Friday 31 December 2010







Course work: A few final brush-strokes on Stage Three of Project Two, which I think I’ll call done now. I am far from happy with the overall result: shapes are reasonably well depicted, shadows are only fair, the apple seems to have advanced in the picture plane to the point it appears ready to roll on to the floor, and fabric folds appear mechanical for the most part. Color is fair; detail is poor, blending and soft edges are virtually nonexistent. Some of my frustration with this Project arises from the knowledge that I could have produced a better result working with oil paints.

A second apple sketch for Stage One of Project Two, using charcoal in my A4 sketchbook. Changed the apple’s position and the direction of the light.

Reading and theoretical studies:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Pp. 247-259





Sketchbook work: A small pile of mushrooms awaiting preparation.

Time today: One hour 34 minutes

Thursday 30 December 2010





Course work: Did the first of the four apple drawings for Stage One of Project Two, using charcoal in my A4 sketchbook.

Reading and theoretical studies:



Sarah Simblett The Drawing Book

Dorling Kindersley, London, 2004

Pp. 108-129



Phil Metzger The Art of Perspective

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2007

Pp. 9-37



Sketchbook work: A line sketch of an apple, done with pen.

Time today: 1 hour 28 minutes

Wednesday 29 December 2010





Course work: A second attempt at Perspective Project One, Stage Two. Today I did the initial drawing working from an easel, which simplified things somewhat. My vanishing points were a little closer to my assumed horizon line, although I still had one divergent line pair. My final drawing, again with projections in red and corrections in blue, is ~22x106cm. I found it interesting that my error in judging the correct position of the vanishing point tends to increase as the vanishing point shifts away from the midline. If the object of this exercise is to teach humility, it has succeeded.

Reading and theoretical studies:



Weckbach, Kevin: A Visual Palette: A Philosophy of the Natural Principles of Painting


iUniverse, Bloomington, Indiana, USA, 2008

Pp. ix-xiv, 1-9





Sketchbook work: An ink sketch of a bag of mixed peppermint sticks.

Time today: One hour 21 minutes

Tuesday 28 December 2010





Course work: Worked on Perspective Project One, Stage Two on paper ~45x60 cm. Although I thought that I had done a fair job of drawing in the books, I badly misjudged my horizon line, and some of my lines diverged, rather than converging. I’ll try this again.

Reading and theoretical studies:



Guy Cogeval: Vuillard: Post-Impressionist Master

Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2002

Pp. 98-135

(This small, short volume includes many illustrations, most in color. Because of the small size of the book the illustrations often do not permit careful study. The translation is better than average, but still leaves the reader a bit confused at times. The text does cover Vuillard’s entire career from schoolboy days to old age, and from being one of the Nabis to becoming the most renowned French portraitist of his day. After a careful second study of the reproductions in the book, I conclude that Vuillard considered the inclusion of people in his work primarily as an opportunity to use interesting shapes and colors. I have ordered a larger book so that I may look at his works in more detail.)



Sketchbook work: A pencil sketch of my winter work cap, just as I dropped it after putting out hay.

Time today: One hour 44 minutes

Monday 27 December 2010





Course work: Some minor work on Stage Three of Project Two.



Commenced work on Perspective Project One, Stage One, selecting four equal-sized books (thin ones, to assist in ignoring their vertical thickness). Two were flat on a table, one elevated on a short cylindrical cup, and one raised on a fairly tall cylindrical vase. I decided that A4 paper was too small for this project; my work is about 25 x 40 cm. Construction lines and horizon line are black; projected sides are red; correction lines are blue. Although I did a very similar project for the drawing course, I found that my work was only modestly improved with the current project. (This suggests the need for additional work.)

Reading and theoretical studies:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Pp. 229-246



Sketchbook work: A pocket sketchbook sketch of some icicles, an infrequent phenomenon here.

Time today: One hour 33 minutes

Sunday 26 December 2010





Reading and theoretical studies:



E. H. Gombrich Art and Illusion (11th Printing)

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, 1969

Pp. 268-287



Guy Cogeval: Vuillard: Post-Impressionist Master


Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2002

Pp. 69-97



Weekly reflections on learning experience: Another week in which little was accomplished, primarily because of frustrating but unavoidable holiday demands.



Time today: 44 minutes

Thursday 23 December 2010




Sarah Simblett The Drawing Book

Dorling Kindersley, London, 2004

Pp. 88-107



Time today: 22 minutes

Wednesday 22 December 2010





Course work: Some further work on Stage Three of Project Two. Most of my effort of late has been in making small corrections and additions: I think it would be sensible to continue to do this, but to simultaneously work further along into the course, since the little adjustments I have been making only require a few minutes of effort.

Reading and theoretical studies:



E. H. Gombrich Art and Illusion (11th Printing)

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, 1969

Pp. 242-267



Concluding the theoretical work on P. 93 of the text, I did a colored pencil sketch (~15x18 cm) of Rembrandt’s The Philosopher Reading in my sketchbook to demonstrate “…using colour to emphasise the fall of light on objects.” The textbook statement seems unclear, and I have been looking for a painting that seemed suitable for almost two months. What I have attempted to do is to identify the underlying colors in the work and to strengthen them and use them in a non-linear fashion to show their role in delineating the way that their relative values depict the objects.

Time today: 1 hour 37 minutes

Wednesday 15 December 2010-Tuesday 21 December 2010





Reading and theoretical studies:



Victoria Finlay Color

Ballantine Books, New York, 2002

Pp. 376-395

(This engrossing book is part history, part travelogue, part art, and part chemistry, and it will be enjoyed by anyone whose interests include at least two of these factors.)



Guy Cogeval: Vuillard: Post-Impressionist Master

Harry N. Abrams, New York, 2002

Pp. 11-67



Cynthia Freeland Art Theory

Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001

Pp. 40-59



Weekly reflections on learning experience: This has not been a highly productive period, as holiday travel to visit family and friends has cut sharply into my work, permitting only a little reading in stolen moments. I fear this will continue for some time yet.



Total time: 2 hours 10 minutes

Tuesday 14 December 2010





Course work: More work on Stage Three of Project Two, primarily on the “Venus” figurine, working from yesterday’s sketchbook study and from the setup itself.





Reading and theoretical studies:



Cynthia Freeland Art Theory

Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001

Pp. 20-39





Time today: 48 minutes

Monday 13 December 2010




Course work: Additional work on Stage Three of Project Two. Most effort was expended on yet another repainting of drapery folds, but some on further development of objects.

Reading and theoretical studies:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Pp. 202-228



Sketchbook work: A quick study of the shadow pattern on the Willendorf Venus; this has gotten rather confused in my painting, and I need to revise and simplify it.

Time today: 1 hour 27 minutes

Sunday 12 December 2010




Course work: Ongoing work on Stage Three of Project Two.



Reading and theoretical studies:



Sarah Simblett The Drawing Book

Dorling Kindersley, London, 2004

Pp. 47-87



Sketchbook work: A drapery study in charcoal, ~18 x 26cm; I can do these tolerably well in most media, but doing them in acrylic continues to elude me.

Weekly reflections on learning experience: I am going through one of the periods of frustration that attend the learning of any new skill or technique. The knowledge that I could do better with another medium is disheartening, and even the certainty that persistence will lead to progress is unhelpful. The work I am doing now is not done out of pleasure, but out of self-compulsion. All I can do at present is to struggle along and try to make a different set of mistakes than I made on the preceding day. My reading and sketchbook work are gradually returning to their pre-vacation levels.



Time today: 1 hour 26 minutes

Saturday 11 December 2010




Course work: Continuing struggle with Stage Three of Project Two.



Reading and theoretical studies:



Victoria Finlay Color

Ballantine Books, New York, 2002

Pp. 339-375



Sketchbook work: A somewhat more developed study based on one of yesterday’s sketches, ~16 x 22 cm.

Time today: 1 hour 38 minutes

Friday 10 December 2010





Course work: Further work on Stage Three of Project Two. My inability to handle acrylics to my satisfaction continues to frustrate me, and I have had little luck in finding a solution to the problem of producing convincing soft edges.

Reading and theoretical studies:



Sarah Simblett The Drawing Book

Dorling Kindersley, London, 2004

Pp. 7-45



Sketchbook work:



Three small compositional studies using three apples, ~20 x 26cm.

Time today: 1 hour 31 minutes

Wednesday 8 December 2010




Course work: Continued work on Stage Three of Project Two. I am trying to work more boldly, but cannot say I am very pleased with what I have done recently.



Reading and theoretical studies:



Victoria Finlay Color

Ballantine Books, New York, 2002

Pp. 307-338



Time today: 1 hour 12 minutes

Tuesday 7 December 2010




Reading and theoretical studies:



Cynthia Freeland Art Theory

Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001

Pp. i-iii, 1-19



Sketchbook work: A quick sketch of some stacked bowls, ~14 x 14cm.

Time today: 39 minutes

Monday 6 December 2010




Course work: Additional work on Stage Three of Project Two, with some further work on the drapery folds and shadows.



Time today: 27 minutes

Thursday 2 December 2010





Course work: Resumed work on Stage Three of Project Two, beginning to paint in the drapery folds and trying to work somewhat more loosely.



Reading and theoretical studies:



Victoria Finlay Color

Ballantine Books, New York, 2002

Pp. 259-307



Sketchbook work: A sketch (~14x18cm) of a narrow portion of a shingle beach seen on my recent trip; my major objective here was to work out a technique for producing the sensation of depth.

Time today: 1 hour 51 minutes

Monday 22 November-Wednesday 1 December 2010




During this period I did a thorough review of my Assignment One work after receipt of my tutor’s comments, and a careful look at Assignment Two work to date in light of those comments. After about three weeks away from the easel, I discovered that I was not very satisfied with the painting in progress (and that I was having difficulty in getting back to work on the course). I should have painted the background almost completely before starting on the objects, and the two objects on the right should have been place further from the center in order to better balance the three on the left. The objects in the still-life seem less interesting than when I first set them up, but this may simply be due to constant exposure. I gave serious thought to abandoning this painting uncompleted, but decided to work further on it if for no other reason than to gain further experience in handling acrylics, a medium to which I may not be psychologically suited.