Tag: drawing

The Other Side

I draw every day, no matter where I am in the world. When on the road, at the very least I will do quick guerilla sketches and woodshedding in my ever present trusty pocket pad. Of late most of my formally done works switch off between Cinefield® and painting (during the execution of which I will still woodshed every night).

A new painting had been started but then it rained out every day with the forecast calling for the following week to be more of the same. I only use natural sunlight to paint by so this was not good for me. I put the painting aside and went on to start Cinefield® Where the Sauce is Deluxe. Between the weather and how labor intensive that piece was the painting sat untouched for four weeks, something I had never done before.

When I went back to work on it, it felt strange initially but I quickly found my rhythm. I am very pleased with the piece. Although I always end up over the course of working on a painting having to let it dry a day between coats. As matter of personal preference, I was not a fan of having a piece left untouched for that long a duration.

The Other Side watercolor & paper 9×12 inches

by Wayne Wolfson

Another song About a Girl

Once again I tried to change things up a little. I used a heavy stock brown paper 11×14 inches landscape oriented.

Throughout my oeuvre I had done paintings of close up of body parts. The challenge of this to varying degree is that if one does a super close up of an arm or belly without the outline of limbs/silhouette, it’s not necessarily easy to know what as a viewer, one is seeing.

Without visual guidelines, it’s tougher to show volume & mass of a body. This is one of the challenges I enjoy. If I can make the viewer feel the curve of a part without showing the edge, then it’s “easy” when doing an entire body or section.

Another aspect of this which I enjoy is that even when really nailing the volume and mass effect of the skin, there’s a sort of abstract property to the piece. I like the concept of a viewer enjoying these types of works just for the colors and effects rather than the “Does it look like this person?” aspect which can occasionally be a distraction. This piece is not as tight a zoom as I sometimes do for this type of work.

Another Song About a Girl 11×14 Brown Paper & watercolor

by Wayne Wolfson

Lyra Three

I am now still playing catch up with all the things I had put on hold for a year plus. I am very fortunate that none of it was extremely pressing. Dentist, roofers and a small parade of other things kept me from starting a painting or Cinefield®. I have slowly whittled the list down and started a new Cinefield®. These are labor intensive and so between the two things, it occurred to me I have not posted in awhile. While my studio is being taken over by sheets of tiny cut out images, i can not paint but I can still draw.

When i do short trips i do not bring my painting equipment with me, opting to just draw instead. Sometimes on longer trips even with my painting equipment at hand the weather conspires against me with rain or dark skies. By complete happenstance I discovered Lyra water soluble graphite sticks. I instantly got into this medium. It allows for painterly effects. I have a travel brush which folds into a tiny tube and this accompanying one of the graphite sticks which are size of fat crayon, now allows me to do monochromatic paintings on even short trips. The added bonus for me is that aside from how compact it is, I can use this medium at night (which I cant with regular paints) and in bad weather.

The expressionistic qualities of this medium greatly appeals to me and conveying emotion in only one color makes it that munch “easier” when utilizing a full palette.

I am already pleased with what I can do but am sure that down the line I will get even better.

by Wayne Wolfson

Lyra Two

Now twenty days past my second vaccine, I can start dealing with things which had been on hold for year plus. The vents in my studio needed flushing/servicing. Because of this, I could not do a painting nor start a                 CINEFIELD® which would put sheets of tiny cut out components everywhere.

I did my nightly drawing but also continued to hone my Lyra chops. This was perfect medium for my situation as it was like painting but each piece was one session after which I could put equipment away.

Studio is back up and running and i have started a new  CINEFIELD®. As these are time consuming, i decided to post some more of my Lyra pieces.

Each is 9×12

by Wayne Wolfson

Lyra

I have specific pens, pencils etc that I use. Of course I constantly challenge myself by using lesser quality equipment, it makes using preferred stuff feel easy. As far as travel kits, i am forever tweaking that, the cases and holders all my equipment goes into. I always have three kits; the one for just bopping around the city. This is the smallest and its just a refillable pocket pad, retractable pencil and in the pocket sleeve of the pad a blender or two. This is used as I sit in cafe or bar locally, just doing quick guerilla sketching. As a side note, this is always within reach of my hand and has been around the world with me. I realized that because of the pandemic, it saw zero action for a year plus! It has sat in drawer of one of my tabourets awaiting its chance to see some action. My other kit is for short trips four days or less of being away from home. This is pocket pad, 5×8 pad few traditional pencils of different degrees of hardness and two types mechanical pencil & blenders. It’s still fairly compact, easily carried in book bag. Short trips, I do not bother bringing any painting accoutrements. My last kit is for longer trips week or more and this includes paints etc. The long trip kit is the one i tweak the most often as it’s important for me to work but very quickly space within a suitcase can be taken up.

I discovered during the pandemic a small company that made cases geared towards road warrior artists. The case was very flat and it came loaded with “free” pencils, erasers and all kinds of other sketching swag. Obviously I have not had chance try it out on road. I did try the pencils and sharpeners. All of it was of such low quality it got thrown out. It contained a small cellophane pouch inside of which was three short, pudgy graphite sticks. It reminded me almost of tailors chalk. I had never used it before, so decided try for hell of it. I enjoyed challenge of it and was actually pleased with pieces i did. My way of thinking was that if I could make something happen with low quality version, then using some made by a quality company would be even better. I started doing some research. One thing i found was that the Lyra graphite sticks were said to be basically the same thing, with benefit of being able to sharpen to a point where as the sticks were basically short rectangles.

I had bought one along with a sharpener ages ago but had not used it. I started messing around with it and found i really liked it, the pieces I did were loose and had a painterly effect. Lyra also makes water solvable ones. I bought one to try. It is a game changer for me. It fits in my pocket and all i need is that and one brush and I can do monochromatic watercolors. This will allow me to paint on short trips and not have to up the equipment i take. The actual process is quicker than my normal painting and best of all, I do not need sunlight and can actually do these at night. Two things not possible with my regular painting.

here are my first tries with it. I am sure that the more I do this, the better i will get but I am already pleased with results.

by Wayne Wolfson

City Crawl

I am finishing up a section of my novel before i stop to type (while continuing to take notes). It has not allowed me to start another CINEFIELD® nor painting. Of course during the interim I have continued to draw & woodshed.

For a while I had only done cityscapes so that I had a portion of my audience only knew me from that. I took a break from it and then ended up not rejecting it, but getting caught up in everything else that I was doing

I decided to return to it and do another one as it would give me the satisfaction I derive from larger projects without the distraction of having equipment out and in my way as I paced the studio as I write.

As I did this piece, i got just as much enjoyment from it as I ever had. My initial conception was to finish it in colored pencil but I felt there would be a loss of detail. Also I wanted to do something a little different from the other cityscapes I have done.

The piece is 11×14. I just used a basic pencil and finished it with a fine marker.

by Wayne Wolfson

Face Dances: Assorted Tangos

I work within several mediums now. All are taken seriously, with none being considered second class citizens within my oeuvre. My favorite thing is to conjure up flesh in paint. Next on the list would be drawing faces. I never caricature the subject, doing a sort of raw reportage. This means I put in all the little imperfections of which I posses my share.  I do prefer portraying an extreme emotion. Unlike a potentially phony smile or the staid visage which a lot of us offer up to the world when aware of being watched, it is real. The real for me will always be beautiful. Regardless of what else I have done during the day every single night I draw too. One benefit of all the time I put into the pencil is that I have become fairly quick in executing portraits. This is a sample of evenings over past week or so.

20200704_07545920200701_07092220200709_06515620200708_071006Vpoppin

by Wayne Wolfson

Lola Wants To Kiss

I do prefer working on smaller pieces but I feel it important for all artists to leave their comfort zone as it fosters evolution. Pre pandemic I had bought several large hand cut pieces of paper in different styles (cold pressed/hot pressed/cotton etc) with no immediate idea what I would do with them.

This was my first time with this paper which is 22×30 hot pressed and not cotton. It handled very differently but I am pleased with the results. The photo taken was with my phone as to give the viewer the gist of it, the skin in person (or had i a better camera) practically radiates a heat of blood flowing just below the surface.

 

20200622_12460320200622_15235920200623_13411920200625_130516Lolawantstokiss

by Wayne Wolfson

Tan Lines

9×12 watercolor & paper

During having to stay home she took sun baths on her balcony. From there she could see into my studio window, watching me work. Hers was one of many faces who while away the time taking in the mellow rays of the sun, which after an hour or so almost managed to trick the body into thinking everything is all right,  watching me work. when I finished a piece I would turn it towards window so she could see what I had been working on. shyly at first, she started informally modeling.

To me, the real is always beautiful. It facilitates emotions which in turn allow the viewer to return to a work over and over without becoming bored.

The size of my works is intentional. Their size helps bolster the feeling of happening upon a scene from an open ended story. Shelter in place has shown a lot of us that our living space is smaller than we realized. The wall sized pieces so often emphasized make a collector live under the piece and not with it. The larger size and familiarity also eventually creates the effect of a work just becoming first visual static, then merely a wall. My smaller pieces engage the viewer as one is making the choice to look at it rather than having it loom over them.

I also keep in mind the burgeoning collector who is just starting to collect. Large pieces, especially for an apartment dweller can dictate the style of the collection while also limiting the amount which can be displayed. I want my works to be able to be included in a collection as it and the collector’s tastes grow.

Ultimately bigger is not better, there is just more of it.

 

20200516_124023Tanlines

 

 

by Wayne Wolfson

Hamachi & Suntory

I am not a fan of musicals. However it will never cease to make me laugh at how everyone spontaneously breaks into song & dance. I understand this is the gist and nature of a musical but it always seems to pleasantly jarring, especially if you are watching one of the classic Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly ones for first time.

For a novice, what makes it strange is that it is one part movie, then singing and dancing, then they all go back into whatever the scene was.

Two Pals walking along the Seine:

How was your date last night?

Well, let me tell you pal

Then they start singing down the street being joined in synchronized dance by traffic cop, flower vendor, newspaper vendor and couple who happened to be passing by and one waiter in his black and whit,e bottle opener chain looping from waist to pocket.

All these characters drop behind two lead characters, into a synchronized formation while the two friends dance and sing. The music stops, then everyone reverts back to what they had been doing in this street tableau.

So…are you going to see her again?

I keep busy and productive. When i let my mind wander, I try keep it if not positive, then at least interesting. When the world can move on from the main thing on our minds being the Pandemic, once I know everyone is safe and receiving any help needed, what then?

I softly laugh to myself, once everything is taken care of, I will be as if in a musical, making my way through the city stopping multiple times for sushi and drinks, singing a song about it.

This is one of my larger pieces 17×17 graphite & paper.

 

hamachonehamachtwohamachthreehamachfourHanachianssuntori

 

 

by Wayne Wolfson