Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Return of the Floating Heads

Wilfred at Carving Paper says, "When I am sitting, I am sketching." I've sort of adopted that as my motto as well.

But last month I decided to sketch while walking at the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Walk, and this is the result.

I have always thought of the awareness ribbons as symbols for causes. I have come to understand, though, that behind each ribbon - whether for breast cancer, soldiers abroad, autism awareness, or something else - there is a whisper of pain and of fear, but also a defiant shout. I admire all those who stride forward in the face of the frightening unknown.

People differ in their experiences and their reactions to them, but they are remarkably similar as well, of course. I don't know if it is because of their exotic differences or common humanity, but observing people is interesting to me, and I am compelled to draw their faces. So here is a sample from last month's sketches, recently colored with watercolors, in my new Strathmore watercolor journal.





















Faces appear to be my "default". When I am too busy, or tired, or just lazy, faces are what I draw. At the beginning of this blog (before my discovery of the wonders of watercolors), faces were all I drew. I called them "floating heads". (You can click on the images for larger views).









If you have ever tried to figure me out, psychoanalyze me, or have just been plain curious about who I am, I offer you this glimpse into my subconscious, also sketched in the Strathmore journal. This, then, is my "bar code".

So after studying it a bit, or scanning it in a reader, I ask you: are we the same, you and I, or different? Or maybe, just maybe, you'd rather not think about it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

36 comments:

  1. Congratulations on these sketches: the attitudes and lines are so varied and interesting! As for your "Bar Code", I think mine must be different ........ maybe just because I'm a Woman . and a French one !!!!!!???????? :O)

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  2. Your sketches always fascinate me because they're authentic - not imitative of others. I know a "Dan Kent" when I see one! And, I like your reflective approach. Are we the same or different? Both. The human condition is universal, we share the same range of emotions and physical world. However, our individual circumstances make us different. Viva la difference and la similarity!

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  3. I love the floating heads...glad they're back. I agree with Kathy, you have a very unique style. Your faces capture so much emotion and character. And the bar code...I have a feeling ours are very similar. :)

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  4. Your heads/faces are just what I need!
    Thank you for your suggestions, a couple there I hadn't thought about.
    As for bar codes, I think we're all different but that's what makes life interesting?

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  5. Hi Dan, thanks for dropping by my site.

    Sketching while *walking*? Wow. Something I've yet to try. Maybe I'll mention you to the next conductor who marvels that I draw faces on a moving train.

    Great portraits- they're all so individual.

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  6. Dan- You are SO EXCELLENT at drawing faces! You have a real gift for capturing the essence of someone. It's fascinating to see. I like the raw quality. Not fussed over, drawn in it's simplicity, true.
    I love your Bar Code! I also know that it most probably changes day to day, year to year, thought to thought. You and I have similarities, but it is our differences that have made us fast friends. I admire you for your genteel approach to life, your ability to view humanity with love, and your humility just to name a few things. Did I see these things in your Bar Code? Don't know, but I sure see them in you.

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  7. Did you really draw while walking? Amazing!! Most of us have trouble drawing figures in action even when we are not moving ourselves! And love the heads....

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  8. Hi Dan, The answer to your bar code question: yes, we're the same only different. I like you're "floating heads". They reminded me that I used to draw people all the time when I was a kid. My school notebooks are filled with them. I enjoy looking at your work and particularly liked the drawing done while walking. How do you like the Strathmore watercolor journal?

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  9. Uh oh. I think your bar code is similar to mine--a bit of everything and keep going until you run off the page. You don't just sketch faces; you capture the emotion. I'm pretty sure I couldn't sketch while walking.

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  10. Well your bar code actually looks like my default drawings... wish I could do faces, I try some but they are mostly horrid and don't look a thing like the person... I admire your work so much and look forward to seeing what you've been up to.
    Happy Thanksgiving Dan... you are unique.

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  11. I'm so glad your back you seem to have been missing, I love your drawings of people, I am only just starting and am pretty rubbish at peoples faces. I like the bar code analogy and think you have a very original one. I am trying to find mine

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  12. that's something you and I have in common, Dan..we are so interested in faces that it is our "default". I sometimes chastise myself for not doing something other than a face when I feel some pressed for time. I guess we are hopeless "face" romantics. I feel a little sorry for people who never do figures, though--I think they are really missing out! I love all your new sketches...and what you wrote about ribbons. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

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  13. The walk for life sketch is fantastic. Kudos for trying to capture it, and succeeding, while walking!

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  14. I like the floating heads, and I like to draw them as well (its fun to study faces and people in places when they dont know you are drawing them, makes it so much more interesting)... For the barcode, first it reminded me a lot of my high school art teacher, but then its you... It has that Dan Kent flow to it, so yes I think we are different, yet we have some small things that conect us all together, but we are unique and our own beings... I hope that makes sense.

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  15. Alas, the barcode did not come up for me. I did, however, enjoy the heads and think that I should add color to more of my sketches. Thanks for the push.

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  16. Excellent job on the sketches--all very evocative. My 'bar code' would be very different from yours but we both like to sketch, so different but similar?

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  17. As I have a lot of floating heads in my sketchbooks too, probably we do have some similarities though I can honestly say that you look much more like the Fonz than I do. I think this is a good thing!

    Great sketches - I particularly like your walking sketch - you have captured the atmosphere very well.

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  18. Your walking sketch is great - the movement is nicely rendered, I guess that doing it while walking added something as it really feels the people are moving!
    Great faces, too, you have a neat style, that gives each face a real personnality, you know like in graphic novels.
    Now, for the bar code... that's very interesting, Dan ; would you like to get on the couch while I get my glasses and notebook ^^ ?

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  19. Great sketches Dan, Happy Thanksgiving

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  20. I love this post - the prospect of drawing while walking seems daunting to me, but look what you were able to do!!! Also, it's very thought-provoking. Hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful. nancy

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  21. I hope you had a great Thanksgiving too! Wonderful sketches! Love the bar code.

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  22. The sketches are beautiful Dan. I love all the expressions captured.
    Thank you too!

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  23. I'm wondering about the looks you had to be getting as you walked by focused on your sketching. I imagine you had a few people diagnose you as pretty dang crazy - even before seeing your barcode. :-) These sketches are all full of awareness - just like the ribbons you describe. (Excellent description, BTW). I'm really impressed with your ability and desire to sketch constantly wherever you are. I'm more of a private sketcher...

    -Don

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  24. I enjoyed the sketches here. Had hoped to see a tea bag too but faces are a lot more intricate than any ol' teabag! Love the barcode. Mine would have more circles. Don't know why but I just have to add them.

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  25. A multi dimensional subconscious! Ah! But I always knew you were a man of talent! You sketch while walking? Good heavens! Well done - both for the walking and the sketching...

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  26. Terrific sketches!!! I don't sketch nearly enough I need to get back in the practice. I just found your blog and I'm enjoying your work:)

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  27. AGH! I came here to let you know that I finally did something with the moleskine and I see that my comment isn't posted! I can really be absent-minded sometimes! I enter the code, hit enter, then leave before I see that it is accepted. Terrible! Wish I could remember everything I said, I was in a fine 'talking' mode that day!

    These are all really excellent sketches. That one done while walking is quite an accomplishment since I can hardly walk and talk at the same time! ;D

    Very interesting on the bar code...wish I could find them now, but I had a couple of scraps that I did some some doodles on and I think they would fit in nicely with your page. That was an odd day for me though, producing doodles that weren't really in with my norm. So, I'd say 'different, but alike'. Great, insightful post, Dan!

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  28. Thanks for popping over to look at my moving model post, Dan.

    I cheat too, if drawing in public, or if I'm at a place like the zoo. I've noticed that people and animals have a certain set of gestures to which they always return.

    However, given three hours of a *really* good model who's there to move so we can draw her moving - I just can't resist trying to get as much as I can on the page.

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  29. Drawing while walking, wow! I've never tried that...drawing while travelling in a vehicle, yes...sitting in a cafe, yes...walking_NO! Well good job. I really like your blog, Dan. And do tell your mom that I think her art is gorgeous...flowers are something I've never tried. I like your writing, and your sketching. I too, am a "default face person". Everyone says I should paint something more marketable, maybe wildlife or landscapes, but I can't pull myself away from the faces! Thanks for your comments on my blog, and thanks for looking!
    Happy Days!
    Tahirih

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  30. Hey, CONGRATS!! You've been listed as one of the top watercolor blogs. It makes me proud that so many EDMers made the list!

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  31. HI Dan..I love your blog and enjoy your creative magic..thanks for your lovely visit!
    Have a beautiful wkd upcoming.
    Victoria~

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  32. Nice sketches Dan!
    Your question is interesting, but my English is too bed to even try answering it.

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  33. Thank you all so much for your comments! I'd like to see each and every one of your bar codes too (I mean that in a platonic sense, of course).

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  34. Oh my, everyone has already said what I was thinking. Great post and wonderful sketches!

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  35. These are amazing as always Dan =) Love the post, and I am just sad that I haven't been drawing (seems like forever), I'll try to get back to it

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  36. What a great group! It'll take me a while to catch up but I especially like this group!

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