People watching in Metropolis
Mephistopheles. Actually just a guy I know from my gym.
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There is a lot of art activity on this front, but I am not sure any of the results are worth posting. I have two portraits in the works, one in graphite and one in watercolor. The graphite may be finished soon… ish… and may get to be posted then. The watercolor one is in early stages, and it is too soon to tell whether anything worthwhile will come out of this.
I have gone to a life-drawing session again and am still wondering if I should post my charcoal attempts. I don’t particularly like them although the model was absolutely great. I am also studying anatomy, specifically drawing/constructing hands working from Burne Hogarth’s book Drawing Dynamic Hands.
To keep up with the blog amidst all this activity here are two sketches from Metropolis café which is next to my gym. There’s wonderful people watching in Metropolis, and I indulge in it while trying to catch my breath after working out or waiting for my daughter.
Watercolor, graphite, sketchbook
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I think you can post anything you feel comfortable posting, Alex. I rather like these sketches and know they are done in a time limit and with the purpose of studying people. They are full of character and the moment. I have missed your posts so was hungry for some Alex Art!!!! Good job! Can hardly wait to see what else you have been working on. 🙂
Leslie, your comments are so good for my soul! Always! Every time I’d get discouraged with my skills or get face-to-face with the lack of elegance in my work you would say something here that makes me want to try again. How perfectly wonderful! I was really disappointed with my last life drawing, the model was so beautiful, he had such as stunning presence, and yet looked nothing of the sort on my paper. I was sad for him and for me both. Yet I went to this workshop again yesterday, after your comment, and my work looked better. Still far from I would call elegant, but acceptable enough. It was also helpful that the yesterday’s session was instructed, the teacher showed me some methods for positioning body masses. Anyway, a long reply for a blog here. What I am trying to say is that I appreciate your interest in my journey – Thank you!
I love Mephistopheles–that vibrant color on his head and the foreground makes a great composition. I go through that same pondering about whether stuff is worth posting. Glad you did post these.
Thank you, Jana! This business of what show to the world and what to hide… I have a constant internal dialog about this, and it boils down to plain honesty. Should I show only good work? Thus creating an impression that I am more accomplished as an artist than I really am? Or should I show my struggles, which I have a large pile of, and therefor produce post after post of C- images? I am not enlightened enough to be free of desire to look good and to get approval from the outside world. And yet there are too many struggles in my art, and that’s the truth of the matter.
Hi Alex, excellent sketches and once again I applaud you and anyone else who is confident enough to sketch in public.
Both of these people have great character!
Can’t wait to see your portraits.
Thank you, Carol! Talking from what little experience I have in sketching in public I’d say this: if you have a desire to do it, if you are thinking wistfully about getting out there with your sketchbook, and it sounds like you do, – then just do it. It is scary only the first few times. OK, first 5-6 times, but then it stops. I can’t say that I am confident as you put it, no, I am still too new and unsure of myself, but I don’t have this fear any more. And that alone is worth while in my mind – getting over yet another fear, making my comfort zone a little wider. I can’t say that I can draw any better than before, but I got over myself with this and now can do what I wanted to do for a long time. And so can you.
And there’s another little secret: nobody gives a damn ’bout what you are doing in your little book. Really. I’ve heard this before, but didn’t believe it. Now that I was out there several times, I know that this is true – nobody can care less.
Alex, always post what you are working on. We are not critical. I hope we are always supportive. Please check out my latest post. We are going to do an end of summer challenge based on self-portraits (which can be just hands or feet!) I would be great if you could participate. We post on September 21. Any medium you want!
Thank you for the support, Linda! This sounds great, I will post more scribbles then! 😀
Leslie sent me a link to your summer challenge, I saw it yesterday and left you a comment. I will try to participate, the idea is great and interests me. Not sure how it would work time-wise. I will do my best!