Thursday

Jane Addams - Portrait Pen Drawing and Sketch series continued






Jane Addams -1860 - 1935 was a philosopher, sociologist, author, and woman suffrage leader.


 She was a prominent reformer of what was called the Progressive Era and brought national attention to issues of concern to mothers, such as the needs of children, and public health.


 She believed women could aid in making their communities better places to live, but they would need the vote to be effective.


Addams became a role model for middle-class women who volunteered to uplift their communities. She also believed world peace could eventually be achieved.




In 1931 Jane Addams received the Nobel Peace Prize for her works.






14" x 11" Indelible ink on acid free paper


I chose to draw Jane Addams because she reminds me of my grandmother on my father's side.

Jane Addams would fall under anyone's definition  of what a 'hero', or 'heroine' is. What would she think about where we are today? Any thoughts?

Monday

"After A Hard Day's Night" - Portrait Pen Drawing and Sketch series continued


I have to admit this dude was fun to draw. So much hair.


He went a bit too far last night...as usual.


He rocked a poetry slam taking extreme literary license. He mixed politics into his art, and had the people on their feet ready to take to the streets in revolt.


...what you gotta' do for your art...



14" x 11" Indelible ink on acid free paper

Saturday

Portrait Pen Drawing and Sketch series continued


I'm working on a new series of  portraits simply done with pen on paper.   Here's one of the sketchbooks I'm using. It's a Robert Bateman. - acid-free  - 11" x 14". The pen has indelible ink.

As a visual person,  I find I'm constantly noticing how faces are 'assembled'. There's a myriad variety of contours, intersecting planes, and surface textures, They range  from the shallow depth of skin stretched over a forehead and skull, to the softer, pliable surface of nostrils, eyelids and jowls.

This particular aging, but still hairy fella was not taken from any existing art, but inspired from contemporary life.

Indelible ink on acid free paper  11" x 14"

Saturday

Minimalism Study


How much information is needed to express a portrait? In this sketch, I've built up the complexity on one side of the face while leaving the other side fairly minimal.

Monday

'Moonlight'

Another pen on paper sketch...this time of a soldier lying on the ground at night...perhaps he should move to find a less visible location...the moonlight here is bathing him in light...perhaps he's too tired to move...

Saturday

From the sketchbook; 'A Warning'

Here's an interesting question...if you were to begin with this image as a starting point in telling a story...you can probably imagine all sorts of intriguing possibilities...how far along in the story is this...what came before it... what happens next? The face is of a cartoonish variety as I am entertaining the possibility of a graphic novel enterprise...




Tuesday

Two figures

Another of the many sketches I've been doodling away on...Been listening to the audio-book version of the 'The Road' by Cormac McCarthy while staying busy in the studio...saw the film last year...yikes!... what a post-apocalyptic vision!...enjoyed the narration in the audiobook...the character of Tom Stechschulte's voice provides the right kind of atmospheric balance...guess it got me thinking...


Saturday

'Dark Surf'

 Oil on panel

I haven't painted anything for a while as I've been readying the house & property for sale, among other necessary tasks. I painted this in late winter.

See the new link on the right for photos of the house.

Available




Friday

'After Suzor Coté '







 

11" x 14" oil on panel

Available

 

I was inspired to paint this scene upon discovering a few small-scale paintings done by a former Quebec based artist (Marc-Aurèle Suzor Coté ,  1869-1937)  

...who had  a genius for combining  a roughness of technique with an immediacy, spontaneity, and even an elegance. (I'm not saying I achieved the same results as well as he did, but I appreciate his aesthetic, and his inspiration...) -  

 

Wednesday

Main Street, Saint John, New Brunswick- circa 1900





Oil on gallery Canvas
30" x42"  - Sold
 
This is looking up towards Douglas Avenue in the North End.  Most of the buildings have now been replaced,  and the steeple on the church is no longer either. I'm not sure how many residents of Saint John would know we had street cars here. Never been on one myself. Wonder what its like?



Crossing Union Street


Oil on canvas
11" x 14"