Today i've tackled the face of the fella on the right. He's looking a bit less 'cave painting' and more 'ruggedly handsome'. Not trying to make him too smooth though, as i'd still like to keep him a little rough around the edges compared to the fella on the left. Kinda going for an innocence versus experience vibe. Tomorrow i'll give their bodies a little tickle with the paintbrush, and maybe run a comb through their hair too!
Have a creative day and speak soon! Davy I've spent today adding the next layer to the face of the fella on the left. Blending a little - but not too much as I like the roughness of the layer below. Another thing i'm trying to do is retain a sense of innocence about him, whilst his pal is a little more 'knowledgable'. I feel myself, he's lost a little of it in this layer, but when i move on to do the next i'll aim to inject a bit more naeivity back into those eyes! Hope you're enjoying the progression of this wee piece too!
Speak soon! Davy I've told you before that i love to see the process of a painting. To see how it's all come together - the stages that an artist has worked through, the problems they have encountered along the way, and how they have fixed them. The truth is that every piece of work throws up its own challenges.
But, that's the fantastic thing about art, you just keep learning! You break through the particular barrier that presents itself and then you're armed with knowledge on how to cope with it the next time. I find that youtube, or internet searching, forums etc are fantastic for getting me out of a jam, as there will always be someone who has faced the same predicament. On this particular piece I had the matter of the face being out of proportion - it was slipping off to the left, like a melted candle! The trick to fixing it - look at the piece in a mirror. You see the brain tells the eyes to see what it expects to see, and the mirror trick shows us what's actually there! The above image is the stage that the painting is now at. I'll work some more on this layer, then let it dry for a few days before tackling the face and body again. When it's finished i'll pop all the stages up in a little slideshow. Hope you're having a creative day, and speak soon! Davy It's a short and sweet post today, just to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I'm keeping out the way whilst my flatmate cooks the dinner - my job is to do all the washing up! I'm spending my time in between visits to the washing up bowl, painting...watched, and helped, as usual by Lenny the cat! I hope you're all spending the day in the way you choose, whether that be with family, friends, visiting neighbours, or having a well earned wee space for yourself to reflect, reminisce, or do something creative.
Speak soon! Davy Pom pom's are 'in' this season. And that's as much fashion advice as you'll get from me. I've never really had a clue as to fashion, never been in it, so, i guess, i've never really been out of it. However, i do know pom poms are 'in'. When i was wee, my hat was never without a pom pom...well until it would get pulled off at school by someone thinking they were being funny and grabbing my hat aff my heid! Luckily, back at home my mum would have it attached to my hat in a minute flat. I remember her showing me how to make pom poms, with two 'donuts' of card and wrapping the wool around them, then get the scissors to cut a space between the wrapped wool, tying it together with a piece of wool in the middle, and then peeling the cardboard away. Wow, that takes me right back to 1978! Today, though, i had another flashback to pom pom attacks. I was sitting painting a canvas and leaning back in my chair to get a better view when my hat suddenly got yanked back. Not just once, but it was a quick succession of wee tugs. Two wee paws had decided they were going to have this pom pom as a trophy. Twas Lenny of course trying to carry off my plumage! Until he saw it was actually attached tight on my head. I burst out laughing and he retreated in a wee huff. He's still lying there though...watching...waiting, and biding his time till i take the hat off! "The pom pom will be mine" thinks he, "oh yes, the pom pom will be mine!" Hope you're having a creative day!
Speak soon! Davy Been a busy day today sorting out a new design for wee Hoots Toots Haggis. He's one of these wee characters that's been jumping around my sketch books for years, and for shame, even though i've set out a storyline and done a rough drawing mock up of a childrens book starring him, I haven't had time to finish it yet. I keep getting asked - "when will ye finish yer book?" My stock answer being "when it's done". I realise myself that it's just the way my mind works - I have quite a few different projects 'on the go' at once. But, I do love him as wee character, and I love the droll story I dreamt up for him - so as 2017 beckons, I reckon it's time to release him into the wild! In the meantime here's the new design with his sonsie wee face and featuring a line from Robert Burn's 'Address To A Haggis'. I have him up on Redbubble, Zazzle, and Cafe Press for the moment so feel free to give him a new home wherever in the world you are tuning in from! Obviously i'll keep you up to date with Hoots Toots Haggis on here.
And here's wishing us all success with whatever schemes, dreams, and themes we have for 2017! Speak soon! Davy Busy day printing up some more heilan coos today. Some coloured ones in the morning and some black and white ones this afternoon. Remember you can buy ones already printed and framed in Cafe Wander in Glasgow, as our (aherm Model) below is happily pointing to! Have a creative day and speak soon!
Davy Been trying to figure out what the new lamp post design which has suddenly sprung up outside my living room window looks like. I think i'm going with the old style Cylon helmet from the original Battlestar Galactica series. Scary Cylon best not be peeking in my window...
Have a great day! Davy I think i've told you before that my degree is in Art History, rather than the practical aspects of art. I was never a 'perfect' student though, indulging a bit too much on the more enjoyable parts of student life, but now, with time to look back and reflect, I realise how much information my professor's did manage to drill into my head. From ancient greek art to the arts and craft movement, from the Tsang dynasty to the New Deal in the USA, it's all in there, rattling around my noggin. I think though, the most important lesson i took away from those years is that artists are 'the' chroniclers of life. Since they first started painting on the caves of Lascaux, artists have been recording their own take on current events. Obviously diarists, and nowadays reporters and 'some' journalists can tell you in writing about what it's like to 'be' in a war torn country. Again photographers can show you 'factually' what a destroyed building looks like, and focus your gaze on the raw emotion upon the faces of the dispossessed. The artist, however, presents you with an image and invites you to decipher it, to become part of the process itself. To stand in front of the piece and share your own thoughts and experiences with it. I'll explore further the role of artist as chronicler in upcoming blog posts. I'll leave you tonight with this wee sketch below. Have a look, have a think, and see what it means to you. Speak soon,
Davy |
Whit's he up tae noo?The blog posts of David Brodie, a Scottish artist based near Glasgow. Archives
October 2018
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