W00T W00T Love Drawing # 15

Yesterday I completed the fourteenth in my series of oil stick drawings based on vintage photos of people who love each other.

I decided to title the series “14 Love Stories.” The drawings will be on display at the Flying C Cafe in Bozeman in February.

What drawing #14 means is that I have now completed the minimum number of drawings to hang, so I have nearly two weeks to mess around and really have fun.

Of course, I was having fun all along, but now the pressure is off, so I feel more free. Today I worked on a drawing #15, and it felt great!

I decided to use grid lines to make the sketch go faster. I used a cream colored Prismacolor to draw the grid, so I hope I’m not committing some cardinal art sin, mixing Prismacolor with oil stick. Will the drawing spontaneously disintegrate at some point?

I had to force myself to go on after the initial sketch, because I really loved the way it looked as just lines.

I also liked it at the partially colored stage. Once again, I was tempted to quit right there. And maybe sometime I’ll do some drawings like that. But not yet. I love the way the daisies in the vase look like something out of a 1920s poster.

The third image shows where I stopped for today, but I think I’ll do a bit more tomorrow. I do sort of like the stage two version better than the third stage, but I don’t feel like quitting while I’m ahead quite yet. I can do that anytime.

Carrots of Love – Two new oil-stick love stories

I started two more love drawings. I enjoyed the way the background of this “carrot eaters” one came together. I’m not sure what will happen with the faces, but so far I feel like it is conveying the intimacy of a carrot munch in the kitchen garden  pretty well. That guy has quite the Lyle Lovett hairdo, huh?

Next is the under-painting and first stage drawing of a couple who I imagine are a teenager and his aunt, maybe dancing to the radio at Christmas time. I am happy that this is quite a bit looser than some of my previous drawings. I can’t decide yet whether to leave well enough alone with their faces, or color them in a less wacky skin tone, but I do think I’ll tighten up the hands a bit once it dries a bit. Right now they’re too confusing.

My regular freelance work is picking up again, so there’s less time for drawing. Isn’t it funny how when you have “real” work to do, it makes you want to do other projects more than ever? In college, when I was supposed to be reading a text book, I found that reading a novel was more delicious than ever. I must be some kind of sicko, enjoying free time most when it’s stolen from some other obligation. Or is everybody that way?

Learning as I go (I hope?) with oil stick drawings.

I kind of like the apron and the grass, and the weird out of perspective sofa bed frame on the porch. I'm kinda bummed with the monochromatic cartooniness of their faces, but I figure at this size, I'll be happy if I can represent expressions at all. Yes, the lady's legs look weird. I accept that.

I’m about 14 drawings into my “love” series now, and you’d think maybe I’d be learning something by now. Every now and then I see little snippets of things that I like and occasionally I catch myself in the midst of a mistake so fundamental that it makes me actually want to slow down and think before I act. So, I guess maybe that constitutes learning.

For example, on my first couple of drawings, I just started drawing with black oil stick on the white canvas board, then filled in around it with color. I actually like that effect, and I think it tends to produce the “super awesome coloring book” look that I wish I’d end up with. But I soon discovered that it was a pain in the ass (and I felt dumb) when I drew a tree and had to try to fill in the sky behind it. So I started doing colored grounds. Planning ahead! Novel! Then I realized that it was kind of a waste of ground color if I covered it up entirely, so I have started trying to block in darks and lights a bit at the ground stage.

I love this photo, but so far I do not like this drawing. Right now it looks like a bad drawing of children that somebody's aunt made. Oh, crap. I AM somebody's aunt!

On this “sisters” picture (still unfinished) I sketched in white instead of black. It seemed to undermine my ultimate goal of drawing FLATTER, so I don’t think I’ll do that again. The car behind the girl distracts from the image, but I feel compelled to tell the truth in these drawings from vintage photos. It’s partly the composition, or apparent lack of it, that I want to… What… Capture? Honor? Document? How can I say it without sounding too phony? I see the irony: Why am I making drawings if making a good looking drawing doesn’t come before representing the photo? Why not just show the photos? Well, partly because I’m afraid nobody would hang the photos. And partly because I need the drawing practice.

It seems like a lot of the drawings that I’m doing right now are somewhere between flat and shaded. I still can’t seem to make the leap away from modeling with shading (I know, I keep saying that!) but as soon as I’m done with the first 14 drawings (14, for Valentine’s Day) I’m gonna go WILD, I swear!

Where do I begin? There may be nothing in this drawing that I like! Well, I kind of like her expression. It does tell a story, if you can get past everything else. Oh, and I like the right park bench leg.

Meanwhile, I know I ought to give up on this park bench picture and move on. I have repainted the lady’s face at least 5 times (I even scraped it off with a palette knife) and while she looks less like a baboon now (at one point I considered adding a tail and calling it done), her skin tone is completely different than the guy’s. I can’t seem to make myself repaint the guy to match her because I like the way the warmth of the ground color comes through on him, in spite of the fact that it makes him look like he has been using a cut-rate spray-on tanning product. So I am stuck at an impasse with Oompa Loompa Man and Pancake Girl. I realize that this drawing just an outright failure, and it will continue to bug me like a pea under my mattress.

What is the lesson? It’s not like I don’t know this: Don’t get attached. Sometimes you have to sacrifice something you like for the greater good. For example, if you’re a writer, you know that you might have written a great sentence, but if it doesn’t flow, it’s gotta go. You just have to whack it out of the paragraph and have faith that you’ll write another good sentence some day.

My friend, writer Mike Harrelson, was telling me just a couple days ago something that David Quammen said to him: not to measure yourself by the highest peaks of your work, but by the lowest thing that you’re willing to put out there. Or, at least I think that’s what he said… something like that. I think he meant that DOING it is the thing, like everybody says (and to which I’m clinging with all my might).  …that if you only are willing to show your very best work, you probably won’t show very MUCH work. Or maybe you’re not really a writer at all. Or at least that’s what I came away with.

So I give you park bench people. And I’m saying, “Dude, it’s the PROCESS.”

What I learned about buying artists’ paint sticks on sale…

You can see the mini Shiva in the the upper right.

I switched from cattle markers to artists’ oil paint sticks when I heard that cattle markers aren’t very color fast. I have a couple year-old cattle marker drawings hanging in my house and I haven’t detected any fading yet, but I made the switch, just in case I happen to sell anything.

Other notable differences? Artists’ paint sticks cost a lot more than cattle markers. They average around $4 or $5 per stick, compared to about $1 apiece for cattle markers. So, being frugal, I tried a few different kinds — some brand new from the art store, some on sale, and some from E-Bay — with the help of my super-shopper boyfriend. I concluded that buying paint sticks on sale or second-hand is risky. (More on that to come…)

Of the oil sticks I’ve tried, I’m happy with Shiva Artist’s Paintstik Oil Colors. They have a nice consistency — like drawing with creamy lipstick — and there are several colors to choose from.

Now the bargain shopper caveats:

Left: Discontinued Winsor Newton extra thin oil bar was sticky and icky. Center: Shiva Paint Stick works great. Right: Discontinued Markall thin stick was a waste of money, even on sale.

Mini Shivas: I thought I’d try the mini-sized version of the Shivas because they were on sale, but I wouldn’t recommend them. They’re the same thickness as the large sticks (see top image of palette), but very short (think lipstick sample). By the time you peel off the crust, there’s not much left, and they’re so short, they’re hard to draw with. Putting them in a sleeve leftover from a full-sized stick helps, but I decided they’re too much fuss to deal with, even to save money.

Extra Thin Sticks: Since I’m drawing small (which is crazy, I know), I thought I’d try to find some extra thin sticks. I ended up getting some thin Markall paintstiks on sale, but they were as dry and brittle as chalk. Granted they may have been old, and I believe this product has been discontinued, but if you see it on sale, don’t buy it! The paper didn’t want to come off, they broke easily and they were pretty much nothing but crust. Useless.

I also tried some thin Winsor Newton oil bars (again, on sale) but they were like trying to draw with a piece of salt water taffy, and the wrapping was difficult and messy to remove. Apparently these have been discontinued, too, for obvious reasons, so I learned my lesson about buying discontinued oil sticks.

There are several other brands of oil sticks, but so far, I don’t have any complaints about the big Shivas. The best way I’ve found to peel them is to use my thumbnail, protected by a paper towel. That way, I can feel the consistency underneath, and not lose as much paint as I would if I used a knife to peel them. (God, I’m so cheap!)

I’m still trying to develop a good way to avoid the little gunky bits of dried oil stick skin that make “oil stick dandruff” all over my workspace and pollute my drawings, but for now, I’m pretending that it’s intentional texture. As far as making thin lines goes, I know in my heart I should just be painting bigger, I just haven’t given up the convenience of storing and hanging cheapie 16 x 20″ canvas boards yet. Soon, soon.

Happy New Year, 2012!

Here comes Baby New Year!

Happy New Year from Marla, David, Sammy, Kitty, Wally, Yati, Mailbot and all of the residents of Kitschatoria!

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Progress. I make it!

"Christmas"

I have gotten back to work on my series of oil stick drawings. This one is getting pretty close to done. I love that the photo upon which this drawing is based is labeled “Christmas.” Every time I look at it, I wonder how much is gone from that bottle, and does its fullness level have anything to do with the beatific smile on the face of the “Ma” character?

I am trying to figure out how many drawings I’ll have completed by the time it’s time to hang them at the Flying C, which is a hopping juice bar/coffee bar/lunch spot  upstairs in Bozeman’s Community Food Co-op. The Co-op was kind enough to offer to hang some of my drawings during the month of February, and since I’m nuts for Valentines Day, I jumped at the chance to do some pictures based on my favorite vernacular photo subject: love.

As with any project I undertake, there’s been no small measure of frustration and disappointment, but on most days I figure I have just about as much right to make drawings as anybody. So far I have done a couple that I like. I like this Christmas one pretty well — especially the pattern on Ma’s dress.

I was curious about how the drawings look as a group so I decided to round up what I have in progress so far. Some may not make the final cut, and only a few of them are absolutely finished to the last stroke, but most of them are close.

Drawings in progress

Glowing praise and encouragement are welcome…

I decided to come clean and show the reference photos that I’m working from, just for fun. But for God’s sake, don’t anybody make a big deal about whether or not my drawings are realistic, or I’ll sock ya hard!

reference photos

Santa Robot

Happy Holidays from Marla and David! Ho, ho, ho, beep, beep!

It’s easy to make your own Santa-bot.
Here’s how:

Acquire the following materials:
Filing cabinet
Space heater
Bundt pan
Cream funnel
Candle sticks
Heating duct
Flexible tubing
Oscilloscope
Flashlights
Ceramic kitty cat
Wire whisk (under mitten, so not shown)
Strainer ladle (under mitten, so not shown)
Roasting pan
Mailbox (large, rural route style)
Training wheels
Assorted nuts, bolts, rivets
Drill and bits in various sizes

Next, find somebody with mechanical aptitude who can put it all together for you.

Now, dress up your robot in a Santa hat, a charming hand-knit scarf and a pair of mittens. Don’t forget to wrap a string of Christmas lights around its middle!

DONE!

Friendly Messages for an Election Year

I spent a good share of today, when I should have been wrapping presents, working on some cute designs to sell on CafePress. The recent (moderate) success of my cute Corgi designs made me think, huh… if I did some election related stuff now, maybe I’d sell a few. Then I started thinking about the kinds of election-year messages I’d like to see. I really don’t enjoy seeing mean-spirited, divisive stuff… So, I came up with the slogan, “Democrats are Nice.”

Next, I did a “Babies for Obama” design, which although not terribly original, is a lot cuter than some I’ve seen out there. Babies make such great (albeit smallish) sign boards to promote their parents’ political agendas!

Last, I drew a “No Time for Hatin’” design that shows a kitty taking a leisurely paw bath. It’s like I had a cuteness seizure or something! I think I have it out of my system for the moment, but on the other hand, that itchy feeling I have might just be a cute bunny coming on.

Corny, cute corgi ski patrol art

I’d been meaning to do a cutesy design that captures the way that my corgi, Wally plows through snow, so I finally sat down and did a couple of corgi snowplow graphics. Granted, I could have spent some time and made them ultra fabulous, but I just wanted to get the idea out there, rather than never doing it at all. I put these on some mugs and T-shirts and stuff at Cafepress.

Christmas in the dollhouse

December is here! It’s time to make your Christmas cookies. Sometimes you might feel like there’s somebody looking over your shoulder, but don’t worry! Everything’s fine! Who doesn’t love Santa?

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