Not NOT drawing. But drawing Nothing. Well ok, Not NOTHING. But bramble, thicket and backgrounds. Detritus. These are things that you cheat on in painting. That most people cheat on in painting. The Ruskin-ites would skoff at the lack of clarity and certitude. But every other painter I enjoy would…
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Quick check in with some drawings from last week... Went at the Meer with an actual brush and some Dr. Martin's Black Star ink. Both of these pieces were on a toothy cold-press card. Both images are of the Copse on the Southern shore. In the second one you can…
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Moving into my sophomore year in plein air, I came across a loose drawing I did last year of the expanse along the southern shore from the Bad Tree to the pairing on the southern shore. Which I affectionately, but probably incorrectly, describe as the Copse. It's an area viewed…
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September rolls in and the weather becomes confusing. Thanks to a cool late-Summer, the leaves are trying to turn their color early. Things are still green but the clock has started and the atmosphere is light and blustery. I got out twice this past week. Consistently decent drawings are…
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I was fortunate to make it to the Meer twice this last week. Once, en route to dinner downtown and with limited materials. And the second time, yesterday for the end of Summer and the birth of Autumn. With a couple of black pens and no water brush, I…
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It's been about a year now that I've actively been pursuing plein air studies. To very good returns. I manage 2-4 drawings per session. Each drawing is between 30-40mins. I have a cadre of tools that are familiar but all fawlty (it never ends). I have locations that I like…
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Welcome to the throes of early August. The weather has been incredible for the past week or so. Hot off the marvels of the JS Sargent exhibition, there is a sense of openness and tactile bravado in the sketches. The first two are from a week ago. At top, the…
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Welcome then to the dog days of Summer and an update from the sketchbooks from the past few months. I think I've been out a handful of times, with mounting regularity. Notably, the park has gotten much MUCH greener. And so this first pairing is dense and luscious. A silly…
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Second Autumn has found its way to New York with a near 60 degree day or two. I'm getting over a cold but found the willpower to hasten my way down to the meer after a few weeks "off"*. Kathleen gave me a bunch of cold-press single sheets and i've…
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A couple of days worth of drawing. One bitter cold; one unseasonably warm. The drawing is getting good enough and copious enough that i now have to stop posting the terrible work and just selectively update. Trust me that we both win in this. A selection spanning three days. The…
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The meer is all boarded up with chainlink as a response to hurricane Sandy. I attempted to stop by last week but it was impassable. There was some talk of going last Saturday but the 20 degree windchill temps made sitting in the pre-dawn shade less than enviable. I tapped…
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