Another Thursday at the Y

Clarksville Y, black/white conte on Strathmore, 12x9

Thursdays are for Art at the Y.  I showed up with black and white conte, gray paper, and had no idea what I might draw.  I looked out the side door of the Y and loved the clouds (yes, they actually looked like animals heading south).  The road leads to the soccer field.  I took a photo on my iPad, sat at the card table, and drew.  Later I added the soccer boy sculpture with vine charcoal--hope he doesn't mind being moved about 30' north.  In real life, he's closer to the front of the building.

 

Creating on the iPad is fun but nothing's better than getting dirty with conte or charcoal while drawing.  I was limited in my choice of supplies; sometimes, that's a good thing. 

Awards and a Visit with Rembrandt

I received a comment from SamArtDog.  She said "Your blog is a treasure so I am passing along an award to you, The Liebster Blog Award."  Your words, Sam, are all the award I need.    I am honored, especially since your blog is one that I treasure. Sam has a mix of wonderful pastels, acrylics, the first iPhone paintings I ever saw, and photographs of a part of America I've never visited.  I suspect that Sam has picked up a bit of "Southern" along the way--I think she likes my stories.  Thank you, Sam.

Earlier, in November, Donna Iona Drozda named me as one of her 7 links.  That was an honor, too--Donna's blog has wonderful paintings of women and beautiful wildlife; she encourages honoring the earth and following the cycles of the moon.  I am usually slightly out of step but Donna and I read some of the same books back in the 70s so I feel part of the group.  I failed to follow through on that award, too. Thank you, Donna.

And there were some earlier awards I didn't pick up.  

Maybe I am just too content arting around here in southern Virginia and blogging about it.  The best part of blogging is what I've learned from other bloggers.   I considered adding a "No awards please" to the sidebar but it seemed a bit pretentious, especially since I hadn't received any at that time. 

Yesterday, I arted around by visiting the Rembrandt exhibit in Raleigh.  I think he may be a relative.

Rembrandt's self-portrait at age 65



My self-portrait at around 65 (white conte on black paper)

Notice the resemblence?  His portrait of his red-haired sister reminded me of myself as a child, too. 

Tonight, I've spent several hours sitting in front of the webcam, wearing a black fur hat (with the name James Hunter sewn inside), shining a flashlight on my face, trying to look like Rembrandt.  I thought it would work but the flashlight washes out my wrinkles!  Maybe I need a mustache.

I'm keeping the hat on for taking the trash to the curb.  I haven't received my down coat yet--I guess the Eddie Bauer people are hung over from the holidays.  AND I paid for shipping--should have waited; they were offering free shipping today.

Not Quite a Series

A, conte on dictionary page, 9x14

Many artists work in series--a good thing. I attempted it once in 2006. I bought an old dictionary from the thrift shop. With conte pencils, I drew a woman on one of the pages--then I noticed the stitches and painstakingly dissembled the book. That's when the arm was added, then the crow. The hand is small (in palm reading, small hands mean big ideas). I sprayed the drawing with fixative; then attached it to a backing, had it matted and framed--and I bought additional mats for future drawings in the series.

In a box, there are ironed dictionary pages, waiting for four years now, to become "B."

I like the randomness of the illustrations on the page, and it's fun to read the meanings of the words and try to match them to my drawing. My neighbors and I actually noticed a resemblance to someone we know--scary.