A series?

Supposedly a series of paintings. I’m not sure what links them as a series – except the intention to make them one.

JMW Turner

Things I learned from seeing Turner from the Tate at the National Gallery

– Work on lighting before starting on the details (see the previous post for how to create a boring, almost two-dimensional flat-lit scene)
– His use of contrast makes the paintings look as though they emit more light than they receive
– Exaggeration! One of his landscapes of Italy was described as more Italian than the real thing
– If you become famous, even half-completed blotchy paintings make it into galleries (Although they were good explorations of colour and light. I’m going to try that)
– Turner’s sketchbooks: each page is a completed painting! Everything is so detailed and perfect

After looking at all the Turner landscapes, the paintings of Rome and Venice.. I suppose it’s completely predictable that I would want to go there to paint. Hmmm.

Dreams

The mountains are my favourite part. I need to work on lighting and things. Everything is a uniform light when I paint. Not good..!

This is Merlin! He seems to have claimed it, or decided that it’s not worth looking at.

Perceptual adjustment

 

After perceptual-reset. How long does it take, I wonder? This is closer to what I should have painted.

portrait

It’s difficult to do this when you’ve stared at someone for so long that you no longer see them. I know exactly what he looks like, but I also can’t see what he looks like. The shape of the eyes and the distance between them, the triangle between eyes and nose along which our eyes saccade, the edges of the face, these things are all unfamiliar.

One of the more interesting things they stress in early psychology classes is the difference between sensation and perception. I can sit here and think that this looks right, but I know that it will look different later. It may not look right later (but other people can see that straight away! I’m behind).

daily routines

This was in part inspired by the kinds of paintings that artists of another age used to create (such as Degas), depicting women midst some mundane, daily activity. The line work down the side where the window is supposed to be is really lazy and terrible. I need to be better at these things – but also more patient. Shapes tend to turn out alright if I’ve planned them first. These are lessons for next time!

The concealed safety of dreams

This one developed in several, quite separate parts. I’ve never done that before. I started with one part, and stopped when I could see no way forward. Instead of trying to plan anything, I sat and stared at it until I had an idea for the next component. It was a strange evening; I’m usually not that patient, or that inspired. Part one was the chimney to another dimension, then inexplicable torment, and finally, the concealed safety of a dream/dreams.

Europe!

 

I went to Europe for 3 weeks. Saw some of Berlin, Copenhagen, Aarhus, Malmo and Frankfurt. The old buildings in Europe are stunning! I should warn you that this has allowed me to romanticise my experience, using the posh “pursuing art in Europe” trope that you find in American movies and various stereotypes.

This is Marienkirsche in Berlin; St Mary’s church.

 

The Brandenburg Tor (bridge) in Berlin. When I was drawing this, a sculptor approached me and asked me to help him with his new project in China! Not possible for me, and it may have been a scam, but it was interesting.

 

This was a bridge near the East Side Gallery in Berlin. I found the area surrounding the wall more interesting than the wall itself. The art on it is great but has been photographed to death. It was also strange to see the typical tourists being so fascinated and impressed by street art that they would have ignored sans the historical background.

Although I preferred Berlin, Copenhagen was very uniformly beautiful. This is a street called Fiolstraede, near the centre of the city.

We went to a few areas where residential buildings had boats parked out on their doorstep instead of cars. Canals are so new to me, and so I find them fascinating.

I could not capture the beautiful colours of this area. Nyhavn was very lovely to look at, but the place is completely packed with tourists (and I was one of them).

Being scatterminded as I typically am, I found myself with an extra day in Copenhagen when I mixed up my flight details. Walked around a bit and found this nice church.

 

 

 

 

 

pen and pencil

Best thing about drawing with pen and coloured pencil is that I’m forced to get the picture right the first time. There’s a lot less room for mistakes and sketchiness. I’m working on precision and observation.

This is the panama quetzal. Really pretty bird!

Cardinal birds again!

 

 

being traditional

I’ve been working with pens and paints lately. It has been a while.. exercising those real world muscles. Digital art can be amazing, but the production of traditional art still feels more substantial (likely because of the physical substance of it). It’s irreplicable, and for some reason, that makes it more valuable.

So different to the science-y side of my life, where everything is about replicability.

Makes sense though. Science is objective, and nothing is less objective than art.

Is it valuable simply because it cannot be reproduced? If I could reprint these drawings so that they were visually indistinguishable from the original, would the sketch be the most valuable?

A lot of rambling today. Nonsensical.

I haven’t painted since high school. I find it scary and feel clumsy in the act. It’s not completely done yet. I think her face looks funny. The red patterns on her dress transform into cardinal birds (a.k.a, Angry birds).