I guess you could say I’ve been teaching myself art backwards.
According to my friends who are teachers or who have been students in ateliers and expensive art-colleges, I’m supposed to be an expert at drawing before I even pick up a paintbrush.
Also, I’m supposed to work in limited palettes before I go all crazy with the colors.
There are very good reasons for doing it their way. And a part of me wishes I knew that that was how I was supposed to be doing things before I spazzed out and started slinging paint.
Another part of me knows that a slower, methodical pace would have bored me. And made me give up before I had a chance to appreciate what I was learning.
Either way, it doesn’t matter. I’m self-taught, and the way I’ve learned is the way I’ve learned. And also the way I’ll continue learning. Nothing to be done about it now except move forward.
SO! That said, lately I’ve been studying figures, portraits, still lifes and all that jazz. I’ve been copying other artists (in my sketchbooks, of course, and with notations. Don’t get all crazy on me.) and I’ve been filling my books with figure drawings.
And that’s why I haven’t been posting too much finished work these past couple of months. (though that’s soon to change…)
I’ve had something of a “secret” project going on for a while now. It’s not really a secret as I’ve been asking all of my family members to send me their favorite photos of each other, would they be willing to pose for me, etc. Not exactly subtle stuff. I’m sure they’ve all figured out what I’m up to.
I’ve been drawing and/ or painting everyone I know. It’s been a fun, hard, enlightening, frustrating and a fattening experience. I really need to get out of this chair.
One of my favorite portrait artists is Jeremy Lipking. I first discovered him when I was pouring over Juliette Aristides’ fantastic book, “Classical Painting Atelier” where his Reclining Woman (2004) was featured. I ended up looking him up online.
I think he might have been one of the artists to pass through her Atelier? Yes?
Anyway. That is how I found this little video demonstration. Turns out he also has a store with the full 2 1/2 hour long painting demonstration DVD available. (as well as a nifty book) It’s a bit steeply priced for my pocketbook, but that doesn’t mean I won’t share the linkage with you so that you can buy them.
Last night I dreamt that a deep voice was narrating all of my dreams. Now I can’t stop narrating everything I do.
“Julie looked at her coffee suspiciously. Was the smell coming from there? Just then her dog grunted. Brandy was perched, sphynx like on the floor, making nervous glances at her tail. Then the dog got up and wandered into the other room. Julie regretted feeding her that egg for breakfast. Ew.”
” where his 
