Baby Otter Graphite Drawing 3

The weather has been gorgeous in Northern Illinois, and the month of May has been a busy one!  Flea markets and town garage sales galore making for some fun weekends of running.  Schools are closing for another year, and my son is now a college graduate.  Where has the time gone?  *sigh*

I started mapping the little otter's fur a few hours ago and kept going until my hand started to cramp.  This small format can be harsh on the fingers!    My schedule will pull me from the board this afternoon.  I hope to get some more time in tonight. :)

Graphite drawing of a Baby Otter Cont. & A Special Thought on Maurice Sendak and Those Berenstain Bears

Where have I been?? ;)  The last three weeks have been a change of pace to say the least.  Two weeks were spent working full time as I got my training in for a new job.  Last week, my hours were reduced to part time and will stay that way unless one of the other employees decides to take time off.  So, I am happy to say that I have made my way to the drawing board again.  Whew!  It  feels good to be back!! :)

Below is a photo of the progress from last night.  I used my light box to transfer my sketch onto smooth Bristol board.  Since this little guy has a lot of fuzzy hairs protruding from his thick fur, I decided to get the background in place.  As with most of my drawings, the shading may go a little deeper, but it will work perfectly for pulling out the fuzz and tiny hairs with a white eraser.  The edges of the background had been lined with special pH drafting tape prior to being blended but was removed upon completion.  My next logical move would be map in and blend the little guy, since he is centrally located.  The hands will be so much easier to smear than fur, so they will be sketched in last.  :) 

I wanted to take a few moments to give a small tribute to a fabulous artist, Maurice Sendak.  As those of you that have followed me know, my love of children's books is enormous.  About a month ago, my Mom purchased an oversized book at a thrift shop entitled "The Art of Maurice Sendak" that she read and passed along to me.   It chronicled the work of this famous children's book illustrator and author from his beginnings through the late 70's.  I was completely thrilled with the content about his family, the influence of his childhood and other illustrators on his work, and of course the abundance of drawings lent to showcase the evolution of his style.  The book itself was written by Selma Lanes and published in 1980.  Amazing to think that there would be 32 more years after this book of new Sendak drawings!

I began reading this book at the end of April and set it aside to focus on training for my new day job position.  In one of my few moments on the computer, I learned that on  May 8, 2012 this wonderfully talented man passed away.  There would be no more of his magnificent pen and ink work with the intricacy and details that made my imagination take flight.  It was a sad day, but also a day to celebrate a man that made such an enormous contribution, both as writer and illustrator, to the genre of children's literature.

Many may recognize his name as being synonymous with his book "Where the Wild Things Are" -- which is just one of several splendid books that showcased how in tune he was with his feelings from childhood.   I first fell in love with the carefree style of his illustrations in the Miss Piggle Wiggle series!  My admiration has only deepened for him as I now continue to read on about his art and career.  It's fascinating to read his thoughts about childhood and the influence that other illustrators had on his ever evolving style.  So much so, that he also was a collector of children's books and other illustrator's original art.   Definitely a man that I would admire! ;)

           



And as a additional acknowledgement, February of 2012 brought the passing of another great woman in the field of children's literature, Jan Berenstain.  She continued on the Berenstain Bear legacy after the passing of her husband Stan in 2005.  Their autobiographical book "Down a Sunny Dirt Road" is one of the best reads in town, and I highly recommend it.  :)  I have collected their Bears in books, on DVDs, and on fabric!  They were an admirable team, and I am absolutely thrilled that their boys are carrying on with more tales from Bear Country. 

Where would we be without all of these wonderfully talented people??  *Sigh*  :)

Graphite Drawing of a Baby Otter ~ Work in Progress

The next little critter to grace the drawing board is a darling baby otter.  This one is definitely for me! ;)  The drawing will be on a smaller scale and should finish at 6 1/2 x 4 3/4 inches.  For those that are new to the Sketches blog, I will be working with a 2b graphite lead in a mechanical pencil, 9b wood case pencil, stumps, tortillions, and my trusty vinyl and  kneaded erasers.  This graph sketch is on transfer paper for easier erasing.  The final support will be on Bristol smooth.    

Gord the Hamster Complete

What?  LOL  Yep, the little guy is now forever immortalized in graphite.  Whew!   My son and I discussed the options, after my last post.  Due to the light box throwing off the intensity of the darks in the hamster, my son still wasn't 100% sure how it should be finished.  But once he viewed the original art in natural light, he was adamant that the drawing should have the background added.  (He worried initially that the dark lettering would over power the main focus.)  We both felt that the added letters would or should push the central focus forward... We were not disappointed! :) 

As I finished up the details this morning,  my son ambled into the studio to see the progress.  His facial expression was the same as when viewing the "Dani" drawings.  I knew then,  this composition had been completed to his satisfaction; although, I still agree with my initial feelings and blog comments that this drawing could have been just as effective with or without the background. 

This is just a fine case of familiarity bringing a personal touch to a drawing.  Even though the hands were distinctly my son (by far my favorite hand model), the sweatshirt brought him into the composition in a stronger sense... for him and even for me too.  This feeling was all wrapped up in his choice of apparel. ;)  The shirt was bought on his first major trip without the rest of the family.  It was purchased right before graduating high school and not long before acquiring his first two pets (the little hamsters!).  After giving the situation many hours of thought, in a serendipitous way, the shirt represented the hamster's owner just as much as the hands.  Just one of those quirky things, I guess. ;)

This brings another interesting question floating into my thoughts.  Had my son wore a plain or raggedy work tshirt, would this discussion be taking place?  I seriously doubt it.  After reading the comments left by fellow artists in the blogosphere, I am even more certain that it would not have taken place.  That is a main reason why I do not list original photos with the work.  It keeps my followers from becoming tainted by a preconceived notion of how the finished work should look.  In a sense this is unfair to my viewers, but I am lucky to be in a group of very talented individuals that will speak their piece when different scenarios are played out.  I am forever grateful to have their opinions.  The day that I stop listening to their thoughts is the day that I no longer grow as an artist.  I hope that day never comes! :)

Many thanks to the comments from Andrew, Sally and Teresa.  Their sites can be visited by clicking their names in the comment section of my previous posts.  And before I post this up for view, I will be putting a blog roll to the right side of my page.  Each of their sites will be listed for viewing, along with some other talented people that I like to follow! :) 

Gord the Hamster Still a WIP

My son was not much help.  Although with my observation skills on high, I noticed that he did not exude the usual excitement at viewing one of his pets in graphite.  His eyes kept scanning the drawing.  It is a familiar photograph to him, so I am sure the lack of writing made a difference... just speculating here or being paranoid. ;)

So after losing more time to mulling it over, I thought of another approach to the dilemma.  As you all know, my drawings begin as a graphed sketch on transfer paper.  The premise behind this is to have a preserved sketch on file in case of an aborted start or the desire to put a subject into color at a later date.  Well... Why not use the sketch to see what the drawing would look like with lettering?  It may not be as dark as original work, but it will at least offer an idea of the finished piece.  It was worth an afternoon of laying out the lettering, just to see a glimpse of an alternate ending to this subject.  

Below is the updated  transfer paper sketch.  I wasn't really seeing an answer, so I darkened the lettering with a marker and pulled out my trusty light box. :)

The light washes out the drawing to a degree but leaves enough of the shading to allow me to see a little bit of dimension.  It was actually kind of cool to see the lettering appear, and it's nice to know there is another plus to starting my sketches on transfer paper! ;)  The Washington lettering will be dark thread, and the larger DC lettering will be in a very light thread.

Since I am messing around with the idea anyways, a little 2b pencil was used on the transfer paper to slightly darken the Washington lettering for a little more effect.  My hubby walked in during the process and said that he liked the composition both ways.  How's that for decisive? ;)  After seeing it up on the screen (even though it is washed out), I am kind of liking the lettering; although, there are times that I worry my backgrounds could be distracting.   A lot will be going on for a composition that measures 4 3/4 by 6 1/2 inches.  I'm giving myself until tomorrow to make a decision.  Maybe, my son will get home early tonight and have some input.   But... I am really liking the lettering the more that I look at it! :)

Gord WIP Not Sure Yet if This is a Finish??

Have you ever had one of those days when your mind doesn't want to take a break and for some reason logic waits to step in and make it stop?  LOL  Well, that is how my day went this morning while working on this drawing.  I've spent most of the last week reworking areas of this composition.  First, the minute area of the shirt at the bottom between the hands was smoothed in.  Unfortunately, it seemed to pattern ridden.  The variations were true to the photo but did not translate well in graphite.  Another drawing session was needed to correct the problem.  Then with the appearance of the dark cast shadows, the hands had a look of being washed out.  Next session was dedicated to correcting that problem.  Finally, the background made its appearance.  Again, the hands needed to be darkened in the shadows... Ugh!   Now, I believe everything is semi cohesive... Or is it??

The background is threatening to be a little blah... at least in my opinion.  In the reference photo, there is dark embroidery of a name on the shirt behind Gord.  I made the decision to omit it from the drawing.  My apprehension was that it would distract from the central focus of the drawing.   My mind is still telling me that it very well might.  But for some odd reason, the adventurous photo realistic side of my brain is wondering how the composition would look if the letters made an appearance.  It made me nearly crazy this morning while thinking about it.  Then, it occurred to me that maybe this doesn't have to be my problem.  After all, this drawing was a request from my son.  So as far as I'm concerned, the decision is in his lap.  Whew!   

After walking away from the drawing board completely frazzled in the head, I went out to do some serious yard work.  Believe it or not, we are having some unimaginable warm temps for March... with even warmer temps to come at the end of this week!  I take care of a few lawns in the neighborhood and thought that today would be great for raking up the leaves.  Plus, the workout would get rid of all the frustration over this piece.  Which was a win - win in my book! ;)

Oh... and I have to add, this photo was taken with my old digital camera.  Notice the familiar discoloration  that it picks up from the lights... Yuk!   It occurred to me, while hunting for my new camera, that I had left it on a table at work.  Not the smartest move on my part since that side of the building houses resale items.  Duh!  I raced to the phone to make a quick call and was lucky that it was still there.  My worries weren't so much over the camera but the memory card inside it.  I did back it up a month ago but am sooo happy that it will be safe at home again. :)  Lesson learned on that one!

The next post will reveal the fate of this drawing and a new photo.  I am anxious to hear my son's opinion.  Of course, his Dad will have to throw in his two cents on the subject... I have no doubt! ;)

Gord the Hamster WIP 4

We have some smooth highlighted fur! ;)  This drawing is ready for its background and some fine tuning.  Today has been dedicated to getting the right depth, putting in the whiskers, and adding some fine dark hairs.  I am probably not completely done with the fur but am not going to risk over working it.  Sometimes, it is best to have a cooling off period. :)