Rough-Hewn Shapes

Isolating just one aspect of a landscape can create a powerful composition. So far I have only ever attempted this with organic shapes such as flowers in closeup. The finished picture often ends up looking like an abstract. But the image can still remain impressionistic or representational when a particular element is isolated but still recognizable.

Field Boulders is a charcoal sketch that attempts to capture the rough-hewn shapes arranged in a triangular composition with barely the suggestion of a grassy foreground. The highlights and shadows provide much to explore in the picture.

Field Boulders, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Timelessness or Obsolescence?

Aspects of rural scenes in America have a timeless quality about them. Scenes such as the one depicted in Barbed-Wire Fence are there for anyone who cares to stop and look. Even as urban sprawl continues to displace the lifestyle of rural America, there are places that steadfastly remain as they might have been a hundred years ago.

Barbed-Wire Fence was inspired by a fenced in meadow that is on my drive to work. When the traffic is slow enough for me to look, I often notice things that have been right before my eyes and I have never noticed them.

Barbed-Wire Fence, Charcoal pencil on Bristol Board, 11"x14", Not for sale

More sketching

Not much to say about this plain sketch of a bunch of bananas. I found that the shape of bananas makes it a bit hard to avoid making it seem like they are floating in space. With both ends rising upwards, the shadows are the only way to create a sense of form anchored to the ground.

Bananas was done with charcoal pencil on paper. I have tried to minimize the blending to convey a sense of roughness and energy. Of course, this limits the tonal variation that can be achieved. But then it is just a sketch!

Bananas, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Horse Heads

Every time I look at horses, in addition to their grace and sense of controlled power, I am struck by the beauty of their faces. There is something about the sculpted solidity of the bones in the horses' head that begs to be drawn or painted.

Horse Head and Horses were both drawn rapidly with Conte crayon charcoal sticks with digital photographs used as a reference. As I get better, I am planning to do a series of large line drawings of horse heads, so this is good practice for now.

Horse Head, Conte crayon on paper, 11"x14", Not for sale

Horses, Conte crayon on paper, 11"x14", Not for sale

Odd Composition?

For some reason asymmetric composition draws viewer interest a lot longer than complete evenness. Design elements with odd-number components suggest more movement and engage the viewer. Even or symmetric numbered elements are perceived as static and quickly quench interest.

There is no handy explanation for this phenomenon. Perhaps it has something to do with how the brain processes visual stimuli and its relevance for human survival. Movement in the visual field may indicate a potential prey or predator and thus holds interest a lot longer than static symmetry that quickly fades into the background and is of no interest.

Anyhow, Three Peppers uses the odd-number composition. In addition, the peppers are all different sizes too. In my opinion, this strengthens the composition even further.

Three Peppers, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Inexpensive Experimentation

Though I had read about the merits of adopting regular and frequent sketching as an essential component of perfecting technique, it is only after I started drawing that the full potential of this inexpensive activity began to dawn on me. Not only do sketches compel close observation but they also allow compositional designs to be tried out before committing paint to ground. In the absence of a formal education in fine art, it has taken me years to arrive at this obvious conclusion!

Waiting for Spring is a charcoal sketch that I did from a digital photograph. I was satisfied with the form and placement of the bird. Upon reflection I realized that the blank space in front of the bird allows the eye to easily travel out of the scene. It would have been easy to use another branch coming off of the bottom one to re-direct the eye back to the center of interest.

Waiting for Spring, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Three Pears -- Hardly Original!

Pears have been drawn and painted in numerous different ways. The most frequent composition I found is three pieces of fruit arranged in a row. Years ago I recall seeing a large painting with a row of pears (maybe as many as 8-9) receding into the distance. Set against a light background with the faintest of shadows, the pears created a feeling of infinite depth.

Three Pears was quickly sketched from a digital photograph using the fewest marks possible. I subtracted some of the highlights with an eraser. The charcoal marks were left unblended to convey a sense of energy and movement.

Three Pears, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Avocado Halves

Sketching from photographs is often most convenient for me because of my business travel schedule. I can use pictures from the web (free rights$ of use, of course) or magazines. And I can carry my own digital pictures as source material. The problem is that photographs often fail to fully convey the depth and shadows which are essential to defining three-dimensional objects.

Avocado Halves is a small charcoal sketch done from a royalty-free image from Public Domain Image. The photograph is sharp and clear, but it is difficult to get a read of the light and shadows. So I just invented the tiniest bit of shadowing at the bottom so as to anchor the object. Otherwise the avocado would seem to float in space!

Avocado Halves, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Foray into charcoal sketching

In the absence of long enough blocks of time to paint, I am finding sketching to be a handy tool to exercise some discipline. So far I had only used pencil or ink, mainly because of familiarity with the tools. Charcoal had always seemed far too messy to be able to carry around and use during the pauses of everyday life.

Recently I found charcoal pencils at the local art store and these appear to be a perfect solution for my needs. The idea for this first attempt at sketching with charcoal was provided by a mundane aspect of every home -- some arrangement of knick knacks that could serve as a stimulus for still life work. The varying sizes of the three vases offered design elements without any contrivance.

Three Vases is a simple little sketch that took me one step closer to overcoming my fear of drawing. A charcoal pencil and a kneadable eraser are a small price to pay for that important step.

Three Vases, Charcoal on paper, 4"x6", Not for sale

Variation on Barn Window

Combining media in art is nothing new, nor particularly notable in itself. Ultimately, as Randall Tipton has pointed out, what artists do aims to produce a good painting rather than worry about rules. Indeed, if artists followed rules there would be no progress in art.

Rough-Hewn Barn Window is just another ordinary window, perhaps on a hay barn, consisting of rough-hewn planks nailed together, less a piece of marvelous carpentry than an example of ultimate American pragmatism. Therein though lies the character of the workmanship, however elementary, done by a human hand.

This piece is done with ink and watercolor which lend it both definite form and some texture. Prolonged study might even suggest directionality to the light falling upon this window that, even in the most fantastic of imagination, could only conceal the basics elements of farm life.

Rough-Hewn Barn Window, Watercolor over pen and ink on 140lb paper, 4"x6", $30 (unframed)