About More Pencil Drawings

Four more pencil drawings. These have quickly become very popular. The photograph of the framed drawings is more accurate as to color and sharpness of the drawings than the scans. The 2 scanned images are of wonderful terra-cotta masks placed in a very shallow stream flowing over rocks. I have completed 14 and I am working on 3 more.

More Pencil Drawings

I am really enjoying creating these pencil drawings. Still, my first love is pen and ink. I will post more later.

About New Pencil Drawings

This is the first in a series of small pencil drawings that I am doing for my gallery show in September. I wanted to offer something a little different without being completely different (I still prefer working in black and white). I want to have 8-12 of these pencil drawings for the show and will call them "Garden Delights." They are bits and pieces of garden statuary. Maybe do a couple that are a little bit larger.

I am having fun with these. It's nice to be able to complete a drawing in one sitting. Plus, it gives me a chance to be a little freer in my work. I will post more later.

About Art Talk

The Montgomery Art Guild and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts have partnered on a very worthwhile program for several years called Art Talk.

Art Talk is a regularly scheduled meeting to discuss artists' work with other artists. We meet every-other-month at the Musuem for 1 1/2 hours. There is a different moderator each time. Both having a set amount of time and the moderator helps keep things moving along. Individuals can bring work each time or not. The discussions are always constructive and beneficial to each artist who attends without being overly "positive."

Some work is brought "in progress" because the artist is not sure which way to go with it or they see a problem that they don't know how to resolve. Some work is brought because it is a new medium or style for the artist and he or she wants objective feedback. Some artists who are at the beginning of their careers want a critique so that they can learn, improve and grow.

It has been interesting that on some occassions we find that an unplanned theme surfaces when several artists bring work that has the same subject, medium or certain colors are used in each of the works.

I don't always take a drawing. You don't have to in order to get something out of the evening. I come away with new food for thought, ideas, and appreciation from hearing what is said about the other artists' work. I also come away with great enthusiasm for what I do, what I can do, and what I want to do as an artist.

If you don't have access to such a group, you might want to start one. It can be as simple as inviting artists to someone's home for the same types of discussions. You will be rewarded in many, many ways.

Cultural Summit

I attended the 2009 Cultural Leadership Summit at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University today. The focus was on the important role of the arts, history and culture in generating a desirable quality of life in Alabama. The goal was to explore how we can come together to support and showcase our crucial significance to economic development, improvement of human resources, and overall enrichment of the lives of the citizens of this state.

The opening address was presented by Charles McCrary, president and CEO of Alabama Power Company. He is a left brain person who has been taught to enjoy and appreciate the arts. (He has an engineering degree from Auburn.) Until that happened though he wasn't particularly interested in the arts. He said that we need to find a way to connect to left brain people. What is the definition of culture for the "left brain"? Mr. McCrary said that the arts and humanities are more important than ever with our current economy and war. Songs rally people (Tie a Yellow Ribbon to the Old Oak Tree) and movies and books offer escape. Movie attendance this year is up 16%.

Many people think the arts and humanities are a luxury, that math and science are more important. It can't be either math and science or the arts--we need both. Students involved in the arts do better in academic subjects.

We need to find a way to tell our story to convince the left brain group how important the arts are. We are a rich resource for economic development. We need to get left brain people involved and show them the opportunities that the arts offer. He called it cracking the code for left brain people. Find creative ways to tell them our story. Captivate them, it's contagious.

The importance of the arts is not readily evident. You can see a bridge. We artists are the bridge in art.

The panel discussion included six panelists: Gail Andrews, director, Birmingham Museum of Art; Ed Bridges, director, Alabama Department of Archives and History; T.C. Coley, director, Tuskeegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center; Al Head, director, Alabama State Council on the Arts; Bob Stewart, director, Alabama Humanities Foundation and Shirley Spears, director, B.B. Comer Memorial Library in Sylacauga. Marilyn Laufer, director, Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art was the moderator.

Some of the things that were said: Artists are ambidextrously-brained because we deal with both art and business. Left brain economic development is being driven by right brain artists. The local industry in the Black Belt Region is the culture. Our primary mission is education no matter what the subject. Each community and institution has a responsibility to tell our story. We have many ways to communicate including the internet and face-to-face. We need to build a broader more diverse audience. We are urged to be players which will require time, trouble and commitment. We need to develop longterm relationships with everyone, especially legislators. People respond to people. We have to be informed when we tell our story. Give people life changing experiences with the arts. The arts are fun and a lot more. The arts are a way to teach and a way to learn. In these hard times get more volunteers to help. We have a lot of older people now who are a valuable resource. Use surveys and listen to feedback to see what people want. Partner with companies and get sponsors for programs and events. There is a golf trail in Alabama why not have a museum trail or arts trail?

Artists are not afraid of hard work or solving problems and we are certainly committed. It is up to us to get the word out about how important the arts are to our economy and why the arts should be seen as necessary in the funding process. It seems that many people including legislators are left brain people who need to be shown that the arts and humanities are a necessity to our culture and our economy. Winston Churchill, when asked why he insisted that the theaters remain open in England during WWII said, "to remind us what we're fighting for." The arts are fighting for survival. We all need to go out and "tell our story."

Drawing from Nothing

Here is another drawing exercise from Art From Intuition: Overcoming Your Fears and Obstacles to Making Art, by Dean Nimmer, Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts College of Art Boston. He calls this "Drawing from Nothing."

"You look at and draw things that normally escape your notice." This is good for when you're feeling blocked. Draw objects that are boring and make them interesting by what you do with them. Mr. Nimmer suggests things like cracks in the wall or a pattern of stains on the floor.

You can use any technique and medium you choose, but simple is best. He says to tape off a rectangle around the subject to help you focus on what you want to draw. Try to forget what your subject is and draw what you see inside the rectangle, shapes, colors, patterns, textures.

"Make at least 5 to 10 sketches varying from very detailed to complete abstracts. Make each one somewhat different from the one before."

While doing research last year for a presentation on Leonardo da Vinci, I learned that he also urged his young apprentice painters to use this method: "to look at suggestive forms of stains and variegated patterns on stones to stir the creative juices and train the eye to a process of invention...a new device for the imagination, which, although it may seem rather trivial and almost ludicrous, is nevertheless extremely useful in arousing the mind to various inventions."

So, give it a try and see what you come up with. It may lead you to a whole new series of possible drawings.

Drawing by Hand

My last post was about the need for students to get a good basic foundation in drawing skills. Yesterday I read an article in the Spring 2009 issue of American Artist Drawing Magazine by Bob Bahr, managing editor, about the same issue.

The article, "A Return to Drawing by Hand at MICA" quotes Rex Stevens, chairman of Drawing and General Fine Arts departments, "Young people these days see so many more images per second than I did at their age. Between YouTube, video games, TV and animation, it's all quick clips. We spend a lot of time helping them learn to sustain their vision."

The article continues " Until recently, new students seemed intent on scanning rough drawings and altering them in image manipulation software such as Photoshop. Some students even worked from a photo of a still life on their laptop's screen--when the actual still-life setup was just a few feet away.....The new crop of kids want more. Everyone knows howto use Photoshop. Now they want to learn handskills, to have a tactile experience....They want to make it look accurate, they want to know how to capture light."

Get a copy of this issue of the magazine and read the entire article. If you know anyone looking for a good art school to attend, have them check out MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art).