2009

Once again I submitted work for the Metro Montage jury.  Number IX this year and I had a single work accepted.  I also submitted work to The Art of the Golden Generation where I took 2nd place in 2D work with the charcoal at the top of the image thumbnails at the left.
I was also reintroduced to the fine arts of figure drawing and Plein Air painting.

FIGURE DRAWING

At the Metro Montage VIII show last year I was invited to participate in life figure drawing sessions at Shane McDonald's studio.  I was hesitant at first since I had not done that since school days in 1974.  I did succumb and spent much of the first half of this year honing those skills.
Figure drawing is done from the live nude model.

Some may find the work objectionable and so I have incorporated multiple links before displaying the work of those sessions.

One has ample opportunity to not be exposed as it were.

I have, in general, opted for charcoal as a medium but occasionally switch to Conte crayon, a chalk similar to pastel but limited in color to black, sanguine and white.  I choose to work on 18" x 24" Strathmore paper as I have sufficient space for my scribbles.

EN PLEIN AIR

The figure drawing group also tried to introduce me to Plein Air painting.  This year's attempts weren't too successful and I've put it on the back burner for later.  It's too radical a change from my way of working and I'll have to incorporate it more slowly if at all.

Plein Air, or landscape painting on site, is totally new to me.  I've had to invent some new equipment and begin learning a new paradigm in seeing and working.  It's hard.
One contends with the changing weather conditions. 
"It wasn't cloudy when we started!"
"Rain!  You didn't say it was going to rain!"
"Where DID all these bugs come from anyway?  Did you bring them?"

It's frustrating to go back to square one again but also one heck of a lot of fun painting with other artists.  In time I'll adapt to the rigors of it but I much prefer drawing from nature.  Until I refine a methodical approach for myself there's just too many small decisions to be made that limits the time I have to capture the scene.  In no way would I want to discourage anyone else from this art form.

Working from nature began with Pisanello during the Renaissance when he threw away his Medieval copybooks.  All have pursued it since but in the main the medium has been drawing, pastiche or watercolor.  Jacob Ruisdael began painting on site in the 17th century.  John Constable considered his on-site paintings to be his 'real' work.  The French took their lead from Constable when the Barbizon School began to work in Fontainebleau Forest in the mid-1800's.