Olympic Size Clean-Up

It's a delicious irony that the athletic prowess on display in London this fortnight has inspired me to sit on the sofa for 2 weeks, glued to the TV. I am now afloat with all the tea and biscuits. All that idle hand time means I now have super clean brushes, so normal art service should resume soon And speaking of delicious irony, check out this amazing paper sculpture from Yuken Teruya. There are more photos and paper sculptures on the website, so click the link and take a mini Art Break

http://www.davidbsmithgallery.com/work/detail/notice-forest-what-victory-tastes-like-london

Yuken Teruya Notice-Forest: What Victory Tastes Like/ London

McDonald’s paper bag, glue

4.75 x 7 x 11.5 in. (12.1 x 17.8 x 29.2 cm)

Chinese Shadow Play : Carbon Footprint #40

Sweet and Sour : charcoal and pastel still life drawing 30" x 22"

As I was setting up the still life, I fell in love with that shadow looming on the back wall. Such drama! But as I continued to draw and took the time to look closer, other quieter elements of the arrangement started to quicken my heart

So, in order to share what I see, my fortune cookie predicts there will be another chinese take out in my future Hey ho - such are the sacrifices for art

Description : a dark dramatic shadow looms in the background of this large charcoal and pastel still life drawing of chinese take out - noodle box, crumpled paper bag and broken fortune cookie

22″ x 30″, charcoal and pastel still life drawing

This charcoal and pastel still life drawing is part of the “Carbon Footprints” series

Colored Pencil Art Work in Progress : Illuminated III

I think the addition of the door moulding really helped to stop that top triangle from taking you out of the picture and keeps your eye cascading through the rest of the composition.

This completes the paper bag triptych and I'm going to have fun putting them together and deciding on the framing. I hope they will form part of my two person exhibition in January at the West Orange JCC. Provided they don't sell before then!

Colored Pencil Art Work in Progress : Shopping Bags 3

Well this one really is getting colored in fast. But I'm not sure if the matching top and bottom triangles of color are going to work, or whether they will be too distracting. They might end up forming a giant arrow out of the picture, with no way for you to get back in.

I'll have to live with it for a while.

Colored Pencil Art Work in Progress : Bags 3

Phew!

I got a cracking good start on this one today. No interruptions all day.

Lovely.

I really like the warm delicate pinks and soft oranges in the bottom bag.

Colored Pencil Drawing : Bags 2 : Abstract Still Life

Work in Progress Hooray! I'm very happy with this one. I really like how the two extremes of light and dark weave their way through the picture. I'm also pleased to have added some new colors to my regular selection - rose carmine, pompeian red and cadmium orange. And some luschious magenta vibrates with the ever-present mauve, deep in the shadows. All these rosy colors make the whole drawing glow with warmth.

Color Pencil Art : Bags 2

Work in Progress

I'm not quite sure what to do with this top corner now.

I will make some prints and noodle about with my magic purple crayon...see where it takes me.

I'm very happy with how the light is making the top paper bags glow. I think I will try and extend that through the whole picture.

Colored Pencil Art Drawing : grocery bags 2

Work in Progress

The whirlwind of the show has passed and the pencil pot has been replenished and it is so good to be back working on this piece again.

The texture of the cold press paper is so lovely for the paper bags, but it is much more delicate to work with. The paper does not hold the pencil as well my regular hot press paper, making it very easy to smudge.

I am trying to use this to my advantage in some places by creating delicate blends of color in the highlight areas, but I have to be much more careful than usual, especially with the shadows.

Who ate all my colored pencils?

Bags 2 - Sketch Bags 2 - initial shading

I must start off with an apology. I got so carried away listening to "Anthony and Cleopatra" by Colleen McCullough and the work was just flowing by, that I quite forgot to take an intermediary photo to show you, before getting stuck into real color. You can still see most of the purple under painting though.

I am working on Cold Press watercolor paper, which is rougher than I usually use. The texture is terrific for the paper bags, but it sure does eat up my pencils. I am down to a single stumpy nub on the Dark Indigo.

I also appear to have blown through my reserve stock of favorite colors which means, alas, a trip to Jerry's Art Store this week. What is a girl to do? Forced to spend the morning browsing through paper, testing the pencils and sniffing the oil paint. And then I suppose I will HAVE to have lunch at the Whole Foods just down the road. Such a trial.

Color Pencil Art in Progress : paper and plastic bags

Work in Progress - Day 8 Well I think it's done.

I'm still living with it a little longer and making minor adjustments, but I'm pretty happy with this.

I burnished the plastic bags with a white pencil to make them look slick, but left the texture of the drawing paper to come through in the paper bags. So there is a nice contrast of shiny and rough textures, as well as the contrasting juicy purple shadows against the pure yellow highlights.

Still no title.

BLOG : Beware! Wet Paint