Diana's Sketch Book

Continuation on the temple. 6 3/4" x 11". graphite.

This building witnessed something awful. Sometimes I feel it when drawing it. It has happened when drawing an atomic bombed tree also. A feeling just comes, even when not thinking of it. It's almost like the witnesses need to express something.

What comes across to you?

Diana

Today, I am going out to draw a model of the first Mercedes on display. For my old transportation series, two series will be done. One in about an 8" x 10" size and the others ACEOs. People would really like these.

Diana

From my 9" x 12" journal in graphite. Under the corner of the eaves is a very complex subject and a bit above my ability to work on a drawing cold on good paper. Working up sketches in my private journal is the best way for me to look for ways to approach this.

The building is a medieval Zen Buddhist temple in Hiroshima, Japan that is secluded enough by the mountains and north enough to have avoided the atomic bomb. It is a National Treasure of Japan and is the largest Zen monastery in Japan.

There will be many more sketches until the right feel and images come to put it on good paper.

enjoy.

Diana

My current interest in subject matter has been older buildings in Japan and churches in America. Sometimes, even with a photo in front of me I need to practise what is there. I tend to choose a more challenging one each time. I also want to share with anyone interested the process. Since drawings themselves can have a direct beauty about them, I have made this journal as a more informal one.

Enjoy...

Not far from the entrance to the original Woodstock site.

In keeping with the music mood of this blog I share with you a tree limb of a tree at Woodstock site.

The following drawings are of Scott Weiss and George done during a couple of nights at The Waterwheel Cafe in Milford, PA where there is a Thrusday Nite Jam and some Saturday night performances. It's in an intimate setting and the guys play really excellent music.

Drawing the musicians is where I practise learning how to draw. The guys have been very generous to let me draw and I feel very grateful to hear and see them play and let me do that. Doing this has brought for me a deep appreciation of blues music and performance and to notice the exquisite beauty of the human hand as it plays guitar.

George wears soft denim shirts which have the most glorious drape to them. That along with him playing his bass inspires me to draw. Even if I go to a night and say I won't draw, just seing him brings out the pencils and sketchbook. I think this one captures my love for this combination of music and cloth.

Oh and by the way, I always approach a drawing and subject afraid of doing a not so good one.

The words on the page are the lyrics he was singing at the time.

Scott singing "Love Is." After the performance I came up to him and asked him if this song is about his children. He said, "No it is about all the children of the earth."

A study of posture while playing guitar. Also a study in capturing his energy which he has a lot of.

George, with his white hair and the blue shirt he usually wears (sometimes it is a white shirt) is very striking while performing. He has been playing guiter for over forty years and is an accomplished studio musician and performance bassist. I usually depeict him in line drawings which captures the essence of his light coloring. But someone looking at most of my drawings of him would think I am just drawing line drawings of anyone.

I drew this to show his elegance. He is my favorite subject in art. I am not a portrait artist, but I feel a strong calling to do a painting of him.

George and Scott are my favorite musicians to draw. It's not very often they play together on Thursday Nite Jam at the Waterwheel Cafe because Scott Weiss only hosts this about once a month. The drawings from this night are among my favorite ones done in my whole life.

This was done in a dark place and I don't necessarily look while doing so. It's about capturing the moment. I hold a few chalks in my hnad and just go.

This drawing is the only one where they are together performing. I would have done more but some people at nearby tables were having an ice cube toss war and people were coming up to me during this performance. It was annoying because i was looking forward to depicting these two on stage all month.

I haven't been able to bring myself to working at this level since. It's a shame because small places are the best to see someone perform and draw them.

Next week Scott is hosting and George will play onstage with him. Maybe I can try again.

Artistically, this year for me is more about exploration and development of sketches and drawings depicted here. I learned a lot while doing this. My focus on drawing the musicians live has dwindled in feeling. I have hit a plateau in learning about the human body and the drape of clothing by sketching live performers.

On New Year's Eve I did some of Scott and only did a couple of studies of his hand mainly because I was sitting at a different angle of him than before and the view of the hand gave me something diferent to learn. It's not worth posting here.

What I think about lately when drawing let's say George is that maybe I want to be doing some stills of draped fabric at home. When drawing these folks, I always feel inadequate doing people in motion.

Last Thursday night I drew George and what caught my eye was that he was wearing two shirts that the sleeve was rolled up together. It was interesting and I drew that.

For me to improve the ability to get down on paper these people as they do their art, I need to spend time at home practising hands and fabrics. So, the next many draings here will be of studies done at home. I have shirts similar to what George wears and also the others for that matter. My clothing is often just basic men's shirts.

When I improve in doing hands and shirts then I'll be ready to do more of the musicians. Anyway that is what will be here for awhile. Hands and shirts.

Diana

The music was great tonight. They played a set that was three hours straight. I looked and listened to them more than drew. The room was pretty crowded when getting there so I only had one seat to choose. But it got me to see an unusual angle of Everett the bass player performing. My view gave me a chance to really see the hands' action on the neck. I spent the night memorizing aspects of performing visually rather than seeing and drawing on the spot.

I knew before I left that because three months have gone by since seeing them that somehow my own performance with my art would change tonight which it did. I think the next step is the memorization of what I see.

It's late. I want to go to sleep. I am so afraid I am going to forget what I observed tonight.

I hope I am not tired and wiped out when waking up tomorrow. Somehow I have to make this thing called drawing every day work. So far it is a total blunder. I am so not productive after seeing these bands perform. If I don't do better at it I am going to stop seeing them until I get productive.

My learning process has rights you know!

I just might do that. Seeing bands perform and going out on jam night may be the prize rather than the process. Let's consider it to be that every time I go out I should expect myself to come up with something worthwhile artistically for the time I spend in front of musicians memorizing them visually. And that if I don't then I canot allow myself to go see them.

I think that is a good plan.

Diana

Tonight I am going out to the Waterwheel Cafe to see the Bobby Kyle Band. It was seeing them three months ago where I took the plunge and drew their bass player all night without abandon. And I have been doing studies of bands since then.

Tonight I am bringing better paper and will see what I can come up with as far as doing actual art. Of course at first I will do sketches to warm up with.

Diana

Tonight, for the first time in a very long time I was able to schedule my life so as to do the life drawing workshop held every Monday night at the Arts Council of Princeton.

My studies of the musicians has come to good as my work tonight showed progress. I worked large and in conte, mostly sanguine conte with the eyes touched up in black. The model was classically beautiful with features somewhat like Michealangelo's "David" or like some Greek statuary. My drawing didn't do her justice.

For the sense of freedom, I decided to work very large today. I copy my art by scanner but it is a smaller size. So, I can't show my work.

It's noted here so I have an account of it.

Diana

This post is forward dated so there is an explanantion of the following posts which are for October.

For the last couple of months I have been going out and doing sketches of musicians performing. It's time now to use them to develop art pieces and drawing skills from what was learned while doing that. Going out and doing that was fun and I met new people while doing it. The main point was to learn how to draw people better which is what happened.

So, some of the posts here may be more developed than sketches. This is still a good place to keep all of that in one place.