Vanitas 27 update (03-27-2021)

This is what the drawing looks like today. I finally made up my mind about the treatment of the background. The original reference photo has just a plain gray background and I found it kind of boring. Then I discovered another photograph of a wall I took in Venice that will work perfectly with this piece. It is very similar to the one I have used for 2 of my Vanitas drawings but from a different location. What would I do without Venice?

New Vanitas drawing started

I started a new drawing for my Vaniras series. This is Vanitas 27. This is another mixed media drawing of graphite and colored pencils just like Vanitas 25, only there will be more colored pencil elements in it. This is the 4th piece coming out of a reference photo shoot with a model. As far as the number of art works coming out of a single photo session goes, this is very unusual. It just proves that my model Ms. M was so inspiring. I am visualizing this drawing to be about 16" x 18", and it will take another month or so to finish.

Bryn Du Art Center Show opened

Bryn Du Art Center opened their annual group show on 3/5. I haven't been there myself in person yet (I am planing on going) but my lovely model for this drawing Miss M. did. Photo courtesy of Katy Jobe.

Update on Monday, April 12, 2021 at 06:43PM by Hiroshi Hayakawa

Here is another snapshot from the visit.

Charcoal sanding workshop

I have been attending Annie Murphy Robinson's Charcoal Sanding Zoom workshop since last week. Today was the second session. Last week, I couldn't quite understand what this technique was all about although initially I was drawn to the beauty of her drawing and wanted to learn her process. Today, the minute I started sanding the surface I had previously rendered I realized how it worked. The value range and subtle tonal nuance you can create with this technique are quite remarkable. I just started shading for the first time today, but I can kind of previsualize where this drawing is going and what it might look like. I am getting excited!

Drawing demo recording for Bryn Du

Last week, I recorded a drawing demo of me working on a portrait of my friend Lydia. This was for the upcoming Bryn Du Art Center's Annual Group Show. Due to the pandemic, they could not do their usual artist demonstrations at the Art Center, so they came up with the idea of uploading the footage of the artists working in the studios online and share with public. I volunteered to do mine. I spent a little over 2 hours working on this drawing. Later I edited the footage down to about 20 minute length, which I hope is short enough to keep people's attention and interest. After watching the footage over and over while editing, I really realized for the first time that I do draw in charcoal like making a sculpture, starting with rough shapes by blocking in general patterns of light and dark, then slowly moving on to carving the details out. It's interesting I don't work this way for my graphite drawings. My dream is somehow to combine this sculptural approach in charcoal and the more precise rendering in graphite and make them coexist harmoniously in a single drawing.