earlier this month with the sale of two of my artworks to a single collector in Oregon. This sale was particularly gratifying and surprising because I haven’t done much advertising or marketing for the past two years and haven’t been able to keep my website updated since getting a new computer and all new software last summer. Consequently, I haven’t sold much of anything in the past two years. Not to mention the fact that I haven’t been painting much. It is also the largest sale of artwork that I've had to date!

“Breezing By” and “Kentucky Dreamer” are the two that sold, and they are two of my favorites, so I’m happy that they have a new home in Oregon where they reside with artworks by other equine artists. It was also nice to have a litte conversation with the new collector since my experience in the past has been that  buyers sometimes don’t communicate with the artist at all except for the basics of “how much?” and “how do I pay you?”. 

SOLD! "Kentucky Dreamer"

We’ve been having unseasonably, record-breaking high temperatures here in northwest Michigan this past week, and my horse has been suffering because of temps in the 80's. He grew a very long, thick coat this winter in spite of being blanketed much of the time, so yesterday I took pity on him and clipped him. He got a high trace clip which should keep him from getting over heated while we wait for him to shed out. I also  clipped the long hairs along the jawline and shortened his mane by about 3-4 inches. I’m posting here the before and after photos I took yesterday. 

Scottie Before Clipping

Scottie After Clipping

He looks pretty scruffy at the moment because 1) I’m not skilled in clipping horses, 2) my clipper blades were getting dull and 3) Scottie ran out of patience for the whole procedure. I had intended to do just a gross job at first to be sure I got all the way around him and then go back and tidy up, but the blades and Scottie’s patience ran out before I had a chance to. So, I’ll finish up tomorrow or whenever I figure out how to change blades. 

The pot belly is partially because he still has some long hair on his belly. 

I took a few photos out in the pasture yesterday also and managed to get some shots of the mini who lives next door, so that was a real bonus of my trip to the barn. There's definitely a painting or two amongst them. 

And now, back to those pesky taxes. 

The Winter That Almost Wasn't

Winter Sunset 2012

Is it too late to wish everyone a Happy New Year? Perhaps Happy St. Patrick’s Day would be more appropriate. 

I’ve been quite busy since last posting in the Fall but didn’t want any more time to pass before returning to the blogosphere. So, here goes a short one. 

I spent quite a bit of time going through our Christmas decorations in December now that they are all conveniently accessible in the attic. As a result, we had more decorations around the house, and it did look nice if I do say so. Another big project I accomplished was organizing all of my Christmas village pieces and inventorying them. They are now also conveniently packed away for easy access. I did a major setup this year, and it also looked pretty smashing. We all really enjoyed it. Next year I will work on giving it a more appropriate background, but it was still lovely as it was. I’ve shared two views of it for you to enjoy, too. 

Christmas Village 2011

Christmas Village 2011 Note all the horses

We’ve had some spectacular sunsets in the past few months, and I’m sharing one of those, too. 

As for this winter, it was almost The Winter That Wasn’t. Until this past weekend when we got walloped by Mother Nature here in northern Michigan with a very wet snow that took down many power lines. We lost power for two and a half days but managed to survive thanks to our generator and wood stove. The generator gave out Sunday morning, so we went without power for 24 hours but thankfully all the contents of the freezer and frig survived. There are many people who still have no power, so we are very thankful not to be among them. 

After the big March storm, a wintery fairyland

I haven’t taken any photos at the barn lately because it’s usually getting dark by the time I get there. We have all been riding fairly regularly, and Scottie is doing well on his new supplements. That makes me very happy and relieved. Him, too, I’m sure. 

Since I’ve been working on taxes and so forth, no artwork has gotten done, but I hope that will change next week. I’ve signed up for a fundamentals of painting class at the arts council gallery in Bellaire and am very much looking forward to it. The instructor is a man who was classically trained in Florence, Italy years ago, so he will have much knowledge to impart. 

I’ve also signed up for a beginners class in acrylics and hope they get enough students to hold it. It’s been many years since I worked in that medium, and I have no memory of how to handle it. 

That’s it for today. I will try to get back on a weekly schedule of posting but must put priority on those pesky taxes for now. 

Sketches From Life

gesture drawing in conte of my horse, Scottie

Fall always goes by so quickly that before I know it, it's Christmas. Before any more time escapes me, I did want to update you on the latest from the studio in this brief post. So, here goes. 

Since my last post, I've been busy getting ready for and then going to Deer Camp with my husband at the old homestead and now with preparations for Thanksgiving. It's also time to plan ahead for Christmas and begin those preparations. 

In the meantime, Scottie turned up lame once again with another hoof abscess; his third in less than a year! The vet has put him on another supplement in hopes it will boost his immune system and keep him healthy over this winter. I also ordered and put to use new blankets for him. He now has quite a wardrobe of blankets for any weather to come and has been wearing them for the past month. All the old geezers at the barn are now blanketed, and so far the former juvenile delinquent, J Willie, has not managed to damage them. J Willie is finally growing up!

The  image at the top is one I did during the summer. It's a gesture drawing in conte of Scottie when I turned him out  briefly in a paddock by himself. He was constantly moving, so this was done in something like 15-20 seconds before he moved too much to go on. 

Most of what I do at Deer Camp is go through old art magazines while my husband is out in the woods hunting. Since I'm perpetually years behind on reading these magazines, I have no shortage of them to go through. I personally don't find the "how I did this painting" articles at all useful since all artists work differently. But there are other business and studio tips articles that are useful which makes it impossible for me to throw out these magazines without going through them.  

Our cat, Molly, sometimes lies down next to me on the couch while I'm reading, and this year I tried to do some sketches of her, too. But, every time I moved to a good spot to draw her, she got up and moved, too. So, I was reduced to doing some quick gesture drawings of her. Like Scottie, she only gave me mere seconds to get down enough information to be recognizable. Below are two pages from my sketchbook. They are crude, I know, but at least I made the effort! And, already I've rediscovered the value of doing sketches from life and want to get into the habit of daily sketching. Or, maybe weekly. 

Last night my riding buddy, Ann, and I had a good ride in the arena.  We have new footing which makes it much brighter, less dusty and softer under foot. I was delighted that Scottie seemed in really good spirits, was eager to work and moved right out without much urging. Perhaps he's now been on the supplements long enough to really benefit his joints and all his body systems. It's very encouraging that maybe this winter will be better than last year's and a reminder to keep him on the supplements from now on. 

We rode to some new age Christmas music which was fun and kind of magical.

When I'm at the barn, time just vanishes, and I treasure all those moments with my horse and barn friends. Last night I was the last to leave the barn. When I turned off the lights and stepped outside, it was pitch dark. I looked up into a sky filled with stars in every direction. There are no annoying yard lights out there to intrude on those moments when you feel that connection to the entirety of the universe. 

I just love those magical moments!

Gesture drawings in charcoal of our cat, Molly

Gesture drawing in charcoal of our cat, Molly