While looking for books to use while training my minions, I ran across this book: "Design Elements: A Graphic Style Manual" (Timothy Samara) Samara focuses on 20 reminders for graphic designers: Have a concept.... Firecrackers and rising sun: distribute light and dark.... I like these so much, I think I'll use them as the basis for a series of posts, where I add my own take on his reminders.
Read Moredigital sketches, the reckoning
The redoubtable Van came and modeled on Saturday. First, we have pimp Van: Then Junkie Van: And then, Pensive Van: These would be fun to clean up and do more polished versions of… when I have time. Which ought to be sometime in 2015 or so.
Read Morereturn of digital sketches
This one was done in almost complete darkness. Really evil. I'm happy with the colors, on this one.
Read Morechemistry is my worst subject
I don't know what strange law of chemistry I managed to violate last night on the Caravaggio study, but I ended up wiping the canvas, because the paint wouldn't stick. I'm hoping by tonight, it'll be dry enough to start over and work on again. Perhaps this is why he had such a legendary foul temper and ran around getting in duels -- I feel pretty stabby myself.
Read Moremorning in the Art Cave
…has so far consisted of quality time with my blowdryer, trying to get the underpainting for the caravaggio study to dry. you would think that after 10 hours of being left alone, it'd have dried by itself. but you'd be wrong. while perhaps i should not have used quite so much medium, i also probably should not have used quite so much white paint, either. the cloudy, cold days haven't exactly helped.
i've been blow drying this painting since 5 a.m., with breaks to keep my arms from cramping up. luckily, i can drink coffee while blow drying a canvas, so i've found a new skill i can do when Not Awake.
oh, and i'm now out of ivory black, ultramarine blue, and am worryingly low on walnut alkyd and paper towels. once the art store opens up, i'll be heading there. though at the rate this thing is drying, i might not get to use any of those until… oh, early december or so.
i don't want to have to send an email saying, 'er, about that deadline...' to the man with two silver earrings, though if the painting isn't dry enough to start painting on by 3 this afternoon, i'll have to. at that point, even if i do nothing else all day but paint, that's the last point i could start and still get this study anywhere close to done.
not a banner day in the Art Cave, really.
i did, however, walk outside to enjoy my now mostly weed-free yard, which looks shorn, a great improvement over the previous overgrown look. did you know that the best way to get your landlord to not show up is to spend hundreds of dollars and quite a few hours cleaning up your house and yard? well, as it happens -- it is a surefire way to keep your house a landlord-free zone. also, my oven has mysteriously stopped working, though its burners work just fine. i suspect a call to the gas company is in order to get them to come light the pilot, which must've gone out during all the scouring. or, of course, it's time to buy a new one. or, just start barbequeing.
now, more coffee. then more blow drying.
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