1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY POST! . . . . . AND WISDOM!

This is when I give up

Ink and Pastel on Paper

24" x 30"

Portrait Colour Study

Ink and Pastel on Paper

24" x 30"

Last life drawing class of the year. Not too many people showed up, so the model and I had a keen concentration on each other. I decided to use pastels this week and throw down some colour. As you can see with the first drawing, I gave up with ink washes and colour, then decided to make him look like a Louis Vuitton hand bag. This is how I usually administer design and pattern to my work. It's fun to look at. Speaking of fun . . . I will be in St. Catherine's this weekend because I have a whole week to do whatever I want before I head home to begin my co-op.

Since this is the one year anniversary of this blog here of mine, I thought I would run down a list of things I have learned this previous year. A few epiphanies, words of advice, infinite wisdom and a moment or two of clarity. Here we go:

1. Don't stop experiencing things, go out and do as much as you can (Clemente Botelho)
2. The only person who holds you back is yourself (Katheryn Adams)
3. PARTY KARMA: The more money you spend, the more money you get (Amro Attiaa)
4. When you are tired, you're tired, go to bed
5. It's not good to compare yourself to others (Brian Cronin)
6. Your friends are your best resources (Stu McGinnis)
7. It's important to stay consistent, not particularly with drawing or a certain style; Just being creative will be enough to keep you sharp and inspired (Clemente Botelho)
8. Nobody is better at being you than you
9. Make it different (Bob Hambly)
10. Advice is subjective. These things are important to me, everyone else should find their own

This should mean nothing to a lot of people. The number one thing I have learned this year is everything is different and everything is changing. Go with the flow and grow with the times. Do it your own way and stay consistant. That's why I try to post so much. Live and learn.

Recentivity

30 Min Portrait

Ink and Acrylic on Paper

6" x 9"

1 hour Portrait

Ink and Metallic Pen on Watercolour Paper

11" x 15"

1 hour Figure

Ink and Metallic Pen on Watercolour Paper

8" x 19"

2 Hour Portrait

Ink on Paper

12" x 15"

30 Min Figure

Ink on Paper

7" x 12"

30 Min Figure

Ink on Paper

7" x 12"

These are some ideas that I have been tangling with recently. I have been thinking a lot about figure and design, and how to make them become narrative. Working with ink is starting to become more fun. I'm finding the organic quality of it mesmerizing. Subconsciously I am making better decisions. Using ink has become my "anti-OCD". I'm hoping it will destroy the anxiety in my artowrk and give it more life. The first image at the top, I actually finger painted. I tend to use my hands at any chance I can get. It was fun. I am going to miss life drawing over the summer. Only one more week left in 3rd Year Academia.

Satisfaction Guaranteed

Thought

Acrylic, Ink and Gesso on Canvas

24" x 30"

It's been a good week. At a time when so much could go wrong, the Universe took pity on me and threw me some pocket aces. In the last week I have found a new apartment, secured my co-op, received my summer job back and have been kicking ass with some recent artwork. I'm beginning to think that my personality as a human being is dependent on the weather. Winter is over . . . thank God, and the days are getting longer. Creatively I feel good right now and very inspired to draw and paint. I have been sitting in on a multitude of life drawing classes and in the last week I went to see presentations by Jillian Tamaki and Martin Wittfooth. They were both really insightful about their artwork and the process. Inspiring young artists give me so much hope because they seem like they are having so much fun. This week I sat in on Harvey Chan's life drawing class and decided to continue my battle with skin tones. I am getting more comfortable with skin tones and am quickly finding relationships between facial structure, colours, shadows and highlights. This last model was incredible. Never moved for nearly two hours in a standing pose. Incredible! It's a good time to be a Sheridan Illustration student.

Back in Black

Second Year Drop In

Ink, Acrylic, Watercolour Pencil & Highlighter on Paper

20" x 13"

Second Year Drop In (Lady Detail)

Ink, Acrylic & Watercolour Pencil on Paper

11' x 13"

Second Year Drop In (Gentleman Detail)

Ink, Acrylic & Highlighter on Paper

9" x 13"

Debbie, 3 Hour Pose

Ink on Paper

18" x 24"

Torso Study
Ink & Gesso on Paper
18" x 24"

Skin Tone Study

Acrylic, Ink & Gesso on Paper
18" x 24"

Life drawing post! Since I have been fairly busy the last couple months, I never had a chance to go to life drawing class . . . for the last six weeks. SNAP! Streak broken! I stumbled back into class and here is what I came up with. Lately I have been trying to use a lot of ink. I have come to the conclusion that if I get fairly good at using ink, then other media should follow. Why you ask? Well you see, ink is the most unforgiving of media. So if I master mark making and decision making, then this will positively reflect in new artistic ventures. I also crashed in on a second year painting class this week. It was fun to be around doing my own thing. All the teachers at Sheridan are really nice, so I think I may be dropping in more often.

I'm Under Construction

I rather enjoy discovery. A lot of people think that change is not needed and even feared. I don't agree with this. I believe that change is totally relevant for the survival of anything worth surviving. Sounds philisophical, I am just relating this to a discovery I just made about myself. In second year Illustration we were told to have little expectations and just try to experiment and soak up as much as we could. I followed the plan and had a lot of fun learning what I could. The thing is . . . . now in third year, I still feel like I am experimenting rather than finding confidence within my artistic decision making. During life drawing this week I really had no goals or mindset in respect to compostion or polish. The picture on the left is proof of my experience. It's a mixture of ink, white acrylic, and collage on watercolour paper. I look at it and see a big mix of ideas. I'm not really following through on making things simple for myself. It's portfolio time. Time to think about what I need to do to best represent myself. Less experimenting and more decision making. More confidence and less discovery. For now at least.

Heard The World

Life Drawing Diptych

20 Minute Pose
Acrylic and Gesso on Illustration Board
10" x 16"


20 Minute Pose
Acrylic and Gesso on Illustration Board
9" x 19"

It's been a while. A couple of weeks anyways. One of the major reasons that I keep this blog is to try and stay consistent. Always work on different things to capture my interest and bolster my creativity. Recently I have been thinking about "style" and how my work stands out from the rest. I'm not too concerned about diving into anything. I was just thinking that my style should be based on what I like to draw and paint. Slowly but surely I am stepping away from my comfort in the fine arts, and moving towards the more spirited realm of Illustration. I think that my artwork needs a little vulnerability right now. Sounds odd to say, but I believe that something new needs to start for me. In Life Drawing this week I was feeling really bored. Maybe it was a lack of inspiration, or a lack of criticism/instruction? I really don't know. I started to doodle and incorporate random designs and colours into the negative spaces. Once that happened I went back into the figures and began to work into them. For two pieces of scrap illustration board, I think they look pretty fun. Well the model was quite serious. He had the physique and demeanor of an ex-Navy Seal. I really like that colour palette too. It's always enlightening to have moments working when you say to yourself, "this could be really good." Most of the time the drawings just turn out as nothing outstanding. One drawing out of a hundred can really turn you around and get you into that creative groove again.

Sparks of Everything

1 minute gestures

Ink on Cartridge

18" x 24"

5 minute gestures

Ink on Cartridge

18" x 24"

1 hour pose

Acrylic, Ink and Gesso on Cartridge

18" x 24"

Everything seems to be contradicting itself lately. I find that balancing my school work is getting harder and harder because I have so many other ideas floating around in my mind. Priorities will always be on the top of my list, it's just fascinating because I don't ever get these urges to draw really conceptual, or throw things on paper that show 100% what I am thinking. I've come to the conclusion there are a few factors attributing to this:

1. The Christmas break is coming and my academic mind is slowly shutting down prematurely
2. I have a single page left in my manifesto of a sketchbook (taken me over a year to fill) and I'm anxious to start my new one
3. Long term projects (like my animation I am currently working on) drive me crazy because I can't time manage them accurately

All in all, I feel a little stretched. Life of a student I suppose. The drawings up top are from life drawing classes this week. I have been using ink all year to try and help my decision making and mark making. I find that I am less likely to worry about a finished product now and am completely concentrating on the process. It's a great exercise to try. Jillian Tamaki is very wise when talking about ink. She uses it lots and her work is so lively and energetic. I broke the trend this week and used acrylics. It was fun because I worked over old life drawings which acted like toned paper. The model this week had great legs. They had nice colour and muscle structure. Usually I concentrate on the upper body and face. It was a nice change of pace focusing on anatomy and not a personality.

Pixel Ink

10 minute poses

Ink on a multitude of papers taped to cartridge paper

18" x 24"

Montage of 1 minute poses

Conte on Cartridge Paper

18" x 24"

10 minute pose

Ink on Cartridge Paper

18" x 24"

5 minute pose

Ink on Cartridge Paper

18" x 24"

(I painted this left handed with a toothbrush!)

It feels like I haven't been online in such a long time. Computers these days are my main source of communication. Lately however, I have been doing a majority of my work on the computer. The projects are getting more hefty and it's time to start thinking about portfolio quality pieces to represent myself. Recently school work has been a little over-baring. I have been keeping ahead of the game so far. Right now I feel like there is something that I should be planning for. With co-op and the small gallery show coming up, I really haven't had to produce any long term projects to date. I was working on a personal piece today and it felt different than usual school work. It felt like I was back home. Our recent projects have been very product based, like: cd covers, subscription cards, timelines, coffee cup sleeves, and the list continues. Creating a polished piece of artwork has been a major goal of mine lately, and someone actually called me out on it. Feels good to have your work ethic recognized. Very soon I will post the larger projects I have been working on. For now I have some life drawings that were kicking around. I liked these four because they share different moods depending on the treatment of media. Ink has been my "go-to" guy recently. I find the permanence of it to strengthen my decision making and confidence.

Painting Life

1 hour pose

Acrylic and Gesso on Canvas

14" x 18"

I did a little life painting this weekend with my roommate Irma. Usually on Saturdays life drawing is dedicated to those who wish to paint instead of draw. We were outnumbered by first and second years who had portfolios due this upcoming week, so we only had one hour pose to work with. I enjoyed the hour trying new things, taking the time into consideration. I usually had a brush in each hand and used enormous amounts of water. I really miss second year painting classes. It gave us a chance to simply paint and not worry about subject matter, handing in paintings at the end of class, or portfolio quality work. It is all very literal. I'm thinking about bringing multiple toned canvases to the next life painting class. Next weekend I depart for Thunder Bay during study break. I'm really looking forward to catching up with family and friends, possibly work on some personal stuff.

Relax, Rejoice & Rejuvenate

Ink wash and gesso on craft paper.

10 minute poses.

Ink wash and gesso on craft paper.

10 minute poses.

Ink wash and gesso on craft paper.
10 minute poses.


Ink wash and gesso on craft paper.
10 minute poses.


Ink wash and gesso on craft paper.
10 minute poses.

During the previous years of Illustration I have never been confident in life drawing classes. This year it has turned around in a way. I am drawing and painting without thought. I am not hesitating to make decisions. I'm working in a new way. I suppose I can attribute this to becoming more comfortable with my surroundings and also to the inspiring life drawing teachers I have had. This series of five pages (24" x 36") shows my progression throughout a three hour class. I start out messy with less control and slowly move towards more defined images with solid line, shade and composition.

This weekend I will be in St. Catherines spending Thanksgiving with my roommate Dave's family. I'm looking forward to documenting some of the goings on. . . . and cows. Still on this cow thing. Don't know why. I expect everyone to join my example this weekend and let go of everything, relax, rejoice and rejuvenate.

The Road Ahead

The days are growing shorter and colder as the month of September slowly ends. I have found myself thinking very philosophically lately. About this and that, the future, the now . . . and my co-op. I am excited and terrified at the same time. So after much anxiety I have come to the conclusion that I will concentrate on the now, rather than the future. Lately classes have been pretty good. I am getting my assignments done and in on time without the burden of late nights or low quality. In life drawing class our teacher asked us to try a new exercise which basically made us chop up life drawings done in class, tape them together making random forms, paint over top of them, and repeat the process continuously. I was skeptical at first, but really came to enjoy myself in the process. My final drawing looked like the black and white montage picture on the left (ink and gesso on cartridge paper). It's very therapeutic to be able to stand and draw, and not think about things like symbolism, analogies and metaphors. Interpretive class has proven to be frustrating with the idea process. I just need to chill out and be comfortable with the fact that I am student. I'm in school to solve these problems. I'm always excited to draw or paint, but sometimes the planning process in tormenting. Better get used to it, it's my job.

P.S. I picked up Process Recess II, by James Jean . . . It's amazing! Everyone should flip through it at least 14 times.