Sketching Ideas and a Blob Painting

It's been snowing nearly every day here in Colorado. Some days don't feel like dealing with traffic to the studio, so I've been sketching a lot. The collage above shows some sketches and a few details of a finished painting (seen at the end of this post).

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

This fellow was a quick one--sort of an unconscious bit of drawing. Since all my gouache is at the studio, I used a Pentel Brushpen for the outline, a pilot Hi-Tec-C pen for the crosshatching, and a few Prismacolor pencils for the color.

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

Same with this fellow. The visible red lines are my initial drawing; I use a red Verithin pencil for that, on either Kona brand paper, a brown paper bag, or wrapping paper.

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

Then I finally plowed through the snow to the studio and painted this Squashed Pea Fellow with Acryla Gouache. 

Yeah he's weird--I make no excuses--I draw and paint what comes to me, not what I think will please others. To me, that's the philosophy that has added richness and progress to all the arts.

If you share that ideal (and like eclectic art-weirdness) follow me on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/tomsarmo_art/

Scribbling in a Scribble-Book

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

The word "scribble" has always killed me--it just sounds funny. When I was a kid and only wanted to unthinkingly make marks on a page, the adult comments ranged from the condemnatory "You're just scribbling" to "Quit wasting paper with your scribbling." 

But I didn't quit; remember how amazing it felt to zone out while the pencil or pen or crayon glided across the page and left multi-circles or wads of illegible marks?

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

I'm still a fan. And even though I seldom make illegible marks--on purpose at least--I love the sensation of scribbling out sketches without really thinking.

 

I'd realized that I'm not always in the mood to think while sketching, but I'm too antsy to sit around with my family--just talking or watching TV--without drawing. So I grabbed this little, lined notebook and a pen, just for the purpose of mindlessly scribble-drawing. 

The only rule for myself: Use ballpoint pen only. 

It's been an interesting experiment. Here's what I've discovered:

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

 1. My scribbles got better (well, at least more like my other sketchbook drawings) even without trying. Here's the first page, looking suspiciously similar to the drawings I did way back in middle school.

 

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

2. As I messed with it more, my scribbles looked a bit less mindless, but they still were.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

3. I started reaching for the scribble-book more often than the sketchbook. Probably because I was enjoying the lack of pressure to make "good" sketches.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

That's really the point of any sketchbook, but somehow limiting myself to un-erasable pen on lined paper just added more freedom.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

4. I found myself developing ideas for finished works without having that goal in mind.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

 

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

 And, just like the "thinking" sketchbooks, the images that developed are sometimes getting used for finished artworks...

 

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

 ...like this detail of a work-in-progress.

 

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

So stop thinking a bit and scribble--it's been a great and fun thing for me, and I highly recommend it.

Thanks for the visit!

 

 

 

Which Art-Path to take?

The age-old question:

Should artists stick to one, recognizable style/subject, or should artists do what they want and let their muse lead them?

Depends on what the artist wants and/or needs as an end result I suppose. But since a life in art isn't easy, I believe that knowing oneself--what is a fit for one's personality and disposition--is crucial if any contentment is to be had.

If an artist enjoys limits, or wants/needs recognition and financial reward, it may be that sticking to one recognizable style/subject/medium is the right answer. Certain personality-types thrive and create best under these circumstances, and it's a faster way to a brand and quick recognition.

If an artist wants/needs freedom to create, it may be that listening to the muse and exploring the possibilities is the answer to creating a body of work (and a life-in-art) that is rewarding.

I've worked as an artist, illustrator, and teacher for my whole career. All three are exciting, and together they pay the bills. Because of that combination, I've mostly been able to follow my muse wherever she's led. 

I want to feel the art surge in me whenever and however it chooses, at any given time--be it drawing from imagination, from life, painting in watercolor, or acrylic; working indoors or outdoors, at the museum or in my studio. If a character is prying apart the folds of my brain in its attempt to get onto the paper, I need to help it then and there.

I'm positive that my chosen path has somewhat limited my income and my notoriety, but the big pay-off has been in my ability to answer my muse's call; my contentment is dependent upon my ability to experiment, explore, and change things up as often as she demands.

As a result, different people have different ideas of my work, depending on what they've seen most, or to which subject or style they are personally drawn.

My first love is that of drawing characters like those above, and I'm fortunate that they resonate with many people. Sketching goofy creatures gives me great joy, and provides the main vault of ideas for finished gallery works and illustrations.

Some of my most loyal patrons have responded to my landscapes, and lately, plein air work has lead me outdoors again--and in new directions. Being reluctant to cage myself into a single landscape medium has probably slowed my growth, but I've never been in much of a hurry. 

The good thing--trying different media has given me the opportunity to explore. Feeling the variety of brush-drag on paper or canvas is only part of the fascination. Watching how watercolors bloom or the way oil paint lifts into peaks is akin to studying the different water patterns in a river while fishing. It's mesmerizing, relaxing, and gratifying.

I've done my share of spiritual art as well, but have managed to avoid the temptation to paint one of these pieces only for the monetary reward. If I love the saint or concept however, I'm all over it. Above are some preliminary sketches for a commissioned work that's coming together in the studio right now.

And I just finished a new piece for an upcoming invitational called  

Monkey Business at Valkarie Gallery .

It features a whole crop of amazing interpretations on the Year of the Monkey! I'll post more about the show (and my piece) next time.

The eclectic path I've followed is not for every artist; I love many who have dedicated themselves to a single style or medium, and I admire and learn from their works. I'm pretty sure there are more than two road-options, too.

Am I always contented--with my life or the art-road I'm on? Not always. But I'm pretty sure I took the best fork in the road--for me.

Thanks for stopping by!

How to be an Expert?

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Numbers.

I read somewhere that one has to put 100,000 hours practicing a skill in order to become an "expert" at that skill. First, that seems sort of a random number. Second, I'm not certain if that means in general--for example, one would be an "expert artist" if one completed 100,000 hours drawing, painting, and sculpting; or if it means in specifics--100,000 hours painting from the model, 100,000 hours painting still lifes, 100,000 hours drawing goofy characters, etc.

I don't know what the author meant, and it seriously is kind of a dumb thing to try to quantify.

Most of the illustrators/artists I know are many years my junior, and they are more skilled than I.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

I've put years worth of hours into practicing art, in many different forms. Even conservatively, my figures still get me to 160,000. I'm not sure what that author's definition of expert might be, but I'd be hard pressed to label myself as one.

Don't get me wrong; I know a lot about art--both art history and art techniques, and am confident in many of my abilities. But I'm maybe most confident in my ability to learn. By practicing. And that's all I really care about.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

So I continue to hit the Life Painting sessions at Helikon Gallery (where I mostly life draw), and get outside to paint, and draw and paint in my studio--and anywhere else it's appropriate. My aim's not to become someone's definition of an expert, but to keep getting better at it all; including the ability to share what I've learned--of the abilities I have at any given time--with others.

If I'd have liked numbers, I wouldn't have become an artist in the first place.

Thanks for reading.

Unattainable

Egon Schiele, Decaying Mill

 There's a thing that bugs me. 

 

Not that that this thing makes me angry; I mean it's a thing that I can't resolve in my life or in my head or in my gut. That bugs me. And this is it:

Music and literature move me in hugely emotional ways. Body engulfing ways; heart exploding ways. All the time.  And artworks don't do that very often. Actually, I can't recall being moved by an artwork in that extreme reactive way ever.

 

I'm not much of a writer, and I'm definitely not a musician, but I am an artist. So what the heck is up with me?

Don't get me wrong--I love art, and I love looking at artwork. But what artworks do is seep into me over a long period of time, following the viewing. And I often can't let go of the need to see them again, or own them. I think about them, and feel a longing, but it is a much milder, and maybe more intellectual reaction than the emotional engulfment engendered by a piece of music I'm hearing, or a book passage I am reading. The search for an artwork experience that matches the intensity of a music or literature experience dogs me.

I'm curious--bugged is more accurate--if this is even a possibility. Am I searching for that which cannot be? Probably need to somehow quit thinking about it, but I can't.

Separate Ways

Thanks for checking out this post--Your thoughts and ideas on this will be welcome.

I can change my mind, not my blood

                                                     --Teddy Thompson

The Chase

http://tomsarmo.com/

After a packed couple of months, my m.o. has always been to go fallow. Not on purpose; it just happens. I shut down creatively and productively for awhile. That time period varies, but it drives me crazy. Because of that, I'm always looking for quick ways to re-ignite the art-fire and get back to The Chase.

One time it didn't come back for a few years, and I'm not gonna lie--that scared me. It happened after a large show for which I had to create many works in a few short months. After way too much fallow time went by, I took a student's advice and changed media--I started working with clay, engaging in a different sort of chase. Eventually (nearly 5 long years later) I began to produce illustrations again. In the meantime, I learned a lot about ceramic clay, and I made some cool stuff.

http://tomsarmo.com/

This year it's happened again, and I decided to not only change media, but to suspend my inner-critic and experiment with media. Thanks to a bunch of un-critical fellow illustrators, I'm able to do it and also have a good time. The painting above is one recent experiment with life painting using acrylic. The life painting sessions at Helikon Gallery are a blast--mostly because the gallery director and fellow participants are chill and unpretentious. Some artists might need a competitive atmosphere, but not me--I want to enjoy camaraderie and the freedom to do the art I need without feeling like anyone's sneering at my efforts.

http://tomsarmo.com/

Above are some recent experiments with water-soluble oils at relaxing plein-air excursions--again, with friends who are lots of fun to be with...

http://tomsarmo.com/

...one of whom had an interesting encounter with an avian critic as we were leaving the field.

 (And yes, that experience seemed to get a bit of creativity going again.) 

http://tomsarmo.com/

Being able to hang out at weekly drink and draw sessions with a great bunch of artists also helps. Again, these sketches don't feel like my best, but they were experiments with unfamiliar media in an informal setting.

http://tomsarmo.com/

Just the kind of thing I need right now--the chance to explore, experiment, talk art--and get the field planted and producing again.

http://tomsarmo.com/

And because of all this, it's not taking me 5 years to re-plant the field. And I have to keep reminding myself that it's not about chasing success or contentment, it's about feeling success and contentment within the chase.

Thanks for reading!

 

The terrible Itch

http://tomsarmo.com/

Landscape thumbnail one

The two greatest things about my job (or maybe they're the worst?) are that the quest for ideas and images, and the prospects for improvement, are endless. So I keep searching for new approaches to art, and continuing my efforts to improve.

A commission has gotten me back on the landscape track. I love painting landscapes, but also enjoy drawing goofy illustrations. And I'm always fishing for a way to combine them. In fact, I want it so bad it kind of hurts.

http://tomsarmo.com/

Landscape thumbnail two
 

http://tomsarmo.com/

 Landscape thumbnail three

I like doing works like the two above, and am most often happy with the resulting paintings, but they are not what I need, deep down inside.

While the majority of the art-buying public seems drawn to realism and/or impressionism, I'm not there, either in my buying or my creating taste. Yes the verisimilitudinous (?) aspects of light are fascinating and wonderful, but I'm getting a bit weary of it in art. Something different is needed to scratch my Terrible Itch.

http://tomsarmo.com/

Thought I was almost there with this one, done a few years ago, then other ventures called and side-tracked the landscape efforts. It's okay--looking back, I was nowhere near the mark.

http://tomsarmo.com/

 Landscape thumbnail four

Am after it again, and I am excited.

http://tomsarmo.com/

Here's a whole sheet of the thumbnails. Lots of media combinations here, from graphite and prismacolor to mixtures of graphite, brushpen, pen and ink, and white ink.

Not even close to what I want/feel/need out of this, but

the quest endures, and I'm scratching. Wish me luck.

And thanks for the visit!

The Old Witch, Part One

http://tomsarmo.com/

The Old Witch (detail).

This is the second image for a recent project. I'm in the middle of the third, and The Creature http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/2014/08/httptomsarmo.html  was the first. I love drawing Frankenstein--same with witches--so heading to the studio has been a true pleasure lately.

Witches and apples in fairy and folk tales seem inextricably paired. And what's a magical person without a familiar? In this lady's case, it's a slightly tilting, crabby owl!

http://tomsarmo.com/

Disorganized (I am getting better), my prelims usually end up scattered in random sketchbooks and drawers. I know there were more, but these are some preliminary witch-head studies. The thumbnails for the composition elude me at the moment. 

The idea of The Old Witch has been with me for years, probably beginning with an old Aurora model I built as a kid, and...  

http://www.lambiek.net/artists/i/ingles.htm

...the amazing Graham Ingels' Old Witch! 

Growing up, a tremendous amount of images got seared into my brain thanks to the barber shop's comic book collection. This is only one of those pictures that scared the pants off me, thus never forgotten.

http://tomsarmo.com/ 

Dug up some more prelims--early versions of the venerable sorceress, and an idea for the text banner.

Once the witch's pose was settled on, a hand-selfie with apple was necessary.

http://tomsarmo.com/

But I'm getting ahead of the post.

http://tomsarmo.com/

I also worked on the border. Here it took on a Celtic spin...

http://tomsarmo.com/

...but changed my mind in favor of a cauldron. That doesn't last either. The bird skull finally takes shape here though.

Well that's it for Part One--more next post--and

Thanks, as always, for checking out my blog!