A Mother's Love....

"A Mother's Love" or "A Precious Moment"

(titles are difficult for me!)
charcoal drawing on Rives BFK, image is ~15 x 15 inch, matted size is 18 x18 inch
copyright MaryAnn Cleary

Well, this is the final version of a drawing that was posted on my other blog a couple of days ago. I tend to fuss with drawings until I feel that I have all the bugs worked out...especially in charcoal. I did leave it sit for a couple of days and I did send it off to my sweet daughter as she could look at it with fresh eyes. She also is not fearful of saying how it is...so off with the claw hand and there was an area that bothered us both...so fixed.

When doing a drawing like this I really like to put it on an easel, but this one I had on my drawing table. It is difficult to stand back and take a look without standing on a chair and trying not to fall. Eventually, I did pull it off the table and mount it to a board so that I could see it and finish it on an easel. What a difference!!!

If anyone would like a drawing similar of a loved one in their life, let me know. Of course there usually is money involved in doing something like this. I like to take photos, do sketches in real life, do a preliminary drawing and then work on the final piece. It takes considerable time, but the end results is usually worth it.

Enjoy!

Where is the Niche??

The Tree Faeries
original oil painting on canvas board, 9 x 12 inch, unframed
copyright 2008 MaryAnn Cleary

What is a niche? According to the dictionary, a niche can be many different things: a recess on the wall, a person who has found employment that fits his or her needs for the speciality that the person may work in, or a niche can be a specialized market.

The past few months I have been struggling with figuring out what my niche is with my artwork. What drives the passion? Where is a place where I can excel and do something that is not common place? I have always had a love of drawing or painting children and especially mothers with their children. There is a special bond. My greatest enjoyment comes from painting the little ones with their expressiveness and mannerisms so pure.

After finishing The Tree Faeries, I realized that I really enjoyed this painting. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy painting and drawing always. However, sometimes there are those that drive the passion and almost set the world on afire with the intensity. This was one of those paintings. All I could think about, all I could do was this painting. I loved the work involved with creating it and guess what, it came easily. It just clicked.

My small daily paintings are fun to do, but I view them more as an exercise for honing my skills as an artist. Sometimes they click, sometimes I feel like they require a lot of effort...but I am always learning.

So what is my niche? Painting the portrait of the child, or a mother and child in a natural and capturing way.

Currently, I am working on a charcoal of my daughter and her son. Look for the finished drawing in a couple of days. I promise to post it.

So what is your niche? For any who are interested in portraiture, Making a Mark is starting an awesome resource.

How to Develop a Series.....Oh, my!!!

Pink Dahlia I
Opening
Image copyright by David Bookbinder
Flower Mandalas by David Bookbinder
The above blog has some spectacular photos of mandalas created by the author.

This past week I have really been trying to focus on paintings or drawings for a series that I plan on doing for Cami Walker's 29 - Day Giving Challenge. With this challenge, one begins to realize how fortunate we are and how simple things can and do change people's lives with our actions or words. The gift of giving does not need to be something significant. I realized many years ago that sometimes it is just a person's kind words or a simple compliment that can make a difference in how another person thinks of themselves.

But back to this thing of developing a series....29 paintings. Goodness!!! I think that I have finally decided that breaking big things down into little things is so much more manageable! So the plan is to do several groups of paintings or drawings and then one major work as the grand finale. I am still contemplating on the little groups. They will be seven groups of four similar items.

My daughter, Julie, had a most wonderful suggestion and it would be fitting with the theme of the 29-Day Giving Challenge...a group of mandalas. Prior to her suggestion, I had no idea what a mandala was. Of course, I have seen them and been exposed to them many times. They do surround us in nature. She suggested that it would be a way of developing a feeling of peacefulness and contentment. Lately, I am feeling so overwhelmed with what is going on in my life...and at times it seems a bit frightening. After all, I am now semi-retired and looking to find some type of job that I enjoy while my art becomes established. It certainly would be simpler just to go back to a full time regular job, but I want the passion of what I love doing so......

So back to the series.....initially I thought of just doing all small oil paintings. However, why limit myself. I also enjoy watercolor, pen and ink, color pencil, charcoal and photography. Why not do them all??? Today the plan is to do seven groups and they will be:

• four mandalas probably using pen and ink with watercolor....I will need to think on this
  
• four charcoal/conte drawings on toned paper....maybe flowers or portraits
• four miniature oil paintings of flowers...(bud, opening, open, and going to seed)
• four sunrises or sunsets
• four elements of air, earth, fire and water (I am not sure how I am going to pull this one off)
  
• four trees (trees give so much to the earth...so look for a tree)
  
• four things that usually go unnoticed (this is my way of saying, I don't know yet ;-) )
  
• the finale....a mystery so far.....

Of course all of this could change as I do have the option of changing my mind. However, I will attempt the mandalas first. I have a feeling these will take a few hours to create, but they will be a good starting point for the rest of the series.

Also, if anyone has suggestions or ideas, please drop me a comment or email. I would love to hear from you.

As far as the 29 paintings/drawings, I plan on creating the works first and then I will give one piece of art for 29 days in a row. If you would like to be eligible for a "free" piece of artwork, email me and I will put your name in the drawing. I will need your name and email address. The give away will begin in July or August!!! This is absolutely free with no strings attached. I will pay the shipping!!!

Enjoy!!!!

Self-portrait 1994
charcoal on Rives BFK paper, 40 x 36 inches
copyright MaryAnn Cleary

As I do my daily painting thing to help hone my skills as an artist, I realize that just painting a picture only hones my painting and drawing skills. What about putting a painting or drawing together? Why are we drawn to certain paintings? What makes others so-so?

I believe that it will be helpful to look at not only the process of "putting things together" with my own paintings, but only looking at others, both historically and today, to see what makes a good painting.

Are there rules one should follow? Can the rules be broken?

One of my drawing instructors a few years back commented on a person needs to be able to draw in order to produce a great piece of work. It did not make a difference if it was an abstract or realistic. To make a good piece of artwork, choices are needed. Where to add contrast and the reasons for doing it all make for producing a great work. Hard and soft edged lines... patterns.... reasons why the eye wants to stay and look ... adding depth... the list goes on. Drawing skills gives a person the confidence to make those choices and also knowing the reasons for making them.

How do others go about doing a drawing or painting? Do you do preliminary sketches or take photos? Does anyone have a drawing or painting that they would like to share?

In the future, look for more of my process steps and also the reasons for why or I do things that I do.

MaryAnn

Sunflower Sketch....

original drawing using charcoal and white conte on a blue toned paper
size: 9"x11"
copyright MaryAnn Cleary

the photo on the left is the original, the one on the right is using the Lucis filter
Reference photos taken by MaryAnn Cleary copyright

In order to do a sketch not only from life, but to be later have a reference photo to use, I sometimes take photographs of what I am sketching or something that I would like to sketch. In this photo, I wanted to capture the light on the sunflowers as the sun began setting. The light would only last a few minutes and then the moment would be gone.

I not only took the photo, but then I also used some software that manipulates the photo to bring out the dark areas. It is an Lucis Art Filter that I added to my Photoshop Elements program. Sometimes, when a person thinks that a photo has totally been lost due to being underexposed, this software can bring out the details. It can also be used to give the photograph some fun effects.

In this post I wanted to show how I sometimes uses photos for my drawings. I am not one who does an exact replicate of the photo as I feel that photos should be used as a reference tool. If a person wants realism, then why draw...take a photograph. To get this photo, I also had to take around ten to twelve shots with only one or two really being able to be used. As Making a Mark noted today, it definitely does take several shots to get a really usable one. I thought it was my poor photography skills, but it is nice to know that even a professional photographer takes numerous photos before getting a good one.

Where to Next?

"Julie"
acrylic 16"x16"
an early work done after Zemsky-Hines workship
copyright MaryAnn Cleary

Many years ago I took a workshop by Jessica Zemsky and Jack Hines when I lived in Montana. Jessica and Jack live in a little town called Big Timber, Montana. It is beautiful in that part of Montana. As a result of that workshop, I initially began working in acrylics and sometimes watercolors. One of the things that is troubling me now as an artist is that I love working in several different types of media. As an artist, I feel that I should be developing my technique and style. Does that mean I must stick with one medium? I hope not. As one of my art instructors, Jim Garrison, in Arizona said, "painting is like drawing, only you are using a brush and paint instead of charcoal or a pencil". I also feel that depending on the mood and feeling that an artist is trying to get across to the viewer, one media may work better than another.

For now, I will continue doing my daily paintings in oil. I love using the small gallery wrapped canvases as I can paint part of the painting on the side to draw the viewer into the painting. I also like the quick and more instantaneous results (good or bad). Other media that I enjoy working with are conte and charcoal together on a toned paper as well as watercolor and colored pencils. When I use either of the last two media, I use many layers to build the values and colors that are needed. A work can take many, many hours to complete. However, I like the flexibility of using them wherever you are, especially the pencils.

By the way, Julie is my daughter. She now has her own little one, Nico, and lives with her partner in Montana not far from Big Timber.

Please leave comments as they would be appreciated. I would like to know how others figure out their style and who they are as artists.

MaryAnn

A Little Drawing.....

Nico's Toes

(final version)

copyright MaryAnn Cleary

The process of getting to the end of "Nico's Toes"....with photos....



TOOLS USED

1. a piece of toned Canson Mi Tientes paper smooth side
2. erasers...all types and varieties (kneaded, red, white, pencil....try them all to find what works for you)
3. charcoal pencils
4. conte sticks (black, sanguine, white)
5. a chamois (small piece of tanned leather)
6. a small cotton cloth
7. an erasing shield
8. smudge stick
9. tape, newsprint and a drawing board
10. photo or draw from life....(I like using charcoal and conte to sketch from life)

Here are some of the things that I use for this type of drawing technique

The PROCESS......

Stage 1: The paper is first taped to newsprint that is on a drawing board and then a rough sketch is drawn.

Stage 2: Here charcoal and the sanguine conte are used. The chamois will actually pull some of the charcoal or conte off of the paper when rubbed. The small piece of cotton cloth will blend and soften the charcoal/conte. It is best not to use fingers due to the oil on your hands. This could have a detrimental effect on the life of the drawing.

Stage 3: Above one can see the progression of the drawing. The conte is blended, charcoal is used in the dark value areas and then an eraser is used to pull out the lighter areas. Using an eraser is much like drawing.

Stage 4: This is were white conte is used to add highlights. This must be used at the very end of the drawing and I do not blend it.

Nico's Toes...not the final version..

Stage 5: This was supposed to be the final drawing with my name signed to it. However, I really did not like it at all so I set it aside for a day. After looking at it for a day, I knew that I hated the end drawing so I ended up redoing it. I erased a lot of the dark areas out with both the red eraser and one of those soft, big ones. I then added more of a sanguine color and redrew some areas. My mistake with this one was probably using charcoal to do the initial drawing instead of a sanguine conte. By using the charcoal, the dark areas were just too overworked. The drawing at the beginning of the post is how I am going to leave it. (I may soften the highlights at the top, but for now I will leave it as is.)

This really wasn't one of my better attempts, but I thought that it would be helpful to see the process. Even if one goofs up, it still can be corrected. Next time I will use a lot less charcoal and start the drawing using the mid-tone sanguine conte and then use the charcoal and the white for the light and dark areas. It is very important to save the white for the very end. There have been times when I just could not resist putting it on the paper. What happens then is that the white gets muddy looking, especially if a person tries to work it in with other colors.

When the drawing is finally finished, I use my chop (this is a stone with a mark carved into the bottom of it) from when I lived in China, and then also put my signature on it. With this drawing, the chop actually showed up better when I erased some of the charcoal areas - when I decided that I hated the drawing. In the almost final drawing, I did stamp the chop onto the drawing, but it did not show up too well. In a future post, I can show some photos of my chop (I did get several), but one is special as it was done by an artist who was very good at it. He went to school to learn calligraphy and was excellent.

Hope this process was interesting...

MaryAnn

My Favorite Medium

One of my favorite mediums is to use charcoal and conte crayons on toned paper. The toned paper is nice as the middle tone is already there and all that is necessary is to add some value with the sepia color of the conte and the black of the charcoal. At the every end, and the best part, is to add those highlights with the white conte.

Tools that I use for this process are a piece of cotton cloth, a leather chamois, and many different types of erasers as well as various grades of charcoal. I also will use a piece of paper to put under my hand if the work is being done while I am at a table. (It is important when you do work this way to stand back from the drawing as things can easily get out of whack.)

I also will use a drawing board with newprint or other paper under the drawing paper. The drawing paper is also taped in place with masking tape or a tape that can easily be removed. I will tape about a 1/4 inch along all the edges. This fulfills two purposes...the first is that the drawing paper stays in place and the second is that when the tape is removed there is a nice clean edge for a border.

Tonight I am going to start a drawing of my grandson and I will take pics of the process to share with how I actually do it.

Stay tuned....MaryAnn