Greetings, its been so long since i last entered my comments, i had to refresh myself on the contents, and yes i still think Bruntcliffe high school art department sucked in the 80's.
Anyway, its time to start updating you on my progress in the art department, please keep reading.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
The competition
Here is my entry for left for dead 2 art work that I submitted yesterday.
I know it's a bit gimmicky and relies on the backdrop of the Big Ben but I have my fingers crossed and hopefully I will be a winner.
Currently still learning how to draw, have now a greater understanding of tone and shading techniques, and a bit more of a understanding of perspective.
When this course is completed I am hopeful that my paintings will be better.
Anyway here is the entry.
Yours Sir Arty
I know it's a bit gimmicky and relies on the backdrop of the Big Ben but I have my fingers crossed and hopefully I will be a winner.
Currently still learning how to draw, have now a greater understanding of tone and shading techniques, and a bit more of a understanding of perspective.
When this course is completed I am hopeful that my paintings will be better.
Anyway here is the entry.
Yours Sir Arty
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Bruntcliffe High School, "Perspective" on
Hello April, it's finally nice to see the warm weather and in the words of McDonald's "I'm loving it". Anyway since we last spoke I have stopped having lessons which Charles, only because I think my weakest area now is actually the drawing, therefore I have enrolled with the La Grange art league for some basic drawing lessons but I fully intend to go back to Charles when I am more confident in my sketches. Another reason for the pause in the lessons with Charles is that in the next few weeks I will be spending a fair bit of time travelling throughout the USA ,hence I wouldn't be able to do my homework.
As I have mentioned before I have had little formal training in drawing and have relied on self taught and bad practices I have acquired,so i am hoping to pick up some basics and reinforce the foundations that my drawings are based on, good plan eh!
My instructor is a woman called Lois Hrejsa who is an ex-teacher and a dam good artist.
Yesterday was my third lesson and in this we covered perspective, and I must say I think I'm getting it. The two gems that I picked up were using a pencil to calculate where the vanishing points were, and the use of diagonals in dissecting a trapezium to find the middle.
Here is an example of the course work (excuse the dragon, i was playing)
Lesson two concentrated on using tonal differences in a drawing, in this we had to draw a white object (mine was a one dollar figurine of a couple being married, which i affectionately call the 1 dollar white wedding, see below).
Here is my homework, which i attempted purely in pen.
Lesson one introduced the concept of tones and we had to produce a five point tonal scale and then utilise this in the drawing of a leaf (see below).
Anyway that enough for me today.
ps
If anyone is stuck in Chicago whilst trying to get back to Britain i suggest you phone the UK embassy ,as we like many ex-pats are offering free accommodation to those in need, you just need to phone the Chicago office.
Anger management Bruntcliffe High School :
Am I wrong in getting more and more angry and bitter against Bruntcliffe high school ( Leeds) , and the quality of the teachers I had in the early 80s, it's just that as I progress through this project I keep thinking of what profession I would have be in if I had passed art and the ramifications this would have throughout all aspects of my life?
What also seems to be twisting that knife in my back is that my experience was not unique and is still happening to others, and I see no way of changing this as a fair percentage of teachers are just in it for the money.
Here in the USA the teachers are worse and very very unionised. For example as a trained analytical chemist with 20 years under my belt, I thought I could help out the local schools by being a teacher's aide (unpaid of course) but when I approach the schools they wanted me to do three years of chemistry (I think this is because USA degrees are substandard to UK degrees and yanks being yanks they apply their short comings to everyone else as they think they are No 1 ) and pay $60,000 for their guidance, needless to say I took a rain-check.
Please, please, please teachers, I know you think of this is as only a job but please understand unlike other jobs the mistakes you make will continue to snowball long after you have retired. If you can't accept this please do all of your prospective students a favour and do something else.
Anyway here's a question for you, in which profession is your wife most likely to cheat on you. Answer teaching.
Thank you for listening to my ramblings i feel better now .
As I have mentioned before I have had little formal training in drawing and have relied on self taught and bad practices I have acquired,so i am hoping to pick up some basics and reinforce the foundations that my drawings are based on, good plan eh!
My instructor is a woman called Lois Hrejsa who is an ex-teacher and a dam good artist.
Yesterday was my third lesson and in this we covered perspective, and I must say I think I'm getting it. The two gems that I picked up were using a pencil to calculate where the vanishing points were, and the use of diagonals in dissecting a trapezium to find the middle.
Lesson two concentrated on using tonal differences in a drawing, in this we had to draw a white object (mine was a one dollar figurine of a couple being married, which i affectionately call the 1 dollar white wedding, see below).
Here is my homework, which i attempted purely in pen.
Lesson one introduced the concept of tones and we had to produce a five point tonal scale and then utilise this in the drawing of a leaf (see below).
Anyway that enough for me today.
ps
If anyone is stuck in Chicago whilst trying to get back to Britain i suggest you phone the UK embassy ,as we like many ex-pats are offering free accommodation to those in need, you just need to phone the Chicago office.
Anger management Bruntcliffe High School :
Am I wrong in getting more and more angry and bitter against Bruntcliffe high school ( Leeds) , and the quality of the teachers I had in the early 80s, it's just that as I progress through this project I keep thinking of what profession I would have be in if I had passed art and the ramifications this would have throughout all aspects of my life?
What also seems to be twisting that knife in my back is that my experience was not unique and is still happening to others, and I see no way of changing this as a fair percentage of teachers are just in it for the money.
Here in the USA the teachers are worse and very very unionised. For example as a trained analytical chemist with 20 years under my belt, I thought I could help out the local schools by being a teacher's aide (unpaid of course) but when I approach the schools they wanted me to do three years of chemistry (I think this is because USA degrees are substandard to UK degrees and yanks being yanks they apply their short comings to everyone else as they think they are No 1 ) and pay $60,000 for their guidance, needless to say I took a rain-check.
Please, please, please teachers, I know you think of this is as only a job but please understand unlike other jobs the mistakes you make will continue to snowball long after you have retired. If you can't accept this please do all of your prospective students a favour and do something else.
Anyway here's a question for you, in which profession is your wife most likely to cheat on you. Answer teaching.
Thank you for listening to my ramblings i feel better now .
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Oh Canada
Well, what can I say about this blog, it is harder than you think but I will keep on trying to update this blog daily.
Anyway my art lessons are going good I have just moved on to the oils, and to be honest the blending on oils is great, downside is that the drying time is a bit longer than acrylics (by about a year).
I produced a nice little postcard size painting of an oak tree (see image) which I then enclosed in a nice little IKEA picture frame that I painted to look like antique wood.
Apart from this I am not really producing any work that I think of sufficient standard to enclose in this blog, however I am still on track to getting some paintings produced within the next couple of weeks that I think will be of sufficient quality, also I am working on a cartooning project which I will enclose in this blog as well.
Anyway enough of me today will update you tomorrow with my progress.
Yours
Sir Arty
PS
As you may know I moved to Canada originally, but I'm now based in the United States, so what you do you think happens when Canada plays the USA in the Winter Olympics at hockey, the answer is of course that the neighbours being typical patriotic lemmings start to lecture me on how USA is No 1 in everything (Yeah corruption, being Fat, crazy banking and winner of who started the credit crunch are all the things that come to mind). Of course us British are not used to this level of patriotism and frankly I find it so irritating that some days it takes all my efforts to bite my tongue .
Anyway we had a decent snowstorm that morning and being British I decided to build a mooning snowman waving the Canadian flag.
How delighted was I when when Canada won the hockey. Here is my picture of the snowman and the retaliation by the neighbours who being Yanks decided to build a better snowman and floodlit it all night's for the next four days (Ha HA Ha Electricity is not cheap , nor have the USA started to think climate change is real).
Copy right notice:
as is normal for any of my work, I own the copyright for all of the images and content on this blog and any permission to use this material ( for any use that is not related to publishing of this blog) by any other parties (including google) is strictly prohibited, if you wish to use this material to make the new blockbuster or a bestselling novel then I am open to discussion and a new extension on my house would be welcome.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Wednesday is art lesson day.
Good morning.
As I might have mentioned in previous blogs, I have started taking Art lessons in Downers Grove which means of course that I got homework to do. Last week's home work was to paint rust or steel, so here is my study of a kiln that I used to work with when I was in the chemical industry.I am quite impressed with how I managed to pull off the reflection on the steel, not too happy with the feeder, but I really enjoy painting this.
Have also started to draw cartoons, but I'm struggling with making the cartoons nice instead of creepy, more often than not they look too ghoulish.
Hope you enjoy the picture and I'll speak to you (well I'll write) tomorrow.
Good night.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sorry for the delay! -Excuse
Well i have failed my New years resolution, that being to keep this blog updated daily, but here's for attempt No 2.
In the weeks i have been off i have taken more lessons with the famous ( or should be ) train painter Charles Smith based in Downers Grove IL.
I have discovered that i need to be more controlled with my brush strokes, discovered that burnt umber dulls colours and that living in the USA does make you fat.
I have also spent several hours on skype talking to the family on the other side of the pond.
As i should have said , its been life as usual , apart from the earthquake, snowstorm, constant fall calls from the local police force asking for donations (is no public servant over here, not bent) and being spooked by ? in the middle of the night.
God bless you all, and hope you have a good nights sleep.
In the weeks i have been off i have taken more lessons with the famous ( or should be ) train painter Charles Smith based in Downers Grove IL.
I have discovered that i need to be more controlled with my brush strokes, discovered that burnt umber dulls colours and that living in the USA does make you fat.
I have also spent several hours on skype talking to the family on the other side of the pond.
As i should have said , its been life as usual , apart from the earthquake, snowstorm, constant fall calls from the local police force asking for donations (is no public servant over here, not bent) and being spooked by ? in the middle of the night.
God bless you all, and hope you have a good nights sleep.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Weekend is close, its a crunchy feeling.
Well the weekend is closing in , and i am amazed that Jan 2010 is nearly over and my "honey do" is still stuck in Dec 2009. My basement has so many piles of dirty laundry that the mice have started to squeak in a Mexican accent and have opened up their own dry cleaning business.
The cat is not amused as he was rejected for a loyalty card.
Started reading a nice little book called "Draw 3D" by Doug Dubosque , if you get chance rent it out from your local library, it explains the basics in a manner that even a 40 year can understand.
Again this is another bit of knowledge that should have been implanted in my mind at an early age, damn you Bruntcliffe high art department! I wish i could remember their names!
Anyway, progress has started, have now completed a couple of sketches, which i will use as the basis of my first painting of the decade.
Things learnt yesterday:
The cat is not amused as he was rejected for a loyalty card.
Started reading a nice little book called "Draw 3D" by Doug Dubosque , if you get chance rent it out from your local library, it explains the basics in a manner that even a 40 year can understand.
Again this is another bit of knowledge that should have been implanted in my mind at an early age, damn you Bruntcliffe high art department! I wish i could remember their names!
Anyway, progress has started, have now completed a couple of sketches, which i will use as the basis of my first painting of the decade.
Things learnt yesterday:
- Vanishing points and perspective.
- Cadburys will likley be relocated to IL in the next 5 years, sadly this also means the end of the English style chocolate that i buy through Cadburys Ca and more of that crappy soap favoured chocolate that Cadburys USA sell! Good news is that i should see more ex-pats over here in IL.
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