Kevin Crawford on the Flute

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HIdgFs1UUcJKU1yUxL7-5cdD-q10ZpQwRhYywF2p595GePlCxh03k2-jgElYpgQDnXoeR-Wyjf93qkLYETEWl8ouAA1TzDmIh6IOHx5M-0QEICJSzc87vFzonngPuDofYLJq86qjonGg/s1600/Kevin_Crawford_Flute.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6HIdgFs1UUcJKU1yUxL7-5cdD-q10ZpQwRhYywF2p595GePlCxh03k2-jgElYpgQDnXoeR-Wyjf93qkLYETEWl8ouAA1TzDmIh6IOHx5M-0QEICJSzc87vFzonngPuDofYLJq86qjonGg/s1600/Kevin_Crawford_Flute.sm.jpg" width="348" /></a></div>Here's Irish flutist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Crawford">Kevin Crawford</a>, sketched from life in a pub session. It's just a couple inches square drawn in watercolor and water-soluble colored pencils.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="253" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/3Xd20pcLE48" width="450"></iframe><br />He's a wonderfully dynamic player, and in truth he looks a lot less cadaverous than I made him appear -- sorry Kevin!<br /><br />

Kevin Crawford on the Flute

Here's Irish flutist Kevin Crawford , sketched from life in a pub session. It's just a couple inches square drawn in watercolor and ...

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John Seerey-Lester

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f4G8dMEbJOOE8AiZn20mUFrPAeVGcjkWMCon7eq-Ub1VXI8whvNTyLVGpaSge-f9Hn4cvOuik8sujeWUzjCEWRmKpATdcSjxfJ-UOV5CzPQzA6HUm8vDk0-LA0_5uH5e8HJFx9nVkWAH/s1600/John+Seerey+Lester.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3f4G8dMEbJOOE8AiZn20mUFrPAeVGcjkWMCon7eq-Ub1VXI8whvNTyLVGpaSge-f9Hn4cvOuik8sujeWUzjCEWRmKpATdcSjxfJ-UOV5CzPQzA6HUm8vDk0-LA0_5uH5e8HJFx9nVkWAH/s1600/John+Seerey+Lester.sm.jpg" width="296" /></a></div> <span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Portrait sketch of Sir <a href="http://www.seerey-lester.com/">John Seerey-Lester,</a> fellow instructor at the </span><a href="http://www.skbworkshop.com/" style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">SKB Workshop</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"> in Dubois, Wyoming.</span><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #37404e; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0A5IF8mFY_Ottl46amkA32QfA-YTnJyzVBZ-C-Rj1s9J4-uqC1eVjjIJy5_O4d2uq5Z2_79AqH3CrkXnOGSMki2SWZf0qKUqOecnfQ5bp7X4B098A5DNcJYuxX6bp6OhSQKo61ZmbTjyr/s1600/John+S.+Lester.lg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0A5IF8mFY_Ottl46amkA32QfA-YTnJyzVBZ-C-Rj1s9J4-uqC1eVjjIJy5_O4d2uq5Z2_79AqH3CrkXnOGSMki2SWZf0qKUqOecnfQ5bp7X4B098A5DNcJYuxX6bp6OhSQKo61ZmbTjyr/s1600/John+S.+Lester.lg.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />

John Seerey-Lester

  Portrait sketch of Sir John Seerey-Lester, fellow instructor at the  SKB Workshop  in Dubois, Wyoming.

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"Fig" Newton, Carnival Worker

Yesterday I took my <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2014/08/watercolor-in-wild-materials.html">compact watercolor kit</a> "into the wild" to the Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck, New York and painted an impromptu portrait of James "Fig" Newton, the oldest carnival worker at the fair.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1C15H3nqaamgRamUWK6UVdtTS6lRBeckiVKsx6zzi1AeY38WcWSCnedC-luV7N8bGmaDgWpklsJ5vOq54Jrhhwmr6W3Nf2dQRJKPcXV2H_Gcbtsu6ejWkssGV1h4nxK_SDCWoMEZG-wF/s1600/Fig_Newton.sc.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1C15H3nqaamgRamUWK6UVdtTS6lRBeckiVKsx6zzi1AeY38WcWSCnedC-luV7N8bGmaDgWpklsJ5vOq54Jrhhwmr6W3Nf2dQRJKPcXV2H_Gcbtsu6ejWkssGV1h4nxK_SDCWoMEZG-wF/s1600/Fig_Newton.sc.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">He was assigned to a ball-toss game in Kiddie Land. A bucket of ping pong balls cost five dollars. The goal was to toss a ball into one of the glass bowls floating by on little rafts in a circular wading pool. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The game looked impossible and nobody was going for it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I asked him if I could sketch him while he waited between customers, and he was glad for the diversion.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uPJPIbu-r1QKsTj3tT0yxCvJSZHjat_CvRdfVS2YBG1rpgKWuiKKnMffYeUl5WP8lIZHmgBHy2gIuCvGsiKg3zWRqks51P6Lkg10qqC7aMyRxdKfoPVsR8NiW3moejt81fBpk48YRdot/s1600/Fig_Newton.sc.det.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7uPJPIbu-r1QKsTj3tT0yxCvJSZHjat_CvRdfVS2YBG1rpgKWuiKKnMffYeUl5WP8lIZHmgBHy2gIuCvGsiKg3zWRqks51P6Lkg10qqC7aMyRxdKfoPVsR8NiW3moejt81fBpk48YRdot/s1600/Fig_Newton.sc.det.jpg" width="396" /></a></div>Fig is 71 years old. He has been in the carnival business for 48 years, working mostly in New York State. He has saved up money to help his nephew get started in glassblowing, and he just sent his daughter $500 so his grandkids could get outfitted for school. <br /><br />He said when a family walks by he can tell right away who makes the decisions and who's got the money. Sometimes it's the dad, and sometimes it's the mom. I asked him if he had a good sales pitch to pull people in. "This game's not worth my barking," he said.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Every fifteen minutes or so a family would come up, pay the money, and a kid would toss the balls one by one. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Ping--Splash.  Plip -- Splash.  Dink, Dink -- Splash. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">As each kid went away disappointed, Fig got up to his feet, leaned over the plastic pool, and scooped out the ping pong balls with a kitchen strainer.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMo8giIj9rYcwjBW7vtlF6cGpYeZ3dpxeay6ZGU1BsmEpBWsxHHEMN9JoSk9ojOCHjQVuIxdVQBA1zn-mXz2POqfov-kG30-IMa995AVrKFiBeyfxjohUMF8mzALSfeyVpEgmOWx9lES5/s1600/Fig+Newton+w.+Jim.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSMo8giIj9rYcwjBW7vtlF6cGpYeZ3dpxeay6ZGU1BsmEpBWsxHHEMN9JoSk9ojOCHjQVuIxdVQBA1zn-mXz2POqfov-kG30-IMa995AVrKFiBeyfxjohUMF8mzALSfeyVpEgmOWx9lES5/s1600/Fig+Newton+w.+Jim.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The portrait took about an hour. I used watercolor and colored pencils, with a little gouache for the edge lighting, highlights, teeth and the blue collar. When I showed it to him, he shook my hand and said, "Good. You got my scowl."</div>

"Fig" Newton, Carnival Worker

Yesterday I took my compact watercolor kit "into the wild" to the Dutchess County Fair in Rhinebeck, New York and painted an impr...

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Ghostly Gaze Illusion

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51oTaKCd5sMUjWigK8KpSL7WL7aJSNYYjoj0QHdxvqVrwqfB6Odmru3MuFeP0gDyiimBL7qUXlLvRhQmRYM7xx1SqryHBcseUs9bv18xO_WKYIz7C_8n03KpnEdVWiyt6LAt6X_qxQ4uG/s1600/Ghostly+Gaze+Illusion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj51oTaKCd5sMUjWigK8KpSL7WL7aJSNYYjoj0QHdxvqVrwqfB6Odmru3MuFeP0gDyiimBL7qUXlLvRhQmRYM7xx1SqryHBcseUs9bv18xO_WKYIz7C_8n03KpnEdVWiyt6LAt6X_qxQ4uG/s1600/Ghostly+Gaze+Illusion.jpg" width="300" /></a><div>Here's an optical illusion. This woman seems to be looking to our left when we see her up close, but she switches to looking to our right when we back up and look at the same face from across the room.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuF5E_QQoHunRKxOIb_OkkNv1poADBoM_qoMPhxVamvoD510ERyuvhEE-rbeM4s0RzQhM61UiHfMasT4JAiIj0Bhp9LuDO5klxmLWgrIybZuhTLcUKbOC3kdWr8nxotL_-2NrU0_3acPzv/s1600/ghostly_gaze_illusion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuF5E_QQoHunRKxOIb_OkkNv1poADBoM_qoMPhxVamvoD510ERyuvhEE-rbeM4s0RzQhM61UiHfMasT4JAiIj0Bhp9LuDO5klxmLWgrIybZuhTLcUKbOC3kdWr8nxotL_-2NrU0_3acPzv/s1600/ghostly_gaze_illusion.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>Here are two women with light gray eyes. They're looking more or less forward, right?<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7Oe9EeeM6dGduawnvLUoc59D1jMBkIpLH1hnfNUFeAa8DR5TpicL3Am-blukmiX_7roGhBTBd0LXzlMBE4YLE0GEgluXE6f37t9hqG5cedZv1VB7LO4i2VEKd768cCxnLpeorEfxj-Vl/s1600/ghostly_gaze_illusion.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH7Oe9EeeM6dGduawnvLUoc59D1jMBkIpLH1hnfNUFeAa8DR5TpicL3Am-blukmiX_7roGhBTBd0LXzlMBE4YLE0GEgluXE6f37t9hqG5cedZv1VB7LO4i2VEKd768cCxnLpeorEfxj-Vl/s1600/ghostly_gaze_illusion.sm.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you look at the same image files at a much smaller scale, the eyes of the two women seem to be looking at each other instead of looking forward. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To create the faces, scientists rendered the eyes so that the sideways-looking eyes were rendered in the form of coarse, blurry detail, and the forward-looking eyes were rendered with fine detail. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntbSp5xzkI9KFRx1ogXc2Kr4mTLozncdv6L_ak0ETAxsMFKZnvlQxm8HwgemQZRFpNDNeB3KY4YvkNzX8Tx1oea9KYQzl__Tmb7_-gPXYjM6wOxuO6gbIlYzjEoVOlBe9yw_UVEh2cg8T/s1600/GroupFaceHybrid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhntbSp5xzkI9KFRx1ogXc2Kr4mTLozncdv6L_ak0ETAxsMFKZnvlQxm8HwgemQZRFpNDNeB3KY4YvkNzX8Tx1oea9KYQzl__Tmb7_-gPXYjM6wOxuO6gbIlYzjEoVOlBe9yw_UVEh2cg8T/s1600/GroupFaceHybrid.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back up enough and these ladies will all smile at you.</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our brains process fine and coarse detail in different ways, as was first made famous with the <a href="http://cvcl.mit.edu/hybrid_gallery/gallery.html">Albert Einstein / Marilyn Monroe hybrid image</a> illusion. That's also why we need to back up from our portrait paintings while we're working on them. Otherwise we can unknowingly set up contradictory information streams at the level of fine and coarse detail. Every portrait painter has experienced eyes that seem to move or a smile that seems to change when the piece is viewed from farther back.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These gaze illusions have an eerie effect because it's so important to us humans to know which way another person is looking, and misreading gaze direction is a major issue for social interaction. That's also why it creeps us out to talk to someone up close who is wearing mirror shades.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">----</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The twin gaze illusion was created by <a href="http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/psychology/staff/robjenkins/">Rob Jenkins of the University of Glasgow</a>.<br />Hybrid images are a technique first published by Philippe Schyns & Aude Oliva in 1994.<br /><br /> </div></div>

Ghostly Gaze Illusion

Here's an optical illusion. This woman seems to be looking to our left when we see her up close, but she switches to looking to our righ...

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Zorn's Self Confidence

Anders Zorn (1860-1920) painted this portrait of an executioner in Siebenbürgen (Transylvania) while he was on his honeymoon in 1885. <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHmi71rF0oXi8QUrBSIQXZzJAhr67u0iM6WwY307WbsV1sL340iyi4D8obh6LSrLr39AORaLnucpVkzF2OhfYNj0FRVx_ZLRFnhVO-wSjFr1kFkkRE947gZC4FeNGWFH0fVMBfqy5DEf2/s1600/Zorn+Executioner+from+Siebenburgen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFHmi71rF0oXi8QUrBSIQXZzJAhr67u0iM6WwY307WbsV1sL340iyi4D8obh6LSrLr39AORaLnucpVkzF2OhfYNj0FRVx_ZLRFnhVO-wSjFr1kFkkRE947gZC4FeNGWFH0fVMBfqy5DEf2/s1600/Zorn+Executioner+from+Siebenburgen.jpg" width="291" /></a></div>Just 25 years old, Zorn was brimming with self confidence. "I never spent much time thinking about others' art. I felt that if I wanted to become something, then I had to go after nature with all my interest and energy, seek what I loved about it, and desire to steal its secret and beauty. I was entitled to become as great as anyone else, and in that branch of art so commanded by me, watercolor painting, I considered myself to have already surpassed all predecessors and contemporaries."<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-iFmiBhbOzU_6rzL2GvzPnHHl3VvQmv1eKy6BfM_4HoIHO4YiA3GYaoouw7i3mbQvSVAmYNgg4W-Kh0kcrKr6822dYnJLaA_IAr13sSna_vqQtv19jj1ubKX310I-5JVWv5IeR7Tqy0e/s1600/Zorn+executioner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju-iFmiBhbOzU_6rzL2GvzPnHHl3VvQmv1eKy6BfM_4HoIHO4YiA3GYaoouw7i3mbQvSVAmYNgg4W-Kh0kcrKr6822dYnJLaA_IAr13sSna_vqQtv19jj1ubKX310I-5JVWv5IeR7Tqy0e/s1600/Zorn+executioner.jpg" width="281" /></a></div>He later translated the portrait into an etching, which is necessarily reversed.<br /><br />The quote comes from Zorn's autobiographical notes, included in the recent book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0847841510/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0847841510&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=UJZB6JSPWVCAN4IQ">Anders Zorn: Sweden's Master Painter</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0847841510" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br /><div>(<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2013/12/book-review-anders-zorn-swedens-master.html">Book review on this blog</a>)</div><div>On the web: <a href="http://www.anderszorn.org/">Anders Zorn: The Complete Works</a></div>

Zorn's Self Confidence

Anders Zorn (1860-1920) painted this portrait of an executioner in Siebenbürgen (Transylvania) while he was on his honeymoon in 1885. Just 2...

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Restaurant Patron

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was impressed with the striking silhouette of a restaurant patron who was sitting about ten feet away from me. She had cornrows that ended in long braids, big silver earrings, and red horn-rimmed glasses.</div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNBgn3zZwiksWwzGB3VDs4_0sti_vkrr3Qt6bnkIq3pkHsrnPnjqgG52fdKDlddgPy9-Eerlo0N4BHLjn1OS_7iwzgUn0IWisgoXoIIoKQGP2mR5Iip3yfN8NpII8sRYLrB_YcVXzlY8K/s1600/Restaurant+Patron.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="271" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFNBgn3zZwiksWwzGB3VDs4_0sti_vkrr3Qt6bnkIq3pkHsrnPnjqgG52fdKDlddgPy9-Eerlo0N4BHLjn1OS_7iwzgUn0IWisgoXoIIoKQGP2mR5Iip3yfN8NpII8sRYLrB_YcVXzlY8K/s1600/Restaurant+Patron.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />I opened up my watercolor set and quickly laid down some washes starting with the blue highlight color of her skin. I worked as quickly and discretely as I could. I was a little nervous about the possible reaction from her and her boyfriend if she were to notice I was painting her. I tried to remind myself to wipe the look of intense concentration off my face and wear a pleasant smile instead.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2AW6yEsMydrEayzVBeYvdjusoWU0RtFeVr0a5x5mGwGQfv9yEsGXGwS8_6g-nXOORh-qflDJls115Y4zwTYTPNGMSzII0QP2AmTURTGbp5fjqoutGW7B-qfeRXOBSym1PlVNF_CF6po7/s1600/Restaurant+Patron.CU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg2AW6yEsMydrEayzVBeYvdjusoWU0RtFeVr0a5x5mGwGQfv9yEsGXGwS8_6g-nXOORh-qflDJls115Y4zwTYTPNGMSzII0QP2AmTURTGbp5fjqoutGW7B-qfeRXOBSym1PlVNF_CF6po7/s1600/Restaurant+Patron.CU.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />Sure enough, when I glanced up she was looking at me and clearly wondering what I was doing. I showed her my sketchbook and told her I'm trying to get practice painting people in watercolor. She and her boyfriend loved it, and only wanted to take a photo to put on her Facebook page.

Restaurant Patron

I was impressed with the striking silhouette of a restaurant patron who was sitting about ten feet away from me. She had cornrows that ended...

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Computer Time

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoTbv9gl1Wd0VXHmpyilO5nSazkWFHXrq6NpW6l28SlIToyqAxVdKdbdieOOfNfL3NjET1rlgrTFjmLpb690E2z7BJqqjEHW9_yjui1poatR-nAchGShLo0z8QfSA-8GTpdVn3g62VVad/s1600/Computer+Time.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeoTbv9gl1Wd0VXHmpyilO5nSazkWFHXrq6NpW6l28SlIToyqAxVdKdbdieOOfNfL3NjET1rlgrTFjmLpb690E2z7BJqqjEHW9_yjui1poatR-nAchGShLo0z8QfSA-8GTpdVn3g62VVad/s1600/Computer+Time.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I painted this watercolor study of my wife Jeanette doing computer time. Normally, of course, the computer gives off a blue light, but this light is from a lamp shining on the warm-colored wall in front of her.</div>

Computer Time

I painted this watercolor study of my wife Jeanette doing computer time. Normally, of course, the computer gives off a blue light, but this ...

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Plane Heads

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Art teachers have proposed various schemes for simplifying the head into an arrangement of flat planes. Here are two plane breakdowns by Andrew Loomis, author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0857680986/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0857680986&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=LKKN3V32NGDXB3LR">Figure Drawing for All It's Worth</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0857680986" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0857680978/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0857680978&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=ORAE47N3HG2HEYHI">Drawing the Head and Hands</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0857680978" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKMdU7NXAoCCaJzR9m6XEMUPiwlGNlBN1jm9Xs0WZbCovKPBWszPwSfI2KgpphZKwpVyykoRUDWWoSO9V5lnqQyBM9LxEJcqAM-FkRUzp-ydBJVgJpRiYmXdrVw3ZGdY1q3wHVaTpN6fv/s1600/loomis-planes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKMdU7NXAoCCaJzR9m6XEMUPiwlGNlBN1jm9Xs0WZbCovKPBWszPwSfI2KgpphZKwpVyykoRUDWWoSO9V5lnqQyBM9LxEJcqAM-FkRUzp-ydBJVgJpRiYmXdrVw3ZGdY1q3wHVaTpN6fv/s1600/loomis-planes.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The one on the left is a simple breakdown, with front, side, and bottom planes. The one on the right subdivides the planes further. To be precise, some of these "planes" aren't perfect planes in the geometric sense, such as the curving planes on the top of the cranium.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTSh59t90c1Tl_oSdsUykJC2sWs4Yj7BRer1QiGvoBWXsWVkWkJ6GH2lNZkqUk_mk1JybOLal8E5lcw7xyD7aMWtrQkuxtUwROufMyo2GrdlrRs-E0_9wBuiM4mO4q4UD_9NnqjWe9ckX/s1600/Fixler.Planes_of_the_head.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-align: start;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453337844763770194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbTSh59t90c1Tl_oSdsUykJC2sWs4Yj7BRer1QiGvoBWXsWVkWkJ6GH2lNZkqUk_mk1JybOLal8E5lcw7xyD7aMWtrQkuxtUwROufMyo2GrdlrRs-E0_9wBuiM4mO4q4UD_9NnqjWe9ckX/s320/Fixler.Planes_of_the_head.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.fredfixler.com/">Fred Fixler,</a> a student of famed Art Students League instructor Frank Reilly, came up with a slightly different plane breakdown for an idealized male head. There are some rounded forms too. The cranium is a ball with the sides sliced off. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEign3zoUnY0Vs7scJjtQHAhgeC8fzAHirOQwQq9SyBoFyerHqE_q4YMcN4OG-rM7rmeuJL1Rdh2lCrEa61GFf2EtnceYNr_xa2uFEVNJElQY1vJ8Tr686jVcjXPQUv3tEEiPy3q3CbDl1jX/s1600/Plane+Head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEign3zoUnY0Vs7scJjtQHAhgeC8fzAHirOQwQq9SyBoFyerHqE_q4YMcN4OG-rM7rmeuJL1Rdh2lCrEa61GFf2EtnceYNr_xa2uFEVNJElQY1vJ8Tr686jVcjXPQUv3tEEiPy3q3CbDl1jX/s1600/Plane+Head.jpg" width="266" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sculpting the plane head brings the plane analysis into the realm of reality. This one is by painter and teacher John Asaro, who has a website called "<a href="http://www.planesofthehead.com/">Planes of the Head</a>.<span style="text-align: center;">" He has taught head painting using his plane head. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">Many academic instructors have used plane heads as models before going to the live human, because it's much easier to accurately judge the values and color notes of each plane, compared to the infinitely variegated tones and curving forms of a real face. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52L9HkyY0TbqZYXdh62R8gLML7ltewCtDtpZ86AGij6JUHf5G8xSPC3PcAcNQwfei9g-MQJ0hY6OM8ah-sMkov5pL4cl2mtyzbuH7M-f1vkqhnbmg2SOovIpUe1y9woIwODuLur3LuTen/s1600/Plane+Head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg52L9HkyY0TbqZYXdh62R8gLML7ltewCtDtpZ86AGij6JUHf5G8xSPC3PcAcNQwfei9g-MQJ0hY6OM8ah-sMkov5pL4cl2mtyzbuH7M-f1vkqhnbmg2SOovIpUe1y9woIwODuLur3LuTen/s1600/Plane+Head.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Drawing and painting from plane heads is a central part of Chinese and Russian academic practice, and various companies have resurrected some of these art school models, such as this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2DYWJY/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L2DYWJY&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=FU73CJNCMB2XZM3I">21-Inch plaster head</a>.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygWIaM65sqnsZoY41s_ofe3u8AVt3FEy5LO5MZA0Q-CwNyatWCJVjJRHM4vKtqrzNzSXJHwvM1v9HmbPT1Wr2arCW9zD7xz5UaCfDbpTBJBFvk_NiCUWpfX2La4ZnglXL5_efe8M5n5K2/s1600/Plane+Head2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiygWIaM65sqnsZoY41s_ofe3u8AVt3FEy5LO5MZA0Q-CwNyatWCJVjJRHM4vKtqrzNzSXJHwvM1v9HmbPT1Wr2arCW9zD7xz5UaCfDbpTBJBFvk_NiCUWpfX2La4ZnglXL5_efe8M5n5K2/s1600/Plane+Head2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L2DYYLA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00L2DYYLA&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=4AHKHQGPTTJEJXJ3">mini plaster head</a> is very different from a European or American standard head, and the planes are broken down into a mosaic of small forms. But the ear is treated as a single plane.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><div><br /></div></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLrdNVjaIQQjyqY7fFGuY_jWB5hY5Cra4PDIxwwtils7ImIcrkkSOkJfitPr1RlRn-XcRtsdD1gc8Df12hyCBicRv1SjrujZ3CvkkbmRSPhelhyphenhyphenqk2cPdzDttPoAzJgN_X9Axu6Ouo6T0/s1600/Gurney+Plane+Head.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPLrdNVjaIQQjyqY7fFGuY_jWB5hY5Cra4PDIxwwtils7ImIcrkkSOkJfitPr1RlRn-XcRtsdD1gc8Df12hyCBicRv1SjrujZ3CvkkbmRSPhelhyphenhyphenqk2cPdzDttPoAzJgN_X9Axu6Ouo6T0/s1600/Gurney+Plane+Head.JPG" width="387" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">People will debate the merits of these commercially available heads, but I've never been completely satisfied with any of them. I think it's a great exercise for any student to come up with their own analysis, and that's what I did when I was in art school. Before I knew about <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0026C1T8C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0026C1T8C&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=MKKLLLPVSAORTTEH">Sculpey</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0026C1T8C" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />, I made this the hard way, sculpting a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FR7TTBM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00FR7TTBM&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=A5ZUGJQLYESXKLY6">plastilina</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00FR7TTBM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> original, and then making a two-piece mold and casting it in plaster. Mine was inspired mainly by Loomis and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402766785/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1402766785&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20&linkId=OKBSGTGJJ25CE2KO">George Bridgman</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1402766785" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOtICemEC8iQt6cyIiIYDJa72O6muvuHPPB8sDbKPJmNkC0MZviysQh_wJVI1if3_3zybMjVhLcGdGXtmiujPh63WNjVwUyqFJJdPfhqHStOlfZY8CnkSIsWFvYYcVehQd_orvTIu_13z/s1600-h/ColorHead1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="text-align: start;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5188582214429311138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcOtICemEC8iQt6cyIiIYDJa72O6muvuHPPB8sDbKPJmNkC0MZviysQh_wJVI1if3_3zybMjVhLcGdGXtmiujPh63WNjVwUyqFJJdPfhqHStOlfZY8CnkSIsWFvYYcVehQd_orvTIu_13z/s400/ColorHead1.jpg" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;">I have set up my little plane head and painted him in colored light.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;">Once a student has had practice drawing and painting from idealized plane heads, and even sculpting their own breakdowns, then I think the next best step is to look at real human models and break the planes down in a unique way for that individual model. </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1asIk_9F6OullPNLhHqgX7ZzaZChFcgj7X38yjqdDou3H_LngehICVU8bgJkQbNFQKrKMLhdEPF_RzW7-H6gDE8YvKO9ArQrWDehbb2ashW1BHTAfvlgkWWUqAxXemFjr_P2z5K8AQU/s1600-h/Plane.Heads.Man.vsm.W.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318600743229679698" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_1asIk_9F6OullPNLhHqgX7ZzaZChFcgj7X38yjqdDou3H_LngehICVU8bgJkQbNFQKrKMLhdEPF_RzW7-H6gDE8YvKO9ArQrWDehbb2ashW1BHTAfvlgkWWUqAxXemFjr_P2z5K8AQU/s400/Plane.Heads.Man.vsm.W.jpg" style="display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 381px;" /></a><br /><br />This was the <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/03/plane-heads.html">method taught in a seminar I took</a> from Art Center instructor Paul Souza, and here's an exercise I did in that class, scumbling white oil paint over chip board sealed with shellac.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIX0URIssJpLmfU_zsqh5FHju8k8JGTEwx-MRcBlxEbCJjmDeTGD16pl1N8DC02jJfWWqVrkuitDQHBTPd_C4bsLFTF1R9CVKyhx4tnOYex0STaxm7N29G76aK5Nhm8PtOwtDN1_y82lo/s1600-h/Plane.Heads.Woman.sm.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318600745328932370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIX0URIssJpLmfU_zsqh5FHju8k8JGTEwx-MRcBlxEbCJjmDeTGD16pl1N8DC02jJfWWqVrkuitDQHBTPd_C4bsLFTF1R9CVKyhx4tnOYex0STaxm7N29G76aK5Nhm8PtOwtDN1_y82lo/s400/Plane.Heads.Woman.sm.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 395px;" /></a><br />In truth, there is no single ideal plane head, and even an individual model's face can be analyzed in various ways.

Plane Heads

Art teachers have proposed various schemes for simplifying the head into an arrangement of flat planes. Here are two plane breakdowns by And...

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Brian Froud (and friend)

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOc9IHJ1xp7g8lZeQnnJJCX8uK2NA8mYdY1FjnVNwcGLeVtlXPdO0zcJXAIaBoCbY8CduyR0wHHFNSmIx1baZ3q3eI5dqUD18PNIwPppJGot2nrJMbO8IKHc6dCYt2eiHo0j0OrvHCboE1/s1600/Brian_Froud_Faeries_Trolls.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOc9IHJ1xp7g8lZeQnnJJCX8uK2NA8mYdY1FjnVNwcGLeVtlXPdO0zcJXAIaBoCbY8CduyR0wHHFNSmIx1baZ3q3eI5dqUD18PNIwPppJGot2nrJMbO8IKHc6dCYt2eiHo0j0OrvHCboE1/s1600/Brian_Froud_Faeries_Trolls.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I drew this portrait of Brian Froud (author of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0810995867/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0810995867&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Faeries</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0810995867" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419704389/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1419704389&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Trolls</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1419704389" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />) as he gave his lecture at <a href="http://www.illustrationmasterclass.com/">Illustration Master Class</a> in Massachusetts.<br /><br />OK, I took a few liberties. He didn't have the top hat or the little fellow on his shoulder. But his wonderful faith in the reality of his unseen world had me believing, too.

Brian Froud (and friend)

I drew this portrait of Brian Froud (author of Faeries and Trolls ) as he gave his lecture at Illustration Master Class  in Massachusetts. ...

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Allen Williams, Painting

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I asked <a href="http://www.ijustdraw.com/">Allen Williams</a> if I could paint him while he worked at Illustration Master Class in Amherst, Massachusetts yesterday. He said yes, so I set up my little casein easel. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mKIqNmX3VI1OI3ajMT1GYmI6oVHSmvA9hEFICcmlteihloUuL-kXNa2S_9Od4m1kz-sviToeGIBiWcMOYK9hTZonqayAApnmTTmF76Xu_hkAvPMi3UgWM8zL3zChOaXbWxalRSpNNdUF/s1600/Allen+Williams.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6mKIqNmX3VI1OI3ajMT1GYmI6oVHSmvA9hEFICcmlteihloUuL-kXNa2S_9Od4m1kz-sviToeGIBiWcMOYK9hTZonqayAApnmTTmF76Xu_hkAvPMi3UgWM8zL3zChOaXbWxalRSpNNdUF/s1600/Allen+Williams.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I love Allen's artwork, which has <a href="http://www.ijustdraw.com/image.php?lineid=7&bid=131">infinite depths</a> and the quiet rhythms of Nature. I was attracted to him as a subject because of the joyful, focused attention he brings to his work. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76xua9qt7dHNClfoxBLk8JhRDVXJQoIrmHf79WokteX2n3UEB_iZpT_xhp7YOy2oBYfGXufg8pXf4sCr3EsruECKChvQOL25O9KCbhzmlKRpSPJGo5IaizkE7yhnTipvvZrbzSxLYwHV2/s1600/10360455_10203284323302364_2083758043153074725_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg76xua9qt7dHNClfoxBLk8JhRDVXJQoIrmHf79WokteX2n3UEB_iZpT_xhp7YOy2oBYfGXufg8pXf4sCr3EsruECKChvQOL25O9KCbhzmlKRpSPJGo5IaizkE7yhnTipvvZrbzSxLYwHV2/s1600/10360455_10203284323302364_2083758043153074725_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Allen Williams, painted by James Gurney. Photo by <a href="http://laurenpanepinto.com/">Lauren Panepinto.</a></td></tr></tbody></table>Cool window light flooded his work area from behind, and the room lights were relatively warm. I had to decide between framing his profile against the dark painting or the cool window, and I think it could have worked either way.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwQvF9tuvFliINg6I6pGbOE4Qg5NnkFKhQTzQQYeQwRBdpGPwMefn2RNn82VzQP6OGw9sWET6zUF0jE24a9Obz69fedsLFCzsf7dJQLKpEj4k9XYIjuqpVCqc0Yyu-nmS5ibZRGnXSr2U/s1600/Allen_Williams_1sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpwQvF9tuvFliINg6I6pGbOE4Qg5NnkFKhQTzQQYeQwRBdpGPwMefn2RNn82VzQP6OGw9sWET6zUF0jE24a9Obz69fedsLFCzsf7dJQLKpEj4k9XYIjuqpVCqc0Yyu-nmS5ibZRGnXSr2U/s1600/Allen_Williams_1sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Over a colored pencil lay-in, I washed in some warm and cool tones and started to establish the darks with a half-inch flat synthetic brush.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXbfS5eadND43CH946kgHlok5cVzwqaEdK6J76TBUzKlloDjpDfwheMs3iGZRmCzV86mfjZYih-obvm7N6gBZ_cfgqeS2PAg4fhuXJZNLwrzufzNTA4XVRGL1lRA4Z96OhwG92Bul2aGw/s1600/Allen_Williams_2sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXbfS5eadND43CH946kgHlok5cVzwqaEdK6J76TBUzKlloDjpDfwheMs3iGZRmCzV86mfjZYih-obvm7N6gBZ_cfgqeS2PAg4fhuXJZNLwrzufzNTA4XVRGL1lRA4Z96OhwG92Bul2aGw/s1600/Allen_Williams_2sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Now I'm blocking in big areas. I want the profile silhouetted against the light, but that dark edge of the painting is too hard.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LZfOUND9LZFGMbivW-WS3fXAyvpf9-Rp-iyB-pdYBanHzGClPrLPH8I5gkR02w97JH5cEwZbvsZpFf05IQ7oyGrFy5ofA1uJuWt0TfZFlDrUBJJ0ZprMwd4004jvVO2opA1x6Q84ki_g/s1600/Allen_Williams_3.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3LZfOUND9LZFGMbivW-WS3fXAyvpf9-Rp-iyB-pdYBanHzGClPrLPH8I5gkR02w97JH5cEwZbvsZpFf05IQ7oyGrFy5ofA1uJuWt0TfZFlDrUBJJ0ZprMwd4004jvVO2opA1x6Q84ki_g/s1600/Allen_Williams_3.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>I soften and cool that edge. I rub out and repaint the ear a couple of times, and sort out the big plane changes on his back. I switch to a smaller round as I paint details of his face.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUa3vYCLzzlGDPfSM_ocOGhsdHQjsoA7-0KsszL806WDaW38Ov2dXnHk-__9i4g35rEo1iQe7i8XVW7vrQSHHGDxV-6AIzBp0i3aTGZIXt4OkUmI7-eBdlB2KyHpPc0ARHUgd3Cax7Xg0/s1600/Allen_Williams_4.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXUa3vYCLzzlGDPfSM_ocOGhsdHQjsoA7-0KsszL806WDaW38Ov2dXnHk-__9i4g35rEo1iQe7i8XVW7vrQSHHGDxV-6AIzBp0i3aTGZIXt4OkUmI7-eBdlB2KyHpPc0ARHUgd3Cax7Xg0/s1600/Allen_Williams_4.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><br />Next I define the hand, add more detail in the hair, and a little more resolution in Allen's painting.<br /><br />Scroll back up to the top for the finish, where I add the glasses, the mahl stick and I rework the bottom edge of the vignette.<br /><br />I used the following colors of casein:<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007WC4YQ/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0007WC4YQ&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Titanium white</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0007WC4YQ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br /><div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007WDOS6/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0007WDOS6&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Cadmium Yellow Light</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0007WDOS6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div></div><div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007W6QG8/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0007W6QG8&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Raw sienna</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0007W6QG8" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div></div><div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009IR1IC/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0009IR1IC&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Light red</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0009IR1IC" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div></div><div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BN8GNA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004BN8GNA&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Burnt umber</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B004BN8GNA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div></div><div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007WC504/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0007WC504&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Cobalt blue</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0007WC504" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></div></div><div><div><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007WC4ZK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0007WC4ZK&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Cadmium red</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0007WC4ZK" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />Brushes:<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005R20OFM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B005R20OFM&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Synthetic half-inch flat</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B005R20OFM" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0058OBY30/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0058OBY30&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Synthetic round #6</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B0058OBY30" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br />Sketchbook:<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8883705629/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=8883705629&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">Watercolor journal</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=8883705629" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br /><br /></div></div><a href="http://www.ijustdraw.com/">Allen Williams' website</a>

Allen Williams, Painting

I asked Allen Williams if I could paint him while he worked at Illustration Master Class in Amherst, Massachusetts yesterday. He said yes, ...

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"Greg Day" at IMC

Graphic novel artist Greg Ruth (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0439823323/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0439823323&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">The Lost Boy</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0439823323" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" />) made a surprise appearance at Illustration Master Class.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqNlVtnWVjYeGif21U2aDZjma8vXsRSnNCtH30fLZZDAb23IBDBCh6t1J4sLduISMi8a6O5EIu0eIAAUpvpZaTx5-tbMcGLA-D6pctTNSS8H55nOaENWSBNm8ZuNiWm4lOA-xq_iE8M-e/s1600/Greg+Ruth+Lost+Boy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqNlVtnWVjYeGif21U2aDZjma8vXsRSnNCtH30fLZZDAb23IBDBCh6t1J4sLduISMi8a6O5EIu0eIAAUpvpZaTx5-tbMcGLA-D6pctTNSS8H55nOaENWSBNm8ZuNiWm4lOA-xq_iE8M-e/s1600/Greg+Ruth+Lost+Boy.jpg" width="420" /></a></div><br />When <a href="http://www.artofmikemignola.com/">Mike Mignola</a> (Hellboy) saw the sketch I did of Greg, he said "Ruth is human broccoli."<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="//player.vimeo.com/video/90784758" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe> <a href="http://vimeo.com/90784758">The Drybrush Master</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user4905721">Ben Tobin</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />Greg Ruth did a brush and ink demo to an enthusiastic group of students, right after sharing the trailer for the documentary about him called "Drybrush Master." (<a href="http://vimeo.com/90784758">Direct link to video)</a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyyrYyH1us9puBLkGKBXLhqcUjw2LonlXmUdkJy1N_HVCY6FBe4H2rIS9Hh7OAsk5A4enxPiySYePmPREeRjMvBhX1qghAykRlyINIkVa7TJvS2h9QTB3zbHxeIPOxy4mIrTI7fc4uvgr-/s1600/Greg+Manchess+Illustration.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyyrYyH1us9puBLkGKBXLhqcUjw2LonlXmUdkJy1N_HVCY6FBe4H2rIS9Hh7OAsk5A4enxPiySYePmPREeRjMvBhX1qghAykRlyINIkVa7TJvS2h9QTB3zbHxeIPOxy4mIrTI7fc4uvgr-/s1600/Greg+Manchess+Illustration.jpg" width="328" /></a><br />Later in the day, painting ninja <a href="http://www.manchess.com/">Greg Manchess</a> showed us how he was able to produce more than 20 oil illustrations for a client who only gave him about two weeks.<br />-----<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0439823323/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0439823323&linkCode=as2&tag=gurnjour-20">The Lost Boy</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0439823323" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /><br /><div><br /></div>

"Greg Day" at IMC

Graphic novel artist Greg Ruth ( The Lost Boy ) made a surprise appearance at Illustration Master Class. When Mike Mignola (Hellboy) saw th...

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