Bohemian Ink Studios: drawing

Showing posts with label drawing. Show all posts

Thursday, 5 December 2013

Featured Artist Series: Peter Dawson

I'm excited to be bring you my featured artist series. I am so looking forward to showcasing some wonderful talent!

First in my series is an artist I admire greatly, not just within his work but as a person as well. Peter Dawson is a Victorian based artist who works in a photo realism style. Both his drawings and paintings reflect this style, with the finest details being rendered in such a realistic manner that it becomes difficult to ascertain that the image you are seeing is in fact not a photograph.

"Christine Dreams Brent" (tribute to Brent Wong) 2013
370mm x 540mm - graphite on watercolour paper

"In a Quiet Way" 2011
Graphite on watercolour paper

Peter has said about his drawing technique that it comes from his early working experimentation with traditional printmaking techniques such as lithography and engraving. I am in complete awe of his ability and patience and the end result of his drawings and paintings. (1)

"Let Go" (for Maurice) 2011
370mm x 540mm - graphite on watercolour paper

About the above work 'Let Go' he has said "[It] ... is about loss, grief and letting go of the sadness experienced with bereavement. It incorporates cultural symbols of death, including Arum Lilies (my mother always called them ‘death flowers’ and shaving the head as a mourning ritual, set against an evening sky. It is an image of quiet reflection on the loss of a loved one; and of the need for ‘setting free’ both oneself and the departed." (2)

"Magic or Mischief" 2013
375mm x 540mm - graphite on watercolour paper

"Tears For Fukushima" 2012
100cm x 100cm - acrylic on canvas

"The Machine Demands a Sacrifice" 2013
100cm x 100cm - oil on canvas

"The Black Hat"
graphite on watercolour paper

I think the above work, 'The Black Hat' is my favourite. I love that you can see the texture of the paper, and I love the playfulness of the image itself. And of course it's not really a secret that I love tulle; it has to be my favourite fabric in the history of ever. So to see that immaculately rendered tulle flaring out from the bustle of that dress, well....how could it not strike me immediately?

I met Peter last year while I was studying for my Dip. in Visual Arts. He was my drawing and Photoshop instructor, and I could not have asked for a better one! Not only is his work completely amazing, he has infinite patience and has a knack of enabling those of us that are not so technically minded to understand what we are supposed to be doing! It goes without saying that he is an allround nice guy as well!

If you would like to learn more about Peter's work, you can like his Facebook Page, or you can visit his Website. I'd love to hear what you think of Peter's work; leave me a comment telling me which piece is your favourite.

I'm a little excited about next week's featured artist. I'll be looking at the work of Scottish artist David Monroe, whose work is very abstract and fluid, and full of colour. Stay tuned!

*Ref 1 & 2 . http://artingeelong.com/2011/10/12/geelong-art-revealed-showcases-local-talent/*

Enter your email to be the first to know about art sales and receive exclusive member only discounts!

You might like to read:

Art In The Digital Age

Sunday, 10 November 2013

Sketchbooks

Following on from my last post which was on keeping an art journal, todays post is on keeping a sketchbook.

Sketchbooks differ a little from journals in that the emphasis should be more on sketches, plans for drawings and paintings, and ideas for colours etc. They're a great place to practice shading and technique as well. I find that I tend to draw a bit more spontaneously in a sketchbook; perhaps it's something to do with having less expectations on myself. A sketchbook is a place where you are allowed to make mistakes, whereas a single piece of good quality drawing paper comes with a connotation that you will produce something worthy of the paper it's on.

Drawing individual elements over and over again is a great way to perfect them.

I always start out a little nervous that I won't be able to draw something great, and therefore my drawing is not as free or spontaneous.

I always enjoy trying to draw famous people because it's immediately apparent whether you've captured a likeness or not.

One thing I particularly love to draw is faces. Working on perfecting that portrait is a real challenge to me and I'm always pleased when the result actually resembles the person I was sketching. It's definitely a bit of a science, and correct proportion has a great deal to do with how much success you'll have. But it's also in the shading (or lack of). I've seen some great portraits that actually don't have the whole face drawn. It's just the eyes and suggestion of the shape of the face, and it's the colour and shading that finish it off.

Drawing from life (especially with a time limit) is a challenge but definitely one worth pursuing. It helps your skills enormously.

Sometimes things just don't like quite right, (like the lips on this one - they don't quite fit with her face).

A good trick I've found that works for me, is when something doesn't look quite right and you just can't pinpoint it, look at it in the mirror. You'll almost always see what needs to be fixed, and then it will seem so obvious to you.

Working from photos is another great way to practice technique.

Sometimes though, the result when working from a photo won't be exactly as you expect. Self portraits especially, tend to come out looking less like your actual self, and more like yourself seen through a mirror.

Overall, keeping a sketchbook is definitely something you should do as an artist. Even if you think you don't need to, you'll be amazed at how much you can teach yourself through practice.

You might like to read:

America In Print

Friday, 8 November 2013

Art Journals and Why You Should Be Keeping One.

When I first started studying art, I was told to keep a journal. I had no idea what to put in it. Like not a clue. My tutors told me to 'just put stuff in it; ideas, sketches, stuff you collect.'

That kind of confused me even more. Stuff I collect?! What kind of stuff?

Colour Charts are always useful, and great to refer back to

I would take photos of current projects so that I could compare them without having giant pieces of paper everywhere.

So for each assignment or project I had to do, I brainstormed and sketched and took photos. And I put those photos in my journal and as I went about my life, if I saw a magazine clipping or article, or paint chip sample or anything else really that made me think of my current project, I'd throw that in as well.

Recording progress of your projects can be helpful when you want to work on something similar later on

Including information on how to do things is so useful!

And so then after a while of keeping this journal I started to see the benefits of it. I could go back and remind myself of things I wanted to include in projects, I could record my feelings about what I was doing, where I hoped it would go, what I wanted to achieve with it. And therefore I could go back and re-evaluate what I was doing if it wasn't where I wanted to be heading in the beginning. On the other side of that it also let me see if things needed to change in another direction.

Notes and photos from exhibitions you went to, whether you liked them or what you didn't like about them can all help your artistic practice.

I started to record more notes and thoughts along with my images, and being an art journal, I also loved making notes about exhibitions and other artists. It is so very useful to look at work of other people because you can learn so much. You might pick up a new technique or way of doing something that adds to your own work.

Photos can be useful to refer to for current and future projects.

Sketches and ideas

As an artist you should never stop learning, and never feel you are too good to learn from other artists. There are always going to be people to compare yourself with, the objective is not to try and be the same as others but have your own unique style. And because art is so subjective, that cannot be compared in the traditional sense of one being necessarily better than the other.

After a while of keeping journals, you'll find that it's a nice way to spend an afternoon; browsing through your books, remembering projects you wanted to start, ideas you came up with, and techniques or artists you wanted to research and learn about. This will in turn only benefit your current work and allow you to grow within your art.

You might like to read:

America In Print

Monday, 4 November 2013

Zentangles

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

For as long as I can remember I've been drawn to creating images involving repeated lines and patterns. I still have a drawing of repeated lines that I did when I was about 13 or so. I just love the way it looks, and the process of drawing this way has such a calming effect on me.

A couple of years ago one of my printmaking tutors saw one of my drawings and remarked that she thought it was very similar to a Zentangle.

I had absolutely no idea at that point what a Zentangle was. She explained it to me, and when I got home I looked it up. Sure enough, these relaxing repeated pattern, mostly line drawings I was so focused on had a name: Zentangle!

While I had never attributed a specific name to them, I did and do agree with the principle behind it. That drawing in this way creates a focus that calms you and sends you into a sort of meditative state. Drawing always relaxes me, and drawing without having to worry about proportion and composition does so even more.

The underlying technique behind this type of drawing is very simple really, and there is no right or wrong way to do it. Some people find it useful to draw a square first and focus their lines within those boundaries. I don't usually do that though. Usually I just put one or two long lines on the paper and start drawing smaller lines off them. Then you take those lines and basically repeat them. It's nice to make some of the lines thicker; it adds some interest. The same goes with adding colour.

It really is up to you how creative you get with it. There are some amazing examples out there!

Here are some of mine. Enjoy!