gratitude

I'm grateful this holiday for so many things: health, home, means, family, friends, studio. At this particular moment, as I lie on the couch with a full belly, I'm especially grateful for a husband who takes the time to make five pies from scratch.

challenge

This is from a figure drawing class I've been taking at Flicker Street Studio.  Drawing a model is like uncovering a treasure trove of the basics - line, form, color, texture, volume, mass, etc.  When I give myself the gift of observing the nuances of the human form, and actually let go enough for my hand to make marks that reflect what my eyes see, what comes out is a culmination of every mark I've ever made.  I know that for a lot of artists once they  get out of school and find their niche they turn their back on drawing form life.  But for me, drawing form life helps keep my abstractions loose.

Admittedly, it's not easy.   I've got a lot of work to do on drawing the face and hands, which is why of all the drawings I did in the class, this is the one I actually like.  2011 will be the year of "plumbing the head". (Check out the excellent series on drawing from the NY Times.)

Working on doing this better never ends.  Ever.  Which is why when I'm 80 I'll probably be hobbling into some art studio with a person in a robe milling about while a group of people are gathered and setting up to get lost in the challenge. 

stove top neutrals

drawing outside with other people

 

These are the drawings I did on an outing to Elmwood Cemetery with Memphis Urban Sketchers.  The light was gorgeous and the shadows were stark. We met, we spread out, we drew, and then we met again and looked at what we came up with.   It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning. 

curtain call

The previous owners of our house added on a big den off the kitchen sometime in the 1960s or 70s. It makes for a nice studio with lots of light, a closet, built in book shelves and cabinets, and a non-functioning brick 'fireplace' with gas logs  that I use to prop paintings on. I can imagine the years worth of many family gatherings in this room.  Now there's lots of art making.   The HVAC doesn't extend to the studio but the heater/ac window unit works surprisingly well.  Turn the knob to the right in the summer and to the left in the winter.  In the summer I just leave doorway open, but in the winter I block it off because the house is drafty. 

I'm always a little sad when it gets so cold that I have to hang the curtains. I really like having the view of my work table from the kitchen when I'm cooking or puttering around.  I think the furthest distance I'd ever want my studio away from my field of vision is an out building.  Sometimes I fantasize about living in the country with a studio out back.  In between the two buildings there would be a big garden with  a stone pathway, a bench and a small pond with lotus flowers, fish and frogs.  In the meantime,  my view from the kitchen suits me just fine.