Old Habits are Hard to Break

 I wasn't sure about going to the figure group today, but I know I won't be going for the next few weeks, so I decided to get in a day of drawing this week.  Got there on time, with only a few people in the room at the regular start time.  But the model was a few minutes late, and more artists came in, so it was pretty crowded in there when we started.  Joe was there, so we did the usual 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 10 minutes, and finally 20 minute drawings.  I had sharpened some various B pencils for most of them, saving charcoal and my large pad for the last ones.  

Not my best day of drawing, but with the coming weeks off, I decided to stick it out.  Some of my pencil drawings weren't bad, but a few weren't great (short poses are not my strength) so I decided not to post any photos of those.  And for the longer charcoal drawings, they all wanted to move the couch to the middle of the room and the model took reclining poses, which made it almost impossible to see her where I set up.  Had to move to one empty spot around the tables just to get the above drawing.  Next time the group meets it will be in a different room, so maybe things will be different.   Also that will be after I have a model in to pose for the newest prints, so I may have to decide if I want to keep doing this.  

Boardwalk Days part 22

 Geting to the busy part of the year for medical stuff, so that's one thing I have to work around, plus this is the time of year when everyone has to fix up their houses, but I still want to get to the Studio now and then.  I was free today, and the weather was favorable, so I did.  Put some sketches in my sketchbook last night that would help with what I planned to do today, and grabbed some home burned discs from my pop/rock book for today's session.  Stopped at the supermarket on the way up, then got to the Studio in the late morning.  First thing was to stop at the office and learn what is going on next week.  Turns out they are only closed on Independence Day, so I can get up there if I want to.   On to work.

I was planning drawing for today, and that's what I did.  First, music.  I put in my home burned disc of Southern Culture on the Skids and their early album "Too Much Pork for Just One Fork", which you can read about on this blog back in November of 2019.  I started with the latest boardwalk print.  I wanted to firm up the ground areas of the image.  That meant the boardwalk (including the railing and figures), and the paving block area in the foreground of the plaza.  Not too difficult as it turned out.  Also made slight changes to the beach and Convention Hall, based on photos I have of such things.  Below are the area I worked today, and a view of the whole diptych as it looks right now.  

   

I had a little time left, so I put in some temporary lettering on the next Robert Johnson block.  For once I couldn't find a lyric video, so I had to just listen to the song and write down the words I heard.  What I hadn't counted on was that there were different versions of the songs.  That there were two takes was not unusual for these recording sessions, but the lyrics of the line I chose varied between versions.  I ended up choosing the version I planned all along, which I think was the one that had been released.  This lettering is only temporary, place holders really, but I wanted to get something down to make sure it would fit in two lines, and it will.  The print will get its own posting when I have an image to show, so for now I'll just write about it here.  What I have so far is below:

The weather was warm today, but Molly had her box fan up and running, so the place felt comfortable enough.  I left it on while I worked, and left it on as I left.  I have a little more I can do with each block before I see the model, and then I'll have to wait until she comes in to do some more.  

Art Business

Recently I did something I haven't done in a long time- arrange to hire a model.  I have two pieces in various degrees of process, and both require some figure work.  For some of the bodies, I can use photographic sources, such as reference books or freeze frame videos, which I have done for a lot of pieces in recent years.  Sometimes I just make it up, leaning on my experience in figure drawing to come up with something reasonable.  I am a bit out of practice, thus the reason I have been attending the figure group in Ocean Grove of late, to get a bit more practice.  But some figures are harder to imagine, and some of more prominent in the overall print, and for these I prefer an actual human being to work from.   And I learned a long time ago, when you need a model, sometimes the easiest thing to do is to just hire one.  

The problem is that I no longer teach figure classes, and haven't gone to a lot of figure workshops in recent years (like the one above) so I don't know as many models as I used to.  That's the other reason I started going to the figure group in Ocean Grove.  From one of those classes, I found a model who seemed suited to what I had in mind, had the organizer of the figure group put us in touch, and I've spent much of the past week negotiating day/time/rate with her.  But it looks like we have it all worked out now.  My plan is to have her portray at least 3 of the characters I need for the two pieces I have in mind.  Probably pencil drawing right onto the wood.  She's worked at the building before, so she knows the way, and from that previous experience, I know she can handle the poses I have planned. I will have to wait until early July to get her, but I have things to work on until then. 

I still have some medical things to arrange this time of year (and some are already done) plus some other art stuff, but this is one thing I have set up.  And when she comes to Studio, I will be able to take care of those parts of the block.  Meanwhile, I'll start on those other things I still need to do next week.

Boardwalk Days part 21

 A lot of my time is spent waiting to talk to people, waiting for information, etc.  For example, I have a whole bunch of doctors, and finding anyone in their offices who can provide any kind of information is a struggle.  Art is not as bad, but getting information on a timely basis can be a challenge at times.  I'll get back to that.

Last night my YouTube feed brought me a podcast from Seattle about influential bands from the Northwest.  Seattle has been the home grounds of a lot of rock bands and artists, such as Jimi Hendrix and Heart, but from the 90's on they are probably best known as the home of Nirvana and the whole grunge scene.  I like that well enough and have some albums in my collection that verify this.  However, back in the 70's and 80's, the band that was influential on that scene was the Wipers, out of Portland, Oregon, a project of Greg Sage.  I started listening to them back when I was still at Montclair State, before Nirvana became known to anyone (I still remember the day when every disc jockey at our college station had played their big hit "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on every two hour radio show, as revealed in the songs played list we were required to keep when on the air) This podcast was mostly about how Nirvana's Kurt Cobain had made a list of his top 50 albums of all time, and the first three from the Wipers were on that list.  Never did have their third album, as it was not available anywhere I was around then, but I had reissues of the first two, and songs from those two albums ended up on the 20 song compilation I put together for the Texas trip, which ended up in my Studio, and as come home with me as much of my collection has been in storage these past few years, and that disc I have today.  Songs from all the albums I do have, at least those from the initial phase of their recording career.  So naturally I brought that disc with me to the Studio today.  Then as now, great music to work to.

I currently have two prints in progress, one from my Robert Johnson series, one from my boardwalk series.  The latter is far more drawn, but what both have in common is that I plan to make use of a model for both of the pieces, and picked one out that should do, but I haven't heard anything yet.  I don't know if this is the fault of the guy who's supposed to connect us up, or the model having just decided not to do it.  (this happens some times) As a result, work on these two pieces is more or less suspended until I find out what is going on.  I'm also waiting to hear about a possible interview for a tv show regarding local arts.  I replied to an email from Jeanne (our director at the studio building) about the possibility last week, but hadn't heard anything yet.  Once again, I didn't know if that because of her or the tv show producer.  

So this morning, I decided to do the one thing that was in my power- draw some more gulls from the print I had done featuring some, the "History of Art" piece hanging in the dining room where I live (image can be seen below) in my sketchbook.  

Brought that to the Studio today, along with my Wipers disc.

As is my custom, I stopped my the men's room there in the basement before starting work, so I wouldn't be interrupted later.  Only two paper towels there (and I used one of them), and I couldn't get into the ladies' room to see if there were any in there, which gave me an excuse to stop by the office and report this problem.  Told Jeanne about the situation so she got a roll to put in the empty room, and managed to unjam the other door (had towels at least). I asked her about the television thing.  She said at this point it was out of her hands, that she would be forwarding the names of interested persons to the guy in charge and let him decide what would be done, if anything.  This is pretty much what I expected would be happening, so with this I was pretty much where I was all along- waiting to hear from the organizer with no way to speed that up.

At least I could do a little work on my boardwalk block.  I decided to redraw the birds I had in the air, maybe above the beach, maybe above the boardwalk.  I made them a little smaller, but put each one where it had been before.  I also redrew the human figures already on the block, using my original sketchbook drawings as a source.  Finally, I added in the birds on the ground and one in the air, again, copied from the print I had on the wall.  I also spent time looking at the buildings I had drawn, and the fence along the boardwalk.  These may need more work, but no point in doing that until I have my source material in front of me, so that will have to wait.  Results of today's drawing can be seen below:

On my way out of the building I ran into Joe, my contact for that model from his figure group.  He wasn't sure if he contacted her yet or not, but promised he would do so today.  So I'll wait until next week before approach him again about that.  Meanwhile, if I hear from that model, I will try to make those arrangements myself.  

Manasquan Art Walk 2024

 I learned today that we are having an art walk here in Manasquan today, and decided to check it out.  After all, I did drive up to Ocean Grove to see one last weekend, so I figured the least I could do is go to one in my own town, especially since I can walk there from home.  I know because I have done it a few times this year.  I couldn't find a list of artists anywhere online, except for things posted by a few of the artists themselves, and I didn't know any of them.  However, staying home just meant my parents watching old westerns all day, so I took the walk.  Weather was decent- warm and sunny, but not yet the heat and humidity that are expected next week. 

So I walked local blocks to Main Street, then up Main Street to the festival.  As I mentioned last week, I don't have much luck with outdoor events, so I didn't mind that I wasn't a part of it.  I walked through the entire business district of town, on Main from Route 71 to Broad Street, then cross and walk back.  If you didn't make it, you didn't miss much.  I would estimate maybe 30 or so artists there on the sidewalks.  Most just sat in chairs reading or looking at their phone, with only one actually greeting me, a potential customer.  The art was mostly seascapes, a subject that doesn't interest me. I only recognized one name, someone who has taught some local classes, but if she was there I didn't know it as we've never met.  Some artists claimed to have prints, but I only saw commercially produced reproductions in full color.  If it doesn't come directly from a block, plate, stone. or screen, I consider it a poster, not a print.  Here's a photo I took at one end:

You don't see much art, just a lot of cars, kids on bicycles, people eating at outdoor tables, some pedestrians, people walking pets, and that is pretty much what I saw.  The whole walking round trip (what with weekend traffic,  there was no way I was going to try to drive there) took only about an hour.  My conclusion was that the art I saw last week was way more interesting and skilled.  Like I said, at least it was a very nice day.

Back to the Old Habits

 I was up early enough this morning that I could try again to go to the figure drawing group. Actually Joe was sitting on the steps inside as I arrived in our building, so he said he'd see me upstairs.  Well, not until I retrieve my materials from the basement, but I did that.  Took my usual space in the old 40's room, which was a bit more comfortable today.  Don't know if it was the weather or if the AC was working better this time.  About 10 people showed up for the session- not enough to take all the spaces, but enough to keep things going a while.  With Joe back, we went back to the format he liked, so lots of gestural poses, and a few longer poses.  The longer poses were about 20 minutes, which is a good time for me with figure drawing in charcoal.  Shorter ones (30 seconds to 10 minutes) I did in pencil.  The one negative was that the model was male (first time ever for this group, Joe said), which doesn't help me with my Robert Johnson project, so I spoke to our organizer later and he said he could put me in touch with the model from a few weeks ago, who back then had expressed an interest in working for me.  Still, practice is practice, and I am mostly there to work on proportions and such, so I drew for the two hours.  My best charcoal of the day can be seen below:

The other long one was a standard seated 3/4 portrait, which turned out ok.  However, the model really liked it and how I dealt with his chin, and even took a photo of it.  

Before I even left the parking lot, I got a call from my former student Mary, who has hired me to do some printing and constructing in the past.  Today was about more printing, a couple of blocks that she wants proofed in time for a show in a few months.  With Jenny's project done, I can probably do that, and told her so.  She says she can provide ink and paper, and the block has been proofed before, so there is some kind of BAT to work from.  Size is reasonable.  I'm supposed to get back to her next week and discuss the details.  (I did some for an old friend of hers back in the summer of 2021, so I can probably do these as well)  She had questions about how to credit me, and if I can be called a master printer.  Usually most people who are called 'master printers' are employed by established shops or have some kind of certification.  I'm just a guy who has been printing his own work for decades and knows a thing or two about the process.  

Meanwhile, I exchanged emails with Jenny regarding the shipping of the prints she ordered, so on my way home today I made a couple of stops at possible shipping places to see what they had and what materials would cost.  Wasn't able to find much, so I may have to try a few more places next week, the next time I expect to be out and about in my car.

Boardwalk Days part 20

 A potential problem with all prints is inking those borders, especially if there is nothing else really in that area.  The problem comes because the brayer is about 4 inches wide, and the process of inking is much easier if both ends of the brayer can be resting on uncut wood.  Besides the aesthetic value of having large shapes of black throughout the print composition, having some large black shapes around provides a spot for the brayer to rest while narrow areas (like border lines) are being inked.  One thing I noticed about this latest boardwalk print is that there was one potential problem area.

There is an area of open sky in the left side panel, above the bicycle rider and below the airplane.  It may be possible to ink both those interior boarder lines (the diptych format for this series) with the rest of the brayer resting on Convention Hall in the right panel, but I'd rather be safe and have something on the left side as well.  I considered putting a cloud over there, but I haven't in any other boardwalk prints, and don't want to set a precedent here.  I could just leave an uncut area that takes ink and is taped over for the purpose of printing, but that becomes a last resort.  What I came up with instead was the idea of putting some flying birds over there.  Gulls are a frequent fixture on boardwalks, and I have occasionally used them in prints for that reason.  I remember once being followed around on a beach in Ocean Grove (right next to Asbury Park) by sea gulls, as I was searching for shells for my 3D class. (I suspected they were hoping I'd give them some food) So why not just borrow from a previous work?  All of my previous boardwalk prints are either in the basement or the show in Ocean Grove, but there is a copy of my tower piece hanging in the dining room where I live these days, and that includes some gulls flying and walking around near the bottom of the composition.  Copied a few of the flying ones into my sketchbook before leaving for the Studio this morning.

It was a sunny day when I arrived, plenty of parking.   No Molly, so I could listen to music, but had not brought a book of discs with me today, so I had to rely on what I had there.  From that pile I selected my Bob Marley disc, which is mostly Babylon By Bus, along with a live song from another album to fill the space on the disc- written about back in October of 2021 if you want to know more.  Had a few tasks to take care of once I got there.  First was putting in some flying gulls in that empty section of sky.  Just placeholders really, as I will probably go back later and redraw them with better detail.  But it looks like they will do the job I want them to, so I think the idea is sound.  The results of today's sketches can be seen below:

I like it enough that I will probably add a few gulls on the ground, which will likely come from the same print. 

Next up was to prepare a block for the next Robert Johnson print.  I have an idea (lyric and image) for the next print, assuming I find a suitable model.  I don't know when that will be, but I can get the wood ready for when I do.  I still haven't heard anything from the organizer yet about the show, but I may as well be ready.  That includes whether this piece is meant to be horizontal or vertical, so for now I guess it's my choice.  Vertical seems more practical, and most of his work in the past used the portrait format, but the one of mine that he said he liked best was one that was landscape (or horizontal), so for now I have a choice.  This new one seems like it will be best as a horizontal, so that's what I prepared today.

Simple enough, I used the other horizontal block to roughly trace the size of wood I would need, and then the metal straightedge (also a ruler) to measure out the proper size rectangle for the print image, as well as leaving space for the block printed lyrics that I will include in case I need them someday.  As for what these will be, I'll save that for when I start drawing the actual block.

My other task for today was to finish labeling the three prints I am sending to Virginia. The proofs are printed and dry, the editions are numbered, but I hadn't titled or signed them yet, so that was done today.    I still want to try to remove a few spots of ink, but before then I may try to contact my potential purchaser and let her know they are ready to go and verify how she wants to proceed.  Took a photo of the done works so I can send that to her later:

That was enough for now.  I do have plans for each block, so next time I go I know what to do.

Art On The Porch 2024

 Last year's Art on the Porch event in Ocean Grove must have been seen as a big success, as it was back this year, with even more artists participating- something like 80 or 90.  Not me, as I have never done well with selling works at outdoor shows, so I was there as a viewer.  The idea is simple enough- artists display work on host porches around town, and viewers walk around and look at it.  Free admission, and Ocean Grove is a small town, so not hard to walk around.  In my case I knew 5 of the participants- 2 from the building where I have my studio, 2 who were former students, and 3 who had been regular participants in our critique group (some were in more than one category) so I had made a list of names and addresses in town, and a simple map to show how the streets were laid out.  I got up to the building a little after 11:00 and went in long enough to use the restroom.  I did notice that all the walls were now full of art, and there were a lot of tables and chairs set up in the wide part of the hallway, but I didn't know why.  And with that, I left the building and set out on my walk around town.  

I started with the few people who were on porches in the north half of town.  (Main Ave kind of cuts it in half, so I started by going straight up that way toward the beach, then over a few blocks)  My first stop was to see Rosie Rounds, a former student and a building resident; she took a small studio on the 1st floor recently to work on her jewelry.  She has a small kiln, one that can be powered from a standard outlet.  The downside is that she can only make small works in it, but so far she is pleased with having a place to work, and visitors to her studio.  She had tables of her work next to a house and on a porch of a house on Heck Avenue.  

From there I went a few blocks over to see Harriet, who I've known for years, between her being a former student, but mostly from being a regular in our critique group.  In fact, she even held the crit at her house a time or two.  Her host was only a few blocks from the beach, on Pitman Avenue, so wind and out of towners were a factor.  I remembered some works from last year, but some things were new, at least to me.  She had so many visitors (more than last year she said, and was already tired an hour into the 5 hour event) that we really didn't have much time to talk.  I remembered this standing figure in blue from last year, but the pink man was new to me.

Now a longer walk, to the south half of town.  My first stop there was on Franklin Avenue, to see Michelle, who was a model for a character in one of my boardwalk prints, plus a regular in the critique group.  She said she hadn't had the big crowds yet, but while I was there a lot of people dropped by to see her arcade and fair inspired works.  She said most recent were a series based on paint spray cans, but there were other things I didn't recognize as well.

From there two blocks to Joe's porch on Cookman Avenue.  I know Joe from the art building, where he helped organize the Open Studio events, as well as the figure group I have attended recently.  I gave him an update on how that class went this week in his absence, and to give him some general updates regarding the building.  Like Michelle, he thought attendance and sales were down from last year, though like her a bunch of people came around to check out his work while I was there, so who's to say what will happen in the rest of the day.

My last planned stop of the day was Tim's porch, a few blocks over and one up on Abbot Avenue.  He recognized me before I even got to his stairs, and was probably the most glad to see me, as he hadn't seen me in the longest time of any of today's artists, and he wasn't sure how to get in touch with me.  The last time Tim appeared on this blog was back in the spring and it was for his music, not his art.  I told him about the music thing, as that song specifically mentioned birds, a common subject of his art in our critique times, as well as a part of his current art.  He said he was fine with viewers coming up with their own ideas of what they all meant, which as an artist I understand.  (I've heard it said that black and white artwork can increase this, as viewers are forced to decide what objects actually are, and it involves them more)  His nice large porch was probably the most comfortable one of the day, though the breeze was knocking down a lot of artworks on a regular basis. 

I worked my way over to Main and started the walk back to my car.  Stopped in at Artisan Gallery, where I once had a solo show right around the time of the pandemic. (the show lasted a long time, probably because everything was shut down during that time)  It was clear that Jackie recognized me, but didn't know from where until I explained it to her.  I passed Jeanne on the way.  I congratulated her on finding work for all the walls.  She said that all the tables were for some kind of post event art function, but I wasn't going to hang around that long.  I stopped back at the building and saw Bobby's car, so I stopped in to say hello, then began the drive home.

Old Habits Continue

 I decided to try another meeting of the figure group.  I knew the organizer would not be there today, but he had someone lined up to run it, and a model was scheduled.  I was free today, so I went.  Again, the parking lot was mostly empty, so no problem finding a space.  The rain falling earlier had stopped, but as predicted, it was warm and humid, and that may have been worse.  Didn't notice it when I entered the building or went down to my space to pick up some things I would need, but I sure noticed it when I got to the second floor room reserved for the group.  However, a model was arranged, so I decided to stick it out.   Our new leader set up the music, a mix of 50's to 80's songs, a few of which I knew.  I recognized one song, for which I have a version on the live album by X, so at least that one was something I'd listen to in my own Studio. 

The model didn't feel well, so the organizer and the crowd decided to let her do all her poses in recline.    Not my favorite kind of pose, plus I couldn't see her head much of the time (either because her back was to me, or it was hidden behind the arm of the couch), but it is my custom in these kind of workshops to draw the poses I am given from where I am set up, part of the challenge as I see it.  But the weather was a bigger challenge- despite the overhead fans, I was mostly uncomfortable, to the point were my short pencil drawings were getting too wet from sweat.  Less a problem for the later charcoal drawings, but I never really found a rhythm.  My best drawing of the day is below:

Like many area models, this one had a lot of tattoos, which I didn't bother to draw- using compressed charcoal, it would have made for too many black spots all over the figure, and I'm more concerned with shape and proportion of the figure anyway, so I tend to ignore them.  In this case, completely covering the exposed arm, a big one on her back, and more you wouldn't see in this pose.  I'm used to doing this with models (had a good one in Belmar who had even more tattoos, too bold to be cut into wood or drawn with charcoal, so either I didn't include them at all, or made up much lighter ones), so I had a plan to follow. 

I had issues with proportions with all my drawings today, so I think I need to stick with this for a few more weeks at least, get my figure drawing to a better place.  I also did some thinking about the next Robert Johnson print.  Not ready make the block just yet, but I do have an idea of what song lyric I want to do, and an image to portray it.  Meanwhile I have another one to work on.

As I left through the 1st floor, I could see works leaning up against two more walls.  Mine were still where they had been hung.  None of these new works impressed me much, but at least they are big and colorful.  The walls will look better. 

Boardwalk Days part 19

 Up to the Studio today, to take advantage of the nice day, and that I may be busy much of this week.  Plus, I had things to look into.  For example, the showing of my work there on the 1st floor.  When I arrived I could see that my work had been hung, on the short wall by the theater.  That's a new spot for me, but I don't mind- there will likely be activity there, and the lights were on.  I also saw that my little statement (sent to Jeanne on Friday night) had been hung underneath the image on the left, so anyone who goes up to look at the prints more closely will see what they are about.  Works can be seen below:

On to the basement.  I had two things I wanted to do there- a little more drawing on my current block, and to clean up some more the prints I pulled for eventual sales- at least those already ordered.  They had been printed a few weeks ago and were completely dry, so this seemed a good opportunity to trim the paper on the margins, and to label these for the edition.  So this got done for the five proofs from the Robert Johnson series that had been ordered.  Did a little more erasing as well, but I think I will need to attack a spot or two with a knife, and since I had no tools with me today, that will have until another day.  

As for the block drawing, there were not major changes, but just refining background figures I already had there.  But it needed to be done, so I did a little of that. I don't think any of these is the final version, but it brings everything a little closer to where it is going. Results as of today are below:

I also stopped by the office.  Jeanne was in, so I confirmed that I saw the work on the wall and the statement, and was satisfied with what I saw.  At this point there is only work from 3 artists on walls, but she said she planned to ask more tenants for work.  No mention of dates when this will be needed by, but I promised to send something to Molly about it.  Molly hates framing things, but I know she has some things wired, and that is enough, if she and Jeanne can work out how and when to meet.