Found Another Good Teacher

Back in 2020, I became of aware of Eric Mueller when the Star Tribune wrote about his “The Family Resemblance Project”.  I must have signed up for his newsletter at the time, but only recently received one by email.  It talked mostly about his exhibit at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona MN, which is supposed to be a gem of a museum that I’ve wanted to go to for awhile, plus I do want to go see this exhibit, but it also mentioned that he teaches photography classes using your iPhone.  I have an Android phone and was able to translate to it easily, although I did have my iPad handy, just in case. 

I just got done with his class from today.  It was jammed packed with all types of info.  I learned about camera features on my phone, which I didn’t know I had, along with a ton of other tips.  About half the session focused on composition with specific “rules” (which can always be broken), along with a ton of examples, which really helped, especially since he showed a number of before and after examples.  

I’m glad that I took a lot of notes. I plan to refer back to them and practice, practice, practice.  

Still one area really stood out when I went back to look at some of my photos, immediately after class ended.  I need to start thinking about the direction of sight or action.  This compositional rule says, generally, that it’s better to have a subject facing towards the center of the frame or moving towards the center.  

It explains the mixed feelings I have about this photo.  Itwas one of the first ones that I thought of when class was done.  On the one hand, I really love it.  It was the magical, first time I went to the Crex Meadows Wildlife Area with a friend and this swan was part of the first group of water fowl we saw that day.  On the other hand, I think I also knew that there was something off about it, but I didn’t know enough to know why.  

This photo also came to mind.  I took this with my good, point and shoot from the top of a bridge close to home and I needed almost every bit of the 60x zoom.

Below, I cropped it to follow “the rule” and it works so much better.  It focuses and draws your eye in and through the rest of the photo.  It’s almost like it gives the rest of the photo a reason to be there.  

I am planning to sign up for more of his classes.  

Keeping It Simple

In order to have time to paint, I want to keep it simple.  Right now, the most important thing is to pick up a paint brush on way more days than not.  At the same time, I also want to develop better habits for when I paint.

One new thing is that I've started warming up, by practicing getting different shapes in 1-2 strokes as suggested in one of Patti Mollica's books.  I'm also doing a quick thumbnail value drawing. 

Oof!  There's a lot to getting back in the saddle including, values, color-mixing, brush strokes, not to mention managing the paint on your brush, trying to capture the actual thing you are painting, and breaking in a fresh palette. 

I tend to have a habit of getting the paint too far up into the brush.  So today, I focused on managing the paint on the brush.  

Co-op Citrus #3

Begin Again

One of the many good concepts I’ve picked up from my meditation practice is the concept of “begin again”. Yesterday, I began again.

I set up a fresh palette and did a quick, simple painting.  In the moment, it didn’t feel especially good.  It felt awkward and all of my bad habits are back.  After I was off doing other things last night and into today, when I am aware of any passing thoughts about yesterday’s painting, I feel a little whisper of happiness.  

Today, I came downstairs to gesso enough pages in one of my spiral notebooks to be able to start painting again.  I am going to shoot for getting paint on a brush on a daily basis. 

Here’s my fresh palette, used one time so far. 

Happy Holidays!

 Happy holidays from Hammett and me.  

A few days ago, a dumped out a tub of my hats, gloves, and scarves on the bench in the kitchen.  Hammett immediately jumped on the pile and went to sleep. Later, I decided it was time for Hammett to hone his hat-modeling skills. I've continued to torture him in this way for the past few days.    

I've been gone from this blog for awhile and I also have not been drawing or painting.  I'm getting back to a place where I think I'll be starting up all of it again, shortly.  

Self Portrait

Back in January 2021, I started a self portrait project and I made a specific pamphlet for it. The goal is to draw one portrait per month and I’ve been trying to do that within the 1st week of the month to prevent procrastination. I’m a little late this month. It will take me 2 years to fill the pamphlet. 

At the beginning of the year, I was focusing more on faces and portraits, so one reason for this project was to see what changed over time from a drawing perspective. Although, currently, I have not been drawing faces. 

The other reason for this project is getting to know my own face in a different way. Most of the time, I’m on auto-pilot with respect to my face. When I look in the mirror there it is, but it’s changing, as I get older and my relationship to it also keeps changing. 

The thing I keep coming back to is that there’s been something deep and profound about having pictures of several people that I am biologically related to and it’s changed how I relate to my own face.

Postcard for Wet Paint

Wet Paint has a summer postcard project each year and also has a event at the end. One of the requirements is that you have to mail the postcard to them. It’s no fair dropping it off. 

I’ve been meaning to work on a piece for it and finally did today. 

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the Neocolor II crayons. When I was doing cat in hat portraits, I was mostly using them as crayons. Lately, I’ve been playing with them as though they were watercolors. 

Last Year’s Hummingbird

 I got together with a friend today and played around with my Neocolor IIs. The first thing I worked on was a very long warm up. Next, I started working on a hummingbird drawing from a picture I took last year. Since the hubby is off playing cribbage with this family this evening, I finished it up this evening.  

In this one, I used the Neos more as though they were watercolor. I’m not sure what to do with the background, so I’m leaving it as is.