Brandeis Lecture 2 1975

Here are more folks attending Nahum Glatzer's lecture on early Christianity and its Jewish roots. Note that the gentleman seen from the back at left is wearing a "kepah" or orthodox Jewish cap. The annoying black area down the center is the shadow of my sketchbook on the scanner, I wasn't able to edit it out so thanks for your patience.

Pencil on sketchbook page, 10" x 8", 1975.

Summer Fantasy 2019

I'm testing out my new "Arteza" watercolor markers again, this time with blues and greens. I like the mint green, which is rarely found in nature. The simulated gold strips and yellow suns were added in Photoshop. So far these markers are doing well. The only thing I would ask for in this line would be more pastel and earth colors. Arteza seems to have lots of resources as an online art supply store and they advertise aggressively. I'm not sure whether I will make a larger version of this design - probably not. 

Markers on sketchbook page with some Photoshop, 5 1/2" x 3 1/2", July 2019.

Early Harvest

I'm testing out my new "Arteza" watercolor markers with this little color study anticipating the upcoming harvest. The yellow ochre and cloud grey markers are especially lifelike and natural. The markers are blendable on the paper. I am not sure how lightfast these colors are - I could make a sun exposure test I guess. I suspect they are fade-able dye colors but that doesn't make a big difference as long as I can scan it. "If you like what you drew, scan it." 

Markers on sketchbook page, 2 3/4" x 2 1/2", July 28, 2019.

Brandeis Lecture 1 1975

I didn't just draw nudes for my sketchbook in 1975. There were plenty of clothed models available wherever I turned. This series of sketches was done at a lecture I attended at Brandeis, where I was a student in my senior year. The lecture was on early Christianity and its Jewish background. Brandeis is a "historically Jewish" university and it has hosted the very best scholars over the years. The lecturer here is Nahum Glatzer, a renowned expert on Jewish history and theology. People sitting at a talk are a lot easier to draw than people at a coffee shop, because they don't move around so much.

Pencil on sketchbook page, 5" x 5", 1975.

Art Model colored Pencil 1975

This is a colored pencil experiment in the same environment as the other life drawings I did with my mother's art group. But it's a bit more abstractified and also made with pastel colors. Bringing out the colors on a rather pallid model is a standard art school assignment. Also standard is working with darker color on the background to make the figure stand out. Interestingly in all my life drawing classes and groups in the 70s I never got to draw a Black or Asian model.

Colored pencils on sketchbook page, 9 1/2" x 11 1/2", 1975.

Geometrikon Orange and Lightning

Well this wasn't quite what I expected when I added the colors in with Photoshop. I wanted something exciting like lightning but I got orange fantasy instead. There's nothing like Photoshop to confound your creativity. I have hundreds of "brushes" to use and when I finally get around to using one, it's not what I thought it would be. At least I didn't try using textures on the fill-in areas. And it's still summer enough for dynamic weather.

Photoshop over marker lines, 7" x 11", July 2019.

Art Model two poses 1975

I ran out of space on the figure to the left, so this is what you get. My life drawings from 1975 are all rather small anyway which is easier for me to draw in a notebook. The art instructors were always trying to get us students to draw on larger size paper, like a tabloid newspaper.  And we were supposed to use charcoal or some other messy medium to draw with. When we were dismantling the old house in Massachusetts we found my old student drawings on large paper with graphite or charcoal. The mold had gotten to them and we had to throw them out. My mother produced literally hundreds of life drawings using pastel on colored paper and the best of these survived and were given to collectors.

Pencil on sketchbook page, 7" x 11", 1975.

Geometrikon Cruciform Wireframe

This composition arose from my placing triangular and quadrilateral shapes in between text blocks and then removing the text. It's a wireframe which means it will be colored in along with a "re-mix". Definitely it's a work in progress and for some reason maybe the eye-like area in center, it looks like it might be alive.

Marker wireframe and Photoshop, 7" x 11", July 2019.

Winter viney twigs

It seems unusual for me to depict the "dead of winter" when temperatures are in the high 90s  under a blazing sun here in DC-Stan, but this belongs in the winter section of "Under Vine." I am now working through the sticky twiggy process of getting all the pages in the right order with images that fit together. Some of the pages are words and graphics and some of the others are simple sketches placed on an intermediate page, such as this one. I've been hiding from the heat for the last weekend but now there is rain and I can work on it again. All the winter pages belong together but in what order? I can't put page numbers on the image until I have the order correct.

Photoshop, 8 1/2" x 11", July 2019.

High Summer Revisited

I'm "re-blogging" this from August 2018, which is not so long ago but it just seemed appropriate for today. This house is in downtown Falls Church, dating from perhaps the early 20th century. There is another house very similar to it which I can see out my window, flag post and all. Its neighbor is being re-built and I have been watching the elaborate process of building since the fall of 2017. It just evokes a perfect summer day, well it was a bit hot at 99 degrees but then the thundery rains came and cooled things off. The drawing was made on site on July 21, 1998, allowing me to revisit reality through a little drawing in my lavishly illustrated 1998 sketchbook journal.

Ink and colored pencils on sketchbook page, 5" x 5", July 21, 1998.

Art Model with Stick 1975

Here we are back in 1975 with another art model session. She's holding a nicely shaped piece of driftwood. Models often posed with simple props like pieces of fabric, or fruit, ceramics, or sticks. You can see where her hands and feet were but I didn't have time to draw them. I have dozens of "Art Model Photographs" books designed not for gawkers but for artists who want to draw figures but have no access to nude models. I wonder whether you could tell the difference if I used one of these photos instead of a live one.

Pencil on sketchbook page, about 8" x 10", 1975.

Coffee Shop Cuddlers

It's people-watching time at the coffee house as usual. This affectionate couple were in my sights so I drew them. The results aren't great but at least I got this posting done on time. The people move around so much, I don't get a view I can accurately represent. I'm almost done with my current sketchy sketchbook (not "Under Vine") so I really want to work on drawings of anything.

Sepia brown tech pen on sketchbook page, 4 1/2" x 4", July 19, 2019.

Leafy Summer Trees

Well here we are back again. The computer is working - for now. I have no idea why; I didn't do anything to or with it. I did receive a mysterious message regarding my WiFi connection but that seemed meaningless to me. Maybe it will collapse again but as of now I'll continue working on "Under Vine," sorting out and numbering the pages getting it ready for the printers.

These are the green leafy trees I see out my studio windows. I'm testing out a new set of markers (yes, more markers!) from online art supply retailer "Arteza." One of the features of this set is that you can blend them with water like watercolor. I'm not so sure how fade-able this is but if I like it I just scan and digitize it.

Markers on sketchbook page with some colored pencil, 8" x 2", July 18, 2019.

By-Product still on hiatus

Dear friends:

Due to computer and connectivity problems the By-Product will be on hiatus, hopefully for a short time only. I am having trouble with my "antique" iMac and I may have to switch to my alternative computer, an almost equally venerable laptop. I hope to return when I've re-connected.

Yours in obsolescence,

"Art By-Products"

Art Model Ink Wash 1975

I experimented with making my figure sketches look like the ones of olden days in the 17th and 18th centuries. I used sepia inks with pen work and wash. I started the drawing with a very light pencil sketch and then did the penwork, finishing with diluted ink shading by brush. This one with its unfinished companion is one of my better efforts in this medium. I'd probably use a marker for the shading if I tried this now. I think it looks suitably artsy.

Sepia brown ink on sketchbook page, 6 1/2" x 8", 1975.

Cafe Cabinet

I often frequent Caffe Amouri, the college-style cafe in Vienna, Virginia. As with any destination, I draw when I'm there. This drawing features a majestic open cabinet loaded with coffee brewing devices. There were people sitting at the table in front so I had to wait until they left and restored my line of sight, leaving a coffee mug as an accent.

Sepia brown tech pen and some Photoshop ruler lines, 4 1/2" x 6", July 12, 2019.

Old Dragon

He's an old dragon, scarred and aged from his many ordeals. He's coiled up in his cave, a wingless beast who once ruled the land. Now he dozes away, remembering past battles, knights and elusive maidens. The townsfolk bring him food and leftover wine, but no more girls for the knight to save. In the winter a short breath of fire warms his cave, while the young recorder takes down in writing the old dragon's wealth of stories.

Inks and markers on sketchbook page, 4" x 4", July 11, 2019.

Celebrate White Wine

When I first started tasting wine in Virginia, Viognier was the only Virginia white wine that tasted decent to me. Thirty years later my favorite wineries still grow Viognier and use it in blends. Viognier by itself is soft and sweet and still a favorite of mine. White wine is good for a lot of things including summer sipping with a selection of cheese and charcuterie. Now I'm hungry again.

Photoshop composite, 8 1/2" x 11", July 2019. 

Celebrate Red Wine

This "theme" page can go anywhere in the book though it looks autumnal to me. Its partner, of course, is white wine and will go next to red wine in a virtual tasting. Or maybe not? This is about design and marketing rather than flavor.

Photoshop composite, 8 1/2" x 11", July 2019.

Conference Attendees

The "Order of Saint Michael," an ecumenical, mystical Christian group I belong to, holds its annual meeting some time in July. I just got back, avoiding the floods and torrents which recently drenched my destination. There are only about 30 people in the Order, and 13 of them, counting me, attended the conference. The site is a modest residence hall with immaculately kept amenities and communal meals. The retreat site is surrounded by forest and gardens and trees and landscaping full of birds, which I reverently follow with my binoculars. This year I saw a family of Eastern Bluebirds, always to me a symbol of courage and perseverance.

This drawing depicts two of the attendees in a well-furnished conference room. Some of the things that were discussed were the meaning of faith in a faith-less world, shamanistic inner journeys, and virtual reality as a prayer technique. In the evening after dinner we held a candle-lit prayer service accompanied by recorded acoustic/ambient music.

Sepia brown ink on sketchbook page, 4 1/2" x 6". July 6, 2019.

By-Product on short absence holiday

Once again due to holidays and a conference the weekend of July 5, there will be no postings from the By-Product so please have patience, I hope to be back soon.

From Pyracantha

Skye models with a twist

"Skye" the art model was athletic as I have said and she could take action poses. This one comes from the segment of the life drawing session where the model posed for thirty seconds to a few minutes. Fast drawing was exciting because you only got one chance to draw something decent. This is the best of a number of my attempts in the short pose format, featuring a twist of arm and back.

Life drawing was always fun. The Boston University art school, which I regard as the best art school in Beantown, had a strong emphasis on life drawing, both nudes and portraits. It was said that at the B.U. art school, there was a butt behind every studio door.

Pencil on sketchbook page, 7" x 4", 1975.

Winery door textures

The Wine Team visited "Lost Creek" winery, about an hour and a half's journey from Metro DC. The weather was perfect, with brilliant clear sunlight and warm breezes. The fountain in their courtyard, which I had depicted many years ago in spring and as yet waterless, was now full of water trickling and splashing. There was an arbor overhead with foliage to shade the sunlight. Entering this bright court from the darker tasting room was like entering the earthly paradise I dreamed of in my first wine picture book. This sketch depicts the door between the worlds and its many textures, as well as an ornamental lantern.

Sepia brown tech pen on sketchbook page, 4 1/2" x 8 1/2", June 30, 2019.