Drawing of Saul Bellow

 Saul Bellow lived from 1915 to 2005... Writer, won the Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature

He was compassionate and intelligent with an especially dry sense of humor. 

A quote of Saul's that sums everything up:

" We are all such accidents. We do not make up history and culture. We simply appear, not by our own choice. We make what we can of our condition with the means available. We must accept the mixture as we find it — the impurity of it, the tragedy of it, the hope of it."

8 1/2" x 11"  in charcoal, I worked from an image I believe was from the late 1950's.

There is a Remedy for all things but Death

"Alias, Old Fool"
 by Gwen Buchanan
10" x 10" charcoal and conte sketch, pardon my imperfection.

 I am staring at a drawing of a Friend... it is at a drawing that I stare...
I had never met this friend in real life... only on this mechanical screen in front of me.
A Friend I respected, who made me laugh, who worked hard all his life and lived a good life while he was at it... who shared, who made his own kilts and wore them... spoke out about things that weren't right with the world...  an inventor... a bicycle magician... sailed on battleships,  flew airplanes, drove  transport, knew the bayou blue and the country inside out...
 He was frugal... but never with his friendship......... he was humble, possibly a hermit
and Now he is gone from walking on this earth.
We never met... but we knew each other.  How do I say Good-bye?...... I can't.

.... this previous post was dedicated to him.


Old Fool had a blog or two

Lily

Lily by Gwen Buchanan

 She tells me that her name is Lily... 

  I will always think of her that way.

She cautiously considers her path upon the morrow...

Forward...
Backward...

Come what may.

GB

"There is a Garden in her Face,

Where Roses and Lilies grow."

 Thomas Campion, 1567-1620, Composer, Poet.

 ...my drawing desk just after I finished "Lily"

... yes, cluttered, I know... but really, I need all those things.

Lily... approx. 7 1/2' x 9 1/2", Sanguine conte and charcoal, with matt and frame 16" x 18 1/2"

..  The Hand Series will return with my next post.

Hands # 2

Offering, Gwen Buchanan

This line drawing was worked from a photograph taken with my web cam

... wonderful tool for self portraiture.

I like the simplicity of Line drawings..  

... attempting to describe Foreshortening, Contour, Outline..

... chewed fingernails are a bad habit...

"To see a World in a grain of sand,

And hold Heaven in a wild flower,

To hold Infinity in the Palm of your HAND, 

And Eternity in an Hour"

from Auguries of Innocence,1... by William Blake,  1757 - 1827

7" x 9" line drawing, micron pen, 65 lb.  Canson  Universal recycled acid free paper

Charles Darwin

Portrait of Darwin by Gwen Buchanan

 Because of Charles Darwin's intense studies and lifetime dedication to his work...  we understand EVOLUTION.

Ape Skull by Gwen Buchanan

...below... an excerpt from Charles Darwin's....  "Origin of Species"

""As many more individuals of each species are born than can possibly survive, and as consequently there is a frequently recurring struggle for existence, it follows that any being, if it vary in any manner profitable to itself, under the complex and sometimes varying conditions of life, will have a better chance of survival and thus be naturally selected. From the strong principle of inheritance, any selected variety will tend to propagate its new and modified form.""

Charles Robert Darwin... Born 1809... died at 73 years in 1882

to learn almost everything about his life,  go HERE ...

I especially like this excerpt from his examination of
 "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals"  

Portrait of Darwin ...........   approx. 11" x 12",  charcoal, conte on brown paper

Ape Skull..............   approx. 8 1/2" x 11" charcoal, conte on colored cardstock

....... both kinds of paper have a great tooth for holding these drawing mediums.

Be Afraid... Be Very Afraid

                                                                                           

Keep safe All...
Guard your Souls...
Look oft behind You...
Lock all your doors...


They're on the Loose...
Tie up your Dogs...
If you venture in Shadows...
You may not come home...

October 31, All Hallows Eve.......................





My son Max the Zombie.
Desideratum Art Studio, St. Martins, NB

Max

A quick sketch of my son, Max, after a day of biking 'round the village.

Most often... not without his red hoody...

....always... tousled hair astray...

...his set of wheels...

and a hot, hazy, breezy July afternoon.......

approx. 8½" x 12" ..... uni-ball vision waterproof pen in ringed sketchbook

.

Barrie

J.M Barrie... 1860 - 1937 ... Scottish journalist, playwright, novelist and dramatist...

...his father, a handloom weaver... his mother, the daughter of a stonemason...
...Barrie was 9th of 10 children...

..........Exploring the eye.......




...He became world famous with his play "PETER PAN"... 1904..... and the narrative story ... 1911... an exciting adventure and exploration of growing up....... originally called Peter and Wendy... the magical world of Peter Pan had also been presented in Barrie's The Little White Bird... 1902...

....interesting to note... Barrie stopped growing when he reached five feet in height, he suffered migraines and rarely smiled...

........Exploring facial composition..............





...He appealed to both adults and children... adults for the symbolic sub-text... children for the ripping good story...

........Examining an ear........




He was made a Baronet in 1913.... Sir James Matthew Barrie received the order of Merit in 1922... He was elected Lord Rector of St. Andrew's University and in 1930 Chancellor of Edinburgh University..


"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies." (from Peter Pan)


I worked this in watercolor, india ink, colored inks... with brushes and crow quill dip pen...

approx. 4" x 6" on CP 140 lb WC paper

After Leonardo

A simple pencil sketch and a bit of wash... I could never do him justice but he makes one want to try... so I did ... on a 5" x 7" 300 lb CP Arches WC paper...


Leonardo da Vinci.... 1452-1519


High Renaissance scientist... writer... painter... draftsman...inventor... architect... musician... sculptor............

Although Leonardo lacked the knowledge of Latin...it was probably an advantage since this work is based on his own observations rather than the teachings of others.....

An original thinker and creator...






Leonardo was one of the greatest painters and most versatile geniuses in history...

A report states... of his participation in a debate at court, between representatives of the arts and sciences that..... " he silenced the learned and he confounded the liveliest intellect"

A teacher for all....

I would highly recommend the book "Leonardo da Vinci" Sketches and Drawings by Frank Zöllner and published by Taschen


... also this fabulous online source of Leonardo's Drawings...

Anthony Burgess

I used textural lines, cross hatching and scribbling with crow quill and colored inks over watercolor to represent what I feel was in the mind of Anthony Burgess... when he wrote the chilling book ... " A Clockwork Orange"




... I hope it feels like emotional turmoil.... surfacing...


approx. 3½" x 4½" on CP Arches WC paper

Paint It Black...

My task was to create a series of 6 black & white images using pen, ink & brush... The images had to be identifiable..... and bold enough so the individual was recognizable.


An exercise to practice various methods of pen & ink... stippling... textural scratching.... basic line... cross hatch... scribbling... and solid black & white drawing....



Each one had "Limits" in the technique used... which I think helps free the artist to work within that medium to its full range..... In the end it was interesting to see the comparisons between these very basic techniques...


Even though this project took a fair amount of time to complete... it was enjoyable & freeing.




I really had fun working on them...... Did I say Work? ........Felt more like Play!





........................................Thanks Mick........

ps........ sorry about the coffee stains on your face in the stippling block

each approx. 4" x 6" ...using pen, brush, India ink on 1 ply weight illustration paper

Bremner

Sometimes an image makes you stop...... an emotional response...... you relate.... somewhere inside....
......was there a place in time when you felt this....

This is how I responded when I saw the photograph of this young man...

It made me want to express what I felt he was expressing to the world...... so I got out my brush


approx. 4" x 6" pen, ink, washes on 140 lb. arches cold pressed watercolor paper

Lucian Freud... My Interpretation

Lucian Freud has a most unique way of telling people how he sees.... I was not immediately attracted to his work when first exposed to it.... He does not make pretty pictures...

His paintings make me consider images differently...

He is a soul searcher.... His work has a way of growing on you... attaching itself with an emotional distance....

He inspires me to see depth of spirit........

My interpretation of his Self-Portrait is 16' x 20" Oil on Panel

My Interpretation of the Portrait, "Francis Bacon" by Lucian Freud

I am intrigued by Lucian Freud's paintings... The way he breaks down the range of color and  value... The way he has no care to make a picture pretty... or no care to make the people happy when they see the portrait he did of them... he just cared about putting down on the canvas what he felt and  wanted to express... An attitude of the Inner self... I like that.

After I finished this interpretive painting of his work, I did some research and discovered that his painting of Francis Bacon was stolen in broad daylight from Berlin's Neue Nationalegalerie in 1988... ... it has never been recovered.

Lucian Freud was the grandson of Sigmund Freud... Francis Bacon was a celebrated artist and a contemporary of Lucian Freud.

 I was interested in creating this painting  because it was a portrait of one national icon by another.



...my version at reproducing this master is 8" x 10" oil on canvas... on the wall in my studio.

The Man from the Paper

This was done a few years ago, in 2003.... We had been quite intense at building our house & I guess I just needed a bit of a break, doing something completely different from hammering shingles, building cupboards, devising ways to incorporate our old salvaged finds, ordering materials, making jewelry, taking orders & shipping jewelry, etc... the list was unending & so was the workload. Go till you drop then get up & do the same the next day.

We knew that this particular day had to have some "down time". Down Time was not in our vocabulary at that point in our lives.... this house was already taking too long to build..... No time to play.... Just head down & nose to the grindstone. It felt like we had set ourselves up with a never ending project......

Anyway.... downtime....

At first it seemed rather strange not being actively engaged in necessary work of some kind.... As a matter of fact, it took till 4:00 in the afternoon for my mind to let go & feel free....
It was then, that this fellow looked out at me from the newspaper & after staring at him for a while I nervously found a pencil & some paper & began to draw. Once I started I couldn't stop. Then I added some washes. I was so totally absorbed that a few hours went by in a flash & when I looked up it was dark out...... I only wish I had used a heavier paper as the painting buckled when it dried. Just the same.......................... What a release!!!!!!

I keep this pinned to my studio wall....... To this day when I look at him I still feel revitalized..... and I don't even know his name.

approx. 16" x 20" unfortunately on cartridge paper

Self Portrait

Playing with my watercolor...... doing a little analyzing of facial features.

They are so identifiable to each individual.

Thought I would experiment on myself for now.

approx. 5" x 7" on 300 lb. arches watercolor paper

William Morris

William Morris...... A watercolor I worked on arches 140 lb cold pressed paper...

Morris' talents were vast... Designer, writer, poet, architect, pattern-maker, painter, social activist, the Arts & Crafts movement, hand craftsmanship, the Kelmscott Press, the Kelmscott Chaucer , tapestry revival, jewelry, stained glass, etc. etc. etc........ He was forever dedicated to quality craftsmanship and beauty.

He did not discriminate between craftsman and artist... to him they were one, on a level playing field.   He felt they should be treasured, valued and encouraged.

His influence was far reaching.

He has always inspired me......

A true Artist..... William Morris (1834-1896) English artist, writer, textile designer and socialist.

....see here for a few William Morris designs...

approx. 5" x 7"

Samuel Palmer ... Inspired

A quick little study that was inspired by a Samuel Palmer self-portrait ca. 1826, he had originally done using black & white chalk on buff paper. I was trying to reproduce it, in watercolor, as it appeared in the book,"Creating a Self-Portrait" by Tom Coates.
It began to take on a life of its own & I let it go there.

I have always found that one of the most difficult things about painting, is knowing when to stop. I tried stopping 2 times & couldn't.... this was my third try.
It is OK to finish with something you had not envisioned when you started. As it is a new creation that would not have come into being, without the initial inspiration...... We should never stop being "Inspired".

approx. 4½" x 5½" on watercolor card stock with a bit of pen & ink

Portrait of John

This is a portrait I did of my husband John....  It is a study of values.

I have always felt that doing portraits or the human body were the most challenging for me ...  I hate to feel there is something I can not accomplish.... so for that reason I keep plodding along.

The paint is not very thick but I have found that this is the way I paint at least at the present. I was happy with the likeness.

approx. 12" x 16" acrylic on panel

My Interpretation of a Self-Portrait by Egon Schiele

There is something that really haunts me about the work of Egon Schiele. (Naughty stuff aside) Mostly the strong sure lines. Then the way he used color..... then the way he combined subtle and delicate to create Bold.... the importance of the eyes and hands..... The expressiveness he portrayed in each painting revealed a part of his inner spirit......





He died too young......






This is "my interpretation" of a self portrait he did. I used pencil, gouache, acrylic washes and india ink.......... He keeps us company in the living room.

approx. 15" x 18"