You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy
Last night I stayed in the studio until after midnight when I realized I was parked in a streetcleaning zone and was risking a $35 ticket.
I worked on a few drafts of the background of this Rotring ArtPen and Visconti ink bottle and didn't come upon a solution, so I went in to the bottle to do the first layer of hatching. That's as far as I got before remembering I was parked on the Monday side of the street. I decided to do the horizontal hatching since it's easiest to do tight hatching on the first layer—afterwards the previous layers get in the way both visually and in the texture of the paper. The first layer is the darkest area, so the lines won't be as visible as the lines that will go into the areas that are now unfilled.
The Landscape Expands
I wasn't able to spend much time in the studio today, but I'm forcing myself to keep adding to this, even if it's a small portion at a time and the drawing really isn't yet taking shape in my head. I can't afford to sit around waiting for the muse to throw a brick at my head; the name of this game is just to keep moving forward.
I have a lot to do over the next few months, so failing to make progress is just not an option. No matter how small or unsatisfactory it may seem right now, it will add up to something. I actually do have a number of new ideas for projects coming to me now, so that's where I have to keep jotting notes in my notebook so that when the time comes I'll have solid steps to take.
More Ink on Paper
I don't know where this is heading. I'm running right up against the limits of my rendering vocabulary here and I feel like I'm fumbling around in the dark. I'm finding myself wishing I was working larger so that I'd have more room. At this scale I don't have much room to use texture without muddying it up and making it too dark. That leads me to rely on outline, and that way there be monsters.
Progress in the Studio
Looking at this scan I'm having a lot of trouble seeing the good in here, so I offer this in my defense: the image to the right is a section of the drawing in progress about two inches wide. So all the sloppiness is exaggerated by the amount larger the image is shown on screen than on the drawing table.
Buy Some Art From Me
In the long-standing tradition of launching ecommerce websites with incomplete features, minimal consideration to user experience and inadequate testing, I bring you the new incarnation of the old Paroxysm.com.
Is Copyright In Danger?
A recent debate/poll in The Economist ended with a tally of 71% to 29% declaring that copyright laws do more harm than good. While I'm the first to admit that there are serious problems with the existing handling of intellectual property, I'm appalled at the seemingly widespread notion that creativity should not be legally protected and encouraged.
A Minor Color-Theory Epiphany
I've spent the better part of the afternoon in the studio working on the second in my series of drawings of San Francisco landmarks (if I've started the second it's officially a series, right?) I'm in the early pencil phase, doing a lot of study of reference photos and creating a lot of outlines, not attending to questions about texture.
2009 Spring Open Studios
Thursday night at Art Explosion on Seventeenth Street in San Francisco Spring Open Studios 2009 kicked off with an «after-work preview» show to provide a peek at the new work that was on display all weekend, beginning with Friday night's opening at 7pm. I haven't the time or inclination to provide a complete survey of the variety of the work at Open Studios this year, but I took some snapshots of a small sample of this year's notable work.
Spring Open Studios Is Upon Us
Mark your calendars and get ready to come on down to Open Studios at the Art Explosion. The essential details follow:
Preview Thursday April 23rd 5pm–8pm
Opening Reception Friday April 24th 7–11pm
Open Studios Sat & Sun April 25th & 26th 12–5pm
If I Don't Stop I'll Go Blind
In a previous post I explained the basics of Luxography, my digital printmaking process.