ManicDDaily

I am emboldened by a very kind commenter (who is also a friend) saying that she has enjoyed pictures from my art classes! The one I am taking now is “Inventory Drawing” with the wonderful Peter Hristoff of SVA; in the class, we make many many very quick drawings, sometimes based on an image, often based upon a word.

And so above and below are some drawings from last week’s class. 

These are, admittedly, a bit strange. This is partly because I was super rushed getting ready for the class, and also low on paper. A “trick” that Peter has suggested for saving paper is to gesso over old drawings, or gesso newspaper, and use that as a drawing surface. (Gesso is a white primer for paper or canvas. I believe that many years ago it was made from rabbit skin, but now is made of acrylic.) If you believe in serendipity, as I do, this underlayer of the newspaper can not only add texture to a drawing, but unconscious meaning as well.

Serendipity played a big role in the drawings below, as in depriving me of paper, gesso, and time, it forced me to rub out a lot of my old figure drawings so that I could use their surfaces to draw on!  (These were mostly charcoal drawings done on gessoed newspaper.) 

The old drawings did not rub off all that well, and since I was out of gesso, I splashed on a little white gouache (like water color), some of which was mixed with old yellow-green acrylic. (The greenish color resulted from the fact that it was the only tube I had that was squeezable–the others dried up!)

In any case, this slapdash process gave me a host of surfaces, as well as a host of ghost images. Because the ghost images were so strong, I did the class with ink and brush instead of pencil or charcoal, since I knew the ink would give a stronger, if sloppier, line.

So, it was an interesting process! Here are a few. Note that the prompts primarily had to do with Provence, both with words from Provencal poets, and also images from photographs Peter provided from Provence.

I understand that they are not everyone’s cup of tea. I am very flexible in my appreciation! But again, what was interesting for me, is how serendipity, strange combination, can work. It shows I guess that nothing is truly lost—even what you rub away!

Anyway, have a good day!

(I am reposting one of the pics from yesterday’s post, just because I like it, and will likely post more tomorrow.)

Caught in the vice of whether I give in to all the sales today, accepting that I will not choose to save the planet in the face of up to 50% off, or whether I will stick to vows not to spend money on things people don’t actually need, except for maybe children’s clothing (children grow! and the little outfits are so fun, and some of the specialty manufacturers actually sew the little togs in Brooklyn or Atlanta!)

It is nice to give presents. It is awful to realize at the last minute that you haven’t got new stuff to give.

If you are an older person, like me, you have sadly had deaths in your family and could not bear to throw away all that person’s stored stuff, and now have boxes and boxes all over the place and jammed drawers. So, you do know that over-acquisition is not only not great for the planet, but not really all that good for the soul. (As in, couldn’t you go through some of those boxes and find something that someone might like? This would not actually be “re-gifting” but passing something “treasured” on—)

Nice try.

The deluge of emails (if you are an online shopper) is overwhelming:  the sales are only for two days! The successor sales only a couple of days more! Companies need to ship early this year! 40% even on SALE STUFF! 40% MORE OFF! (YOU KNOW YOU ARE GOING TO BUY THE CRAP EVENTUALLY, WHY NOT WHEN IT’S ON SALE!!!!!)

Yes, but what about trees? Water that is not choked by plastic!

Above is a picture that I did not make with this subject in mind, but it seems to fit—a polar bear stuck on a ice cream truck.  (Perhaps he/she would rather be on an ice floe?  And hey! What about whale blubber!? Isn’t it supposed to taste sweet and nutty!? Okay, maybe not like butter pecan–)

Below is a pic from a recent class with Peter Hristoff. It does not exactly fit with this subject but I like it. 

Have a great weekend. 

Here are some more of my quick drawings from “Inventory Drawing” with the wonderful Turkish-American artist, Peter Hristoff, at SVA.  I am not sure why I am posting these–they are bare bones and unfinished. (Perhaps their best quality!) 

But one thing I love is how these quick drawings, not in the least orchestrated, nonetheless suggest narratives. They show me how the mind seeks a story.

Inventory Drawing is a class in which Hristoff gives prompts of a single word, and then moves on to two or three words at a time. The drawings in response to each prompt are done in about a minute, one after another after another. Sometimes two or three words are intentionally combined in a drawing; sometimes they are put together, in my case, simply because I am too rushed to turn the page.

So, the combinations are random, and yet sometimes show the blurry outlines of a tale (one that even its teller does not yet know!)

Of course, I am particularly interested in story; almost all the art I do is illustrational. But I don’t think I’m unique. It seems to me that the human mind, in its search for explanation and continuity, seeks out stories; they are part of how people make sense of the world. (Sadly, this may be why humans are so prone to conspiracy theories. And yet story is also a great way to illicit sympathy, especially for those who seem different. )

Anyway, here are some more of these funny quick drawings. Again, my thanks to Peter Hristoff for creating an atmosphere (even via zoom) which leaves a lot of room for exploration.

Have a good day.