Seeing BIG Shapes...

It's happening. I am seeing big shapes finally and this is affecting my drawing. I cannot wait to begin painting again. Hopefully soon.

Family duties and distractions are killing me but the wisdom of taking classes is helping me. As I contemplate this, I have a sense of excitement that I am actually moving forward even in the midst of all these demands on my time.

Who will loose me from this "flesh."

Well it happened ... once again ... I shot off my big fat mouth ... and offended a fellow artist on this blog. (I didn't think anyone reads the darn thing...honestly...sometimes I just want to blow off steam by writing and griping and expressing my own frustrations. That, however, is no excuse.)

All I can say is I am sorry and ... I wish I could take back my comments. (I deleted the post.) I let my own frustration and short comings as an artist cloud my judgment. I really do not know this very nice artist at all and I feel really .... reeeally bad that I probably offended him.

Maybe he will return to this site and read this.

I admit ... I don't like to take criticism sometimes ... even though I say that is how we all learn. That day, I was tired of being always the student and felt insulted (although he didn't mean to insult me) I guess. He must have thought my work was unworthy or he wouldn't have criticized it.) Or maybe it was a control thing....that I didn't like.

Who will loose me from this flesh?

Should I email this very nice fellow and apologize? Or, should I just let it go? Any comments?

October Gesture & Slow Contours Drawings

One minutes gestures....


Contours, negative space within frame...


Slow, blind, contour drawing 20 minutes....drawing contours very slow without looking at paper.

The Fair Is Cramping My Art Progress

The Arts Center is closed down for the September due to the Oklahoma State Fair so .... I will be taking the month off from Life Drawing.

A bit rusty....

EDIT: ha ha....not the model, me. I'm a bit rusty.

Not bad for one who hasn't done any art in three weeks.

Nakedness vs Nudeness

Some might ask me, "Why do you, a Christian, choose to draw and paint nudes?" That is a really great question and I would like to address this since I am not ashamed of my nude drawings.

Note: According to some Adam and Eve were not really naked but clothed with the Glory of God which is the Shekina Glory ... a brightness that covered their nakedness which they lost when they sinned. Jesus was glorified when he was transfigured with the same brightness. Regardless, it was their innocence that they lost and I think this is still germane to the thoughts regarding nakedness.

• Genesis 2:25 -- And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

• Genesis 3:7 -- And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they [were] naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou? And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I [was] naked; and I hid myself. And he said, Who told thee that thou [wast] naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?

There is a difference, in my view, between "unashamed nudity" versus "shameful nakedness." The difference is in the presence of innocence (a good conscience) versus the consciousness of lust that leads to shamefulness . . . i.e. the knowledge that discerns good from evil.

In privacy humans return to innocent nakedness, do they not? For example, there is innocence in the simple act of bathing. There is innocence between a husband and wife who love each other privately. In childhood, there is no shame of nakedness until the child's soul awakens to discern good from evil. Childish modesty and shyness does not have to be taught.

It is possible to depict that innocence nudity in a painting. It is that image that strips a person of time; it is a person exposed with great honesty. The famous sculpture of David by Michelangelo. it is innocent, honest, and a dynamic portrayal of a man created of God for a purpose; a supreme creation.

An artist like myself is in search of an image of the human body that depicts this sense of innocence and in so doing depict the beauty of God's creative process and that will never bring a sense of shame to the viewer.

Note: The nude model is so important in the creation of art. I have drawings that frankly were anything but an innocent depiction mainly because of the model's inability to detach herself from the class. A model new to posing nude recently, I found, had this difficulty and her poses became suggestive. I've also had that happened with clothed models. I found that most of the poses were worthless as art and had to be discarded. So there are times when in class I have no control over the pose or the model, I could not get a good drawing. Other times, of course, I fail to draw well. It's difficult and that is why I keep drawing.

Vacation Blues.

It is impossible to do any serious art while on vacation with your family. It is maddening. To many interruptions and confusion. : - <