Charcoal Drawing in High Key

The assignment from last's weeks drawing class was to draw a still life in the High, Medium or Low key.  Key being a term which describes the value range (light to dark) of the work.  We were free to setup our own still life and given suggestions as to what items to setup up under what lighting conditions provide conditions which would provide us with the proper items and light conditions to create the setup for our chosen key.  The pumpkin I drew last week was definitely in the medium range, so I wanted to try something difference.  I chose a rabbit figure( (in off-white) a white egg on a white bed of cotton inside a white cup.  I was aiming for high key and my instructor confirmed that I made it.  What do you think?

18" x 24" - "Easter Bunny?" by Cindy Jackson Griffin

T-4 Days

Art Square Open Studios is 4 days away and I'm almost ready.  Lots of little details left to take care of...I'm sure I'll forget something.  I have a bunch of ideas of things I'd like to do and I'm pretty sure some of them will be get done. The rest?  Well, as with the holidays, I usually have more ideas than time...what's important usually gets done, the rest is gravy :)   If I don't get anything else done, then I at least have artwork to show and that I feel good about.  I just finished "Joy" (below) today. I'm feeling a little guilty about working on it instead of the next charcoal drawing assignment due tomorrow evening.  I better get started on that...




JOY - 16" x 20"

Miniature = Fun Size

The Art Squares Open Studio is next Saturday.  It will be my first. I'm not sure what to expect, but I've been having fun preparing for it, tending to little details like starting the blog, updating my biz cards to point to the blog, cleaning up the studio and making it looking generally welcoming (I hope) and creating some works to display.  Up till now, I've only had my 2-D Design classwork on display...a little boring, so I figured I better get something else up on the walls. 

I've hung the framed paintings.  I have a few more that I finished this week that I will be framing and hanging. 

When I was cleaning up the studio, I came across some miniature canvases that I've had a few years.  I pulled them out and today I made a few miniature paintings of motifs that have been appearing in my works lately.  I love mini-things, they're fun size : )

Charcoal Drawing

Value Drawing of a "Fairytale" Pumpkin

In my Fundamentals of Drawing class, we are doing value drawings with charcoal...a very new medium to me. I like it alot. For last week's assignment, we had to draw a still life of something organic in nature. Well, I'm learning that my successful completion of these assignments, i.e., without a high level of frustration, is highly dependent upon my choice of subject matter.  So, for this assignment, I chose a pumpkin. When I went to the store I saw the typical Jack-O-Lantern style pumpkins in bright orange and in a variety of shapes and sizes. As I looked at each, I thought, "How am I going to draw that? I see too much texture." After looking them over and rejecting all of them, I came across what were labeled as a "doll house" pumpkin or something like that. These beauties had such shiny, smooth exteriors in a deep rust color with some chalky looking white areas around the creases. And the creases, well, I couldn't ask for a more defined crease. I was definitely going to be able to find highlights and shadows to draw with these babies. So I bought one, took it home, set it up on a sheet in the corner of the kitchen with a photography light as my only light source...I wanted singular shadowing, I'm not up to more yet :) I did one sketch and was hooked.  The charcoal is so forgiving and workable.  I loved putting it on and wiping it off, putting more on and wiping more off, blending, erasing...oh, erasing...I love subtraction as a means of adding definition.

The drawing above is my finished drawing on 18 x 24 drawing paper (which started out as white. I was able to do this assignment much easier than the others. I'm not sure if it was the subject matter or the charcoal. I'll find out soon. I have another assignment in charcoal due next week. We'll see how it goes...BTW, the pumpkin, I found, is also called a "Fairytale Pumpkin". It comes from France where it is called  "Musque de Provence".

What a difference a frame makes!

I've been a busy little bee preparing for the Open Studio next week.  I was just going to tack my painted canvas boards up on the wall with push pins, but decided to try framing a few.  Wow! What a difference a frame makes.  Masque IV is my favorite so far.  I'm working on others, so I can at least have a few things to display outside my studio, but I'm finding it difficult to find much time to work since I also have assignments to work on for my drawing class.  I'm tempted to be late on an assignment just for this week so I can get more done...not sure what my instructor would think about that :-)





Open Studio on Nov. 2

Come see me at 2711 Main St, Studio #208

Have masking fluid, will paint

In previous attempts I've made at painting on canvas, I've been extremely cautious.  I made sure every inch of the canvas was covered in paint and that the paint was evenly distributed everywhere, no transparency or brushstrokes could be seen.  The painted areas just looked solid.  On top of that, I outlined the painted areas with a Sharpie paint pen, not trusting myself to paint smooth, solid lines.  These paintings were very "crisp" and may as well have been prints on canvas.

Below are my most recent works. For these paintings, I used black gesso, masking fluid and acrylic paints.  I really enjoyed the process of making these.  I had so much fun drawing with the masking fluid.  My favorite part about it was the lack of control I had with the particular applicator I was using.  The lines came out thick, thin, skippy, blobby.  It was wonderful.  The imperfection of the lines helped me to be more relaxed with my painting and you can see this  in the color distribution.  I love it. These paintings taught me how to be a little less controlling of the outcome. 

My knowledge of paint and painting techniques is minimal and, up till now, the only painting class I've had was a Tole Painting class years and years ago. Since I am giving more of my time to creativity now, I'm letting myself playing with various types of paints, tools and techniques and I'm learning some things, but I definitely see a painting class or 2 on the horizon...but first I must finish my current drawing class : )





Masque III


Masque II - "Where Are We Today?"

 

Hello from PeaceHeartWorks!

This year is the year I decided to finally pursue my interest in art.  It's weird how everything kind of fell into place just when I finally had a little time available to dedicate to the pursuit of my artistic dreams. Thanks to my artist friend, LeeAnn Gorman, we learned about Art Square Studios, got on the waiting list for a studio and, in March of this year, I learned that one would be available in May.  At that point, I had to decide whether or not I was ready to take what, for me, was a really huge step and sign a lease on a studio.  This was one of those times when, although I was somewhat fearful of taking this plunge, my heart was saying "DO IT!!!! This is the first step in realizing your dreams!" So I did it, and then I promptly took a big second step and signed up for my first class at Glassell School of Art across from the MFAH.

While talking to my friend Cody at lunch one day, he suggested I start a blog so I could post pics of my school work and anything else I create along the way.  Thanks for the nudge Cody : )  With the Art Square Studios Open House just around the corner (Nov. 2), I figured now's as good a time as any to start the blog.  So, here goes....

Cindy