Week 4 and 5: Painting

I am not used to oil painting. There are a lot of things I am frustrated with regarding this painting. First, I transferred the drawing kind of low and it's hard to paint the bottom of the picture. Second, when painting my outline, I inadvertently erased some lines because I'm not used to painting from an easel. So I feel the painting is much wonkier than my drawing was. You can really see this with the box. In the drawing the proportions weren't so bad, but the painting not so much. I am really struggling with using large brushes to paint. I'm used to painting with smaller brushes, and I'm not used to oil painting at all, so all of this feels incredibly clumsy to me.

I feel all I do is complain about my mistakes, but I have to remember that mistakes are what will help me learn. At least I know what not to do next time. 

I'm reminding myself that this is a learning process and that the resulting painting isn't really the point. 

Some things I've learned so far: 

-a good drawing is the most important aspect of a good painting. 

-there is no way to replicate the infinite variety of values in nature. Simplify. Use fewer values--even just 2 or 3. The result tricks the eye and makes us think there are more values painted than there are. 

USk Chicago Summer Sketch Seminar 2015

I had a wonderful weekend with the Urban Sketchers Chicago. Each year they host a summer seminar where their members volunteer to teach on a variety of topics about sketching on location, otherwise known as urban sketching. I really wanted to attend because I knew how intense and focused my class at the atelier would be, so I thought it would be good to have a weekend that focused on having fun and enjoying the process of making art in a somewhat faster way. 

The seminar met at the Palette and Chisel on Dearborn St. It was great fun to meet new people who are also interested in drawing, painting, and sketching. The first workshop I took was by the excellent artist and graphic designer, Wes Douglas. He is such a warm, generous, and enthusiastically friendly person that all my anxiety melted away. The topic was on sketching with markers, which is not a medium I have tried before. Wes brought a ton of different markers to test out and showed us a number of techniques in using them. I was fortunate to meet a gentleman from Ann Arbor in the class and I hope that he and his wife and I can get together once I'm back in Michigan to sketch. We sketched in the courtyard of the Palette and Chisel and it was a magical place full of interesting doors, windows, garden, etc. I tested out my Prismacolor markers on an interesting door with brick walls surrounding. It was fun to experiment with the brick textures, as well as the tree/leaves/ivy growing around the door.

I also took a Beginning Urban Sketchers workshop, where I was introduced to using a viewfinder and making thumbnail sketches for assisting with composition problems. I really need to work on that, as I find I don't often start with much of a plan, or any plan. I also attended an excellent color pencil workshop where I was introduced to new techniques that are useful when sketching buildings and windows. The final workshop I attended was a session on sketching like an architect. Again, we focused on using viewfinders and thumbnails and then did a crazy exercise where we drew the same scene faster and faster. As someone who approaches art in a very slow and methodical manner, that really got me out of my comfort zone. Again, that's something I need to practice. A lot. 

The great thing about this seminar was how much was packed into two full days. I attended four workshops, a Saturday night dinner, and received a goody bag full of cool art supplies to test. I will definitely be attending next year. I'd also like to start up a Michigan group of urban sketchers. One thing I like about urban sketching is that you can take as much time, or as little, as you need to complete a drawing. And, the sketch doesn't have to be perfect, either. My marker demo below is far from perfect, but it was fun! That's really the point, isn't it? 

Update on the atelier class: I transferred my drawing to canvas this week and I'm now working on oil painting using really big brushes that feel super-clumsy to me. I have attached a pic of the drawing after I transferred it, as I forgot to snap a pic before transfer. I am not taking pics of the painting in progress, as I feel it is just too awful to look at right now. I'm not sure if it will ever look "right" to me, but fortunately, one of the other artists in the studio, Brett Edenton, has given me a good way of looking at it. He reminded me that in the full atelier program students don't progress to painting until they've finished the 2-year drawing course. I've only done 3 weeks of drawing. All of this is to say that once I finish this class, I will focus on drawing, drawing, drawing. I'll try to always have a painting going on, too, but I think that ultimately, more drawing will help me reach my goals. By the way, do check out Brett's website at the link above. He does brilliant work. 

3rd Week: Drawing from a Model

Each week I say how challenging this class is, but working from a model is the toughest work yet. I'm using the same concepts as in the earlier weeks, but applying them to a model that can't stay still for 3 hours straight is the challenge. Plus, you can't draw a plumb line on a model. You have to imagine it. I worked hard this week, but don't feel confident about what I've got on paper yet. I am consoling myself with the fact that I've never worked from a model before. We have one more full morning of drawing before transferring the image to canvas for painting, so I hope that I can make more progress.

I definitely plan to copy more master drawings (like last week's drawing) when I return home. It seems like an excellent exercise and one that I can manage on my easel at home with not much fuss. 

I have a lot planned this week and weekend. I'll be heading to our local park, Gomper's Park, tonight to see a concert and then movie with my neighbor, Tom. Friday night, I'm having dinner with Robert, his partner, and their friends.  Saturday and Sunday will be filled with taking 4 workshops at the Urban Sketchers Chicago Summer Seminar. And one of those evenings, I'd like to try to fit in some fun at the Irish American Heritage Festival a few blocks from my apartment. So this is a very busy week. 

Andersonville

I try to insert some planned fun in my schedule each week in Chicago. This past week, I managed to go out with Mary to Millennium Park to catch a film on the great lawn. I also had a wonderful evening with another former poetry student of Diane Wakoski. Robert is a poet, writer, and all-around extraordinary person. He works at a bookstore where he has what might be my dream-job--buying the books for the children's department and organizing readings/events with youth/YA authors. What's great about his job is that he not only arranges events for the bookstore, but he also does outreach with local schools and libraries. That means that authors/illustrators get to connect with their audience on a wider scale. So, not only do they give a reading at the bookstore, but they are also giving readings/signings at local schools and libraries. I asked him about Oliver Jeffers, my most favorite children's book author/illustrator, and of course he had met him. So freakin' jealous! 

After trying two other restaurants in Andersonville and not being able to get a table due to it being Thursday night right before a holiday weekend, we managed to get right in at Summerdale. It was the perfect choice. We both had one of their excellent cocktails and shared an appetizer of fried zucchini. Robert had the pork shoulder and I opted for the beef stroganoff. I was pretty hungry, but the portion was huge and I didn't manage to finish. I'm sorry I didn't, because it was really delicious. 

Andersonville is definitely more gentrified/trendy/hip than the mostly immigrant neighborhood where I am staying. It's not far from my neighborhood, though, and I'll definitely plan to explore that area a little more while I'm in Chicago. Robert is great fun, and I plan to spend more time with him in July. 

On the whole, I'm feeling much, much better about being in Chicago this summer. I'm making new friends, learning a ton at class, and I know that these experiences will benefit me in the long-run. I'm also planning on coming home every two weeks for the weekend. That will help me recharge and get my doggie cuddle-fix. I've really missed my dogs (and husband). :)

2nd Week: Copying a Master Drawing

I came home for the holiday weekend, but I'm going back to Chicago Sunday afternoon. I am determined to finish this class, thanks to all the support and encouragement from friends and friendly strangers. Below is a four-day progression of my master copy drawing.

Day 1: Capturing the big shape (silhouette). Day 2: Correcting and refining the big shape. Day 3: Defining shadow shapes. Day 4: Adding tone.

You can see, or I hope you can see that 2 or 3 values can give the impression of form. This is by no means a finished drawing, but I am pleased that I managed to get this far in 4 days of class.

Next week: drawing from a model (eek!) and transferring the drawing to canvas in preparation for oil painting (double eeek!).

Drawing is Hard

What our teacher keeps telling us is that drawing is hard. And it is. There's no short cut--at least not if you want accuracy and realism. You just keep checking and making corrections. Details come at the very last, so try not to worry about them until later. It's much more important to get the big shapes correct first. Of course, this is a very slow process, not unlike how I learned to draw a few years ago with my local teacher, Peggy. She taught me to draw using a grid method. Sight size isn't that different, except that the grid you use is in your mind, and you are measuring with plumb lines.

I'm feeling better in class this week. I might be a couple steps behind some of the students in class, but I am recognizing that we are all struggling with our drawings. What we are trying to do is replicate the perfection of nature and that's pretty hard to do. The photos attached depict the initial block in and then forming the shadow shapes. My teacher told me today that my drawing was very good. Personally, I don't think it's much to look at right now, so I will have to trust her judgement.

I'm getting more used to the city. Last night I went down to Millennium Park with Mary and watched a movie at the pavilion. It was Apollo 13, which I had never seen before. Huge crowd on the lawn. Chilly. It's been chilly the last few days here. Honestly, I prefer that to the heat.

While waiting for the bus after class, I saw Tom walking. I ended up walking with him back to our street. It's better having someone to talk to.

Good Days

The last two days here in Chicago have been better. I "finished" my Bargue drawing in class, and I'm trying to get myself ready to copy a master drawing this week.

Thursday, I spent a good part of the day with my neighbor, Tom. He very kindly showed me around the neighborhood--places to buy groceries, the local park, etc. He even showed me where he went to junior college. Mayfair Junior College is now the Irish American Center, but it's a beautiful old building and Tom obviously has good memories of the place. Tom worked in an office supply company warehouse for 40 years before retiring a few years ago. He is spending retirement doing all the things he didn't have time for earlier in his life. He's an active participant at the local VA hospital events and classes. He took swimming classes for the first time. He's done ballroom dancing, and he's signed up for yoga in July. He quit smoking, joined a weight loss group and regularly meets with a dietician. Since retiring he's lost 70 lbs and walks around 10 miles a day. Tom also joined the local library's book club and invited me to the next meeting.

Friday after class, I met up with Mary, a Sketchbook Skool classmate I met on Facebook. She's awesome. I think she knows everyone in Chicago. You can't go anywhere with her and not have her bump into someone she knows. She drove around, pointing out areas of interest. We had lunch, then headed over to Evanston where we hit up the local Blick Art supplies store. After that we walked over to the lake on Northwestern U's campus to sketch. We had such a good time that we decided to catch a movie and grab dinner together.

Saturday, Mary picked me up and we headed to Chinatown to sketch and check out the plein air painters. Mary belongs to several plein air groups, so she knows a good number of the painters. Chinatown has great architecture to sketch. It seems that every building is ornamented with scroll work, or mosaic details. We sketched on the street for an hour or so. The great thing about Mary is how welcoming she is. A mother and two small children stopped to watch her paint and she had the kids sketching in her book within minutes.

We had lunch with a couple of the plein air painters there, Steve Puttrich and his wife,  Bobbie, before heading over to the Randolph Street Market. If I'd had my car with me, I would've loaded it up with mid-century modern furniture. There is a ton of it being sold there. As I said, Mary knows everyone. She stopped to talk with former neighbors before bumping into a colleague and her husband. Turns out the husband is Mike Waraksa. He's a collage artist who contributes illustrations to the NYTimes.

Now it's Sunday and I'm trying to gear myself up for class tomorrow. I'm feeling better and trying not to put so much pressure on myself. Hope I can make it the full six weeks.

Learning and Growing

One thing this trip is teaching me is how much anxiety holds me back. Critter travels all the time for work, so he's used to being alone in a big city. I'm definitely out of my comfort zone here. Yes, it would be easier to stay home and do what I'm used to doing. It's strange, because I love alone time at home. I relish peace and quiet. When traveling, though, I prefer to have someone with me. This is hard. Really, really hard. The class is hard, and being away from home is hard. I feel sick to my stomach every morning before class. 

One of the big points of the workshop is to strive to get the big shape right before moving to smaller shapes and details. We are learning to correct as we go. Although, I know this intellectually, it's not as easy in practice. I have to learn to trust my eye more and rely less on constant measuring, although one still has to measure to ensure accuracy. I feel that this is more difficult for me because I am not a natural at drawing and I wonder whether my less than stellar vision plays a role. How do you trust your eye when you know your eyesight is not ideal?

Each morning I feel like going home. I know I should relish this opportunity, but I am a creature of habit. Even though I know I'm a total beginner with this method, it's not comfortable to feel so clumsy and inept. Have any of you felt this way about a class? 

Day One at the Atelier

First, I want to thank all the wonderful people who rallied around me yesterday on the Sketchbook Skool Facebook page. I have been so anxious about this trip and taking the class that I wasn't sleeping well and was considering hightailing it home. I posted there yesterday morning (very early, because, you know, no sleep) and I received over a hundred comments full of encouragement, advice, and suggestions throughout the day. Wow! We all complain about the ills of social media, but I might have gone home yesterday without the outpouring of compassion and kindness I received from so many strangers who all want me to stay and learn what I can. 

I persevered yesterday and went out into the big city. I took the subway and the bus with no problems. I went downtown to the Bean and sat in the peaceful gardens at the Institute of Art. 

Last night I had wonderful El Salvadoran food at a local Pupuseria.
If you have never had a pupusa, it's kind of like a masa pancake filled with beans, cheese, pork, etc., and served with red and green salsa. It also came with this really delicious pickled slaw. I had 2 pupusas, slaw, and passion fruit juice for just over 6 bucks! Why would I ever need to cook here?

This morning I arrived at the atelier and started class. Whew! What a lot of work. First off, Magda, our teacher, is lovely, kind, and gentle. She made me feel much more at ease. The other students are mostly in their 40s/50s, like me, with one younger girl. One woman is commuting from Milwaukee, while another guy lives a few blocks away. Two other students (a husband/wife) will come next week, as they had some sort of medical issue. Everyone was nice. I do feel like I am the least experienced in the class, but I am trying not to let that bother me. 

Today we worked on a Barge drawing. I'm working on a foot. I can see all sorts of problems with it, but I keep telling myself that's why I am taking this class--to learn to see the problems and figure out how to fix them. Hopefully, this drawing will get a little better over the course of the week. 

It's a rainy day here in Chicago, so I'm staying indoors to read over the class material in preparation for the next few days. I'll post more as the class progresses. Again, thanks to all who have been so kind to me. I'm trying to stick this one out.

Pics need WiFi to upload, so can't do so from this little apartment. I'll post drawing pics to Facebook, and try to add pics from a cafe with WiFi. 

First Day in Chicago

Well,  I made it to Chicago. I am safely installed in my little apartment and just trying to get my bearings. Honestly, I'm exhausted. Virtually no sleep last night (due to anxiety) made the drive that much more difficult. But I am here so I had better make the best of it. I do miss Critter and our doggies terribly. I am heartsick without them around, even Critter--who is rarely home anyway.

I took a long walk this afternoon down to the atelier. I'll definitely be riding the bus occasionally. It's only 2 miles, but felt much longer in the heat. Glad I brought my hiking shoes!

I discovered that I am located in the Mayfair Park area on Chicago's northwest side. I think the neighborhood is officially Albany Park, but I saw street banners proclaiming Mayfair Park, so I looked it up. It's really a great neighborhood and wonderfully diverse: Mexican, Peruvian, Korean, etc.

Some of the street corners along Lawrence Ave (one of the main drags) have small, intimate park bench seating with well-kept flowers. Very nice to soothe sore feet. I met an older,  retired gentleman on my walk. We were walking near each other for awhile and he said, "It's a great day for a walk." I agreed and added that I was thankful for the breeze, too. I went along on my way to find the atelier and on my way back, I spotted him again sitting on a bench near a bed of lovely flowers. I called out to him, asking how his walk had been. He mentioned that since retirement he got himself a pedometer and tracks his walking each day. He averages around 30,000 steps a day! Put my poor sore feet to shame. He said he had been down to Eli's Cheesecake earlier and that's quite a walk. I told him I was new around here and didn't know where that was, so he kindly gave me directions. He pulled out a flyer from the restaurant that listed summer events and showed me that there is a farmer's market every Thursday, beginning this upcoming week. I'm so excited. I'll be able to get fresh fruit on Thursday mornings, plus get my gazillion steps in  to boot.

I want to mention how nice everyone has been to me so far in this city. It is a friendly place. I parked my car a few blocks from the apartment and the man who rented the spot to me was so kind. He pointed out where I could catch the bus and the Blue Line. He made me feel much less nervous about everything. He said that this is a great city and he hopes that I enjoy my stay. So far, despite my anxiety, I am enjoying it pretty well.

I also want to say how grateful I am to the atelier student who kindly sublet his apartment to me this summer. It is lovely. Granted, I feel like I'm in college again, which isn't the greatest feeling, but I have a safe place to rest in a really charming neighborhood. I also want to thank the student's mother for contacting me with lots of info about the apartment and neighborhood, and for helping to make the place spotless. It is such a relief to have a nice and clean place to stay while I am here.

Dinner tonight was at Taqueria Morelia not far from the apartment. I had tacos al pastor and they were truly delicious. Dare I say they were better than what I can get in Detroit's Mexicantown? If they weren't better, it was a very close tie. They were served with onions and cilantro,  as well as a particularly delectable verde sauce. I'll definitely go back there for fine eats.

On my way home from dinner, I noticed a sign advertising Lobster Gram. What?!? It's kind of like a lobster warehouse. Across the street from my apartment. So, if anyone is hankering for lobster,  I guess I can hook you up.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day, so I'll be out and about a little more. I'll be sure to start taking photos and drawing so that I can add them to these updates. It is somewhat cumbersome updating via phone, so bear with me.

Studying at a traditional atelier

This blog aims to document my atelier art experience at the Ravenswood Atelier in Chicago, IL over the next 6 weeks. I am looking forward to learning from teacher, Magdalena Almy, as well as from my fellow students. I hope to increase confidence and build on my drawing and painting skills. I know there is much for me to learn and that these next several weeks will involve a lot of hard work and intense study. I also plan to attend the Urban Sketchers Chicago sketch seminar during the 2nd week in July. Finally, I am setting myself a goal of sketching every day while I am in Chicago. This trip is all about art and about me learning as much as I can. I hope you will join me on this journey.