Here is the lion that guards the door at the hotel beside the chubby cherubs on Harrison Street. I love his big nose and stylized fist. I sketched this from the photo on my monitor from across the room, to simulate drawing from life as best I could. I did a complete pencil sketch with shading and then drew over that with my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen and then decided to erase all the pencil shading and paint him with watercolor. Here’s a photo of the building.
Cherubs & Lions on Harrison
A couple weeks ago when I posted my sketches from the library and Peet’s Coffee I mentioned the old man in a weathered, WWII leather aviator cap and his 1940s era bicycle that Cathy sketched. I adored the way she captured this funny old character who was selling bike parts to a young man so I asked her to send me scans. She did, and now I get to post them below.
Cathy's sketch of the bike guyCathy's sketch of bike guy's ride
These angels guard the entry of an old residential hotel at 2332 Harrison Street in Oakland between my office and Whole Foods, along with a pair of vicious, brass lions (coming soon). As I passed by on the way to lunch, the light and shadows on the angels intrigued me.
Angel on Harrison, graphite
Although I always prefer to draw from life I didn’t have time on this work day so I took a photo. When I looked at the image on my monitor I found the shape and detail so confusing that I decided to sketch in pencil first instead of my usual ink. It felt like sculpting since as I sketched and shaded shapes of dark and light and saw form began to appear.
My initial drawing needed a lot of correcting because I’d given the angel adult proportions instead of a child’s so it looked like a pot-bellied, naked man instead of a cherub. For some reason we think chubby cherubs are cute holding up pots with their heads on buildings, but fat, naked, old men, not so much.
Then I started over on the facing page in my sketchbook, drawing in ink and adding watercolor. I think I got his proportions better in the second one. The graphite angel still looks too old, like a teen angel maybe?
Questioning Cherubs
I wasn’t raised with religion so I am completely ignorant about angels and their tribe. Are there girl cherubs too or are they all boys? Why? Why are cherubs usually depicted as chubby? What happens to cherubs when they grow up? Do they become angels? Or do they not age?
I googled “Chubby Cherub” looking for the answers and found information about “Chubby Cherub, the worst video game of 1987” and this Wikipedia entry that says according to some linguistic and bible scholars, this is what cherubs are really meant to look like:
A "Real" Cherub?
and that they were often displayed sitting calmly guarding entrances as in this image:
Guarding angels?
If you like reading about the source of words, language, and myths, and how they evolve over time, check out the Wikipedia page about cherubs. I found it fascinating.
Yesterday I was taking a walk from the art supply store (where I bought some bookbinding supplies for my first attempt to bind my own journal) to a tea shop on College Avenue in Oakland, when I saw this window display at a store called Bella Vita, whose tagline begins “Unexpected Inspiration…”
The display carried me away, especially the amazing yellow chiffon dress that inspired thoughts of everything from lemon meringue pie to Marilyn Monroe. I pictured myself in the dress, and wondered what kind of party I might be attending and who I would be if I were wearing that happy frock.
It was New Years eve day but my evening would not include flirting at parties in a heavenly yellow dress. I planned to spend the evening in the studio, reflecting on years coming and going while tearing and folding paper to begin my bookbinding project.
So as I gazed into the window I knew I had to sketch it. When I finished drawing I noticed their other window: equally imagination-inspiring outfits for little girls: a tutu, ruffly-necked tee-shirts, tiny cowboy boots and an embroidered Indian Kurta paired with ruffled leggings. Had to draw that window too.
Oh to be a little girl again! Ruffles and Cowboy Boots!
I looked up Bella Vita to make sure of the translation and landed on this page about the dangers of getting tattoos written in foreign languages:
Exercise caution when it comes to the popular Italian phrase “life is beautiful” which many people, including Lindsay Lohan, have been getting recently. “La vita e bella” is the correct translation, and even though it uses the same words, some people have been getting “la bella vita” which actually translates to “the beautiful life“, and is used in Italy to describe someone who is living a life of wealth, throwing parties and spending extravagant amounts of money. [oops!]
New Years Reflections
I was inspired by my friend Barbara who, in early retirement, has nearly mastered the Zen art of goal-lessness and learned to enjoy each day doing what pleases her, whether it’s making art, reading, gardening, cooking, hiking, or putting together a jigsaw puzzle. So instead of a list of my accomplishments (artistic or otherwise) in 2009 or a list of goals for 2010, here are my New Year’s Reflections from my journal, written at the end of my rather bumpy, grumpy, slumpy holiday vacation (so it’s a bit of a pep talk to myself).
When the time is your own, don’t ask “What should I do…” Ask: “What will make me happy?” It might be art making, playing, watching clouds float by, learning and challenging myself or doing things that aren’t fun but that will make me happy when I can enjoy the results. It’s my life and I get to pick.
I’ve moped over not getting done most of what I wanted to do in the studio over this two-week vacation. But the truth is, there will NEVER BE ENOUGH TIME to do it all. So instead of regretting what didn’t get done or worrying about not having enough time tomorrow, enjoy THIS precious moment.
Time is just an arbitrary construct. It’s useful. Without time, everything would happen all at once. This moment is fleeting. Live it and love it.
Buddhists say that attachment (wanting what you don’t or can’t have) is a cause of suffering. So don’t suffer: look around now at all the abundance and be grateful.
Winter is dark, but the days are getting longer. Soon it will be Spring and…. Oops, don’t long for spring, enjoy this precious, wintery day.
Are you enjoying NOW? Ask yourself what you need to enjoy it and then go after what you need: Acceptance? Gratitude? Courage? Action? Inaction? Knowledge? Rest? Help? Hugs?
Turn off the panel of critics and quit judging and comparing your work to others. The best work you can do is YOURS to do. It’s too late to ever be as good as so-and-so at this and that. Just be as good as YOU at what YOU do and keep getting better…and have fun getting there.
Last night I needed to grab a quickie dinner between work and a 7:00 meeting so I stopped at the nearby Oakland Whole Foods. I looked over the salad bar, passed up the make your own trail munch bar (?!) and the soul food bar with pulled pork, black-eyed peas and greens, seriously considered the Indian and Chinese bars but settled on some pretty, steamed organic veges and some Mexican items.
The dining area was hopping with activity, filled with a perfect sampling of Oakland’s demographics, with people of all ages, races, preferences, and functionality. I ate quickly so I’d have a few minutes to sketch the view from my table. Then I ran out of time and had to leave, so I added watercolor at home.
I have a theory about the paths we take in life, and how important it is to notice what I call “Angels Holding Up Signs” along the way. Sometimes those angels take the form of a person offering helpful information or silently pointing the way by example, an intuitive thought, or an unexpected turn of events that makes you pause. When I see or hear an angel holding up a sign, whether it’s “Yield”, “STOP,” or “Go This Way” with an arrow, I consider it a gift and give it serious consideration.
Disclaimer: I’m not a New-Age angels and crystals sort of girl. But I do believe there are angels all around us; good, kind, generous people, like Adam at Kragen Auto Parts today who helped me dispose of gallons of old motor oil and their containers that had been abandoned in my garage (long story; don’t get me started!). Thanks Adam!
…And like the angels who’ve held up signs in my art life lately, including Kathryn Law and Ed Terpening who’ve both helped me to a breakthrough in my understanding about why simplifying is important in oil painting, especially when painting plein air. I’m always attracted to details, and so I’ve fought against that principle, and then fought my paints trying to put those details into my paintings.
Then I saw these paintings (below) by Ed Terpening on his blog, Life Plein Air, made during a workshop in which the instructor, Peggi Kroll-Roberts, challenged the class to break the scene into as few large shapes as possible and paint those shapes with a large, fully loaded brush in one brush stroke.
Each study evoked in me a mood and my mind created a whole life story for each of these women. A mom at the beach trying to keep her kids in line; a sad, matron, wondering where her life had gone; a glamorous, young society lady at the country club watching a tennis game while sipping a martini….
How did so much come from such simple paintings? Leaving out the details left it to my mind to fill them in. This is something I so needed to learn: that simplifying and omitting detail doesn’t make a painting boring—it lets the viewer’s mind play and be creative, making for an exciting, rewarding experience. Thanks, Ed, for holding up that signpost!
Another sign-toting angel came via email this week: a request to purchase this plein air oil painting I made last summer at Lake Temescal. There I was at the crossroads, wondering whether to give up plein air oil painting, and this angel popped up with a sign saying, “You’re on the right path, don’t turn back.”
And now about my process with today’s painting. First I tried to simplify by painting large color shapes with the plan to create a color study for a work to be done in the studio. I also focused on the composition, picking a focal point, being careful not to divide the canvas in half as I have a tendency to do, making the subject (the water) the largest portion.
Here’s how it looked when I’d covered the whole panel:
Lake Temescal Reflections, Phase 1
I’d worked quickly, using a palette knife, going for big shapes of color. I should have stopped there and gone for a walk. But instead I messed around for another hour and muddied up the design and the colors:
Temescal Reflections (muddied), Phase 2
But the great thing about palette knife painting is that it’s easy to scrape off passages and repaint them. So later that evening I put the photo of Phase 1 on my computer monitor side-by-side with a photo of the scene and worked on the painting until I was satisfied with it (as posted at top).
And I’m very happy with another breakthrough: the way I was able to enjoy the plein air painting process without worrying about making a Painting with a capital P while I was out there.
Last week I took advantage of quick sketchers Martha and Cathy being away to spend an hour working on one image instead of constantly moving from one spot to the next. This was a really complex scene and the more I drew the more details appeared to draw.
By the time I finished, Sonia (who did several sketches of different views from the same spot) and I were so cold we decided to head home. I work right across the street from the lake and doing this drawing helped me to see what an amazing resource I have for sketching right outside my door.
Lunchtime Sketching Lake Merritt Birds
The next day at lunch, instead of eating in the kitchen with my colleagues, I took my sketchbook and went for a walk by the lake. My plan was to sketchercize: walk for 15 minutes, do a sketch, and walk 15 minutes back, getting in a 30 minute walk. But 5 minutes from the office I saw a row of Double-Crested Cormorants all lined up drying their wings in the sun as if they were on clotheslines.
(Cormorants are easily identified because they’re the only waterbirds that sit in the sun with their wings spread, hanging their feathers out to dry. They lack an oil gland for preening, so their feathers get waterlogged when they swim under water.)
After I sketched a cormorant and walked a few minutes more, a gaggle of goofy geese were all lined up at the edge of the sidewalk, waiting for someone to decide what to do next, and they needed sketching.
Walking back to the office I came across a foot-high rock with a bronze plaque on it that said “Leon Olsen loved to walk here.” What a great way to honor someone. A memorial walk rock!
I meant to take a walk at lunch today but when I saw this old lady feeding the geese I had to stop and sketch. This is a little park near my office in downtown Oakland called “Snow Park” but a better name would be “Goose Poop Park” since it’s home to the many Canadian geese who don’t seem to feel the need to head north or south any longer.
Bart faces and feet, ink & watercolor
I drew the faces of these subway riders on my way to work this morning. I drew the feet on the way home. That guy was holding his juice on the floor with his feet.
Jana Bouc, Artist 