The Conservative Cave
The Bar => The Lounge => Topic started by: ChuckJ on April 05, 2013, 01:44:20 PM
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One of the things that I've been doing in the past year to keep from going crazy is doing some drawings and sketches. I've still got to work on shading and proportions, but I've made some progress. A lot of times I seem to run out of patience.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/2Daryll_zps5a7234c0.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/2Husky_zpsc7b6d6e7.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/2dARK_hORSE3_zps8624f0c7.jpg)
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Looks REAL good!
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I like em all! You have a good talent. I could never do faces. I am not a precision kind of person. :whatever: Good job!
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Thanks. My wife likes them. I tell her that in my opinion they look better if you stand about 20' away from them and squint your eyes. It makes her mad.
I have a lot of trouble with eyes and keep things on a face half way symmetrical.
My first attempt using watercolor pencils ended up looking like something done by a first grader. Maybe worse. Even the wife had to admit that that one wasn't very pleasant.
Here's my first attempt with soft pastels.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/2RainbowRose_zpsa41e7557.jpg)
And my first serious attempt at colored pencils. My scanner kind of morphed the colors a little on it.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/2basset_zpsbb9dc9aa.jpg)
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Oh Hell, those are great, awesome.
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You captured the Basset hound very, very well.
Are these from memory or live animals?
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Those are great you have talent
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They look fantastic!!! I have to get back to drawing as well..
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From photos. I can't do anything from memory which is one reason I'd never consider myself an artist. An artist can create. I can't do very much without some sort of reference.
Maybe the creating will come in time.
I said in my first post I'd been doing this for the past year. It's actually been a little longer because I did my first drawing around January or February of last year.
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From photos. I can't do anything from memory which is one reason I'd never consider myself an artist. An artist can create. I can't do very much without some sort of reference.
Maybe the creating will come in time.
I said in my first post I'd been doing this for the past year. It's actually been a little longer because I did my first drawing around January or February of last year.
Even Leonardo had to start somewhere.
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My wife says that they're very good. She is the artist in the family . . . so far, anyways, as The Heiress has picked up her talents.
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Those are great. I admire talent like that.
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Those are great Chuck. When I was in school I loved drawing. Once I started working, though, I put all of that out of my head. Now I just admire other peoples' work.
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Maybe the creating will come in time.
You do great work. The creativity will come. Just keep perfecting your technique and the different mediums your working with.
Have you ever tried painting? I took several adult ed classes. Loved it.
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You do great work. The creativity will come. Just keep perfecting your technique and the different mediums your working with.
Have you ever tried painting? I took several adult ed classes. Loved it.
Thanks to everyone, and BSS, tell your wife thanks for me.
Dori, my wife has been after me to try painting for a few months now, but I've been resisting. Of course resisting her usually eventually fails. She did the same thing with colored pencils and pastels. I finally caved with both.
My biggest concern with trying painting is that I don't have the hand control that I used to have. Maybe it's because I'm middle-aged now. I tried drawing for a few months way back when I was 13 years old. The drawings weren't great, but the lines were smooth and fluid. Now 35+ years later the drawings are better, but the lines are much more difficult.
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One of the things that I've been doing in the past year to keep from going crazy is doing some drawings and sketches. I've still got to work on shading and proportions, but I've made some progress. A lot of times I seem to run out of patience.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/2Daryll_zps5a7234c0.jpg)
Darryl's likeness is DEAD on :cheersmate:
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Thanks.
This one was supposed to be Rick. I think I had done some more work on it after this scan, but not much. I'm just too lazy to rescan it. I actually like this one better than the Darryl one even though it doesn't look as much like who it supposed to look like.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/rickg_zps51ed6a30.jpg)
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Wow, that's really good.
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From photos. I can't do anything from memory which is one reason I'd never consider myself an artist. An artist can create. I can't do very much without some sort of reference.
Maybe the creating will come in time.
I said in my first post I'd been doing this for the past year. It's actually been a little longer because I did my first drawing around January or February of last year.
One of America's greatest illustrators - Norman Rockwell - often used photos, especially in the latter part of his career.
I think you have a great talent, Chuck, and you should stick with it.
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I have a hand-drawn portrait of Ronald Reagan hanging on the wall downstairs. It's pencil and charcoal.
I have a photo of it somewhere.
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Chuck
Those are really good.
Years ago I bought that book "Drawing with the right side of the brain" by
Betty Edwards
she said that the reason most of us can't draw worth a darn is because we
don't draw what we see...we draw the symbols.
Example:
By drawing from photographs placed upsidedown where we tend to see only
the connectedness of lines rather then the symbols of noses or kneecaps our
drawings tend to be more realistic.
This is an art of seeing, not of physical dexterity.
But still a hard nut to crack for most of us.
So I think it's cool that you can see and add your own interpretation.
That's probably what it's all about.
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Thanks again guys.
Chris: Funny you should mention Ronald Reagan. A few days back I was looking for reference photos of cowboys and came across a photo of Reagan. I thought he'd be good to try, but I haven't gotten around to it yet.
hopfrog: The only art class I've ever taken was right after that book came out. The art teacher swore by it. At the time I was just taking the class because it was easy credits. Never did pay much attention. The teacher was kind of easy to please. Me and the other guys would joke around until right before the bell then smear some paint on paper and call it abstract. She was always happy with it.
She was actually a very good artist. I would have probably learned something if I had paid attention, but what does a teenager know?
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These are really good, Chuck. You have serious talent!
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OMG! you're awesome!
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Both Darryl and Rick look exactly like who they're supposed to be. OMG, I could never do that. I think I could draw cats pretty well at one point, but never, ever human faces.
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I wanted to revisit this thread for one last drawing. This is of one set of my grandparents. I was really happy with this one.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/ejf1_zpse068f2ee.jpg)
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I wanted to revisit this thread for one last drawing. This is of one set of my grandparents. I was really happy with this one.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/ejf1_zpse068f2ee.jpg)
That is awesome !!
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Decided to add to this thread from a while back.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Spock_CC_zpsqiv4tdor.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Owl_CC_zpsbqv2wblq.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Rose_CC_zpsfdvyymdd.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Deer_CC_zpsav1b7odw.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Most_T_Chuck_FB_zps16693f66.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/TDog_CC_zpsucyu4ego.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Eli_CC_zpsrtwprnam.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/ShrimpBoat_CC_zpskipqdwwn.jpg)
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Chuck, that is really good. Your dog and muppet sketch made me laugh!
ETA: I have a lot of respect for artistic ability like yours. My drawing skill got stuck in the 'stick figure' stage, and my stick figures suffer from scoliosis.
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Chuck, that is really good. Your dog and muppet sketch made me laugh!
ETA: I have a lot of respect for artistic ability like yours. My drawing skill got stuck in the 'stick figure' stage, and my stick figures suffer from scoliosis.
Thanks Big Dog. I wish I had more creativity where I could do things without using reference photos. Also wish my hand was more steady. Here's a few more dogs and other things.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Jdog_zps9stytrka.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Husky_CC_zpswhrwq96h.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Hawk_cc_zpsbclsf5mx.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Dale_CC_zps1uzxkcs6.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Dog_CC_zps0bbrzeqj.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Horses_CC_zpslzuubs4p.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Girl1_CC_zpszrkkxz2l.jpg)
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(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/BlackD_zps4hsy5bxe.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Boxer_zpsjgybyvl0.jpg)
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I like the Doberman sketch. May I copy it?
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I like the Doberman sketch. May I copy it?
Yeah.
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From photos. I can't do anything from memory which is one reason I'd never consider myself an artist. An artist can create. I can't do very much without some sort of reference.
Maybe the creating will come in time.
I said in my first post I'd been doing this for the past year. It's actually been a little longer because I did my first drawing around January or February of last year.
Let me tell you a story that might be of some help.
I played the trumpet since I was 9 years old all the way into adulthood. I can sight-read no problem -- the music goes from the sheet to the sound. But I was NEVER able to improvise. Even when I "improvised" it was technical -- a 3rd up, a 5th down, a riff heard on a recording. I was a good technical player but knew my limitations.
As an adult, I taught myself to play the flute. Once I learned overtones (accidentally) I found ALL I could do was riff. I was no Chris Wood, mind you (who is), but I could carry my own in a total improv. I rocked with some live band, making it up as I went. I found I had an instinctive feel for key and what works. I came closer to talented than with the trumpet. There is still a mechanical quality to my flute playing so I will never be great -- but at least I made to not 1/2 bad.
Interestingly I can NOT sight read with the flute AT ALL. My brain says "that is an A-flat quarter note and thus needs... When I want to know what a song sounds like and all I have is sheet musing I have to play it with the trumpet, then mentally transpose and free form it on the flute.
I have always found this an interesting personal insight into how the brain works and maybe a glimpse into the nature of talent.
Your artwork is very good. Many of us would give our left arm to even approach your level of artistry. That, my friend, is a gift from God given to very few. And did it occur to you your humor is where your art is?
Don't worry about needing a frame of reference. One day you will find your impromptu medium.
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Yeah.
Putting it on my phone!
:cheersmate:
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Chuck, I'm envious of your talent. Found an old scrapbook from my childhood with some of my early drawings as a kid. They were awful and my "talent" hasn't improved over the years.
All of your drawings are excellent, but was touched especially by the Boxer picture. My son and his wife just lost their boxer, Layla, a few weeks ago. She was a wonderful dog who took such good care of their two little ones. She guarded them and was very loving.
Also loved your baby elephant picture. It looks so much like Raja, the first elephant born at the St Louis Zoo. One of the curators let me pet him when he was a baby. Now he's a grown up bull elephant who's sired many babies, can't get anywhere near him now, too dangerous. But you've totally captured the look of those ellie babies. They're precious.
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Did someone say "Baby Elephant"...
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5goeen3vBdQ[/youtube]
They walk too !
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Chuck, I'm envious of your talent. Found an old scrapbook from my childhood with some of my early drawings as a kid. They were awful and my "talent" hasn't improved over the years.
All of your drawings are excellent, but was touched especially by the Boxer picture. My son and his wife just lost their boxer, Layla, a few weeks ago. She was a wonderful dog who took such good care of their two little ones. She guarded them and was very loving.
Also loved your baby elephant picture. It looks so much like Raja, the first elephant born at the St Louis Zoo. One of the curators let me pet him when he was a baby. Now he's a grown up bull elephant who's sired many babies, can't get anywhere near him now, too dangerous. But you've totally captured the look of those ellie babies. They're precious.
Thanks SLW. I quit drawing when I was about 13 years old. I didn't start again until 2013. I don't want to date myself but that is more than 35 years but less than 45 years between drawing attempts. My wife had never seen any of my old drawings until a few months back when I dug out my old childhood drawing pad. My wife, who loves and supports my current drawing, actually poked fun at my childhood stuff.
My mother also loved the baby elephant the first time she saw it. She kept flipping back to it as she looked through the pad. I like it okay, but I drew it from a reference photo and can see all of the mistakes I made. On the bright side, everyone that's seen it so far has known it was a baby elephant and didn't mistake it for an octopus or something.
Here's a few more. These'll be the last for awhile.
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Swan_zpsqbqai9zk.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/BigCat_zps8wfmcntj.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Clint_John_zps86djdzui.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/Beetle_zpsucl9vuxc.jpg)
(http://i569.photobucket.com/albums/ss137/Bucket_pail/BeeKill_zpsoiws2z2w.jpg)
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I played the trumpet since I was 9 years old all the way into adulthood. I can sight-read no problem -- the music goes from the sheet to the sound. But I was NEVER able to improvise. Even when I "improvised" it was technical -- a 3rd up, a 5th down, a riff heard on a recording. I was a good technical player but knew my limitations.
As an adult, I taught myself to play the flute. Once I learned overtones (accidentally) I found ALL I could do was riff. I was no Chris Wood, mind you (who is), but I could carry my own in a total improv. I rocked with some live band, making it up as I went. I found I had an instinctive feel for key and what works. I came closer to talented than with the trumpet. There is still a mechanical quality to my flute playing so I will never be great -- but at least I made to not 1/2 bad.
Interestingly I can NOT sight read with the flute AT ALL. My brain says "that is an A-flat quarter note and thus needs... When I want to know what a song sounds like and all I have is sheet musing I have to play it with the trumpet, then mentally transpose and free form it on the flute.
I'm impressed that I understood all of what you wrote here. :whistling:
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Very talented... :cheersmate:
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Let me tell you a story that might be of some help.
I played the trumpet since I was 9 years old all the way into adulthood. I can sight-read no problem -- the music goes from the sheet to the sound. But I was NEVER able to improvise. Even when I "improvised" it was technical -- a 3rd up, a 5th down, a riff heard on a recording. I was a good technical player but knew my limitations.
As an adult, I taught myself to play the flute. Once I learned overtones (accidentally) I found ALL I could do was riff. I was no Chris Wood, mind you (who is), but I could carry my own in a total improv. I rocked with some live band, making it up as I went. I found I had an instinctive feel for key and what works. I came closer to talented than with the trumpet. There is still a mechanical quality to my flute playing so I will never be great -- but at least I made to not 1/2 bad.
Interestingly I can NOT sight read with the flute AT ALL. My brain says "that is an A-flat quarter note and thus needs... When I want to know what a song sounds like and all I have is sheet musing I have to play it with the trumpet, then mentally transpose and free form it on the flute.
I have always found this an interesting personal insight into how the brain works and maybe a glimpse into the nature of talent.
Your artwork is very good. Many of us would give our left arm to even approach your level of artistry. That, my friend, is a gift from God given to very few. And did it occur to you your humor is where your art is?
Don't worry about needing a frame of reference. One day you will find your impromptu medium.
Don't know how I missed your comment the other day. First, thanks for the kind words and I do credit God for whatever talent I do have.
As for music, I come from what I guess could be called a musically family on my dad's side, but all I can play is the radio. I don't have clue as to most of what you said, but I did understand enough to get the analogy.
Speaking along the lines of music and how the brain works, my dad, who can't read a note of music, plays the guitar. Before arthritis started bothering him he was good enough that he played lead guitar in rock bands in his youth and gospel bands as an adult. After years of playing the guitar he decided to buy a used piano and learn to play it. He got to where he could play the piano a bit with his right hand (guitar picking hand), but he never could get his chording hand to work correctly.
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Chuck, you have a great talent!! I can draw some, but rusty and out of practice.
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Wow. I sure like seeing your drawings.