12.28.2009

Christmas tags



As usual, I waited until the last minute to make my Christmas cards and gift tags. Fortunately, Dad (professor Robert C. Brown) had been looking for an excuse to try out his trusty new watercolor set, and so we found ourselves busily making art on Christmas eve. He painted the tags as I finished drawing them, and I even managed to coerce him into painting his own card! Who needs Hallmark anyway? :) Painting credits: Robert C. Brown

12.15.2009

Final figure drawings of 2009



 

 

 After taking a 6 month hiatus from figure drawing, I decided to trek over to the last MCAD-hosted cooperative of the year. It's within walking distance, only $5, professionally organized, and the model last night was exceptional. I was also glad to see many people in attendance on such a cold night.

As usual, my first half dozen gestures were abysmal. I don't know if I will ever be able to shake a handful of bad habits that consistently pop up when I am drawing people from life: poor proportions, over-reliance on line, inability to sense form. I suspect this is partly due to the remarkable human ability to sense even the slightest anatomical error in renderings of people. But I also sense a certain anxiety when I know I'm about to draw a human being, an anxiety that is absent when I attempt to draft any other subject. Weird.

12.08.2009

What they see



 

 

 

 
More refined compositions for the Kenneltraz project. The idea is that our pets' perception of the world is considerably more dramatic than ours--e.g. the local strip mall dog pound is seen as a creepy prison island. I still struggle mightily with value, but I'm starting to understand the whole painting thing. I've also learned that while the "mirror" test is invaluable and not all that scary during the early stages of a drawing, it becomes increasingly terrifying the longer one works. In the case of the animal gang picture, I was nearly finished with the painting (and out of time) before I worked up the courage to flip it. It was not a good experience.

12.06.2009

More geese


 
 
Finished full-color cover and penciled interior illustrations for the goose project. I scanned the last two drawings before adding value, and I plan to add color to them in the near future.
 
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