{Moose hasn’t been feeling well. The vet thinks he’s probably lonely, so he’s been getting extra out-of-the-cage time lately.}
Moose haiku
Moose the mouse likes feet
they’re good for hiding from dogs
like Wiggle-butt over there.
Drat, too many syllables.
Ok, let’s try this again:
A Moose by my toe
is ticklier than a dog
licking my face. Yuck.
There. Now that’s art.
Then again, I could be pronouncing it incorrectly. I recently learned that Van Gogh isn’t pronounced “Van-Go”, it’s pronounced “Vun-Hucgh”… emphasis on the phlegmy bits.
Anyway. Dürer was still a mighty fine artist. One of my favorites, actually. And sometimes I like to make a copy of my favorites so that I can get an idea of what it’s like to draw like them.
[note: the meaning of the word "copy" is pretty loose here. It's more like "inspired by" or "attempt to resemble" or "sorta looks like it if you squint and turn your head a little"]
Another advantage of copying a favorite is that you now have your own duplicate of [or in this case, something somewhat similar to] your favorite drawing.
Note: Dürer’s fine and fiddly strokes. They’re exactly perpendicular to each other, evenly spaced and perfectly balanced.
Note: My impatient scribbling. It kinda has the same effect. If I pretend.
I like to pretend.
Here they are full size.
As you can see, I became restless after seven strokes of the white charcoal on his beard and went on to play with something shiny. Yay! It’s done!
So what did I learn? I learned that to make something good into something outstanding, you have to be patient. You have to be willing to do the fiddly work. And also, Dürer must have had incredible fine motor skills, his lines are perfect.
I also had a lightbulb moment in regards to cross hatching and texture, particularly in the skin of his hand, the wrinkles on his forehead, and the threads of his cap. Had I not sat down and forced myself to look at each of his strokes, I would not have noticed these things.
So, despite what that paranoid little voice in your head tells you, you should definitely be copying the masters. That doesn’t mean you’re forging their images and trying to pass them off as your own. That’s just silly. What it does mean is that you are learning from people who have gone before you and perfected their craft. There is so much to gain from that.
UPDATE: I just watched this video and found out that Dürer’s name is pronounced Doo-Rur… which doesn’t sound much like what I say to my dog. My apologies to Albrecht.
Well, he’s more of a documentary star. Not that being a documentary star isn’t equally fabulous. I mean, those penguins that Morgan Freeman befriended were technically in a documentary, and they were stars. They even won an Academy Award. And! One of Lipking’s paintings did go on to feature prominently in a movie with Christopher Walken, who I’m pretty sure knows Morgan Freeman, which definitely makes Jeremy Lipking a star.
But seriously, Lipking rocks. And not just because he resembles Morgan Freeman’s penguins. (figuratively speaking, of course) The man is incredibly talented and could finger paint with pond scum and make it look like a beautiful woman.
NOTE: I'm pretty sure this is NOT finger painted pond scum. But it *could* be, if he was so inclined.
Lipking is also fantastic because he understands the value of sharing his work with the rest of the planet. These days, lots of artists tread the internets too timidly. Many amazing painters don’t have websites, or if they do, the images are small and squinty to look at. You want to dig in and check out those juicy brush strokes, but you can’t. Whether they fear someone copying their work or don’t understand the benefits of being seen, the result is the same. Only those who have the chance to view their work in person know how talented they are.
Not so with Lipking. Not only does he have a site and a blog and he’s on the Twitters, but his images are large and detailed and striking to look at.
See? Close up:
Lipking has taken this a step further. Together with his jauntily bearded friend and fellow art-genius Tony Pro, he’s filmed himself creating a portrait of his lovely wife Danielle.
Guess who got her hands on a copy of said DVD?
Oh yes. Yes I did.
Guess who is watching it for the third time while she types this post?
Not me. It’s too distracting. I keep pausing to make note of his palette colors and the way he blends his shapes.
I feel vaguely like I did watching Bob Ross back in the 80′s. Only without the afro. And Danielle is way prettier than a tree. And Lipking is not holding a baby squirrel in his pocket. As far as I know, anyway.
Actually, come to think of it, watching Jeremy Lipking paint is nothing like watching Bob Ross paint. For one thing, the commentary between him and Tony Pro is much more interesting… and informative. They talk about things like choosing galleries and inspirational artists and the importance of warm and cool color schemes. If, like me, you live in an atelier free zone and jump at the chance to paint with or watch other, more talented, artists paint at every opportunity, you will love this DVD. There is much to absorb here.
And if you’re a collector you will really enjoy watching him create his work. There’s something a little bit magical that happens when a portrait is made, and Lipking is smart enough to know the value in sharing that.
I’ll just close this post with some (nice and large) images to ponder.
Jeremy Lipking.
His name is five syllables.
That’s an easy haiku.… Dangit.