Toy Glider Sketch, ink on paper, 6.7 x 4.5 inchesWhen deciding where to attach the thread on the balsa glider, I had my first clue that this object will be different from all the others. Depending on where the string is attached, the angle of the glider implies a certain type of motion. And that's the major deviation here. All of the other objects seemed to be motionless save for a barely-perceptible optical-sway. This one comes with a definite direction - an orientation the others lacked. The pitchers might have been associated with a rotating-pouring motion but they more or less stayed in one place. I'm wondering if these gliders will need more room to "move" in?
16 comments:
beautiful!
I didn't know you could sketch like that! (just kidding)
Interesting re. the implied motion. Objects can have an extended ghost or force? I knew that faces, or rather eyes in particular, can fill a space with their gaze, but I hadn't thought of how a plane fills a space with where it is going.
Is that walnut ink?
It is - here's the brand I used along with a very cheap reed pen on a Fabriano Medioevalis single card.
This is going to take some time and lots of sketching to reach a new understanding. So much of this is intuitive - getting it to "feel" right. I'm wondering now if going with a horizontal format is in order?
It might be of interest to take a look at the Pearlstein paintings where he's used a plane.
I just helped hang a show of his and they displayed some of the props from his painting (including two planes). Though the paintings are flat/more pictorial and antithetical to your concerns about motion they might provide some insight.
I posted one image i found on the internet.
http://achristian.blogspot.com/2007/10/phillip-pearlstein.html
I'll take a couple photos next time I'm at the gallery.
I love that Walnut stuff. I'm going to use some tonight!
Intuition is the way to go. Everything I've read indicates that our intuition can be cultivated to make blink and flow quality judgements.
oh and.. this one looks great, I look forward to more.
Thanks for the Pearlstein thoughts, AC. I looked at some of his things online after seeing your post a few days back. They made me think a lot about figurative realism and media - watercolor in particular. It's good to go back now and think about this space-movement-orientation thing. It's also interesting to see a plane (vehicle) coming out of a plane (picture.)
Steven, I really need to rely more on my intuition. Thanks for the reminder and for that idea about cultivating it.
I just did a demo for a student - eggs in a glass globe filled with water on top of a white table cloth with a white background. We were working on whites. Now that she's left I'm torn. Should I go back to my glider or finish this demo? My intution says forget about the demo :)
it's quite beautiful
Thanks, Bill.
And welcome, AC and Bill - it's nice to see new "faces" here.
VERY beautiful.
Eva
I'm wondering if these gliders will need more room to "move" in?
Or maybe less room, Mary. Your sketch is beautiful, but my first thought was that I think that the composition is a bit predictable given the subject matter. You know, you'd be looking up at the plane. IMHO, of course.
Do you normally sketch the image before you begin the painting?
There's not really one way I do these so it's hard to say what's normal. With a lot of them though, I'll make more-or-less life-sized sketches on paper which I then use to move around the canvas.
I like your suggestion of thinking about less room - I hadn't considered that. I'll definitely "try that on" - thanks, Tracy!
Okay, I thought the view point was above the plane. But, after reading Tracy's comment, I went back and looked at your sketch again. And now, the view shifts between above and below.
I should mention that I am nearly blind in one eye, so I don't have depth perception.
Thanks for that, Susan. I agree that this little sketch seems to go both ways. Another thing to think on.
Ok, now after reading Susan's comment, I can see it as looking down on the plane. So perhaps the way I saw it was because of my own sensibilities (predictabilities?) concerning composition.
Hmmm.
But it's a GOOD reflection on your skills, when people can see the same image so differently.
I was actually wondering if that was a good thing, Tracy. I like your take on it though.
Today I'm back to the drawing board and moving my angle of sight around. For now, I'm keeping the glider higher than eye-level - not quite ready to move on from that yet.
Regarding the previous post, your package is on its way via USPS. They said it should get there by Wednesday or Thursday.
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