Saturday, July 27, 2013

Studies of Light and Dark




Yesterday, I went to an interesting exhibit of Edward Hopper drawings at the Whitney. He emphasized lighting a lot.

Friday, July 26, 2013

Cartoon of Annunciation Painting

My drawing:


The original:



My housemate left this painting in the studio, and for lack of any other inspiration, I decided to draw it. My drawing is more of a cartoon representation than a drawing in this case.

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Medusa and the North Atlantic Coast

This is Medusa:


And, this is where she lives:


This is more stuff along the lines of interior characters. See this post:
http://newsfromthestudio-bethanylee.blogspot.com/2013/07/possibly-to-be-continue.html

Monday, July 22, 2013

Yes, Martha. They were cosmos.

A week or so ago, I did not know what plants these were that I planted from seeds Martha sent me. Well, they flowered, so now I know. Thanks, Martha!
See post:
http://newsfromthestudio-bethanylee.blogspot.com/2013/07/plant-images-for-martha.html






Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Teapot and Towel




Similar idea to Still Life with a Bottle
http://newsfromthestudio-bethanylee.blogspot.com/2013/07/still-life-with-grapefruit-and-bottle.html
, but with color being the focus rather than form and texture.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Up the Stairs




One of the reason's I think my house feels peaceful is that there is lots of ambient light on hard surfaces.

Monday, July 15, 2013

My Sandals




I bought these shoes several years ago to wear in an office. They are from Nordstroms. They wear like iron. In the past six months, they have seen the streets of San Fransisco, the subways of Manhattan, the polished wood floors of nice restaurants, the linoleum of the welfare hotels of the Bronx, earth of garden, rooftop, rain, sun, sand, sea, and the carpet of my bedroom. Thanks, shoes for holding up on me.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

Poses of a Black Umbrella













I asked a relative not long ago if there was any sort of artwork he would like me to make for him. I had in mind not a commission, but some sort of labor of love. He mentioned a few works to which he had been attracted recently. After giving these works some thought, I decided to abandon (for now) the attempt to make a piece that he would like. The reason is as follows (and it has to do with the black umbrellas).
I like the saying, "Write what you know." The sorts of things I am exposed to and notice inform the visual art I make. For instance, I take pleasure in domestic beauty - the light through the curtain in my kitchen in the evening, a cat walking through the garden, a Shasta daisy in the window. Many of my subjects are domestic subjects. The umbrella is a domestic subject. It is also a sculptural object. That is another frame of reference from which I approach things visually. The art pieces my relative mentioned did not contain much overlap with my visual experience and sensibilities. Granted, it would be an interesting experience to try to find some overlap or to enter into those sensibilities, but sometimes, I think it's more fruitful to follow the lights you have been given. And, thank God there are many kinds of artists in the world. I only have to be the kind of artist I am.

Friday, July 12, 2013

Cast Iron

Which are unfinished because my housemate needed to cook with them.


I think the soft texture (visual texture at least) of cast iron is pleasing.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Plant Images for Martha

My friend Martha gave me some seeds for my garden. Here is what one of the plants looks like to me:


Vs. what it looks like on my camera:


Hey, Martha. By the way, do you know what this is? I forgot to mark it!

Friday, July 5, 2013

Still Life with Grapefruit and a Bottle




I think a still life is satisfying because it shows objects at close to their original size and is drawn from real life (as opposed to a photograph). The objects are also often solid, enclosed shapes like fruit or vessels. They have a touchable surface with a particular texture. To view a still life is like taking hold of those objects in the moment and saying: this object is real.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

4th of July Drawing in the Park

One of the studios in Manhattan had an event today: free model drawing sessions in the park. The models all had costumes.
Here is Uncle Sam:



And a couple of my drawings of him:





And, this is a drawing of Harriet Tubman posing with a Minute Man:




Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Bernini's David




Drawing of Bernini's David Statue. For my own aesthetic satisfaction. And because Bernini is the bomb.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Experimenting with Non-White Paper




Oh course, the subject would probably laugh if he saw it! I used a family photo for this sketch and turned my brother into an old woman.