Dark Mirrors

For centuries artist have used darkened mirrors and smoked lenses to help them view a real landscape in simplified tonal values. More on Substack

You're Not Allowed To Imagine Thaat

What are the implications of an AI model that refuses to cooperate? What happens when it tells me that I’m not supposed to imagine something? What if it becomes illegal to imagine something without using a safe-certified AI? More on Substack
 

Drawing Moving Objects

Drawing moving objects is a whole different challenge compared to drawing things that hold still.  Sometimes I like to analyze a common motion such as putting on a jacket by drawing different stages of the action.

Here I'm looking for the long curving lines describing the forms. I draw these with simple, graceful strokes of the sable brush. (from The Artist's Guide to Sketching)

Gilbert Gaul's 'Return Home'

Gilbert Gaul was born in Jersey City, New Jersey in 1855. He studied art at the National Academy of Design in New York and worked as an illustrator for multiple newspapers including the New York Daily Graphic and the New York Herald. 

A young soldier returns to find his boyhood home and hearth in ruins.

Oil painting by Gilbert Gaul in the Birmingham Museum of Art 

Later, he took formal art lessons in Germany and France, where he learned how to paint in the academic method. Gaul is known for his realistic illustrations and paintings of American history, especially military scenes.

Special Delivery

Hope everyone is enjoying the new book. 

I'm curious: What are you working on in your own sketching practice? 

Crash of the Florist Van

This florist van crashed into something jagged, which sliced through it from under the headlight to the side door panel. (Ballpoint pen and gray markers, around 1980.)

This was one of the sketches we couldn't fit into the expanded and remastered edition of "The Artist's Guide to Sketching."

The Color Black

Art: Coles Phillips

Your questions about the color black. More on Substack

Freeway Overpass

FREEWAY OVERPASS, markers and charcoal, 11” x 17”.
Why do thumbnails? It's a low-risk way of thinking visually.

My goal here is to capture a feeling of speed and drama. I want to convey the headlong race of forms stretching across the landscape

.

I try a few different compositions, but they don't work. The first thumbnail on the left is too cluttered with trees and poles. The overpass dips out of the picture, rather than surging out.

In the final art at the top of this post, I allow the eye to follow the movement of the overpass into the middle ground space. I accent this area with strong value contrast, hard edges, and very small shapes.

From The Artist's Guide to Sketching)

Sketching at a Police Helipad. What Could Go Wrong?

PATROL HELICOPTER, 1981, gouache on illustration board, 9½” x 13”.

Here's the story:
A field in Glendale, California, contains what I’m told is the world’s largest collection of police helicopters. It’s a calm, sunny day, ideal for trying out gouache paint. But I’m not expecting what’s about to hit me.

I pass through a gate in the chain-link fence and approach a building. Inside, two women with headphone radios are communicating with police helicopters around LA. One looks up, adjusts her headphones, and asks, "What can I do for you?"

"I'm an art student," I say. "I wonder if I could set up outside and paint a picture of that helicopter." I point through the large windows. "Is that one going to stay there for a while?"

She pauses for a moment, seemingly surprised by the request. "Sure, I guess so," she replies. "That one's not going anywhere for a while. Just stay on the grass and off the airfield." She resumes her work as a call comes in.

Outside, I unfold my stool near the landing area and lay out my paper towels, sketch paper, and extra panels.

I paint the sky gradient and distant mountains. Soon, I hear the faint sound of a helicopter. Like a speck, it grows bigger, approaching until it’s overhead.

Then it hits me—the downforce from the rotors knocks off my hat. Loose papers fly up and disappear behind me. The hot wind dries the paint instantly, and dust and gravel get in my eyes. I clutch onto the painting.

As the chopper shuts down, I pick the loose papers off the fence and pack my things. The pilot gets out and smiles as he walks by. "Sorry about that," he says. "I wondered what you were doing there."

[This painting is reproduced in color in the new edition of The Artist's Guide to Sketching. available in the USA from my little family web store.]

Step-by-Step of the Underdrawing

The Artist's Guide to Sketching isn't really a "how-to" book, but we do have a chapter with a with a step-by-step sequence explaining a method for achieving accurate measurements and perspective.

Here's how you do it: first rough in the big shapes, check measurements and slopes, draw perspective guidelines, then refine the detailed underdrawing.

Chris (CF) Payne says: "While all three of James’ books are profound and valuable, The Artist’s Guide to Sketching may be the best, if not the most important. The lessons are supremely important, and each presented with visual samples and clearly written text. I wish I had this book when I was young and hungry to learn. A perfect book for high school students just beginning their art education, and an absolute must for first year college art students regardless of their art major.”