Construction of a Painting

I started one of my “Naked Gondolier” series paintings this past Sunday. I am doing it in my spare time, whatever that actually means. Anyway, I used the drawing I did of “Mario” that I showed you recently in a previous blog entry as the step-off point. I like the idea of the light in a figure emerging from darkness.

However, I also wanted to imply the gondola, as well as a bridge. I mean, what else spells out Venice (Venezia) in bella Italia? I am not looking to create details, but I do want to elicit an emotional response to the romance of this city. So, I began my disegno, starting with line and a vague idea of three tonal values. I photographed my beginning and then, in Photoshop, started playing with various lighting effects.

Not happy with any one thing, I decided to just start painting. Sometimes these things have a way of speaking for themselves, you know. Yesterday, I asked the Maestro John Angel if he could give me some pointers. I felt lost because I liked the light under the bridge, but it might not work in this particular painting. I was not sure that I wanted the reflection of the bridge to alter the shape of the dark water on the left. And the list went on. I could see why artists do works in series – it becomes possible then to choose one element for each artwork and play with it. Too many notes being played at once only makes noise, not music.

Allora, I concluded my confession to the Maestro with a, “I think that I am trying to do too much with too little.” Tilting his head slightly and with a pensive hesitation, he responded, “You took the words right out of my mouth. But also, I think you are afraid to lose too much.”

Wow. He just summed up my life.

So, I will add the darks and get back to you.
Thanks for reading.

Sara – A Drawing In Charcoal

Today has been somewhat of a catch-up day. It has been very cold in Firenze. As such, I have begun to organize and archive some of my images. That includes my progress images of current projects, such as my carboncino drawing of a model named Sara.

Here I have posted five images of my drawing of Sara’s head at various stages. I am spending three hours per day with the model, starting on 22 October. And I am moving very slowly since I am trying to learn a lot and not just produce a drawing.

You can see that each day the head has changed. There is something that I like about each one, although (honestly) there is something that I prefer in the first disegno. The problem with her was that the head was too small for the body. Because I am pushing myself, I chose to completely erase the head and observe fresh rather than simply trying to make all of my drawn features larger.

The first four images are of my cartoon. The cartoon tends to be just regular drawing paper and is where the artist creates the design. The less expensive paper gives the artist the freedom to make mistakes and change one’s mind. Once satisfied, the cartoon image is transferred onto the quality, toothed paper that will accept the charcoal medium, as described a bit in a previous blog.

The last image is of charcoal on the Roma paper. I wanted my drawing to fill the paper, so I took my original drawing to a copy shop and had her enlarged a wee bit. Then I used tracing paper to transfer my disegno. This method allows my original to not be harmed, although in this case I did not transfer from my original drawing. Anyway, the charcoal is faint because while I am going over my lines and pushing the charcoal I have drawn on the underside of the tracing paper onto the Roma paper, I am trying not to emboss the Roma paper.

Drawing of Mario - Florence, Italy

And another life drawing here. This time the model’s name is Mario. We seem to have an abundance of models here in Firenze. Lots of new faces and forms to draw. The figure is about 42 centimeters (just over 16 inches) tall. I drew in the light shapes only with a white pencil on a dark charcoal grey Canson paper. I have done some shape exercises to train the eye in which I only draw what is light, and not shadow. I had fun with it and when working with Mario, I decided to use a much darker paper so that the lights seem to emerge from darkness, adding perhaps some mystery.

The paper for framing purposes is around 47 x 30 cm, not counting what would be under the mat and frame. The drawing is signed and dated 7 November 2007. I did a few minor touch-ups after that, but that is the date that the model session was held and most of the work was done. I may get to use this sketch as an inspiration in my “Naked Gondolier” series of paintings.

“Mario” is available for private or public collexions, so please do not be shy about inquiring! Thank you for reading.

Sara - A Charcoal Drawing - Disegno

About mid-October I started my first drawing for a carboncino (charcoal) drawing on paper. Here in Florence, Italy, the favored papers are Umbria brand and Roma. Rigacci’s Art Store did not have the Umbria when I arrived to purchase my paper, so I am using the Roma. The Roma brand has a very obvious line-patterned tooth (a rough surface for holding the carboncino) that I will carefully need to work with to create a smooth tone where desired.

In this image, taken over the Halloween weekend, I am in the process of transferring my original drawing onto a piece of the fine Roma paper. I do the original cartoon drawing on regular drawing paper. I work out my proportions of the figure and create my disegni. (Those who have visited the newsletter section of my Web site may already know that in Italian, the word disegno means ‘drawing’ AND ‘design.’ They are one and the same.

I have drawn the outline of the figure with props, as well as the shadow shapes. While this is considered representational art, I am not copying Nature. I am using Nature as an inspiration to create a pattern of shapes and tones. Illusion is not reality. Illusion is not copying. I have an almost infinite amount of choices. That is why, even when working with the same model and having the same sort of goal in mind, each artist’s work will look different from anothers. Disegni, baby.

Arezzo Italy - New Friends

I hope to share more with you about the amazing experience that I had this weekend. Met some new friends and toured a lovely part of Tuscany in Italy. Our trip started in Arezzo, after my friends Skye and Hafiza and I took the train from Florence. Here you see an image I took on my timer of the kind couple from Denmark and California who met us and were amazing and generous hosts all weekend. From left to right: Hafiza, Jytte (pronounced U-ta), Kelly, Borge, and Skye. We are in a park in Arezzo that overlooks the valley in lots of rolling mountains in Tuscano. More later . . .

Ponte Vecchio at Night-Florence, Italy

Does familiarity breed fondness or are some places simply beautiful? I find myself photographing several places around Florence over and over. So many ways for something – or someone – to look different. So many variables. Above, you will see an image of the famous Ponte Vecchio – the only bridge along the Arno River in Florence, Italy, that was not bombed during World War II.

The 6th of November was different even from my walk by tonight because there was a large spotlight coming from the direxion of the Uffizi Galleria that is not visible tonight. The light really shows off the shapes and sculpture on the bridge. My friend Simone speculated that perhaps a film was being shot there that night. But we did not walk that way to check it out. I hope you enjoy this view of the Ponte Vecchio (old bridge, literally “bridge old”).

Moving Furniture - Florence, Italy

After living in two different spaces now and having seen lots of homes in Florence, Italy, I sometimes wonder how furniture is actually moved into these tiny spaces. Scala (stairs) are often steep and narrow, and bending at right angles. The small windows in my last flat opened into a small courtyard. How was a loveseat/sofabed lifted up and fit into my 1st piano (2nd floor) room?

While walking along Via San Niccolò last Wednesday, I discovered that it is not always easy or obvious to those involved. In the photo here that I took, you can see that the green door was removed. I presume these guys tried lifting this couch up the stairwell first. When that failed, there became a bit of community involvement to hoist the furniture up into the window. There was a bit of a leverage problem, as you can see. Alas, I was on my way to the lithography school before they closed and can only presume that this endeavor was successful. There was no sign of a struggle when I walked past again.