Scrap Drawings

My oldest and I used to create complex scribbles using MS Paintbrush, and then hunt for animals in them, and gradually bring the images out. We have more of these - maybe I can find them and post some. This is a late one, called Scrap Dinos. It's been years since we did this. We used them for wallpaper on our Windows95 PC at home, and I took them to work for my PC there, as well.

Sketching Daughter and a Viaduct

On our camping trip a few weeks ago, our daughter and I elected to sketch while the boys and my wife hiked up to the boardwalk at Rough Ridge (Blue Ridge Parkway, near the Lynn Cove Viaduct). We carried bag chairs and our sketching supplies to the next viaduct north, about a tenth of a mile, sat down and began to draw. I positioned myself so she would be in my sketch.

After what seemed 15 minutes my oldest was there to let us know they were done with the hike. One of the fastest hours I've ever spent. I finished the sketch (which is in my moleskine) over the next few days from memory. My daugher and I commented later, while driving over another bridge, that we would never feel the same way about them, now that we had carefully observed their parts in such detail. Drawing is a deep form of seeing and remembering.

Storm

This was the third or fourth watercolor I did when I started painting again. I was letting places emerge from scribbles on the paper, something I still love to do. It's like a child's drawing in some ways. I want to do more like this. The clouds were great fun; I had no idea what I was doing. Now I would have some idea how to paint storm clouds and I'd have to deliberately forget so I could play like this again.

I think that's what it's about sometimes. When you're a kid you try so hard to grow up and be like an adult. Then you get there and find out you still don't have real control or real answers to most things, and you might have been better off if you hadn't grown up so thoroughly. Can't be helped - gotta backtrack some. Maybe I should try painting with my left hand, or with my eyes closed.

House of Frames - 12/05/06

From older blog - 12/5/06

I stopped by House of Frames in Durham, today. I like being there. It's like the best of hanging around with art students, talking shop, looking at work on their walls, seeing the word "Rosehips" written fairly large on a piece of matboard and recognizing it as Ippy Patterson's hand and asking and having that confirmed. That last item made me feel like I'd blind tasted a wine and gotten the grape, region and vintage correct. But Ippy's hand writing fascinates me, so it's easy for me to spot.

John was there and had actually dropped into our gallery, recognized me as someone who showed there, asked my name and what work was mine, and when I mentioned the graphite "Central Florida" that I have down there now did my ego a lot of good by recalling it immediately and having nice things to say about it. I wonder if I wanted to have a few drawings to hang at "House of Frames" if they would consider me?


Anyway, Jim met me there, we settled the question of glass, I decided to do the UV glass to give the best protection to the colors on "Hounds," and it was all worth it for the feedback on my art and the opportunity to talk to Jim while driving him home. Having him along even made the Costco stop an occasion (he even pushed the cart while I tossed large items into it). Traffic was bad getting onto Greensboro Rd and we still got to his house way too soon.