Monday, November 9, 2015

Organist

When he was about seven, my son did a sketch of me as human on the top half, fused to a drawing table on the bottom half, as if the table and I were joined into one larger organism.

I took that as a cue to break out of the studio once in a while and play with the kids.

I'm thinking about my son's sketch when I do this little painting of an organist. I want to dissolve the boundaries between the figure and the organ until they blend together. 

The parts of the scene I want to keep crisp and sharp are the forehead, the necktie and the sheet music. Everything else is sacrificed to be darker and softer.

Since this is water media, and since I'm painting during a church service, these wet-into-wet washes are a little tricky. Can't be shuffling through the metal pencil box. I have to hold the clear and the black water brushes in the left hand, along with a three watercolor pencils: russet, bright red, and black, and switch them back and forth quickly while the page stays wet.
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19th Century Art Theory of Sacrifices
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6 comments:

  1. SteveNovember 9, 2015 at 9:02 AM

    Any chance we could see your seven year old son's sketch?

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  2. Capt Elaine MagliacaneNovember 9, 2015 at 9:13 AM

    Yes I'd love to see your son's half Dad half drawing table sketch... powerful message you got from him on that one huh?

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  3. Jack DempseyNovember 9, 2015 at 10:25 AM

    I love the idea of using watercolor pencils with water brushes. That really is a uber-portable and nonobtrusive setup and your rendering was very effective. Thanks for yet another great idea.

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  4. KrystalNovember 9, 2015 at 12:03 PM

    You made that during the church service ?? Really ! :-D
    More seriously, it is a beautiful atmosphere. I particularly like the lost edges in any painting. They give a picture a sense of mystery that is hardly rendered with harsh lines. This is a beautiful sketch...

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  5. SENovember 9, 2015 at 2:35 PM

    Nice to know I'm not the only one who paints in church. ;}

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  6. SteveNovember 9, 2015 at 5:12 PM

    Sam, you are not alone. Award-winning illustrator John Hendrix has been doing it for years. Rather than sketching the scene before him, his work is a loose, free-association response to the weekly sermon. He has this to say about his seven volumes of "Drawing in Church" sketchbooks:

    Drawing in my sketchbook is the very best part of my work. I love it because it is linear improvisation. Much like jazz, it is unpredictable, exciting and unfiltered. Often with very good and very bad results. I attend church every Sunday, and I draw during the sermon. All of these pages were done in a pew (though I don't bring my watercolors with me- that waits till I get home). Simultaneous drawing and listening transforms familiar language into something new- a feedback loop of symbols, theology and wonder.

    http://johnhendrix.com/portfolio/sketchbook/Church1/

    ReplyDelete

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