To show Friend/Customer how color will look on his drawing, I printed it on my unreliable printer and scribbled some color on the copy.
This passed muster (not sure about this term but it has military origins). So, I pulled out my good colored pencils (Polychromos by Faber Castell) and colored the original.
After I scanned it, I realized that I forgot to put color on 33, the number of the engine. So, now it has color there too.
Phew. Finished this very challenging pencil commission in time for Friend/Customer to deliver it for Christmas.
My friend/customer likes to challenge me. He thinks I can do things with my pencils that I am never sure I have the ability to do. We talk, I sketch, we talk some more, I revise, we talk some more—and that’s all before I begin the drawing.
I’ve shown you some of this in progress, beginning with this messy sketch.
When the very complicated and unforgiving fire truck seemed to be the easiest part, I KNEW I was in for a challenging rest of the drawing.
With time was running out, I set a deadline for finishing, and began on those little boys, working from almost impossible-to-follow photos.
After I had the boys drawn, I scanned it and sent it to Friend/Customer, who said the larger boy looked fine, but he didn’t like “the bend” of the smaller boy, whose head also looked too small.
I wanted to say, “Then why did you send me a photo with him bending?” Instead, I embiggened the little boy’s head and unbent him.
He said it looked good, then texted that Mrs. Customer thought the bigger boy’s cheek looked too chubby. How she could see this is a mystery to me. However, she knows the boys, and I trust her judgement.
The difference between a chubby cheek at this tiny scale is the width of one hair. THIS is the reason that one should never try to draw a face smaller than an egg, and I don’t mean a hummingbird egg. The boys were supposed to be drawn from the back, but the supplied photos show a tiny amount of faces. (Why am I unable to say, “NO, I CANNOT DO THIS!”?)
That tiny adjustment was accepted. Friend/Customer asked if I was going to put anything on the lower third of the drawing, and I replied, “Nah, I’m gonna quit and sign it now.” (Of course I was just kidding around, but wanted to poke at him for putting me through this stressful, make-it-up, mind-reading exercise.)
The grasses and wildflowers were also very challenging, because I had no photo for this completely fabricated scene. It was a large piece of real estate to cover with the tiny point of a pencil, but being the professional that I am, I soldiered on. When everything was planted and landscaped, I scanned the drawing yet again and sent it for approval.
The next plan is to print this out and experiment with color. I will put red on the firetruck, yellow on the sunflowers, and something on the boys’ tee shirts, most likely blue. Friend/Customer asked if I could do it on a copy first so that they can approve this non-erasable addition before it goes onto the original.
If the practice piece passes muster, I will add the colors. Then I might just go have a cigarette.* Stay tuned. . .
SIMPLY HOME
The show hangs until December 29. You can see the show at CACHE in Exeter, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, because as you know, everything looks better in person. The hours are posted on CACHE’s website. (Scroll down to see the hours.)
2025 CALENDARS AVAILABLE
*Take it easy. . . I’ve never smoked in my life and never will.
TODAY OUR POWER WILL BE OUT FOR THE BULK OF THE DAY, SO IF YOU ORDER A CALENDAR, EMAIL ME, OR COMMENT ON THIS POST, YOU WON’T BE GETTING A RESPONSE UNTIL THE EVENING OR TOMORROW.
I decided to dig the sweet potatoes that have been growing for around 6-8 months, if you count the time I started them In the kitchen window last spring. One sent its roots outside of the gopher basket, and of course that’s exactly where my shovel went. I put my wizened aged hand in the second photo so you can see how big they got. Last year they were about the size of my thumb, so I determined if this year wasn’t a decent crop, I wouldn’t bother again. “Decent”? That’s pretty subjective, considering this is the produce of about 10 plants. (Thank a farmer, if you know one. Without them, we’d be pretty hungry.)
Someone was watching from above.
My paperwhites bloom in December. Three Rivers doesn’t experience very much winter weather.
WALKING IN THREE RIVERS
Such a beautiful day required a walk. This sycamore is magnificent! A friend told me it had the largest leaves she’d ever seen on a sycamore; we figured out that she only sees the ones that grow in town, not the natives which are old and have lived by a source of water for decades (centuries??)
DRAWING IN PENCIL
Finally, I got myself into the studio to inch ahead on this very challenging commissioned pencil drawing. That “vending machine” was potentially going to keep me awake at night if I didn’t get it figured out. It may not be recognizable to a fireman, but that’s as “right” as it is going to be. (The paper is white; it looks gray because I used the phone under low light conditions to take this photo.)
I worked a bit harder on the two little boys, size, location, and shapes. Ditto for the sunflowers. I don’t know Kansas wildflowers, but I know that the state wildflower is a sunflower. If I can fake a vending machine on the side of a firetruck, I should be able to handle sunflowers. (No, it’s not a vending machine; that’s how it appeared to my ignorant self.)
SIMPLY HOME
The show hangs until December 29 at CACHE in Exeter. Their hours are Friday 1:30-4, Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4. It includes about 50 paintings, 3 original pencil drawings, calendars, cards, coloring books, The Cabins of Wilsonia books, and a few pencil reproduction prints.
Good thing that you (and my customers) know that I know how to draw, or this rough sketch would cause everyone to back away slowly, wondering how I could call myself an artist.
This is a compilation, a conglomerate, a composite, of unrelated photos, following the ideas and instructions of a customer/friend with an interesting request. We have worked well together in the past; he answers all my questions thoroughly, tells me the truth, and I persist until he lets me know that I have gotten it.
When I started drawing on big girl paper. I was nervous, so I started with the sky, moving forward to the distant landscape, and then, as detailed and difficult as it is, the firetruck was still preferable to the little boys.
It has a section in the middle of the side that looks like a vending machine. WHAT?? That part can just sit quietly until I have no choice but to tackle it. It often behooves me to procrastinate on difficult sections, because . . . you know what I am going to say. . . say it with me. . . “MORE WILL BE REVEALED!”
The most difficult aspect of this type of drawing is figuring out what sizes the various parts need to be in relation to each other.
Each day that I work on this, I text the day’s progress to the customers. The reasons are so they know I’m working and tell me that I am doing a good job.
(When my drawing students want to draw things this difficult, I say no. When they persist, I am convinced they hate me.)
SIMPLY HOME
Classic Mineral King III, 18×36″, $1500
The show hangs until December 29 at CACHE in Exeter. Their hours are Friday 1:30-4, Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4. It includes about 50 paintings, 3 original pencil drawings, calendars, cards, coloring books, The Cabins of Wilsonia books, and a few pencil reproduction prints.
Last night was my presentation “How To Draw” at CACHE, the gallery and museum in Exeter. This was more of a talk than a demo, about a subject upon which I could bloviate for hours. Alas, it was just one hour, 6:30-7:30, because I know people’s attention spans are limited. Besides, I was missing dinner.
There were about 20 men, women, and children, all attentive and interested. I told brief stories, showed examples, explained the steps I use to draw, explained tools I used, and handed out one exercise for people to try. Everyone drew! I love helping people draw, and I think everyone had fun. Nope, I know everyone had fun!
The funniest moment was when I was standing behind a couple of participants, looking at their work, getting ready to advise on a small matter or two, when I felt something weird. Twice. I said, “Hey Dwight, something just dripped on my head!” Dwight is the president of the gallery board, and he quickly moved to the end of the room and climbed a ladder to the roof! Charlie is a board member, and he was right on Dwight’s tail. (They both got some drawing done in spite of the disruption.)
THANK YOU! I truly felt useful last night.
P.S. It was free. If anyone asked about how to pay me, and one did, I said to donate to CACHE. If you were there and are wondering the same thing, donate to CACHE. (Something has changed on my website AGAIN, and I cannot find the tool to make the link to CACHE be clickable in this post. https://cach-exeter.org)
How To Draw is the title of my upcoming talk/demonstration at CACHE, Center for Art, Culture, History—Exeter!
So many people have an interest in drawing, but it is often assumed that it is a talent which either you have or you don’t.
Is typing a talent? Is driving a talent?
Nope. All these things can be taught, and they can be learned. Sure, some people will type 25 wpm and others will type 90, because people have different interests and aptitudes. Some people will become bus drivers and others shouldn’t be given licenses, but all are driving.
These tools are helpful, but they won’t teach you the basics of drawing.
Some people have had awful experiences with artists posing as teachers. (I had one of those who told me, using these exact words, “Just because you can draw doesn’t make you an artist.” Well, just because you can use words doesn’t meant you can communicate well either, so there.) I want to help those folks.
Jackson wouldn’t put up with that sort of rudeness from anyone.
Some people are learning to paint but aren’t happy with the results. If you don’t know how to get your shapes correct, don’t know anything about perspective, can’t see proportions, and don’t understand values, of course you won’t be happy with the results. I want to help those people.
On top of all those basics, painting requires learning about color.
Some people just love to learn new skills. I want to help those people too.
This antique store is across Rocky Hill Drive from CACHE, and the late afternoon light is often just perfect on this picturesque store.
Do any of these descriptions fit you? Want to come to How To Draw?
Nope, you won’t be able to draw like this for quite a few years.
THE THING: Tuesday, November 12, 6:30-7:30 How To Draw at CACHE. Contact me if you are interested, because seating is limited.
Drawing cabins in pencil is the way I started my art business. Now I spend 90% of my artmaking time as an oil painter, so when I get asked to draw a cabin, I am really happy about it!
Someone from Minnesota found me on the internet and asked if I could draw her parents’ cabin in spite of not having clear photos of the entire structure. I told her to send them to me, and I’d see if I could make sense of the photos.
Want to see the pictures she sent?
I knew you’d be interested.
(Pay no attention to the purple lines)
These presented a real challenge. I did three little sketches and emailed the potential customer. She was delighted, and asked me to wait for an answer (yep, dealing with a deadline here) because she needed to consult with her sister.
Which one did they choose?*
Tune in tomorrow. . .
*If you read my blog on April 11, you know the answer to this question.
My drawing students are used to hearing me tell them, “You can be fast or you can be good; I get to be both.” Everyone still laughs, in spite of the obnoxiousness of the second part.
This is an indisputable truth, when it comes to the highly detailed, accurate type of drawing that I teach.
Alice worked on a drawing of her Desert Painted Sheep, nicknamed “Oughtie”, for several years. (Hey Alice, I didn’t mean THAT S L O W!) But things take as long as they take*. She was very meticulous about every shape, every texture, every value, and she did a fantabulous job.
I didn’t take any photos of the process, or more accurately, I don’t remember if I took any photos of the process. We discussed various background ideas, tried some different textures, and ultimately, she decided that the drawing is finished.
During the process, I learned that goats’ tails go up and sheeps’ tails go down. She made some good friends to play pickleball with. (My drawing students have varied interests and are some of the nicest people you could ever spend time with.)
Here is the final outcome, scanned, but not yet scrubbed up with Photoshop (the junior version).
The artist forgot to sign the drawing before she sent it home with me to scan, so she emailed me a few signatures. I chose one and placed it on the scrubbed-up scan.
My classes are full but you are welcome to get on a waiting list. If there are four people waiting who can all meet at 1 p.m. on Tuesday afternoons, I will add that 1 p.m. class.
A few months ago I started this pencil drawing, simply for the joy of drawing (and to prove to my drawing students that I can draw). I worked from photos that I took in Mineral King last fall. The light, Audra’s hat, the lack of dealing with a face or an actual complete horse all caught my interest, along with the dynamics between the woman and the horse.
This horse was the last one to get loaded for transport down the hill. Audra was so patient, just waiting for this recalcitrant horse to follow her into the trailer. “Recalcitrant” because he spent most of the summer outside the corral with a couple of mules. The others just watched while staying in the boundaries. Then, sure enough, this guy was not interested in joining the herd to head down for the winter.
Because the hat seemed to be the most important part, I started with it. If I can’t get the most important part to look right, there’s no need to waste time on the rest of the picture.
I had a little bit of difficulty with some of the shapes, so I made corrections and showed those to my students to demonstrate how to repair problems (and to stay humble). But I didn’t photograph the corrections—they were for my drawing students to learn from. (Do you want lessons? I have a waiting list, and you are welcome to get on it!)
Drawing lessons were suspended in December, because that’s the way we roll. I was occupied with many things, some work-related (painting, blogging, participating in a little bazaar, resupplying my vendors, filling calendar orders, sending Christmas cards to my students, sending out 2 newsletters—are you on that subscription list? —planning a solo show for Autumn 2024, ordering supplies, doing some year-end bookkeeping) and some non-work-related (you don’t need a list of this stuff).
As you have recently read here, I was a little flummoxed by how to proceed on several paintings, so I used the excuse that it was too cold to paint in the workshop and went into the studio to finish this drawing. (I love to draw in pencil—did you know that?)
Because I wasn’t showing my drawing students along the way, I didn’t photograph or scan any of the rest of the steps.
Here it is almost complete. “Almost”?? Yeppers, because when I scan it, the white paper scans as gray, and the pencil has a brownish cast.
This is unacceptable, so I use Photoshop Junior (actually Photoshop Elements) to erase the margins.
The drawing is simply titled “Audra”, not “A Girl and Her Horse” (she’s a grown woman and it ain’t her horse), not “Big Hat, No Cattle”(no cattle in Mineral King because it is National Park, not National Forest) or “Wranglers Are For Women Too”. . . wait, that one is pretty cute. Maybe it should be called “Wranglers Aren’t Just For Cowboys”.