French Teenagers

LOOK AT THE BOYS' HAIR!  Seriously anime style!   What was great was how every few minutes, one of the boys would feel compelled to fluff his 'do, to maintain maximum volume.

It was "
"chat chat chat"
[pause]
[fluff, fluff]
"chat"
[long drag on cigarette]

Edward saves Bella from Mild Food Poisoning.



Ok, so I saw the new "Twilight" movie awhile ago.  Not a fan.

For those of you unfamiliar with the movie and/or books, there's a part where the vampire boy leaves the girl without telling her why. Because apparently, despite the fact that he's technically over a century old, he's still a teenage douchebag, incapable of...articulating...any..of...his....thoughts.

He tells her to move on with her life, but she can't.  Why?  Because every time she's about to do something reckless, a ghostly apparition of him appears telling her not to do it.

Man.  That's like having your mother with you 24/7.  "Put on a sweater!"  "Should you be out so late?" "Why aren't you eating your vegetables?"

Hence, this cartoon. 

Where's my RAM?


My work computer was running a bit slow and I was approved for more RAM but it was taking forever for it to be installed.  So I sent this to IT.

It wasn't IT's fault, but as it often is the case, just because it's not your fault doesn't mean it's not your problem.  Our IT guy responded, asking if I would be willing to do a sketch for him, showing an IT guy, dragging a computer cart.

So then I sent this:


now in color


I thought I'd try playing with a bit of color, since it's something I rarely do.  It's always fun, but takes more time than just scribbling out a simple sketch, even in this "sketchy" stage.  

Way back in the day, I used to break out the paints when I wanted color.  Although Photoshop makes experimenting infinitely easier (and more risk free) somehow, I still have a hard time making the leap.   Lack of patience?

more cafe sketching



I'm not sure why, but it does seem that I always manage to catch only right profiles on some days, and only lefts on others. It probably has to do with where I sit, and what direction the windows are. Most people do like to face the window, as was the case here. But it does make for a rather uniform looking sketchbook page.

The woman on the bottom left corner had this wonderful, Bardot-like hair. I watched a man try to pick her up by inquiring about her iPhone. I imagine that it went something like "Hey, I'll show you my apps if you show me yours!" But I'm probably wrong. In any case, she clearly turned him down, because he did not join her at the table. Instead, he went back in line, and resolutely did not look her direction for his now, brief visit to the cafe. So I did not get to draw him. I hope he enjoyed his pastry.


Symmetrical objects are really hard to draw, and I am not the most patient of artists. I drew and redrew this several times. Still don't have it right. But it did help to turn it upside down a few times (the drawing, not the object).

I actually sketched this a few months ago. I had always heard of the Art Institute and meant to go check it out, and then one day on a walk, stumbled across it. They have a fantastic view from their patio/courtyard, and it was primarily empty!


Periodically, I get brave and decide to try sketching only with pen. This particular pen has a very nice olive green color, (the subtlety of the color is lost in my scan unfortunately).

Whenever I get a particularly nice piece of paper, or a fancy pen, I always suffer from a kind of "stage fright", as if I am being judged by my art materials. I think this is why some of my favorite sketches are done on cheap paper, with pencil. The end result is that I hoard. I really need to get over this because such an attitude really defeats the purpose of having quality supplies.

hipster

You know, change that Mao hat to a beret, the shirt into a turtleneck, and suddenly he's a beatnik.

The clothes change, the posture does not. Trying to be cool is a futile endeavor because what you thought was sooooo cool and alternative, tends to look ridiculous when you're 30.

The workaround? Never let yourself be photographed.

strange characters and pretty girls

Two very thoughtful people, thinking their separate, undoubtedly deep thoughts.

If this were an American romantic comedy, they would meet, have some trivial misunderstanding, and then eventually reunite with much happiness and confetti. This would show that some things are simply meant to be!

If this were a French romance, they would meet, have some trivial misunderstanding, and then be separated forever. It would also be told in flashback, from the rocking chair of one of the characters, after many years have passed, and one of them has died. This would show the futility of romance and the desperate stupidity of the human condition.

But this is real life, so they were actually in two separate cafes. And she was probably too tall for him anyway.

This woman looked like she could be a Malcolm Liepke muse. All delicate neck and enormous bosom. I'm sure you're all sorry you missed it.
And this guy looked like a cartoon; inherently tragicomic.

Zoo drawings










Went to a zoo drawing workshop in May run by Joe Weatherly, an artist who specializes in drawing animals. This is not to be confused with another Joe Weatherly, who is apparently a famous race car driver, who looks like his name should be Howie, and whose picture reminds me a bit of John C. Reilly as "Dewey Cox".

Annnnyway....

The workshop was fun, although I was the only person who showed up who was not currently in school. This of course, conspired to make me feel ancient ("Hey, I've been working since you guys were in 5th grade! Awesome!") However, I try not to let these realizations bug me too much, as I realize not only is this situation unlikely to improve, but will also increase in frequency as time goes by.

For any of you reading this while in your youthful, unlined 20's: sunscreen people. It's about the sunscreen.

What was fun about dedicating an entire weekend to drawing is realizing how quickly you can loosen up by simply devoting enough time to the endeavor. The first few drawings are almost always awful and demoralizing. But if you manage to stick it through the next hour or two, it stops feeling like so much work, and just becomes this nice, loose, moment, from eye, to hand, to pen. It doesn't mean that every line becomes perfect, but you do stop focusing so much on technique, and more on play.

I've spent very, very little time drawing animals compared to people (yes, I know, people are animals...ANIMALS!) So I started off this workshop with some truly ugly giraffe drawings (notice that I did not post any giraffe drawings). But things steadily improved, so that by Sunday, I was in a much happier place with my work.

A note about zoos in the Bay Area: we went to both the SF Zoo and the Oakland Zoo. The Oakland Zoo is much nicer. Also, as far as I know, no one have been mauled by tigers in the SF Zoo. Although, the surviving victims are not terribly sympathetic figures.

I'm ambivalent about zoos in general. As an artist, I recognize them as an extremely valuable resource. Also, one might reasonably argue that there's definitely an educational benefit to the population to learn about how other animals live. However, it's really hard to go to a zoo and convince yourself that these animals are happy. Danger of anthropomorphizing aside...I don't think I'd be particularly happy, stuffed into a pen with a bunch of people I don't know, and having people stare at me, taking pictures or drawing. In fact, it's a bit unnerving while drawing the animals to realize that they are aware of you staring at them. How else to explain their almost unanimous decision to always show our drawing group their backsides within 15 minutes of our arrival to draw them?

And for those of you who believe that I'm over thinking this, and animals do not get self-conscious or upset about being watched, I present to you this.


more cafe sketching


It was a gorgeous weekend in SF, so I spent most of it outside walking around, taking photos and sketching. The photos can be found here

I doodled for quite awhile today, using pen. I'm much more comfortable sketching with pencil, I suppose because pen forces you to commit and is so unforgiving of mistakes...two qualities that I struggle with in human beings , come to think of it.

This pen spatters a bit, I didn't realize until I started drawing with it today.

random sketches

So every now and then I copy pictures from magazines, and "push" the drawings. The first drawing I almost always chuck, it's almost like stretching before sprinting. The second drawing is always much looser. (I have residual "have to get it right the first time" idea going on, which with some thought, is an idiotic idea. But I'm an impatient type of person)

I've decided that I want to try and do more color work after seeing a very inspiring talk by Jeremy Vickery at GDC this last week. I'm not a painter, and while I don't foresee getting to the point where I'm just knocking them out the way a lot of my friends do...I do want to get to a point where color is more intuitive and I'm not so intimidated by it. So hopefully, there will be more color work on this blog in the future.

sketchcrawl SF

A friend suggested we go to sketchcrawl this past weekend. It was a great idea! The last time I went was in 2005 I think. I loved it, but I never managed to do another one until now. This one was held in Portsmouth Square in Chinatown. A sizable crowd showed up (hey look! We all have New Year's resolutions about drawing more!) and it was really fun.

A lot of talented artists out there validated my obsession with hording pencils and sketchbooks. It was great to see how different artists interpreted the same subject matter. Some people stylized heavily, others played it straight. Some focused on people, others on environment. I was inspired to play more in my composition, subject matter, drawing style and also to work on color skills.

I am also humbled by how focused and well laid out a lot of artists' work was. I would like to improve my layout skills, so that's a resolution too. (Let's just put that in my big pile of goals that I have...hey look laundry!) A lot of people drew these 4 old ladies on the bench. They were famous that day.

London Trip, part two

One of my favorite museums in London is the the V&A. I like the mix of paintings, sculptures, clothing, and historical objects. Many of the exhibits have well-written explanations of how the works were accomplished, often including the original sketches. It's the museum I would go to, if I only had time to go to one.

However, I actually didn't do that many sketches there, relying quite a bit on my camera. It's a great place for gathering reference, and has a long sculpture gallery which contains a Bernini.

I took perhaps a dozen pictures of that Bernini. When I see something that is so clearly superior to the works around it, it really makes me want to throttle those artists who claim that art is subjective, and judging one piece as superior is pointless. All it makes me think is that he or she is unhappy with his/her own work. But rather than strive to do better, it is easier to actually just say the everything else that exists, isn't that great. Yes...art is subjective, but some people are really better at something. You might say that the idea that someone is "good" is subjective too, dependent on cultural standpoint. Yes...of course. I'm sure to an anti-Semite, Hilter was a better person than Mother Theresa.

After a certain point "subjectivity" equals deliberate stupidity.

Ok...onto the Tate!

I didn't really do that many sketches of art at the Tate. It hosts the collection of Pre-Raphaelite paintings that got me through my romantic, nerdy years as a high school and college student., including Waterhouse's Lady of Shallot.
However, I went there to draw the people looking at the paintings (and escape from the rain, as the original plan had been to sit out and draw people in cafes) Museums are an excellent place to sketch people, as they tend to hold their pose for a bit, giving me a better chance of capturing it. Sometimes, I start with the head and move my way down, but lately, I've been blocking out the general shapes to get the feel of the pose first, and then filling in the details. I've found that if I've been drawing for a bit, I'm generally loose enough to be able finish the details even after the model has shifted (or left the room altogether). Drawing moving people feels like evacuating a burning building, I'm grabbing whatever I can, as quickly as I can, and hope the things I get are important.
This last drawing is from when I went to Oxford on a daytrip. Most of it is a combination of people that I saw while having lunch at the pub and people I saw while having hot chocolate at a cafe.
There is a specific type of face that does look very English, in exactly the same way that someone looks Chinese or African. I noticed it before the first time I went there, but it is funny how obvious this is when you're actually surrounded by them. I suppose it's because culturally, we tend to dump all people of European descent into the category of "white" which doesn't allow for much distinction of features within that group. But French people definitely look French, Italians do look Italian. I realize this is not an original observation at all. I'm not sure if being P.C. has simply beat out our ability to say things like "Hey, that guy has a really Italian face!" However, it's impossible not to see the continuity of features when you observe ancient Roman busts of famous dead people. Some of them definitely look like people you know.