Piles d’Art

One consequence of painting and drawing all the time is the accumulation of stacks and stacks of sketches and works in various stages. It is good to have them around and to revisit them from time to time to mark progress and learning. Sometimes the stacks of work gives me a proud feeling to see how much I’ve accomplished. Then again, it also motivates me to focus harder since my work hasn’t achieved certain qualities I’ve been shooting for. It isn’t enough to just do it (sorry Nike). You also have to work with a purpose and goals.

All this artwork also gets in the way. David Terry is going to have a show at the Cedars Gallery later this year that will feature such work from various artists. Since many are study pieces, unfinished sketches, or something previously unseen for other reasons, most pieces will be priced quite low. To prepare for this show, I took photos of several items in my studio. Some you might have seen on the studio wall, some are in stacks of paintings, and others were in drawers and haven’t seen the light of day in years.

                           

The Ideal Subject

Every now and then, a model is a no-show. Unfortunately, this morning was one of those times. It is a miserable feeling to have a room full of artists and no subject. Especially as we’ve had such great turnouts and a lot of creative momentum lately. After an hour delay, though, I was able to produce for the group one of the most handsome and inspiring models they’ve ever seen.

Then in the afternoon, Chris was our model. He quickly settled into a great seated pose, which we will continue next Sunday. It turned out to be a fabulous session after all.

John Kuehne:  (and above)

Sandy Ibach:   

Steve Armes:  

Sal:

David Terry:

Ken Michelson:  

Jeff Cancelosi:   

Don “The Muse” Thacker:

Serious Work

Everyone was working hard during yesterday’s session, as we were wrapping up two-session poses with each model. Only the occassional dumb joke came out, and there were many periods of silent working, with only the music and Jeff’s tale-tale rubber stamps filling the air.

Aralyn told us at lunch she had been dying to draw with us instead of model all morning. So she jumped to the other side of the drawing plane and joined us for the afternoon. She did several sketches while Audrey was posing, one of which is below.

Many thanks to Lisa for bringing another friend, Brian. With Brian and Aralyn, the streak of new artists continues. Thanks for everyone’s support!

Lisa Lindholm:  

Aralyn McGregor:

Jeff Cancelosi:      

Ken Michelson:

John Kuehne:  

Don Thacker:  

I Knew It Was Going To Be A Great Day

When Denny Doran walked in at 9:00 am.  Of course, he hadn’t slept since I last saw him at the pool table in the Slip Inn much earlier that morning. But it made me very happy to have him drawing in my studio again. Denny used to run a Wednesday life drawing session years ago. It was always a sensational atmosphere and I adopted many things from his sessions into mine. Lisa brought a friend, Sal – thanks for coming! – to extend a three week streak of newcomers. Always exciting to meet new artists. Jeff was back, James, John, David, and arriving at 4….Robert! The last few weeks, we’ve been very light on the bad jokes. Aralyn (morning model) thought she was at the wrong studio due to the lack of terrible puns and goofy banter. Then that afternoon Robert arrived for the first time in a while. And we made up for three weeks in just two hours. Special thanks to Danielle, who modeled in the afternoon on short notice and put up with our definition of humor.

Here is a drawing Denny did of Liza at the studio a few years back, Liza at Thacker Studio. It is on display at Norwood-Flynn gallery (www.norwoodflynngallery.com):

  

Jeff Cancelosi:       

Don Thacker:    (in progress)

John Kuehne:    

David Terry:   

Robert Opel:  

The Studio Electric

On a lighter note… The afternoon session was one of the best in recent memory. Many folks showed up, including another newcomer, Stefanie. Jeff and Stef both quickly became ‘one of us’, and added a lot of value to the group. Audrey was a superb model and assumed a very elegant pose. At one point, one of these daily Texas frog-stranglers rolled in and – KABOW! – and a huge flash of light and sparks. Lightning hit the power lines just outside the studio and scared the hell out of everybody. We were without power for a few mintues, but thankfully we work by natural light so we could keep going. The power came back on anyway, and althought the light was so low it was hard to see, a lot of great work was produced. Thanks to all that participated, there was a great vibe in the room all day. Some below are works in progress, we’re having Audrey back next week.

James Ross:  John Kuehne:  

Ken Michelson:  Stephanie Behe:  

Steve Armes:  Don Thacker:  

The Constipated Gaul

“This sucks”, I told John, just after I posted last week’s blog. If you read last week’s entry, you’ll remember we had Dwight in a pose inspired by The Dying Gaul. “We didn’t paint The Dying Gaul, we painted The Gaul with a Light Tummy Ache.” John agreed, and we both committed to getting emotion in our work the next week. In anticipation, I pondered how to make Dwight suffer - in the painting of course. So reminding myself to ’slay my darlings’, I took a broad brush to my work from last week. I first went from a tummy ache to The Constipated Gaul. ****! We told Dwight about our struggle, and being an artist and actor himself, he empathized and helped us by assuming the emotions we were trying to convey. As I progressed, it got worse. Frustrated, I almost asked Steve or John to kick me in the stomach to see if that would help. At some point, it began to work. If you don’t emote it, you can’t put it on a canvas. I welcome any feedback. Steve, John, Ken and I were in the AM session, and we welcomed a great newcomer, Jeff.

Don:    Steve:  

John:  Ken:

Let the Music Move You

I hit the stage for the second time. Delilah invited me to sit on-stage and sketch while the gang from Exposition Cafe performed at Trinity Fiesta, outside the American Airlines Center Saturday. Another killer experience. Many thanks to Delilah, Backflap, and especially Dan and Eli who were very fun to share the stage and enthusiasm with.

A Good Time Was Had By All

The Cedars Grand Opening was a success! Many paintings sold, a great crowd, fantastic energy, and a helluva after-party. The after-party was at a really cool place, check out www.thequixoticworld.com. Thanks, Eric. If you missed the show, check out www.cedarsartgallery.com, or visit Mon-Sat, 11-5 or by appointment.