:projecting:

As hinted at last week, I did indeed set up my first photoshoot of the year, to take place two weeks from now. It'll be with two models at once, a first for me. I don't have any concepts set in stone yet, but from what I've seen of their work so far there should be no problems with improvising. I'll just have to dig through my props soon. I do have these two masks that will likely get used.

I continue to test out more products to put my artwork onto for sale, some more magnets this time. Hey, if certain companies keep sending me discounts or freebies, I'm going to use them (these were through Shutterfly). Time to start piling them onto Etsy, until I get a space at some art festival.

I returned to the Boston Dr. Sketchy's drawing event this past Monday. I haven't been to one since last April. Bad. But I'm pleased with the results, especially on the one and two minute poses, as in the past there wouldn't be much more than a scribble. Our model was one Gigi Marx, from Montreal.

We had unseasonably warm weather this past weekend, and I escaped to the woods at one point. I came across what I believe was part of the remains of a deer, at least as long as my leg. Sadly it was wasn't completely cleaned off by nature so I wasn't going to bring it home in that state. I'm still soaking off the dregs of a bird skull that I found last summer, and I have nothing big enough to put a deer's backbone into. So I'll return in a month or so to see if it's still there and cleaner. I also found someone's lost iPod and I'm going to see if that's recoverable as well.

:2 the dawn:

So we lost another one this past week in what seems to be becoming the Year of Death, at least amongst musicians and other celebrities. Maybe it's not more than your typical year, or perhaps our 24/7 news cycle makes it feel more prominent, but when a fair amount of them seem to be not those who are in their later autumn years, it does give one pause. Naturally no one is immortal - that we know of - but some you just assume will be around forever, somehow. And I believe through their works and music, they will be.

I'm speaking of course about Prince. To be perfectly honest I hadn't followed his output since the 90s, but I was well aware that he was still making music. Like another one who left us, Bowie, he was always an innovator, and if he tried on some other musical style, he managed to make it sound like his own.

I don't know yet if I'll do any tribute artwork of him like I did for Bowie, but that one came in a flash of inspiration, so it certainly could still happen.

I attended Dr. Sketchy's again, twice in a month, that's a record. This one was in a new location that they're trying out in Somerville, MA, and to judge by the attendance, it looks like it'll do well. I did not get in as much drawing as usual due to my sometimes bad vantage point, but I got a few good renditions. Our model was a returning one, Belle Gunz, and she was as entertaining as before. If it weren't already obvious, this isn't your typical life drawing session.

So far I still have a photoshoot coming up next week, and when I'm out and about on the weekends, I sometimes try to find locations for outdoor shoots. I think I found another one, though I don't think I'll be able to use it next week, as it's a bit of a drive to get to and the model's time is limited, as is my session with her.

As stated last week, I feel that I'm done working on shots from Tiffany's photoshoot. I've informed her and hopefully I'll get some actual feedback for a change. Time to look through shots from October's shoot and see if I can't do something extra with them too.

:still life:

I returned to the Boston chapter of Dr. Sketchy's this past weekend. I've already gone more this year than in previous ones combined, so yay for consistency. Our model this time was a local burlesque performer, of which we seem to have no shortage of, going by the name Madge of Honor. She had many inventive outfits and stories to go along with them (unlike at your typical figure drawing session, talking is encouraged). One was pretty much an outfit consisting of balloon animals, which looked great, but not something I could do justice to in the five minutes allotted to draw the pose.

In the interest of time, I tend to not bother drawing the chair or stool that the model is sitting on, so it looks like she has amazing balancing skills.

I believe that I'm nearly finished with working on photos from the photoshoot with Tiffany last year, which is good, as I feel the itch for newer ones, and in fact I may have one set up for the beginning of May with another traveling model. I'm unsure of the theme or location yet, it may just end up being in my apartment again. Insert perpetual desire for a separate art studio here.

I hope I didn't overdo this one, but I could add hundreds of layers without trying too hard.

:minor overflow:

After saying last week that I didn't expect to have much artwork to show this week, I instead have a lot more than I originally expected.

I did go to Dr. Sketchy's on Sunday as announced before. They were celebrating 9 years of doing this, plus, I guess, Valentine's Day. As is usually the case there, our model was a local burlesque performer, which certainly helps to emphasize that this isn't your typical life-drawing session, plus there are often entertaining stories as well. I did not always have the best vantage point this time, so instead of drawing detailed renditions like I tend to, I did a lot more smaller studies.

I've used my Holga camera a few times now, and I recently had some film sitting in it for months until I finished the roll. Part of the appeal seems to be the unpredictability of it, often coming from light leaks into the less than seamless, plastic body. Well. When I got this batch back, it clearly leaked a lot, as most of the roll got exposed, and I only got a few shots out of it. Good thing I wasn't depending on anything important from it. I got some interesting accidents out of what remained.

I recently won a GoPro camera, so we'll see what craziness can ensure from that one. I also have other photo accessories in mind for my tax refund.

I've returned to working on the photos I took of Tiffany from last summer. The last few I had altered to look like old pin-up calendar photos, but I'm running across a curious "problem" with these others: I'm finding that there's very little that I want to change on them. This is not a bad issue, I just found it to be a curious development. Of course it's an ideal situation to have the pictures to be as close to complete as possible in camera. It's just not something that I'm used to, so I'll take it as a good sign.

:session:

This past Sunday I finally had that photoshoot that I've been talking about for the past month, and I'm quite pleased with how it went, despite some delays and setbacks. The model in question wanted some nude shots done, her first ever actually, so I'm flattered that she asked me to do them. It was actually quite a relaxed and often silly atmosphere that day. Sorry, no actual nude shots for you this week, though. The shoot didn't start out that way, after all.

Days after, of course, me being me, I look at some of the photos with thoughts of how I could've done them better. At least not too much editing needs to be done, but again, I'd like to get as much of the final shots in-camera as possible. I read up on settings for my camera and thought I chose the right ones, but again had to adjust. Once again a reason to love digital, if this was film, I wouldn't see the mistakes until I got the film developed.

Lighting is still an issue - I just have two floodlamps for now, and I think at times they may have been a bit harsh. Ironically by the end I think we figured it out better and ended the shoot on a higher note, but we had been going for several hours by that point, on not much food for the day, so we ended the session. Lessons learned for the next one. A major plus was that we had fun doing this one, at the very least.

Fun!

I forgot to mention a few weeks past about another figure drawing session that I went to. In this case it's a shame that I draw with charcoal, as the model wore rainbow-colored clothing. I probably showed my age by assuming that she was supposed to be Rainbow Brite, but was actually one of those new My Little Pony characters instead. Well she didn't look like a horse, how was I to know? Not even a tail in sight.

Aaaaaand we are in Halloween season! I have nothing new for this year, alas, but again I have my Halloween is My Xmas series available on Etsy.

:legacy:

We lost a big one this week...artist HR Giger passed away. I've already mentioned elsewhere that when one says "Gigeresque," you know exactly what that means, even if it can't be put into words. I think it's testament to his artwork that it can be recognized instantly as his own. I certainly would like the same some day, however since I am not one to choose one style of artwork yet, I can't say that's the case today. He was certainly an influence, if not in style or subject matter, but in the quest to be completely original. I am still on that quest.

On that note, regarding my own artwork this week, all I've done other than the usual photo-taking whenever possible was a return to the Boston chapter of Dr. Sketchy's. This time around we had two members of the burlesque troupe The Slaughterhouse Sweethearts (plus a monkey puppet). Perhaps it was because of the extra numbers on stage, but I didn't do so well this time, in my opinion. Took too long on the drawings and didn't even include both of them at times. It's good to keep up the practice, of course. But I hope I complete this job search that's taking up my time now so I can get back to my real life again.

 

:momentum:

So soon after last Sunday's figure drawing session, I went to another one this past Friday night. Why not. Best to keep in practice, plus I really need to hang out with more artists.

This one was at Uforge Gallery in Jamaica Plain, which is also where I have a photo up in the current show, so I got to toot my horn about that briefly. The model went by the name of Porcelain Dalya, she bills herself as a "mermaid" for the local band Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys. We have some interesting folk here.

This session was clothed, but that just makes you pay more attention to clothing and how they drape around a figure.

I also got some more leeway on the monthly art project. There is no good excuse for why I can't complete it this month. I don't know why I'm dragging working on it, other than perhaps because they are somebody else's characters and I want to to them justice (Cochlea & Eustachia, to refresh your memory). It also reminds me that I couldn't work in comics, because other than the grueling schedule, I don't know how comfortable I'd be working on somebody else's creations. 

It's also a bit...weird, and while I got rid of my self-censorship quite some time ago (there are things in my sketchbooks that NO ONE will ever see), I still fear people may judge me on certain subject matter. I've often felt that I could sell-out and make money by going all porny, but that just feels like appealing to the lowest common denominator and no real challenge. I feel the same way with my photography.

I didn't really care for the arms on the left figure, so I had to do some revisions. I should have more progressions for next week.

:that figures:

I returned to the local Dr. Sketchy's session this past weekend, hopefully I can add it to my monthly goals, although some months it simply isn't feasible if something else comes up that day. For those unaware, it's by definition a figure drawing class, but it takes place (at least in Boston) in a willing bar, and the models are not your typical models. In this case they're mostly from the local burlesque scene, which often means inventive clothing that eventually becomes less clothing, although, also because this is Boston, never less than pasties by the end of it.

Like regular figure drawing sessions, they start out with short poses, 1 to 2 minute ones, leading to 5 and 10 and sometimes up to half an hour. Our model this time, Brandy Wine, was quite expressive with her face and tried to hold it for as long as possible or at least for the last 30 seconds. For the short poses she started out as a beauty contest contestant whose wardrobe malfunctions got progressively more disastrous.

I like that I managed to capture her facial expressions with so few lines and such limited time in this case.

She went through two other outfits; here's drawings from the last one that she had on.

I didn't overdo the shading like I tend to; maybe because I wanted make sure I rendered those stripes correctly! 

I've made some progress on my monthly art project, not enough worthy of showing yet, but I am confident if I keep at it that I'll finish before the last day this time.

:minutes:

I returned to Dr. Sketchy's this past Sunday, so yay, I finally broke my once-a-year attendance. Once again the model was a burlesque dancer, Dewey Decimator ( and yes, she's a librarian during the day ). As ever they have the best props & outfits. She started out as some sort of lion, then a Viking, and finally a Vegas showgirl, losing bits of the costumes along the way, of course. There are often contests to add crazy elements to the drawings, and I won one of them. Basically mine was to make her Viking pose less "Viking," so I gave her and the severed head prop big anime eyes. I can't show you because I also gave her the drawing, but it was only a two minute drawing anyways.

Like before I found myself focusing on certain details and ended up not finishing some drawings when time ran out. So by the end I wasn't drawing the whole figure as I usually do. Heh, I like how the last few almost look like religious paintings, with her Vegas headdress looking like a halo. You could probably fill more seats in church this way.

:clothing optional:

I revisited the Boston chapter of Dr. Sketchy last weekend, haven't been there since last year. Hopefully I'll go more than once a year if I can help it. For those of you unfamiliar with it, it's a figure drawing session, but done in places like night clubs (Great Scott in Allston in this case), and the models are often  non-traditional ones like burlesque performers. So instead of starting out unclothed they end up that way (well, not completely, but pasties & panties are close enough).

The model this time was one Allix Mortis. She actually started out in a grim reaper costume. Those were for the minute and two minute long poses I'm afraid, so I don't think any of them worthy of inclusion here. Figure drawing sessions often start out with quick poses like these so this event is no exception. Gradually they move up to longer ones, 5, 10, 15 minute ones.

I felt she had a very expressive face so I often focused on that in my drawings, which is unusual in that one usually is more focused on the body and pose, at least what I've seen at such sessions. So a few times I ran out of time and didn't complete the entire rendering.

  

:crawling from the wreckage:

I made some tentative steps out of my creative doldrums last Sunday, when I returned to the Boston chapter of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School for the first time since, well, the first one. It's quite a new way of figure drawing in case you haven't heard of it. Perhaps there's a branch near you.

Thankfully I have not lost the ability to draw, I didn't really think I would after only a few months, but it definitely shows what has been lacking in my life as of late. I've also tried to do some daily sketching, but I still find I can't do it inside my apartment and have gone outside. Yes, still seeking a new place. At least with the legal help I have now the stupid eviction process seems winnable or at least delayable, but the bottom line is I'm still fighting to stay in a place that I don't want to. People keep leaving the building (how they can find new places and I can't I have no idea, although I'm guessing they have lower standards than me), clueless new people are moving in, no doubt students like too much of the area right now. I am somewhat determined to stay away from Harvard Square until next summer, I swear they get worse each year in their inability to realize what is the street and what is the sidewalk and how to GET OUT OF THE WAY.

Spent most of the summer with the camera, as ever you should check out my flickr or JPG pages.

:in sickness and in health:

I went to another figure drawing session last night, but had to leave early, as the sore throat I had woken up with was turning into something worse. I had a most uncomfortable night trying to sleep but I think the worst of it has past. It figures that I survive the Winter without getting sick but on the first amazing Spring-like day, it happens. Thankfully I still seem to have the "talent" of only being sick for a day, so at least I have that going for me.

Again I can't help but notice the studio of our host, and wonder how I can get one myself. His is not a live-in studio, although like most artists I'm sure I'd spend more time in the studio than at home, which is one reason why I'd prefer a live-in one, the other being I can't afford both an apartment AND a studio, and I don't know why they think many artists can. Certainly not in the Boston area. They give a lot of lip service to supporting the arts here, but not really supporting the artist. I'm not looking for a handout here, but don't go calling condos for sale and not for rent "affordable," and don't go renting them to non-artists when you denote them as such. Don't drive out artists from their studios by "developing" the area that they had discovered first. Fort Point is still a ghost town now, a shadow of its former self. Oh, it's SUCH an improvement there now.

I don't know. It's beginning to look like I'll have to find some abandoned place and squat there, although I'd prefer a place with niceties like heat and running water, too. Electricity, too.