The title image are all 20 minute speed paintings, the rest are below. While I never get to a finished painting in the time constraints it’s fun racing the clock. I’d love feedback and criticism of any and all. Don’t worry about the time part. I’m trying to get faster and faster so one day I can do a live portrait in maybe 10 minutes and have a good likeness of the person.
10 minute
5 minute
2 minute
1 minute
Ohhh, I got you.
When I first started live model I did just what you’re talking about. I enjoyed it for sure but it wasn’t helping me advance my goal which is to nail proportions quickly so I can get a good likeness in little time. This is the first time I did framing first to help me get that part down much quicker.
Some of the artists at the live model sessions can gesture paint/draw in nearly perfect proportions out of the gate and I think it’s amazing. I’ve never been able to do that. There is something beautiful about seeing through an artists eye without perfect proportions and I’m for that, just not what I’m trying to work on right now.
Right on. I wasn’t ever very good at drawing, but I was good at gesture drawing lol. It all comes with practice! Let me make this suggestion, next time don’t lift your pencil off the paper once you start. Let it go all loopy and messy. When you find a line you like, bolden it. Do really quick poses and make a mess. The drawing you end up with isn’t the point, it’s trying to build a connection between your eye and your hand.
I like that exercise. I often do it as a warmup particularly when I’m feeling artists block. Occasionally I even like the outcome.
Then try one where you only use, like, 5 lines. Really really quick. Like on a bus or in a coffee shop. I liked that exercise too. I’m no art instructor by any means but I enjoyed life drawing until I fell into textiles. I like your finished drawings, they’ve got good depth and are striking. The digital painting is really great and impresses me as I’m way behind the times.
Textiles? Can you say more about that?
And I feel you. As I get close to 50 I find it harder to adopt these new fangled tools. Though once I do I find I love them more often than not.
I got interested in weaving and went into material art and design and was weaving baskets and hats out of cedar bark and other stuff. After college I moved to a small town and got a job as an upholsterer and marine fabricator making convertible tops on boats. It let’s me make fun tarps* for interesting people and pays the bills. My daughter just started art school and it’s brought up memories of art class and critiques.
*
That’s amazing! Wow! 🤯
I’d love to learn more about how you make these textiles and kind of customer requests and do on if you don’t mind?
I don’t make the fabric, I just cut and sew it now. I make my patterns out of paper, so it’s pretty much tracing. The trick is creating the tension necessary to keep things from flapping like crazy.
Lately I’ve been using string to for a web and then pretty much trace it. It’s more fun to make than the traditional stainless steel tube setup.
In the summer I try to work on sailboats. I do a lot of fishing boat covers and cushions and repair work. I make the pads at the bottom of the slides in McDonald’s playlands. If you’re in a Burger King in Puerto Rico I made those pads lol. In the winter I do some upholstery. I made a banana seat a bit ago.
Bro, that’s so cool! And thank you for the pictures. I love it.
My wife and I are talking about going to Puerto Rico, if we do I’ll have to ask which one to see if we can see your work first hand.
I feel like I need to see some of this first hand. Not a lot of it in Colorado. It’s like a whole new world.