Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Expressionist-Beatnik Connection

My latest drawing is of a sculpture by the Austrian Expressionist artist, Oscar Kokoschka titled, "Self-Portrait as a Warrior". It currently resides in the Boston Museum of Fine Art. I chose to draw this piece for several reasons.

First, I love the shape and power and emotion of this sculpture. Even though it's suppose to be a "Warrior", rather than looking fierce, I think he looks frightened. The second photo is of the original work (Courtesy of a blog called "Tall Tales From the Traveling Thornberries"). The second reason I picked it was it reminded me of the  underground comix artist Mark Marek who did a book called Hercules amongst the North Americans. The third and finally motivation was I think there is more then a passing resemblance to Jack Kerouac's running mate, Neil Cassidy; hence the "Beatnik Connection".
The coincidence is a bit uncanny as Kokoschka's sculpture was done decades before Cassidy was even born. Beat writing certainly have an expressionist feel.

This drawing finally completes a sketchbook that I've been working in for way too long. Here's the full shot of the drawing.

OK HW



Sunday, January 06, 2013

I'm a Monkey, baby!

I saw this monkey mask at an exhibition at The Charles H. Taylor Art Center in Hampton, Va and took a picture. It's a simple, decorative piece, not a "real", "danced" mask. Even so, I like the clean shape of the face and the hair lines and the button eyes. I forgot to record any information about where this mask came from or who made it, so I did a web search for "African Monkey Masks" and I found that this is likely to be a mass produced mask from Indonesia. That's alright, it's still a cool looking mask and I enjoyed drawing it.

OK HW

Monday, October 29, 2012

Fool in the Rain

This weekend has mostly been a wash due to the "Super Monster Storm" also known as Hurricane Sandy. We lost power a couple of times today. I enjoyed the break from being connected. It was relaxing to sit and listen to the wind and rain and work on a drawing.

Today's drawing came from a great old tome that has been in my library for many years called "History of Far Eastern Art" by Sherman Lee. It's a wonderful, thick book full of photos of amazing art stretching back for centuries. My eye landed on a tiny bronze sculpture from the Indus culture, a "Dancing Girl" from the Mohenjo-daro region. I like her attitude and her weird, cyber-punk left arm. Everything ancient is futuristic again. Sometime many years from now, when I look at this drawing again, I'll think about the rain and the wind and the quiet space that Sandy gave me so I had time to dance with this beauty.

OK HW

Sunday, October 14, 2012

"Edgar Allan Poe Vs. The Brain Eating Microbe"

After too many years, I am finally exhibiting some art again. I was invited by James Warwick Jones, the gallery manager at the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center in Hampton, Va to participate in the "Small Works" show. The piece I am submitting is called, "Edgar Allan Poe vs. The Brain Eating Microbe" and is a new version of a drawing I made for the "Monster Drawing Rally" for the 1708 Gallery in Richmond, Va. Here's the post for the Poe study I did back then. I loved the concept so much that I wanted to spend a lot of time producing a highly polished version in miniature for the "Small Works" show.  I found the frame at a thrift store, which was an amazing accident that completes the work.

If you are a local or in the area on Hampton, Va on November 2, come on out to the opening reception.

OK HW

Monday, October 08, 2012

Ibo - West African Mask Drawing

The tools you use to create are important because they help remove the obstacles between the idea and the execution. The right brush or instrument or camera can make all the difference, so when you find that thing that fits your hand, you want only that. For me, it's a proper ink pen. I use a variety of pens and will use whatever is available, but when given the option, I go back to a few tried and true pens. I recently decided to track down a pen that I've always loved, Pilot Better Stick Ballpoint Pen (BP-S). I tried a couple of the chain office supply places, but no joy, but I was able to find them online and ordered a box.
What I love about the BP-S is the soft, thin lines it makes and the fine control of gradient and texture I can achieve. It's a lightweight pen that is easy to grip and they are not so expensive that if you lose or break one that it's a problem. They can get a bit blobby at times, leaving surprise little globs of ink where you might not want them, so I keep a scrap piece of paper nearby to spin the tip on to clear it.

This drawing is of an African mask from the Ibo group of West Africa. I like the realistic facial details and the white paint that's flaking off. I also like the plank coming out of the top of the head. There are small holes drilled through it that make me wonder what was attached.

OK HW

Saturday, October 06, 2012

Hiking Pleasure House Point...

It was a gorgeous Indian Summer day today and I took full advantage of it with a nice, long hike. My persistence has paid off this year and I am closing in on my mileage goal for 2012 of 750 miles. With three months left to go, I have less then 180 miles left. Today I tried a new route by adding in a new nature trail that has been added to Pleasure House Point, some land that was bought by the city of Virginia Beach and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. For a while there was a contractor trying to "develop it" by cramming 1600 condo units there, but lucky for all of us, wiser heads prevailed for a change and now we have this wonderful natural sanctuary.
There were roads and houses back in there at one time, but for whatever reason, they have gone to seed, but you can still find crumbling asphalt back in the sand trails and see dock pilings along the shore. Walking back through such a peaceful and beautiful wetland, makes me proud to be a contributor to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Hiking from my home, I wound up with a decent 8-mile route today, which you can check out here.

OK HW