Looking in the mirror

Available time for drawing has evaporated, aside from illustrating a product series to be presented to designers in just over two months, but I'm not giving up entirely. Here is another portrait of my most immediately accessible subject (looking too much like a National Geographic artist's representation of Zinjanthropus), with a Will Purdy "Organice Tadpole" pipe; formerly in the collection of Neill Roan, to whose affection and generosity I know better than to say no.

self portrait, Prismacolor pencils

Smoky morning

I don't always smoke when I'm working in my studio, but being here alone in an isolated part of the house, with a separate heating/cooling/air exchange system, I do have that luxury, and this morning I took advantage of it.

A pair of squashed apples by Rad Davis, Derwent Inktense and Berol Prismacolor pencils

Neill picks up the guitar

Before his current career as a visionary business strategy consultant or his previous tenure as an energetic promoter and administrator in the visual and performing arts, Neill Archer Roan spent over fifteen successful years as a noted classical guitarist, performing venues all over the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York City. Although he rarely if ever plays any more, he has during his last two visits worked with and encouraged my son Gabe, coaching him on technique, demonstrating and explaining things like posture, thumb position, and leading the left hand with the elbow. Last night before we went off to have dinner at the home of friends here in town, he played some obscure and some familiar pieces, and we all broke into song with "Bobby McGee". A couple of middle aged guys and a teenaged boy bonding over a popular song from when I was Gabe's age. It was great fun, and Neill still has the touch. But he's an extremely unco-operative subject to try to capture in even a quick portrait. He wouldn't even sit a little bit still. Which, I suppose, for a relative novice like me, makes it a good if very challenging exercise.

Neill Archer Roan playing Gabe's new flamenco and smoking a Pohlmann

Difficult course of study

Most of us like to do what we're good at. I certainly do. In fact, I've had to admit to myself that I sometimes avoid learning to do new things if early attempts suggest a long, rocky road that I think will lead ultimately to a pinnacle of mediocrity. Early in life, the desire to be the best, beyond merely doing my best, drilled its roots into my psyche, and I've rarely been free of that terrible demand. It has robbed me of many experiences that I've steered away from, and a good deal of pleasure that I might have derived from what I have worked at. If I don't progress rapidly and believe that my efforts will yield exceptional results, it is very difficult for me to persist. For that reason, I've always admired people with modest talents who have persevered to produce the best they can, regardless of the hopelessness of ever attaining anything remarkable in their field.

So, drawing and posting my work has been difficult. This portrait drawing exercise that I've been working at recently has been expecially hard on my self image as an artist. I'm not good at it, and I have extremely high standards that I may never actually reach. This morning's self portrait is a case in point. There are sections of it, like the mouth, that are pretty convincing, yet overall, it is definitely student work. I'm still working on representation, and beyond that lies the vast territory of expression and content. It's daunting and it would be much easier to just do what I'm good at. But I'm tired of protecting myself from failure. And as a father, it is my duty to set an example for my children. I'm going to endeavor to persevere.

11 9/16 x 8 1/4, 2B graphite pencil

Update on Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 2:28PM by Scott A. Stultz

Another try, mid afternoon. Different approach, this time with colored pencils instead of graphite, and not trying quite so hard.

8 x 10 3/4, Derwent Watercolor pencils

Thursday morning pipes and chair

All right, I'm going to leave this one alone and let it be a one sitting drawing without color. I used a much more delicate hand than my usual pencil shattering strokes, focusing on captuing the worn out softness of the chair and getting the proportions and foreshortening right. And of course, for those of us who are obsessed with images of pipes, the obligatory Rad Davis short squashed and long shanked bent apples are this morning's apology for the drawing exercise.

11 9/16 x 8 1/4, 6B graphite pencil

Update on Friday, February 10, 2012 at 4:44PM by Scott A. Stultz

Ending the day a little early with a quick post from a break earlier today. A working weekend ahead so I'm going to slack off tonight.

A sandblasted Ligne Bretagne bulldog by Trever Talbert, 2b graphite and Prismacolor pencils