Sketchy Discipline

Steven Sweeney · 08-28-2006, 09:29 PM

Let

Richard Bingham · 08-29-2006, 01:18 PM

Wow, what a heart-felt, inspiring confession. Hallelujah, brother! I, too come forward to repent!! I am a sinner who hasn't drawn daily, but thanks to your post, I've seen the light and will mend my wicked ways!! Y'all pray for me, brothers 'n' sisters! Hallelujah!!

Two things really made me chuckle . . . being seduced by extremely nice drawing "kits" is a thing in itself. They end up being far too nice to use unless you're going to grace 'em with world-class drawings! (a ream of hammermill bond is probably the best stuff to draw, draw, draw!) And, one afternoon last June, I walked out of the Met to find several sketch-artists offering to draw a portrait head for $10 . . . Sure puts things in perspective!

Thanks for writing this, Steven!

Steven Sweeney · 08-29-2006, 08:51 PM

I admire any artist who gets out there and draws real life. No controlled lighting, no projectors, no ambient oboes or French horns.

Here are a couple I've run into, one in Florence, Italy, the other on the Great Wall, in China.

It was difficult to resist the charge of excitement, standing there, watching the real thing.

Steven Sweeney · 08-30-2006, 03:21 PM

Who knew?

A colleague just handed me a tearsheet from an early-2006 issue of Smithsonian magazine, in which it is reported that a landscape painting by singer Tony Bennett has been acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Bennett says:

Ngaire Winwood · 09-03-2006, 07:54 AM

Praise the lord for Steven, for he has shone the light for us sinners.

Praise the lord for Steven has come out of the closet so that we may all learn from our misgivings to our careers.

From this day forward Lord, forgive me for my sins and cleanse my thoughts to be pure for this day forward I pledge to honour the creed of all artists who have become before me with sketchbooks and pencils in hand for their daily incremental, that I an artist (in waiting) can uphold this honourable feat to the best of my abilities, whereever, whenever for at least one hour daily.

Lord please send Steven more paper than he needs so that he can have some spare when critters use it for blotting paper, so that he can continue to shine the light for those of us who at times lose our way.

Amen.

Anthony Emmolo · 09-04-2006, 11:56 PM

Steve,

You probably remember the old men in the parks and the streets of Taipei and Mainland China playing cards and Chinese chess. They've always been my favorite subjects. There is a playful quality to them, particularly the men of the mainland who roll their tee shirts up to their chests and their pant legs up to this knees on a hot summer day.

I do carry my sketchbook everywhere. But I went through a period of not doing so, and missed sketching during those days. I was slowed up by the fear of not doing perfect work for the people who came by and watched me. How many artists has that fear crippled?

John Crowther · 09-05-2006, 12:57 AM

Thanks for that, Steven. Having gone through stretches of my life without the sketchbook in tow, I thankfully rediscovered the joy a few years ago. At Starbuck's in Santa Monica, airport waiting rooms, farmer's markets, even grocery lines, the sketchbook is a constant companion. It's one of the advantages of being an artist, you never have to be bored. I learned a secret just recently, at the exhibit of David Hockney's portraits at the LA County Museum. There was something there I'd never seen before, a display of 15 of his sketchbooks, all in a glass case, open somewhere in the middle to a tantalizing hint of the treasures they contained but obviously untouchable. Next to the case, however, there was a monitor with an interactive screen that allowed you to select any sketchbook and virtually flip through all the pages. What one sees is a record of minutiae, the moment by moment experience of hotel rooms, boring cocktail parties, lovers sleeping, shoes by the bed, stretches of road, cars at a stoplight, faces glimpsed on the run, gesture portraits, toothpaste tubes on a bathroom sink, anything and everything that fell within Hockney's view as he went through his day. The first thing that struck me was that while every now and then a simple pen and ink line drawing was spectacular how many of them weren't especially good, and many were either incomplete or inept. Wow, I thought, they don't all have to be masterpieces and a bad drawing doesn't ruin a good sketchbook. But the big lesson I learned was to carry a small sketchbook. Hockney's were relatively tiny, 6x4, hardbound, unobtrusive, easy to carry in the pocket. I went out and bought several identical ones and I was hooked. Suddenly the sketchbook is no longer judging me, it's undemanding, pure fun, without obligation. It's become a friend I can confide in, a confidante, a co-conspirator. It invites me to push the limits of my abilities, it gives me permission to fail, and cheers when I succeed. -- John C.

Steven Sweeney · 09-05-2006, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anthony Emmolo

You probably remember the old men in the parks and the streets of Taipei and Mainland China playing cards and Chinese chess. They've always been my favorite subjects. There is a playful quality to them, particularly the men of the mainland who roll their tee shirts up to their chests and their pant legs up to this knees on a hot summer day.

Yes, I saw them. I was lucky to get some snapshots, like the ones below, much less sketches. In that culture, information-gatherers understandably cause a certain amount of discomfort. I was probably permitted photos like these (in Beijing) only out of pre-Olympics tolerance of yet another intrusive tourist. Wouldn't these kinds of scenes have been great to have captured in a sketchbook? Maybe a slight watercolor wash to suggest the ubiquitous blue Maoist dress that the older Beijing population still sports.

Anyway, I have to mention that the guy who really gave me the "sketch bug" is the British artist (and host of many BBC instructional television series) Alwyn Crawshaw. (I happened to see those programs when I was living in Sydney. I don't know that they've been shown in the U.S.) Watching him set up at a horse farm and sketch animals that wouldn't hold a position for more than a few minutes at most was inspiring. And they were very good drawings, no lines wasted. I believe his sketch book is available on Amazon, but I can't check on that right at the moment. "Why not have a go?" he'd always sign off. "It's easier than you think!" He made it look pretty easy -- but that was because he was one who filled sketchbooks.

Lon Haverly · 09-21-2006, 03:49 PM

. . . and has been for 33 years. I am addicted to it. I prefer it to painting. It is a rush every time. Especially from life. But, to be able to sketch from life and do it quickly, you must develop a different approach to drawing than photo realism, which is mostly what I see in the drawing world today. (Not that that is so bad.) I see very little emphasis on it anywhere, and very little understanding of the techniques needed to pull it off.

Sketching was a very important part of my training, and was taught with utmost discipline and structure, a far cry from the "blind gesture drawing" touted in art classrooms today. We followed a very strict procedure until we learned the basics of line technique, blocking in and shading. This was required before we were moved along into painting of any sort.

I hear almost daily, "I wish I could do that!" I spent seven years of my childhood Saturday mornings learning how. It didn't just happen, and I did not just teach myself. I would not be a sketch artist today were it not for that training.

I was once labeled a "street artist" by an insensitive family member, which to me smacked of an insult, like I was some peddler on the street with a plate on the walk asking for a handout for my work. I have always paid my rent (well not always!)

I consider my work (portrait sketching) a lifetime passion, and a specialty that requires the utmost dedication and sacrifice if you want to stay on top of it.

SB Wang · 09-29-2006, 12:10 PM

http://www.marxists.org/reference/ar...s/unk-serf.jpg

By Dong Chensheng, one of the best illustrators, who worked for PLA Daily and later, PLA Pictorial (PLA:The Chinese People's Liberation Army ), which requires end product almost daily. I studied with and was recommended by him. Another painting by him, was possessed by me only few months then took away by someone. His works are basically from imagination and memory, except the face of Mao.