The Poor Stepchild

In my poor stepchild of a Moleskine - the one that doesn't take watercolor - I sketch, I experiment, and I play. The exploding mandala, of a couple posts back, was in there, and much crazier stuff too that won't see the light of day. On some pages I literally just scribble (with style). On one page, I create faces from imagination to find out what comes to me without actually looking at a person - to check what I know automatically. Raena was doing this on her blog the other day.

It is necessary for growth to do the rough and ready that no one will ever see, I think. But here's a peek inside. You can pretend that the rest of the stuff in there is just like these.

I'd like that.

I usually don't carry this other moleskine with me, but one day I found myself sitting in a waiting room for some time and drew the bamboo plant on the right.

One thing that I've been doing, and plan to do more of, is to copy sketches of other artists. This is in the hope that I might divine what they are doing, and learn something for myself. I was delighted to find out that Nancy has been doing the same thing, though much more methodically. Great minds think alike, eh, Nancy? Anyway, I didn't spend any real time doing these, I tried to sketch quickly but follow the lines of the artists themselves - to get a feel how they would do it. I wasn't worried about being exactly correct, and that is good because they are not.

My copy of a the sketch of a little girl by Jean-Antoine Watteau is on the right. He drew his version in the 1700's. Amazing how we must learn again what people already knew so well, so long ago, before we can progress.


I've been quite impressed with everything about Andrew Wyeth's Helga drawings and paintings. I copied some of his sketches too.

These are copies of his sketches that are in the book Andrew Wyeth, The Helga Pictures (1987), by John Wilmerding, which is a picture book, mostly. His sketches, his watercolors, and his drybrush are phenomenal.

On the left I drew the arm twice, because I hadn't captured the subtle turns in the line the first time. I can do anything in this book!


This other Moleskine is almost full, and there was a time that I wondered whether I would ever buy another, with its thick yellow pages, useless for watercolors. But I will, because in it I can be free! And there is no end to what you can do with such a book (just plug the words Moleskine Detour in the search at Youtube and you will see what I mean.)

So adopt a poor stepchild. The reward will be yours.

And That's How it Goes

Here's how it goes when you are sketching live. The man playing with his blackberry who seems like he will be there forever gets up when a group arrives. Luckily he hangs around talking to them, since your drawing is as yet headless. So you have time to sketch his head.

Then you begin sketching the woman next to him and just as you are about to sketch her forearm and hand, another lady sits down where the man had been. She places a big manila file on her lap and blocks your view. So you sketch the manila file.

But since the man didn't have anything on his lap and you've drawn his lap already, by the way, the manila file is now floating in thin air. So you have to put a box under it.

The other woman is a doll and stays put.

That's how it goes when you are sketching live.

So every now and then, even when you are in Einstein Bagel's surrounded by interesting people to sketch, you just don't feel like exerting the effort. So you sketch the rack holding the cream and to-go boxes for coffee instead. And it is a pleasure to do (except when people get cream or sugar for their coffee. The nerve of them).

And I intend to color this one. But I kind of like the line drawing just as it is, so I thought I'd share it this way too.

Today I faced one more challenge. I was at an outdoor cafe when a very small neon green lizard hopped on my hand while I was painting. He seemed quite content to stay, but I eased him onto the ground anyway.

So it's true what they say: you never know what might happen when you get out of the house.

Sketching to Go

In that other Moleskine, the Moleskine that doesn't take watercolor - the poor stepchild of my Moleskines - I am free. I can scribble, I can experiment. I do calisthenics with the pen, "zen and ink". Sometimes I just push the pen around without the mind getting in the way, like meditation or sleep, and create zentangles without angles, I guess.

So in this Moleskine I produce mostly, to put it mildly, garbage. And that's okay. Someday I may slather opaque paint on the pages over most of it in a delightfully creative way. But not any time soon.

Every now and then, though, something happens to bring it all together despite my best efforts to the contrary. One day, when I was aching to draw and had no time, while stopped at a traffic light, I drew the head and hand of a motorcyclist. Then the light changed. Now what? I decided to just do quick sketches of things I see (yes, at other stops and then anywhere else I happened to be). Unrelated things. Then on a whim I decided to box each of them, and suddenly the whole page came together as though it were a narrative for a story. Counter intuitive for sure - you would have thought that boxing the drawings would separate them!

Captain Elaine once accused me of Driving While Sketching (DWS), a ticketable offense no doubt. No Captain, not true - I was stopped at the light, honest. (And, well, look at Barbara Week's recent post!)

I like Wil's motto, "If you're sitting, you're drawing", and when I'm in the car I ain't standing, right?

On the Road

Well, Raena, I too hit the road! We took two days to drive from Miami, Florida to Richmond, Virginia. As we drove through Central Florida, I was able to sit back and sketch what I saw and then apply the watercolors. I tried out some new paper, Fabriano 140 lb. rough, which had a really nice texture and feel.

I was attracted to the shape of the electric posts and I thought, that's great, I will keep having new examples to draw. But after I drew the first one, the posts changed to an entirely different shape. Now, why on earth would that be? So I can complain all I want about people moving when I want to draw them, but this time it was me that was moving! Serves me right, I guess.

We stayed overnight the first evening in the beautiful city of Savannah, Georgia and had dinner at the Cotton Exchange Tavern & Restaurant. I had grouper stuffed with crabmeat; a baked potato; some vegetable or other; and a beer called Fat Tire Amber Ale, smooth and flavorful. So wonderful..

Satiated, I pulled out my Lamy and my Moleskine, and sketched an unsuspecting target in a booth at the end of the room. The waitress loved the fact that I was sketching this poor gent and she approved the likeness. As a result, she got a big tip.

A few days later, we visited Monticello in Virginia, Thomas Jefferson's stately home. I had planned on sketching a few of the flowers that he had grown in his garden but it started to pour, and that was that. I only had time for a quick sketch of one. My wife took photos of some of the other flowers though, so I may complete this yet, though not in the way I had intended.





And this is the as yet uncolored view from my hotel room in Savannah. Because of time constraints, this was also a pretty quick sketch. I think it kind of looks like the sort of drawing you would find in a coloring book - with good reason. Eventually I will apply the watercolors, and share the result with you. I took a photo so I could see the colors. Though not as good as painting from life, it will do as a handy substitute.


So now I'm home. Work has begun. School has begun. But it's not the end of the road, even if I do live at the beginning of I-95. Not by a mile.

But Seriously, Folks (and Some Matchmaking Too)

This is my version of the Watercolor Challenge "Baza Lakes" by BILBOV. It is one of my first real attempts to do a "serious" (i.e., traditional) watercolor, and I really enjoyed learning the different techniques necessary to do the painting. I loved the composition of the photo and the challenges of earth, sky, and sea. (And it also meets Everyday Matters Challenge no. 148 - Draw or paint something soothing.) I am grateful for the challenge, and am forever amazed at the resources made available by artists on the web for artists of all levels. I feel so fortunate to have found such a supportive and wonderful community in the blogosphere and on flickr.

One great non-web resource I used to learn techniques for this painting is a book entitled "Mastering the Art of Watercolor" by Wendy Jelbert and Ian Sidaway. The book contains mostly step-by-step illustrations on how to complete paintings of provided scenes. While I really hate the idea of recreating another artist's painting step-by-step, I love studying how the wonderful paintings in the book were done, and applying the methods myself.

The ink and watercolor sketches that I have been doing seem to have helped me along in the process of learning traditional watercolor. My initial attempt some time ago at the first exercise in the book, the painting of an onion and pear through overlaying colors, was a disaster. This time, I was able to do it without any problem, although again I worked from the photograph and not the steps because I like to think for myself and make my own painting rather than follow along. It is the learning of the techniques that I believe is important.

Finally, if you have been following my blog for any amount of time, you know that I draw people in public and sometimes bemoan the fact that I often only have time for their heads. The result is that I have Moleskines filled with "floating heads".

Well, the other day at a restaurant I decided instead to partake in some matchmaking. They both seemed lonely at their separate tables so I brought them together. It seems they have always been together. Their roots are firmly in the 60's, and their three children have long since grown and moved away. Their life together has been rewarding although they may not admit or recognize it. They have a summer cottage at Baza Lakes, I think.
Ah, the magic of art.

Calisthenics in the Park

I try to at least sketch from life a little bit every day. Although some sketches are good and some sketches are horrid, it's okay either way. For me, it's calisthenics. I figure that each time I sketch I am getting just a bit better at observing, or depicting what I observe. I also hope that I am developing "muscle memory", and that my hand just might move the right way next time.

As you have seen if you have followed my blog, a lot of my sketches are done at eating establishments, but sometimes I sketch parked in my car beside a small neighborhood park.

The pencil drawing above and the conte' pencil drawing below were drawn in my Moleskine on different days. [The first meets Everyday Matters Challenge #214 "Draw something representing a favorite hobby" because I love to read.]

I think it is interesting how differently they came out even though the subject matter is similar.







Other quick sketches in my Moleskine at the park include this small sketch in pen (while not quite horrid, this one leaves a bit to be desired):














And this sketch using a watercolor pencil (she left before I could add more detail, but I like it).






All in all, sketching is just another day at the park, don't you think?

Too Tired..

What do you do at the end of a long day when you are too tired to do anything but crawl into bed but you want desperately to sketch? You draw the ironing board, of course!

My First Blog Post - An Introduction

From my earliest days in school to my years in the working world, the margins of my papers and pads have always been filled with drawings. With pencil or pen in hand, a drawing would appear. The most natural thing. A dance of mind and hand, without provocation or thought.

So I've dabbled in art every now and then, but never seriously. There were obligations, first as a student (not in art), then as professional and as husband and father, and other interests and labors of love that would take my time. I think maybe I had a tendency to dismiss what came most easily as least important.

But recently I have made a conscious effort to cultivate this part of myself. At first it was like chipping away at ice. Now it is more like the drip, drip, drip of a leaky tap. Soon, I hope, the creativity will flow. There is also much learning to do.

I am an admirer of artists and writers - creative people of all types. The internet is often a window to their creativity. Generous professionals and amateurs alike share their work on websites and blogs. So I have browsed and admired and dreamed, and through Flickr I stumbled upon a blog a few years ago that I truly enjoyed, Janey's Journey. Here was a very creative self-trained artist using markers to express herself in a unique way. From there I discovered other blogs and sites.

Then one day, Janey mentioned in her blog that she would give a postcard with one of her drawings on it to anyone who would ask - for free! Greed reared its ugly little head, and I sent her an e-mail talking a little about how I've dabbled in art, and much about my admiration of her style. She sent me an e-mail back that was longer than her blog that day. What a wonderful thing! And in that e-mail she wrote matter-of-factly, "Do you have a blog? I'd love to see your drawings. And I'll take a look at the ones you mentioned."

Blog? I don't have a blog. Why would I have a blog?

Well, why not?

I expect that her comment was the seed from which "Dan's Canvas" is sprouting, although I still really don't know why. A few things I do know. I would love for you to follow along and to comment if you are ever so inclined. I also hope to make the virtual acquaintance of others of you with similar interests or blogs of your own. I would like to share blogs and sites that I find and like. Only a few are posted now. Others I'm sure will come with time.

The main goal for me, I guess, is to expand my art skills. The internet is a marvelous distraction, and I am going to have to remind myself that browsing, and even writing this blog, takes me away from my main objective. I have limited time. (Don't we all?) Maybe you can help me stay motivated, stay on track.

Nowadays, I am mostly drawing and sketching. I think of it as calisthenics. I have filled one large sketchbook, and have now taken to carrying around a small back-pocket Moleskine for furtive drawings of people. I am most fascinated with people, and my blog will probably reflect this, but a blank canvas, as you know, has many possibilities, and I am open to them.

As an introduction, I will be posting fairly recent drawings I have done before this first blog post, along with scattered drawings I do as they come.

To start this blog off, here are some drawings I made on a flight from Richmond, VA to Fort Lauderdale, FL. Drawing in planes is great if you have the right angle because your subjects cannot see you, for the most part they do not move much, and they are captive audiences. In other venues the challenge is that people move - what a bummer - so my drawings are less precise.

9" x 12 ", Pilot Precise V5 pen

Thank you for joining me.