My Objective in Object Drawing

Scampering Lantern sketch, drawn from my great grandfather's lantern.

Drawing from life--objects, figures, etc.--never thrilled me as a young student; most likely because I struggled with it. It did not come naturally, and teacher's instructions to "just draw what you see" helped not at all. Bored by replicating something in front of me, no one ever explained to my young-self why it was useful. 

While I figured out its value (as a means to a creative end) in art school, copying objects remains difficult for my short attention span. I sometimes admire the technical ability of photo-realism, but I'll never understand the point of spending that much time with being a human camera as an objective.

 So, figuring out how to tweak an object to suit me helps, as does messing about trying to add a bit of personality. It's a great way to build a mental image library, hone skills, and have some fun.

This clock was drawn from the one that hangs in the living room. If the real clock was this goofy looking, it would please me immensely, but then I wouldn't draw it :)

Being a fan of the anthropomorphic tradition helps too--the illustrations of Sir John Tenniel and many other artists continue to inspire.

This lantern sketch was gestured out pretty quickly using a crimson Colerase pencil on toned gray sketchbook paper, and outlined with a brushpen. Crosshatching was added with Micron pens. A bit of blue Prismacolor and white highlighting--using a Uniball Signo pen--finished the sketch. Hope you like it, and

thanks for reading!

 

 

New Mornings

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Detail of crow skull study

I'm an early-riser; that's just a fact, not some badge of honor. But it does let me get a lot done, especially if I have a plan in place.

My old mornings:

1. Grab coffee

2. Grab laptop and do social media

3. Grab an art book and look through it

4. Start painting in the studio

My new mornings:

1. Grab coffee

2. Grab still life object(s) and paint a one-hour study

3. Start painting in the studio

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Some of the studies so far

They are small--the largest is 4" x 5.25"--so I can pretty much finish them (or not) in an hour.
Will this became a habit? Gonna try to make it so. I'm not much of a rule-bound or goal-oriented person, but if I find something that fits, I'll wear it out. So far this seems to fit.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Set-up I used for the first crow skull study

 I'm using a darkened basement room instead of my studio for this:

 A. Because I can leave all the materials there without them being in the way in the studio, and 

B. Because it's always dark down there.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Details of two studies

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Set-up I used for the bottle study

 I read about using a box like this on an internet site for still lifes. Not sure I see the point--but I will keep trying it out. The slot in the top is for controlled lighting--I can cover it partially or all the way with cardboard. If anyone reading this knows what the advantage of this kind of set-up is, please let me know, as it's escaping me.

http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Detail of lantern study

I'm drawing them first--so far at least. For this study I used a black watercolor pencil for the initial drawing; for the crow skull and bottle I used a red Colerase pencil. No real reason for either--just trying things out. I used a 1/4" flat for most of the paint, changing to a round if necessary for tiny details. I'm keeping the sessions to an hour, even if I don't quite finish them. And when the weather warms, my plan is to do same but with one-hour landscape studies as well.

Also, so far, I've only used Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, and white to mix up neutrals. I def want to eventually go with color, but I'm in no rush.

I do miss my art books, but not the social media.

Thanks for reading!

Lantern Fascination

Lantern sketch via http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Lantern sketch. Brush and ink, watercolor.

I notice recurring motifs in artist's works--Heath Robinson drew lots of patches and pitchers; Rackham had his pollard oaks.

Not putting myself on their level, but I noticed lanterns show up frequently--not really consciously--in my pictures.

So I dragged all my sketchbooks to the couch--even ones from my youth--and proved that beyond a doubt. There are a lot of them.

 Maybe the fascination comes from this one:

Great Grandpa's signal lantern from when he worked on the railroad. He gave it to me before he died--I loved him and treasure it. Not sure that's enough of a reason to include them so often though.

At any rate, I've posted some lantern sketches before, as prelims for a project,   http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/2013/06/illustration-construction-part-one.html but here are a few more, past and present:

 One from art school years.

One from my younger days.

In thinking about the symbolism of lanterns in literature and art, I figure they most likely represent truth, or the light of God, or wisdom. But I'm guessing. Most of mine were drawn without really thinking, and without resource.

From a older watercolor illustration (unpublished).

From a random sketchbook page.

Gave in and googled "Tarot symbology of lanterns". This from the Tarot Reading Psychic: http://tarotreadingpsychic.com/tarot-symbolism-the-lantern/

"Power of intuition, truth and courage; hope, healing and the quest for new found enlightenment through spiritual wisdom; new found awareness; a reminder that every dark path has a light" (Really?)

  

via http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Another simple oldie

via http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

Can't remember the title of this one. From the 90's--this pic came from the 

catalog I think. I remember working hard to come up with the face on the lamp.

via http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

 Always liked this pen and ink sketch.

Detail from a watercolor done about three years ago.

A sketch fragment

Detail from One-Eyed Wizard via http://tomsarmo.blogspot.com/

From a sketch done this week. Lanterns lend themselves to the anthropomorphic pretty well--this one's from a Welsh miner's lamp in my collection.

I've never been much for analyzing my works and the motifs that recur, but I think it's a pretty safe bet that the lantern fascination goes hand in hand with my admiration of the past, and the feeling of being born into the wrong century (or nostalgia for a past life?).

Leaving you with a quote by W.B Yeats:

 “People think  I am merely trying to bring back a little of the old dead beautiful world of romance into this century of great engines and spinning Jinnies. Surely the hum of wheels and clatter of presses, let alone the lecturers with their black coats and tumblers of water, have driven away the goblin kingdom and made silent the feet of the little dancers.”

I can relate. Nothing wrong with shutting off the glare of a computer screen and letting a bit of soft lantern light and a couple of goblins into the room, is there?

As always, thanks for the visit.