Tag Archives: drawings

Bones

Bones

Once, I borrowed bones from someone I knew, whose husband was a polar bear biologist. I was living in the Arctic at the time. We met at her house for tea, as I was considering buying her piano. Spotting them, I asked if I could borrow the bones, as I wanted to paint them.

She said to me, “What colour would you paint them?” I laughed and said I wouldn’t be painting the actual bones. I wanted to use them as a reference. So she thought that was fine then.

They came home with me to live in my studio for a while. There was a polar bear skull and a muskox skull. And a couple of other things, I don’t recall what they were now. I did end up buying her piano too.

Here are some of the resulting drawings following my tea visit with a friend. I did these studies years ago showing line, form, shadow, light and sometimes colour. Mostly pen & ink, with a watercolour wash, a polar bear skull, muskox, and I can’t remember what else.

bones drawing
skull drawingSkull drawingSkull 2 drawing

Bones Drawing
 

Georgia O’Keefe worked with the primary forms of nature, focusing on shape and colour, and painted bones. That’s where I got the idea to use the skulls as subjects. An admirer of hers ever since my early painting days, I even went to Ghost Ranch, where she lived and painted. I also painted frequently here, though much later. Here I am en plein air in the desert.

Painting at Ghost Ranch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All of this started during one cold winter in Yellowknife, when I stumbled upon the book, “Portrait of an Artist“. It was her biography, and I read it with great enthusiasm. I was transfixed with her, even though, as yet, I had not seen her artwork.

Since this was before the home computer, I did a lot of digging to find her work, and since have collected several of her books and books about her. That led me to my first of many trips to New Mexico. This was eventually thanks to an ad in the back of American Artist magazine. The Southwest is definitely my spiritual home.

Paper Works

Paper Works

Drawings, charcoal, pencil, graphite, pastels, watercolour, ink, art journals

I have kept art journals & journals for as long as I can remember. In looking back through them, I find some of the whimsical stuff is interesting. Sipping coffee & jotting down ideas and sketches while I have my morning coffee has been a ritual, one that I need to revive. My kitchen table has often been a temporary studio, where I have done some experimenting. Sometimes my art has been known to take over the entire space and in speaking with other artists, I can also say I am not alone there. I have always been an incurable doodler.

Essence

Paper works capture some of the artist’s raw authenticity. The quickness of sketching, the rustle of paper, pencils and small paintbrushes rattling, and the portability are what I enjoy. I am known to travel with drawing materials in my bag. I enjoy the fluidity of watercolour and ink. Pastels are fun to work in, more non-committal than a canvas, but the results are colourful and appear like a painting. Employing the use of charcoal and Conte crayons, I have traditionally used when doing figure drawing, sometimes incorporating pastels for added colour.

Portraits and more

The portraits were done some time ago, and I am getting an urge to do portraits again. The skull works were inspired by Georgia O’Keefe, and these skulls are all polar animals, from my time in the Arctic. I spent a great deal of time in New Mexico, where O’Keefe lived. The Rio Grande Gorge is a stunning landmark which has been painted countless times. You will find a variety of perspectives on that subject here.

If you see something you like, ask about a print. I can make select images available as small prints and art cards. When I have them ready, you will find them on my SHOP PAGE.