The Art of Desperation

Today's EDM offering is the result of several hopelessly awful attempts. I tried a wash and ink drawing of the hanging basket I just put up, and the houses opposite in the background, and it was so stiff and unyielding that I figured hm, wrong day to try this.

You can't make better art by simply trying harder. Practice does improve skills, and you need skills to make art. But practice doesn't make art. You do need to allow for what you're up for today, and sometimes it means you picked a wrong approach and need to go back.

So I painted a coat of white monotype ink over the drawing, which made it very faint, went back in and picked up sparks of blue -- a lot of lobelia in the basket -- and voila! an even worse thing. So I damped another sheet, and took a try at a monotype off the original, since that often gives you a surprisingly improved view. But it didn't. Oh.

Finally I realized what I was doing wrong was taking too observatory an approach. So I tore off the paper jackets of a few Caran d'ache crayons, and went to another sheet of paper, drew a field of flowers using the sides of the crayons, curving and moving them, like using charcoal in a way.

And I found that this was probably what I shoulda bin doin all along. But there are days when it's not clear, and you just have to try various things until you either get fed up and go away and knit, or get a result you feel better about. This drawing was done on slightly damp Arches hotpress, to get a slightly gentler outline here and there.

I've often thought that when you switch around artforms as much as I do, that the approach needed by one can be a bit hostile to the next. I've been doing some very small knitting (a hoodie for a Dolliver, in alpaca yarn, on number 2 dpns, fyi) and since knitting is so linear and constructed, my mind probably got over a little too much into the prescriptive mode, hence the difficulty in loosening up to draw and paint. I remember that playing Atari many years ago when my son was young, had a terrific effect on my accuracy in doing the miniature needlepoint I did in those days, for custom works, probably because both called on the same kind of eye hand, limited decision horizon, type of thinking.

You'll notice that, though the handling of this piece is very loose, it is composed with left leaning areas and right leaning areas, to draw your eye in, and triangular areas to rest the eye on, and a foreground, middle ground and far distance. This isn't something I planned as I went, but I expect it's a hangover from the linear knitting time.

Asparagus is in at the farm

I picked up my first week's share at the farm, and as a celebration of the opening of the season, they made the shares strawberries and asparagus, spring and summer together. I wonder if there's anything better than a newly picked bunch of asparagus, tender and when steamed then dressed with lemon butter sauce, food good enough for artists!

The drawing doesn't do much justice, but since this is not about perfecting but about sharing, I'll put it up anyway!

EveryDay Matters May 17 plein air

I've decided that it would be good to do more plein air work, mainly to overcome my sense of being overwhelmed by stimuli out of doors, and learn to focus better. So I took my own advice this morning, wonderful weather, warm enough to be out, cool enough to work.

Just as cats are the best studio companions indoors, birds are the best companions in art out of doors. Nesting time means they're too busy to be worried about humans, and they zoomed about around me, two pairs of catbirds busy making a nest, swallows tearing about overhead and under the bridge I cross to get to this location, all kinds of birdsong all around.

I took pictures of the two paintings in the context in which I'd painted them,





so you can see what I was looking at in the course of painting each one, then a pic of each so you can see it a bit better.





EveryDay Matters, the concept and the group, have become such a part of the fabric of my art life. I fervently wish I could remember who introduced me to the group so as to send thanks. If you're reading here, please speak up!

Bananascape with pears, paintbox and impedimenta

I broke up another Arches hotpress sheet, which gave me eight new supports for drawing and painting, so the bananas and pears seemed like good candidates. I drew them before adding the color, hence the paintbox and brushes and other stuff in the drawing.

It's hard to slow down my eye to draw bananas, because the instinct is to rush from stem to stern, that perfect curve, but I did my best anyway.

I love my Asian store. I bought the pears there this morning,and the Chinese clerk, no English available to her, using gestures, insisted I not buy two of them on which she'd seen tiny bruises. No, she would dump them, I should go back and try again! I did,and this time she allowed me to buy my choices.

EDM May 13, a new art game

It being Mother's Day in the US and other countries, I figured that it was my day, I could just play and mess about, make here goes nothing type of drawings and paintings, and made a series of four narrows.

This was fun, in that I just did them in any old order, messing about with colors and shapes and whatever occurred to itself to do next. Then, when I set them up to take a picture, I realized that this is a new game: make the narrows, then arrange them in whatever order seems to give a narrative. I didn't make them in the order I photographed them. Who knows how this came about? it may simply indicate that I have a predictability that I'd rather not have, but it may also be a game that's fun to do, so you might want to take a shot at it. No need to be an "arteest" to do this,just do it for fun!

Today's series ended up being: sharp foreground, flowers, and things, then middle ground, then house roofs, then far distance. Not planned. Just sort of happened. Not in that order.

I was taking the picture on the deck when my next door neighbor came by to wish me the day, and he, a non-artist who often says he wants to learn, said, oh, I get it, art is about just enjoying stuff, and you do, you always do! that's what I need to do.

Now, artists know there's a lot more to it, including the need to make art no matter what, and the work of developing a few skills, but overall, yes, you need to do what you want to anyway! So there you are -- unplanned learning, on both our parts!

The neighbor from the other side came and joined us for a discussion of herbs, and left with a fistful of spearmint, very happy.

Handsome Son visited this morning, so all in all, great Mother's Day!

An Ill Wind

Yesterday's high winds brought me um, a windfall, in a way. My neighbor's bearded iris were whipped all over the place,being tall and top heavy, and after she'd used all her available stakes to save as many as she could, she cut the rest of the casualties and put them in a vase to give to me.

This gave me a wonderful group of models for a modified contour and wash drawing today, which I'm posting here. Iris rules! Contour is my favorite of all drawing styles, and adding wash is a nice addition of depth.

The whole thing



And a detail

EDM May 10, iris

The iris suddenly bloomed this morning, out of nowhere, yesterday a forest of stems, today flowers coming out at warp speed, so I thought I'd better make a little drawing before the chipmunks bite them in two, their favorite sport. Arches hotpress, about 10x12



And a second sock in progress, plus the first sock, among impedimenta on the table, ink and caran d'ache on mulberry paper about 8 x 10

EveryDay Matters May 8, kitchen counter

This felt huge, after the narrow strip paintings, though it's only about 10 x 12. Just a what's in front of you ink and wash.

EDM May 7, long narrow living/dining room with a peek into the kitchen!

This long narrow shape is an interesting mind exercise! not to mention using up long narrow paper bits..

click to enlarge

EveryDay Matters May 5 long narrow painting

I love this shape of paper. It's the ends broken off from larger pieces, to make the larger ones more appealing in shape. So I have several pieces 2.25 inches by 11 inches, and this panorama idea is one I like a lot. The patio lent itself well to this sweeping vision in a tiny execution.

Arches hotpress (hence the reference to breaking it, since you never cut good paper, you fold and break on the natural deckle that forms from the fold) with the trusty old Pilot Pen and Caran d' crayons. I expect one of these days I'll use something else, but for now these are working for me.

I have several series going: One is the series in my old square drawing book, one is the larger sheets of Arches hp, one is the brown mulberry paper ink drawings, one is tiny rectangular paintings, and this one is the first of a series of long narrow ones. Who knows what will become of them. I see artists' books, maybe, and then again, something else might suggest itself.

When the student is ready, the teacher appears. Or maybe leap and a net will appear. Or maybe they're both the same thing, after all. click to enlarge as always!

Laundry area, usual situation

Drawing of my laundry area, which is a kind of alcove in the upstairs hallway where I put various things unrelated to laundry, by default.

click to enlarge

Everyday Matters May 2, bookcase

Drawing of one of my bookcases, pilot pen on mulberry paper. This series of small line drawings will probably end up being an artist's book, format yet undecided!

EDM April 29, kitchen windowscape

Glass Pyrex measuring jugs and various other kitchen items on a wire shelf under the windowsill. Arches hotpress, about 8 x 10, pilot pen ink and wash, touches of Caran d'ache crayon.

Blogistas who would like to see the latest Dolliver (character doll) caper, go here

Enjoy!

EDM April 28, new kitchen table

So I needed a new table in the kitchen, nice sunshine in the afternoon, good for drinking tea and eating cake. However, the budget totally will not run to one now or in the foreseeable future.

So I did some DIY with stuff I had. My keyboard, not played now for quite a while, I wrapped and put on a shelf for future reference, and the stand it came with now would work, with a bit of engineering, as the base for a table. The top is the round glass top from an ancient long gone patio set, which has been pressed into use to hold plants in the living room, set on two small tables.

And now I have a kitchen table,about the right height -- the adjustment is where the engineering came in -- and, wedged with newspaper to keep it steady, working just fine,with its new cloth and dinky crocheted top thing, to honor the crocheter who made it.

So I thought I'd better record this while the recording's good. Another indoor landscape. Kitchenscape. On the shelf in the background, the begonia on the right is just there to look nice, the partygoer of the plant world, while its neighbor to the left is my vital aloe vera, used almost daily to cure the burns I inevitably manage to get in the course of working with the stove.

Everyday Matters April 27, shells

click to enlarge

This is a little setup of shells, one long one whose name I forget, and clamshells, with bits of beach glass and pebbles. When I go to the shore, about an hour from here, in spring and fall, can't deal with it in the hot summer, I like to bring home a few items like this to make an inland beach on the patio table or, as now, in the house, in a ceramic dish. I also use big clamshells as soap holders in my bathrooms. Very green!

When I draw shells, I'm always struck by how much they resemble nutshells. Similarly, when I draw fungi, I notice that a lot of them are very much like seashells.

EDM April 26, what I read lately

This is one of those miniature drawings, about 4.5 x 5 inches, on Arches hotpress, using pilot pen and Caran d'ache watercolor crayons.

It's about what I'm reading at the moment, and reviewing in my other blog, Field and Fen, which you can visit, if you would like to here

The other clutter is the book I draw in, a glass of water, sponge brushes, the corner of my Caran d tin -- I love this tin, since it is possible to use the opened lid as a tiny palette. And if you can click to enlarge, you can see the lacy effect in the curtains which I got by pressing paper towel into the paint while it was still wet.

EDM April 25, the artist's hand

This is a drawing of my hand steadying the book while I work in it. I wear two rings since Handsome Partner died, his and mine. His is bigger so I keep it behind mine so as to keep them both on my hand. In this case I'm drawing with my right hand, but there's no reason not to draw with the other. If you never tried drawing with your nondominant hand, you might be surprised at how well you do. It's not the hand that draws, it's the eye.

Mulberry paper, Pilot Pen fine black. Click to enlarge.

EDM April 24 many faces

I have to credit another blogger, sorry, I really forgot where I read your post, but if you come in here, please bob up and get the credit due you for pointing me to a very good artist demo'ing the 20 second face, very loose application, and great fun.



I had to try this this morning, and you see the resulting crowd! I did go back in with touches of ink, couldn't resist, but this was great fun, to balance the color, find different facial expressions with minimal changes, all this done with my trusty one inch sponge brush.

The only thing is, comic relief constantly bursting in on me, I couldn't help thinking of the old joke about how long is the ninety-second Psalm. Answer: a minute and a half....sorry! I did refrain from painting twenty two faces here, though you will see.

And here's a closeup, detail of the same image if you're interesting in seeing in closer. It's done with Caran d'ache, what else, on Arches Hotpress, what else...



Click to enlarge.

EDMApril23 sweater in unraveling process

Today's ink drawing is of a cashmere sweater, from the thrift shop, half way through being unraveled so I can knit up the yarn into something I need more. I see socks from this harvest. It's sitting on the all purpose little round table which houses my box of needles, Caran d'ache tins, whatever I need at the moment.

As always, click to enlarge.

EDM April 22 Earth Day

Taking care of Gaia matters every day! here's a little memory drawing of a seaside view in North Yorkshire, with the cliff falling away into the ocean, the cold old North Sea! memory from childhood.



Caran d'Ache and Pilot fine point pen, on Arches hotpress paper, height 4.5 inches, width 5.5 inches.

EDM April 21 Workbox in usual state of organization

I have a series of character dolls I created (knitted and stitched), the Dollivers, whose adventures are chronicled on my other blog, Field and Fen, and the workbox is where I keep all kinds of scraps of fabric and tools ready when an idea for another set of outfits strikes. They have definite personalities, and are always ready to seize on any event as a reason for a new outfit, so I need an array of bits always in the box ready to go.

This is the current state of affairs!

EveryDay Matters April 20

The mulberry paper is lovely for drawing natural objects, since wherever you rest your pen a second, a little jog appears, very welcome, and the color and texture just lend themselves. Here's a houseplant, no idea what its name is, gift from the friend of a friend and none of us have identified it. Whatever it is, it is a wild grower, casting its seeds in all the surrounding pots so I have many offspring of this plant.



Then I did an ink and wash drawing of the bedroom closet and surrounding area, and here the Caran d'Ache used as a wash worked for me.

EDM April19 cherry blossoms and tiny drawings

The wild cherry that was torn apart by a hurricane then further damaged by a freak blizzard in October, is gallantly blossoming again. I notice that a single branch of a cherry seen horizontally as in nature looks like a branch, and the same image seen vertically, looks like a whole tree. I imagine this is related to fractals in some way.



The other little ink and wash pieces are about four inches square, just using up the end of a sheet of Arches, on vignettes seen across the street from my back patio.

As always,click to enlarge.

EveryDay Matters April 18 cherry bushes, daylilies, sedum, pachysandra by the path

Drawing with Pilot pen on mulberry paper, of the view from outside the front door, if you sit on the bottom stair -- daylily foliage, cherry bushes, sedum, pachysandra running along the front walk.

EveryDay Matters April 17 several things at once

Lately I've been very occupied with art commitments, friends, planning for workshops, all kinds of things happening at once. The odd thing is that when I'm very busy I still make a lot of other art, such as the series I did in the last day and a bit.

I walked the labyrinth for a friend, and as usual, found something symbolic of her current struggle - a tiny wild alyssum, fragile looking, but in fact tough as anything. I made a picture of it on my hand,



to give you the relative size of it, lifted out of the ground (now safely at home in its own eggcup container), and drew it in black ink on mulberry paper.

Closeup of the drawing



showing more detail, and another image, further back to show how it sits on the page, always a big issue with situating a drawing.



I often go off the page in order to create negative space and interest, but here there was enough negative space within the architecture of the plant to provide plenty of interest.

Then on the way home, saw an old farmhouse, with new growth around it, trees and shrubs still going on, blossoms flying all over



And then a field with wild trees, flailing about.



No place to stop and park there, so I did both paintings at the nearest safe location, from memory. These are probably fun for the artist as much as anything, and I'll await the judgment of the viewer as to whether they're fun for them, too.

As always, click to get a slideshow and some enlargement.