Sunday, September 21, 2008

The Studio.... Part 2




Since I am on the topic of the Studio I thought I would share a few details from around my drawing desk that give me inspiration... past drawings, paintings, sketches, reproductions I have done....





...my Whale line drawings, inspired by the profusely illustrated pen and ink by Warren Chappel in the famous book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville...
... Duane Kaiser's a painting a day, "a dozen eggs"... my Picasso attempt... a gray scale... my watercolor attempt of a Francis Bacon Portrait by Lucian Freud.. the oil attempt is in the first photo... oh and our Simpsonized selves..




Oh ... I can't forget Leonard Cohen for his input into what comes from the paints and brushes





... some more play...a floral and an attempt at an acrylic of my son... coffee cans make great containers...





... idea search... I especially love the Annotated Mother Goose, describing the reasons for the rhymes.. better understanding now... and more profuse illustrations by Caldecott, Crane, Greenaway, Rackham, Parrish.. this is an amazing book that I recently found at a book fair held in the village this past summer... The local librarian, Betty, who is a sweet heart and I think she has read every book ever written, had some of her treasures for sale and she dearly sold this to me...




A beautiful poster that was put together for promotion of the cultural interests of St.Martins... featuring art and fine craft by artists of the village..... our Booktown, first one on the east coast of Canada.... the amazing landscape and the treasures from the beaches... on the back he drew a map of everything... Click image to enlarge...




More tidbits... color and nature... sand dollars.... on the right, a treasured postcard received in the mail... on the left, my attempt to do a small painting of a photograph by my blog friend Ruth ...



Well, just a little tour of my drawing/ink/and painting corner... I'll work my way around the room, slowly but surely... Thanks for coming along...

.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

A kaleidoscope of inspirations! Thank you for continuing to share with us your reflections of symmetry and points of center. What a beautiful environment in which to grow and share. Blessed you are indeed my friend.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Shelley, It was my pleasure. I'm glad you dropped in and yes your right! that is the new/old press... sure is lovely to have tools that will inspire new ideas...

Anet said...

Thanks for more peeks! Happy Fall Equinox to you!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Anet, Happy Equinox to you too!!! So on that day we will have equal day and night hours..

Ruth said...

I see your quills there. I always appreciate it that you give good details about your artwork, like which quill you use with ink.

Seeing all these tidbits around your studio reminds me of Norman Rockwell illustrations, especially the one where he was painting a self-portrait, and he had things tacked around the easel.

Great walk through your things. Thank you.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Ruth,
Sometimes it does tend to get a bit cluttered but the mulling together triggers new ideas for me..

... although after a certain point I have to clear away some stuff so I can think clearly.....
when I am hot and heavy into a project things do begin to ooze...

Chris Daly said...

It is so interesting to see what inspires other artists. I love the whales and the acrylics of Max and the flowers.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Chris,
If you like the whales you would love to browse a copy of the Moby Dick edition published by Norton... the pen and ink in it is so unfinished, natural and raw feeling.. it just begs to be drawn on for inspiration...

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I think many, many artists owe a debt to Leonard Cohen.

I've loved seeing your studio!

Arija said...

I love the way you segregate different activities so that when you move from wering one hat to the next you change your focal point to another area of your studio.Like travelling to a different destination for an assignment. Your studio plan is superb.

Is there really no end to your talents, a quilter as well! I'm reminded of Mrs. Lynde in the Anne books.

ArtPropelled said...

I love your whale sketches! This is such an inspiring post. Thanks Gwen, I will be back for the second leg of the tour!

sandy said...

Wow, this was great and I so enjoyed seeing the different pieces of art. Love that one by Sharon. I need to come back in awhile when I have more time to look closer at everything. Thanks for sharing these views of your studio and the explanations...

very very cool.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Pamela, So glad you are familiar with Leonard Cohen... His amazing voice has haunted me for years.

Well Arija, at the best of times they have their own little spots but I must admit, those tools and papers have a tendency of travelling to all the other areas to see what is happening there.. They wouldn't want to miss anything...

Robyn thanks so much... I can't believe you got snow today... well I do believe it, but it is boggling my little mind!

Hi Sandy, yes the painting by Sharon oversees things at my desk.. so if you ever hear me say something like "a little bird told me", you will know what I am talking about!!!

Seth said...

So glad to see the close-ups of all this inspirational artwork.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Thanks Seth, I appreciate all the hard work you have done on your blog and all the inspiration you present!!!

mansuetude said...

i had to look up Leonard Cohen--first few listenings, his song Suzanna really enchanted me...there are even arguments about what it means, on the internet, which i found by accident and it made me laugh how much time we all spend arguing about "meaning" and "intention" in life and we're all so diverse in our opinions even about Loving one same thing (the song). Anway!

On your poster there is one word, "echo" related to the caves, and it spilled me right back to my grandmother's voice, she would talk about going to the echoes. Maybe it was this?

Hope the moonlight is doing its magic.

Thanks.

Gwen Buchanan said...

Mansuetude.. your first exposure to Cohen... Oh yes much controversey on the song Susanna.. even a story that thought he should be paying the original Susanna royalties because he made money on a song that was inspired by her life.. as she had rather a hard life in her later years... maybe she should have wrote a song about him?

The caves... wouldn't that be something if your grandmother visited these caves... a small world!

Your reply on the other post made me laugh!! I appreciate it... person who is not there...

mansuetude said...

still exploring this guy-- guess i had heard Hallilullia (can't spell) but thought it was Tom Waits (voice) and often he reminds of Dylan; His voice is like an undertow of sorts, you want it to pull you in sometimes but then you want not to drown, too.

If all the women who acted as muse on others' psyches were compensated financially the world might be so different... funny . :)

Gwen Buchanan said...

I love Tom Waits too. something about that gravelly voice..

I know this sounds simple but how is it that Music has that ability of taking us to another place..

mansuetude said...

i think its different for all of us--the heartbeat... the sea... its rhythm, the flow of all things, its rhythm...

i think it puts us into a trance, or sets us free of logic, then if there is words (which is what oral traditons used to do, fire dances, etc) it encodes us with images ... but unlike photos, it lets us do half the weaving from our own inner desire and soul...

how is that?
what do you think?

Gwen Buchanan said...

You know.. that is right.. I feel I think much more in visual images.. at least I draw these from my memory.. visual memory..but the rest is emotion.. feelings... responses...

the mind has its ways...it takes ideas and translates them..

mansuetude said...

its like flying, maybe, allowing the current of emotion in the voice/sound to carry us

(I can't separate the "feeling" from the "thinking" from the "seeing/image" or the "rhythm" of it--i've never understood that) ... i think i hear my thought think in tiny sounds, tinklings opening into images and always carrying feelings/the sensual response to world--it is in all of it like scent in a flower.

now you know too much!

Gwen Buchanan said...

Have you ever written a book.. I think you should.. you express yourself with so much inner soul...

how you feel and express these feelings are like a gentle wave that mesmerizes...