Pencil Sketch Vignette

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_TcqE2Lert4j4WrvI8cea5hnVwTptRWV-mWsiMy0zuy7YUSrQ2BzRClJkGmC3Gx7Qo6uA7utbtkpaeJHpKUfA9yhAUM_marfFNmEWOaduMnVpvI9ZT7OniDhZalt4Cp74FTfHUlwhdE/s1600/Watson.from.A.Guptil.SRP.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Ernest Watson shows a nice trick for vignetting a pencil sketch. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_TcqE2Lert4j4WrvI8cea5hnVwTptRWV-mWsiMy0zuy7YUSrQ2BzRClJkGmC3Gx7Qo6uA7utbtkpaeJHpKUfA9yhAUM_marfFNmEWOaduMnVpvI9ZT7OniDhZalt4Cp74FTfHUlwhdE/s1600/Watson.from.A.Guptil.SRP.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3_TcqE2Lert4j4WrvI8cea5hnVwTptRWV-mWsiMy0zuy7YUSrQ2BzRClJkGmC3Gx7Qo6uA7utbtkpaeJHpKUfA9yhAUM_marfFNmEWOaduMnVpvI9ZT7OniDhZalt4Cp74FTfHUlwhdE/s400/Watson.from.A.Guptil.SRP.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />He allows the outer edges of the drawing to gradually dissolve into simple construction lines. The windows are nicely varied, too. No two are alike.<br /><br />This 1916 drawing is from Arthur Guptill’s book “Sketching and Rendering in Pencil" (republished as "Drawing and Sketching in Pencil,” <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Sketching-Pencil-Arthur-Guptill/dp/0486460487?ie=UTF8&tag=gurnjour-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">available here in book form</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=0486460487" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> and <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/sketchingrenderi00guptuoft">here for free download.</a>

Pencil Sketch Vignette

Ernest Watson shows a nice trick for vignetting a pencil sketch. He allows the outer edges of the drawing to gradually dissolve into simple ...

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Exhibit showcases women’s student clothing

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTadndz7eg6hqXVw3AQYLyKM1YBHC1UMoZ29npwJJY3uiMQHSDQaLQcA6O3n10xYDICV7YyCq4CW3CTjGLtsfwp6gYihPWuFqKTNqwciTTjFhC3XQrLwfe0bvemB-V3hyeA5vGSVlqAhM/s1600/Taffeta_Day.Dress.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>A exhibit at Vassar College examines the evolution of women’s student fashions from the 1860s to the 1950s. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTadndz7eg6hqXVw3AQYLyKM1YBHC1UMoZ29npwJJY3uiMQHSDQaLQcA6O3n10xYDICV7YyCq4CW3CTjGLtsfwp6gYihPWuFqKTNqwciTTjFhC3XQrLwfe0bvemB-V3hyeA5vGSVlqAhM/s1600/Taffeta_Day.Dress.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTadndz7eg6hqXVw3AQYLyKM1YBHC1UMoZ29npwJJY3uiMQHSDQaLQcA6O3n10xYDICV7YyCq4CW3CTjGLtsfwp6gYihPWuFqKTNqwciTTjFhC3XQrLwfe0bvemB-V3hyeA5vGSVlqAhM/s400/Taffeta_Day.Dress.sm.jpg" width="255" /></a><br />This silk moire taffeta day dress with leg-o’-mutton sleeves dates from about 1895. The decorative velvet lapels and stand-up collar are inspired by menswear. According to the student curators, these details bespeak the desire for college-educated women to fit into a male world during the Gilded Age.<br /><br />The exhibit gives a rare opportunity for artists to sketch antique dresses from observation. I made the drawing with violet and ochre <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Caran-DAche-Supracolor-Set-Colors/dp/B0009I52O2?ie=UTF8&tag=gurnjour-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">colored pencils </a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0009I52O2" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />and a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Niji-Waterbrush-Medium-Round-12mm/dp/B000KNJEMW?ie=UTF8&tag=gurnjour-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">water brush.</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000KNJEMW" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /> The dress was green, but I didn’t bring any green pencils, so I just picked two opposite colors and let them duke it out.<br /><br /><a href="http://info.vassar.edu/news/2010-2011/110510-palmer-fashioning.html"><i>Fashioning an Education:  150 Years of Vassar Students and What They Wore </i></a>is at the James W. Palmer III Gallery at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York through June 12, 2011. It's free and open to the public. The exhibition will be open Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 1:00 to 4:00pm. For more information, call 845.437.5250. <br /><br />While you’re in town, Vassar’s art museum also has an <a href="http://fllac.vassar.edu/exhibitions/2010-2011/thomas-rowlandson.html">exhibit on Thomas Rowlandson</a> and a nice collection of Hudson River School sketches. Nearby at the Mill Street Loft is the <a href="http://millstreetloft.org/2011/05/%E2%80%9Cour-towns%E2%80%9D-juried-fine-art-exhibition-opening/">“Our Towns” cityscape exhibit. </a><br /><br />Related book: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Clothing-through-American-History-ebook/dp/B004HO6LY4?ie=UTF8&tag=gurnjour-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Clothing through American History: Civil War through the Gilden Age</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B004HO6LY4" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Caran-DAche-Supracolor-Set-Colors/dp/B0009I52O2?ie=UTF8&tag=gurnjour-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Caran d’Ache pencils</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B0009I52O2" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Niji-Waterbrush-Medium-Round-12mm/dp/B000KNJEMW?ie=UTF8&tag=gurnjour-20&link_code=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969" target="_blank">Niji water brush</a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=gurnjour-20&l=btl&camp=213689&creative=392969&o=1&a=B000KNJEMW" style="border: medium none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; padding: 0px ! important;" width="1" />

Exhibit showcases women’s student clothing

A exhibit at Vassar College examines the evolution of women’s student fashions from the 1860s to the 1950s. This silk moire taffeta day dres...

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Mirko Listening

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUWciNVMqyU1w-ep84Px3jGC8Mvo0gFs6hfbAnoSwolqIhsnKeSIYPBVHNVF5errTi_cQW8qdtIq09Ruciuo7KETlbXF6ui1-q_M01LqZi7a45K2wGiQ5lXlP6cl6PIT5OvWlthnzXv4/s1600/Mirko_Listening.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>I did this little sketchbook portrait of my friend Mirko last Sunday. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUWciNVMqyU1w-ep84Px3jGC8Mvo0gFs6hfbAnoSwolqIhsnKeSIYPBVHNVF5errTi_cQW8qdtIq09Ruciuo7KETlbXF6ui1-q_M01LqZi7a45K2wGiQ5lXlP6cl6PIT5OvWlthnzXv4/s1600/Mirko_Listening.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTUWciNVMqyU1w-ep84Px3jGC8Mvo0gFs6hfbAnoSwolqIhsnKeSIYPBVHNVF5errTi_cQW8qdtIq09Ruciuo7KETlbXF6ui1-q_M01LqZi7a45K2wGiQ5lXlP6cl6PIT5OvWlthnzXv4/s400/Mirko_Listening.sm.jpg" width="290" /></a><br />He sat a few seats away from me at a choral concert last week. He was deeply concentrating on the music of Schumann and Tchaikovsky. He didn’t notice I was sketching him.<br /><br />Those blurry pools of dark ink on his coat were done by first wetting the surface with the clear water brush and then applying a second water brush filled with black ink.<br /><br />In addition to the two water brushes, my left hand held three water-soluble colored pencils: russet, brown and black. To avoid distracting people around me, I minimized all my hand and head movements. The tools are absolutely silent on the paper.

Mirko Listening

I did this little sketchbook portrait of my friend Mirko last Sunday. He sat a few seats away from me at a choral concert last week. He was ...

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A Small Thought

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3K_0rj8v_NBRFvGQjeaFYWVk1861aOXccaBNc4PlkfyTiqUsIM3E_p-Uz_Nxzyn92L76q6_gKlHRhO27ovc1-NNmm5KR4YvBjuFgeJv0IXv2Lg6h7k-xr1xVMuFFjkBrU6AY8nCtjRM/s1600/If_Christ_Appeared.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3K_0rj8v_NBRFvGQjeaFYWVk1861aOXccaBNc4PlkfyTiqUsIM3E_p-Uz_Nxzyn92L76q6_gKlHRhO27ovc1-NNmm5KR4YvBjuFgeJv0IXv2Lg6h7k-xr1xVMuFFjkBrU6AY8nCtjRM/s400/If_Christ_Appeared.sm.jpg" width="396" /></a></div>

A Small Thought

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Palatine Farmstead

Last Sunday I did a plein-air painting/drawing of the Palatine Farmstead, a historic home in the Hudson Valley of New York State.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8wx4I5_kKzC-4AFFmqyAreUII1lacs-uIxtxWrVwn33lxSOVZ9FwhUl8GUNT-PukrQrFsdlmDVQFZ9XH6fKGVrbDEU302Ob-5EjO4bQrWMGsi5RscseAhnju-KBSaJvBk3mXjWbdmpc/s1600/Palatine_Homestead.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie8wx4I5_kKzC-4AFFmqyAreUII1lacs-uIxtxWrVwn33lxSOVZ9FwhUl8GUNT-PukrQrFsdlmDVQFZ9XH6fKGVrbDEU302Ob-5EjO4bQrWMGsi5RscseAhnju-KBSaJvBk3mXjWbdmpc/s400/Palatine_Homestead.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The house dates back to about 1770. It’s one of the last surviving buildings from the Palatine German settlers, who came to the region after being uprooted by the Thirty Year’s War and lured to the New World by the British crown.<br /><br />Until about a decade ago, a very old woman lived in the house with no plumbing or electricity. After her death, the house was donated to a historical society. A careful restoration project is underway to repair the damage from water, fire, rot, and bees. The back of the house, shown in this view, had to be almost totally reconstructed.<br /><br />I wanted to do a present-day view with a retrospective flavor, so I turned to a monochrome treatment, using sepia watercolor and water-soluble colored pencils. It is 6 x 9.5 inches (15x 24 cm) on a large size (about 8 x 11") Moleskine watercolor sketchbook.<br /><br />After drawing the lay-in with pencil, I covered the whole surface with a light wash of tone, leaving only the sunlit white planes of the house on the left. Then I drybrushed and detailed as much as I could with sable brushes, switching over to the colored pencil for the finer lines.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7V-5an4NGhP9fPfIxHEWGMt8B2GTc4af43ANur9A0AcaqSua_ZSI9Onl6EsNU5DHxIZT8cJbhF132_etOwCfnyLHnk9xS3p4fxg2E3WoVMZiOWFb7hu0RUSDZpPk5GPbAwDw1Pp0a15s/s1600/Palatine.det.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7V-5an4NGhP9fPfIxHEWGMt8B2GTc4af43ANur9A0AcaqSua_ZSI9Onl6EsNU5DHxIZT8cJbhF132_etOwCfnyLHnk9xS3p4fxg2E3WoVMZiOWFb7hu0RUSDZpPk5GPbAwDw1Pp0a15s/s400/Palatine.det.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />Here’s a closeup showing how the pencil and the watercolor combine to describe details like the chipping paint, the clapboards, the shutters, and the branches. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.quitmanpreservation.org/palatine.htm">Photos of the house and restoration.</a><br /><a href="http://www.moleskinerie.com/">Moleskine sketchbooks </a>

Palatine Farmstead

Last Sunday I did a plein-air painting/drawing of the Palatine Farmstead, a historic home in the Hudson Valley of New York State. The house ...

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Club Passim Gig

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVJUQ64dnZwH4PqAi_ZSXaehU_M8c-MkZFrakYX1Qbgw04Z6NCFKC2Tk1J601yrvo3qJqXhRGOD0rfEI2tYessyLif8yMxgG538N_gW2G1jthd5D55c6rE5G59Bd_NYx7yrlSyMHNUOA/s1600/IMG_2911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpVJUQ64dnZwH4PqAi_ZSXaehU_M8c-MkZFrakYX1Qbgw04Z6NCFKC2Tk1J601yrvo3qJqXhRGOD0rfEI2tYessyLif8yMxgG538N_gW2G1jthd5D55c6rE5G59Bd_NYx7yrlSyMHNUOA/s200/IMG_2911.JPG" width="200" /></a><br /> We had a nice turnout for Dan Gurney's traditional Irish concert at Club Passim, which was broadcast on <a href="http://concertwindow.com/">Concert Window </a>two hours ago.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6h4NaTGiVNLibNtsLdnxPD_9OSKFpuysFjvOojA7-TW2jc9VpzxgXCFt4I9zaqeYa6HctpAP8J0Yt55lR1wVo5dKOCTZo8xN00QsbNAYYHhZa00tiVtUn7J5_8r7CZrvyr-ApRE5RPo/s1600/IMG_2914.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6h4NaTGiVNLibNtsLdnxPD_9OSKFpuysFjvOojA7-TW2jc9VpzxgXCFt4I9zaqeYa6HctpAP8J0Yt55lR1wVo5dKOCTZo8xN00QsbNAYYHhZa00tiVtUn7J5_8r7CZrvyr-ApRE5RPo/s1600/IMG_2914.JPG" /></a><br />And there were sketchers! Nice to meet you, Chris, <a href="http://www.natalya.com/">Natalya</a>, and Emily. Emily drew the band as a foursome of dinosaurs.<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="290" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_XBFH00yW9A" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe> <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigW1OxzniQrnDxxMWk4lXcCK4qa7R4ObxcgeA_Qv-K-09rtEKo_jGsp8SPxC-4RHNhHZpJabSGau0GN53OqL2mqyMLiyUObyBtSGUURVW8610WD9gdvg6-JHincfbi93pwa1FraoFa5xI/s1600/IMG_2913.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigW1OxzniQrnDxxMWk4lXcCK4qa7R4ObxcgeA_Qv-K-09rtEKo_jGsp8SPxC-4RHNhHZpJabSGau0GN53OqL2mqyMLiyUObyBtSGUURVW8610WD9gdvg6-JHincfbi93pwa1FraoFa5xI/s400/IMG_2913.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>Here are my little portraits of the band--<br /><div class="merch"></div>Sean Earnest (guitar), Dylan Foley (fiddle), Isaac Alderson (flute and uilleann pipes), and Dan Gurney (accordion).<br />----------<br />P.S. Thanks, Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell for your nice <a href="http://imaginistix.blogspot.com/">review of <i>Color and Light </i>on your wonderful blog Paint and Brush! </a>

Club Passim Gig

 We had a nice turnout for Dan Gurney's traditional Irish concert at Club Passim, which was broadcast on Concert Window two hours ago. A...

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A page from Byam Shaw's sketchbook

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNawIYMzsJSCQzZjoPRYYVxcGdxZ3guea_Og6p1aFNLapTFpWuQhwlYSMtPmreM23egRUASsSSnPdAORR0CNzZWVyxXGppHtEByFJxvZhuGG9c7CgnxAF9iW0TF-bPgqZlZLuxIdVYZo/s1600/Byam_Shaw_Sketchbook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKNawIYMzsJSCQzZjoPRYYVxcGdxZ3guea_Og6p1aFNLapTFpWuQhwlYSMtPmreM23egRUASsSSnPdAORR0CNzZWVyxXGppHtEByFJxvZhuGG9c7CgnxAF9iW0TF-bPgqZlZLuxIdVYZo/s640/Byam_Shaw_Sketchbook.jpg" width="474" /></a></div>A page from Byam Shaw's sketchbook.<br /><br />More on Byam Shaw (1872 – 1919) in a <a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2011/02/studies-for-loves-baubles.html">previous GurneyJourney post</a>

A page from Byam Shaw's sketchbook

A page from Byam Shaw's sketchbook. More on Byam Shaw (1872 – 1919) in a previous GurneyJourney post

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Cambridge Music/Sketch Event this Sunday

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8CxuPis7wsm907sDFEtes33QbfoLNp5uvIqt19ficQPocOowNd89efhwUGkpA8sFHgx0Ju06XtcGM2vMzkz_DL7ojI9CS2qPixXQRo5Ri3wUPkthmE5Mm5ypBZnQfLRi_KlQoF4EjxI/s1600/Club_Passim.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk8CxuPis7wsm907sDFEtes33QbfoLNp5uvIqt19ficQPocOowNd89efhwUGkpA8sFHgx0Ju06XtcGM2vMzkz_DL7ojI9CS2qPixXQRo5Ri3wUPkthmE5Mm5ypBZnQfLRi_KlQoF4EjxI/s320/Club_Passim.sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I’ll be in Boston this weekend, and I invite you to join me for an impromptu sketch gathering. <br /><br />The event is an Irish music concert at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Passim">Club Passim</a>, the little folk music venue in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts where Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Joni Mitchell have performed.<br /><br />The performers this Sunday will be my son <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/910309374/accordion-player-dan-gurney-records-debut-solo-alb">Dan Gurney</a> on accordion, along with  Isaac Alderson (flute)<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1302285815_4" style="border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">, Dylan Foley</span> (fiddle), Sean Earnest (guitar), and Bridget Fitzgerald (song). They're all completely used to being sketched by people in the audience.<br /><br />The concert will be webcast via <a href="http://concertwindow.com/">ConcertWindow, </a>so if you can’t make it, you can watch and listen for free on your computer. I’ll post my sketch at the end of the concert on this blog, so you can see the results. <br /><br />Dan is planning a return trip to Ireland this summer to record a CD of traditional music, and he’s inviting sponsors via a <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/910309374/accordion-player-dan-gurney-records-debut-solo-alb">Kickstarter page</a>. If you click over to that link, there's a video where he describes his plans and tells you what you'll get in exchange for sponsorship.<br /><br />Bring a sketchbook and I’ll see you there. It will be a great evening of sketching and listening. <br /><br /><div>CONCERT DETAILS: Sunday 4/10 at 4:30pm. $12/10 admission</div><div><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1302285815_0" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">Club Passim</span> (Veggie Planet)</div><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1302285815_1" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;"><div>47 Palmer Street</div><div>Cambridge, MA 02138</div></span><br /><div>Also live on <a href="http://www.concertwindow.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1302285815_2">www.concertwindow.com</span></a></div><div><a href="http://www.clubpassim.com/">Club Passim's official site </a></div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Club_Passim">Wikipedia on Club Passim</a>

Cambridge Music/Sketch Event this Sunday

I’ll be in Boston this weekend, and I invite you to join me for an impromptu sketch gathering. The event is an Irish music concert at Club P...

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Saint Louis Courthouse

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecuxuRo5CcwZhOQYNu1l7H_J0dTOMik4ibEoxjFAiwy2clCehhPvkRbqwhORYnFvU-fC4nMPA0EOqWASQZGP5aGUMJ2ng_C7igJySCAJo8TEfAZAW9aDI8AMQRwAlv2jEpRg7iVyIYYk/s1600/Saint_Louis_Courthouse.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Here’s a pencil drawing I did of the old courthouse in Saint Louis, from my hotel window.  It was a cold day, and across the street there were billows of steam pumping out of some ducts.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecuxuRo5CcwZhOQYNu1l7H_J0dTOMik4ibEoxjFAiwy2clCehhPvkRbqwhORYnFvU-fC4nMPA0EOqWASQZGP5aGUMJ2ng_C7igJySCAJo8TEfAZAW9aDI8AMQRwAlv2jEpRg7iVyIYYk/s1600/Saint_Louis_Courthouse.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecuxuRo5CcwZhOQYNu1l7H_J0dTOMik4ibEoxjFAiwy2clCehhPvkRbqwhORYnFvU-fC4nMPA0EOqWASQZGP5aGUMJ2ng_C7igJySCAJo8TEfAZAW9aDI8AMQRwAlv2jEpRg7iVyIYYk/s400/Saint_Louis_Courthouse.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />I was excited by the atmospherics, because the steam added life and mystery to what otherwise would have been a fairly ordinary architectural study. But I had to make sure to draw the whole structure and measure everything out before I covered it up. Some parts of the drawing are erased with a kneaded eraser.

Saint Louis Courthouse

Here’s a pencil drawing I did of the old courthouse in Saint Louis, from my hotel window.  It was a cold day, and across the street there we...

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Menzel’s Drawings

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgib8izholqOXxci1ayHYlBZaTyLalSVeAsLU7IRQKzFhkc3rWij5IYIrS81tJLhYuvhvfqlHeUlO4jV5SwcKeNOnz7Xw85BpPbAqVjaKtIrreekjeb33dnQxobLAB22TxOs2dlwyC91xg/s1600/Menzel.Portrait.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Nineteenth century German artist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Menzel">Adolf von Menzel </a>(1815-1905) was a tirelessly curious artist who drew everything, from buildings to wagons to his own big toe. Here’s one of his late drawings, a study of an old woman. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgib8izholqOXxci1ayHYlBZaTyLalSVeAsLU7IRQKzFhkc3rWij5IYIrS81tJLhYuvhvfqlHeUlO4jV5SwcKeNOnz7Xw85BpPbAqVjaKtIrreekjeb33dnQxobLAB22TxOs2dlwyC91xg/s1600/Menzel.Portrait.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgib8izholqOXxci1ayHYlBZaTyLalSVeAsLU7IRQKzFhkc3rWij5IYIrS81tJLhYuvhvfqlHeUlO4jV5SwcKeNOnz7Xw85BpPbAqVjaKtIrreekjeb33dnQxobLAB22TxOs2dlwyC91xg/s400/Menzel.Portrait.sm.jpg" width="265" /></a><br />“I never do drawings with a view to selling them,” he said. “As a rule I do them only as nature studies for a particular picture or as a casual thing for later use.” <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSjfK1UINCoyANUXfrw2A_cKbvBhSBeunIOkgeYalJDcCL4NEtF-dcZ-XfLQgzV5dqcXUlbSlmd3Hnn3qliIxO9GbOQhShGc8uQRZmgLgXwUNjOqBaeQsf5ILR95z27Glc8s4SPll-Vc/s1600/Menzel_Rolling_Mill_Study.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSjfK1UINCoyANUXfrw2A_cKbvBhSBeunIOkgeYalJDcCL4NEtF-dcZ-XfLQgzV5dqcXUlbSlmd3Hnn3qliIxO9GbOQhShGc8uQRZmgLgXwUNjOqBaeQsf5ILR95z27Glc8s4SPll-Vc/s400/Menzel_Rolling_Mill_Study.jpg" width="275" /></a><br />His drawings often capture life on the run. “Art is a bolting horse,” he said. His pencil captured the tumultuous modern scene around him. He made many studies on location for a painting of the interior of an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adolf_Friedrich_Erdmann_von_Menzel_021.jpg"> iron rolling mill (link to painting)</a>. “For weeks on end from morning to evening I stood between the huge whizzing, oscillating wheels and belts with red-hot blocks, and sketched.”<br /><br />“Art has kept pace with all the advancements and deviations of the development of the mind and will always keep pace with them, as artists, like mankind, are an integral part of this development.”<br /><br />Quotes from <i>Menzel</i> by Bruckmann <br />Previously on GJ:<a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/05/menzel-beyond-appearances.html"> Menzel: Beyond Appearances </a><br />Portrait of old lady from <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_406539947">"The Later Work of Adolf von Menzel," by Jarno Jessen, Magazine of Art, 1902, page 49 </a><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_Menzel"> Wikipedia on Menzel</a><br /><a href="http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=60">Drawing of rolling mill worker from the Getty collection</a> (which I believe incorrectly states that the drawing was not drawn on location. All the studies were done on site, according to Menzel's own letters.)

Menzel’s Drawings

Nineteenth century German artist Adolf von Menzel (1815-1905) was a tirelessly curious artist who drew everything, from buildings to wagons ...

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Video Game Talk

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVaRH-ivDeeD2a967lJgWDt4ojzltFc_SOaq7Qu3zPtAMCz1Fg8BkOoCMeSV002-wi2c4MXNUc7a7EnCF-AATf9trKdvo_pwnyGsvmiVdYaykZK4Dju8GSw-Qrj-_0U5bGT83Xpu4_s0/s1600/Game_Boys.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Don’t you love the way people talk when they’re playing video games? <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVaRH-ivDeeD2a967lJgWDt4ojzltFc_SOaq7Qu3zPtAMCz1Fg8BkOoCMeSV002-wi2c4MXNUc7a7EnCF-AATf9trKdvo_pwnyGsvmiVdYaykZK4Dju8GSw-Qrj-_0U5bGT83Xpu4_s0/s1600/Game_Boys.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVaRH-ivDeeD2a967lJgWDt4ojzltFc_SOaq7Qu3zPtAMCz1Fg8BkOoCMeSV002-wi2c4MXNUc7a7EnCF-AATf9trKdvo_pwnyGsvmiVdYaykZK4Dju8GSw-Qrj-_0U5bGT83Xpu4_s0/s400/Game_Boys.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />It’s a cascade of antic surrealism, of dying and coming to life again, of hippo people and apes on go-carts trying to kill you before you can find the magic acorns. <br /><br />Viewed from the outside, the player is a picture of calm focus and attention. Inside he fights to live another moment and to fly to safety on the wings of rabbit ears.

Video Game Talk

Don’t you love the way people talk when they’re playing video games? It’s a cascade of antic surrealism, of dying and coming to life again, ...

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Piano Slim

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZDu37JbstBL1QO90I0gI26NA3RGbVovkz8aGtvuWYo7oCDS_Q-bnmCZWE-tLykaOmuOO9XCYk7yEWgHkOrYM4TKtQLJG3NCpsKC878bcwB9UewN_lInNUOFF1SUDbx5Boz1p4dzsU8A/s1600/Piano.Slim.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>My cab driver in Saint Louis was a guy who called himself “Piano Slim.” At night he parked the taxi and played the blues.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZDu37JbstBL1QO90I0gI26NA3RGbVovkz8aGtvuWYo7oCDS_Q-bnmCZWE-tLykaOmuOO9XCYk7yEWgHkOrYM4TKtQLJG3NCpsKC878bcwB9UewN_lInNUOFF1SUDbx5Boz1p4dzsU8A/s1600/Piano.Slim.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiZDu37JbstBL1QO90I0gI26NA3RGbVovkz8aGtvuWYo7oCDS_Q-bnmCZWE-tLykaOmuOO9XCYk7yEWgHkOrYM4TKtQLJG3NCpsKC878bcwB9UewN_lInNUOFF1SUDbx5Boz1p4dzsU8A/s400/Piano.Slim.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>I sketched his portrait from the back seat. “The blues ain’t no more like they used to be,” he said.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VfHT8rwPdOLW9NWA3PRcmKCZ-o36KbTtEY0eU8YcGvE9re4pZX-QcTwQW3FHTy5Jeo1fgL82vrWo2kh3ojuNsZEEVZg1tlz9OkP-crWT6gmPOp7bnHDPG2phrAfEqe2m9Aew4_LZx8E/s1600/piano-slim-mean-woman-blues-lp-(vinyl)-dutch-swingmaster-1981-album-cover.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2VfHT8rwPdOLW9NWA3PRcmKCZ-o36KbTtEY0eU8YcGvE9re4pZX-QcTwQW3FHTy5Jeo1fgL82vrWo2kh3ojuNsZEEVZg1tlz9OkP-crWT6gmPOp7bnHDPG2phrAfEqe2m9Aew4_LZx8E/s1600/piano-slim-mean-woman-blues-lp-(vinyl)-dutch-swingmaster-1981-album-cover.jpeg" /></a>

Piano Slim

My cab driver in Saint Louis was a guy who called himself “Piano Slim.” At night he parked the taxi and played the blues. I sketched his por...

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What’s in My Bag?

Call it a waist pack, a belt pouch, or a man purse. But it’s how I carry around my lightweight sketching stuff. <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcPCmKxnbt1kN5bF9zIZjJGRnuN1nyQ8ma6jdRX48bRNCt_eBMVlLn66BaCMKjIEGMbG-OJtdbCLBp3O8g10EdUbYFQSkJUJibnXREyGt7PKml-JgHLvZtbLmwHkAQ92u7Bl3QfnjxlY/s1600/Belt_Pouch.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHcPCmKxnbt1kN5bF9zIZjJGRnuN1nyQ8ma6jdRX48bRNCt_eBMVlLn66BaCMKjIEGMbG-OJtdbCLBp3O8g10EdUbYFQSkJUJibnXREyGt7PKml-JgHLvZtbLmwHkAQ92u7Bl3QfnjxlY/s400/Belt_Pouch.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><a href="http://boingboing.net/">BoingBoing</a> founder Mark Frauenfelder asked me to dump it all out and explain each item. It's a new feature called “What’s in My Bag?”  <a href="http://www.boingboing.net/2011/02/22/james-gurney-whats-i.html">Link to What's in My Bag? </a>

What’s in My Bag?

Call it a waist pack, a belt pouch, or a man purse. But it’s how I carry around my lightweight sketching stuff. BoingBoing founder Mark Fra...

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Homemade and Mail Order

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5jy-NE_opFWFEaEQI0Hc83FLMGOHFZYq-CH22IfTlioQ2UaLxqK_4cH2P2ISFJ9-RyrShKzya6KiNQXqCly1ppLTjXVnnwYHHDOYXpZ_Qn3AhW5S688KzIhy9KmJmkldNhiE0J86NSM/s1600/Fairplay.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="365" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5jy-NE_opFWFEaEQI0Hc83FLMGOHFZYq-CH22IfTlioQ2UaLxqK_4cH2P2ISFJ9-RyrShKzya6KiNQXqCly1ppLTjXVnnwYHHDOYXpZ_Qn3AhW5S688KzIhy9KmJmkldNhiE0J86NSM/s400/Fairplay.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />This stove and chair, sketched at a history museum in Fairplay, Colorado, suggest that the family sent away for the cast iron stove, and made the chair themselves out of planks of wood.<br />------<br /><a href="http://www.southparkcity.org/">South Park City museum in Fairplay, a restored 1880s mining town. </a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX5jy-NE_opFWFEaEQI0Hc83FLMGOHFZYq-CH22IfTlioQ2UaLxqK_4cH2P2ISFJ9-RyrShKzya6KiNQXqCly1ppLTjXVnnwYHHDOYXpZ_Qn3AhW5S688KzIhy9KmJmkldNhiE0J86NSM/s1600/Fairplay.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>

Homemade and Mail Order

This stove and chair, sketched at a history museum in Fairplay, Colorado, suggest that the family sent away for the cast iron stove, and mad...

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Britain Audio Part 3: Dogs, Cats, and Memories

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAUIz4S9oZo5G3Eo3-gNSJyhDqE7xX1XsTz9b4-TkdUlwfSRwWk9LEsMCFv9LBCLuipkc8f7_8oHQc8a4KT2ZkS5duaqYuMTtmgB0Ui6Gh8gx93Dc00D-_kRpMZR-Nbe8m5bEjlmlCqQ/s1600/Caernarfon_Harbor.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>The final installment of the 1985 audio tour of Great Britain begins with birdwatchers in London’s Hyde Park. Then I ask the perennial question, which is better, dogs or cats?<br /><br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F8757695"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F8757695" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object>  <a href="http://soundcloud.com/james-gurney/britain-1985-part-3-dogs-cats-and-memories">Britain 1985, Part 3: Dogs, Cats, and Memories</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/james-gurney">James Gurney</a> <br /><br />The sound clip runs about 15 minutes and includes a hammered dulcimer, an early interactive video console in Cardiff, vintage sounds of an ‘80s game arcade, an interview with Krishna devotees, recollections from ladies remembering their childhoods in York, and a sampling of classic American accents.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAUIz4S9oZo5G3Eo3-gNSJyhDqE7xX1XsTz9b4-TkdUlwfSRwWk9LEsMCFv9LBCLuipkc8f7_8oHQc8a4KT2ZkS5duaqYuMTtmgB0Ui6Gh8gx93Dc00D-_kRpMZR-Nbe8m5bEjlmlCqQ/s1600/Caernarfon_Harbor.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCAUIz4S9oZo5G3Eo3-gNSJyhDqE7xX1XsTz9b4-TkdUlwfSRwWk9LEsMCFv9LBCLuipkc8f7_8oHQc8a4KT2ZkS5duaqYuMTtmgB0Ui6Gh8gx93Dc00D-_kRpMZR-Nbe8m5bEjlmlCqQ/s400/Caernarfon_Harbor.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />The pencil sketch shows the Caernarfon harbor in Wales, where at low tide the boats rest on double keels.<br /><br />Don't forget to vote in the dog and cat poll at left. <br />--------<br /><a href="http://soundcloud.com/james-gurney/britain-1985-part-3-dogs-cats-and-memories">Direct link to Soundcloud file</a>

Britain Audio Part 3: Dogs, Cats, and Memories

The final installment of the 1985 audio tour of Great Britain begins with birdwatchers in London’s Hyde Park. Then I ask the perennial quest...

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Britain Audio, Part 2: Paul LaMarque

The second installment of our 1985 audio tour of Great Britain begins with street sounds of London, after which we hear a boys’ choir practicing in York cathedral.<br /><br /><object height="81" width="100%"> <param name="movie" value="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F8719425"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed allowscriptaccess="always" height="81" src="http://player.soundcloud.com/player.swf?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F8719425" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="100%"></embed> </object>  <a href="http://soundcloud.com/james-gurney/britain-1985-part-2-paul-la-marque">Britain 1985, Part 2: Paul La Marque</a> by <a href="http://soundcloud.com/james-gurney">James Gurney</a> <br />Click on this Soundcloud player to hear the audio. <br /><br /> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSkTPtZySoGG19b_A-DLu6XC-6TRvcrkYn8_Vv6i8mkvR4G6NkWy8ehBi1xsDW8DRefmBzM5X09yS5YgZBLkoTszfGNh6hFPKVS49_iEK86V0fSazHtpL2T2sWgANhD_jwaBgyzxJRgA/s1600/Paul_La_Marque.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSkTPtZySoGG19b_A-DLu6XC-6TRvcrkYn8_Vv6i8mkvR4G6NkWy8ehBi1xsDW8DRefmBzM5X09yS5YgZBLkoTszfGNh6hFPKVS49_iEK86V0fSazHtpL2T2sWgANhD_jwaBgyzxJRgA/s400/Paul_La_Marque.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />You’ll hear the voice of Paul LaMarque, weekend manager of the Saint Margaret’s Hotel in London. As I recorded his jokes and stories, I sketched this pencil portrait, so it's a rare chance to have a sketch "talk."<br /><br />Mr. La Marque wrote in my sketchbook, describing himself: “Mentally a vacuum, physically a waste of skin, socially riff-raff, nevertheless ‘given from God.’”<br />------<br /><a href="http://soundcloud.com/james-gurney/britain-1985-part-2-paul-la-marque">If the player doesn't work, try the direct link to Soundcloud File</a><br />Scroll down for part 1. Tomorrow we’ll finish with part 3.

Britain Audio, Part 2: Paul LaMarque

The second installment of our 1985 audio tour of Great Britain begins with street sounds of London, after which we hear a boys’ choir practi...

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Christmas Donkeys

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIzZPavEbFoeB5XY1RrhzOfSivc_moavzXWvKachbFb9szTbCMpM3u2APRa1CuRq8ys5xpShvbyusGtEnCKCPr2SG6lgEqpsd1mlO0bzzIIbbIQOi9MZslLa2f-GJdqNUk97ixNZJGRI/s1600/Jim_Donkeys.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>We took a walk to the farm to see Joy, the donkey who was born exactly one year ago. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIzZPavEbFoeB5XY1RrhzOfSivc_moavzXWvKachbFb9szTbCMpM3u2APRa1CuRq8ys5xpShvbyusGtEnCKCPr2SG6lgEqpsd1mlO0bzzIIbbIQOi9MZslLa2f-GJdqNUk97ixNZJGRI/s1600/Jim_Donkeys.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdIzZPavEbFoeB5XY1RrhzOfSivc_moavzXWvKachbFb9szTbCMpM3u2APRa1CuRq8ys5xpShvbyusGtEnCKCPr2SG6lgEqpsd1mlO0bzzIIbbIQOi9MZslLa2f-GJdqNUk97ixNZJGRI/s400/Jim_Donkeys.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />That’s Joy, the dark brown one one behind on the left. Lenny was asked to care for eight other donkeys temporarily. He needs to find homes for them because their owner died unexpectedly.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nbvS7FkUQB-pwMJT_sEYPHdFdPdSJTvWChwz_0JChypQmSjniC3M7SdOsusgTYL0S-pwmVq1Be0Z-imnTknqRkoFI5IBqdbHbKm_BIl0J_9r-l-7w5IWZzIL5kRnboY6qq62OKwXwsM/s1600/Jim_Farmyard_12.25.10.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6nbvS7FkUQB-pwMJT_sEYPHdFdPdSJTvWChwz_0JChypQmSjniC3M7SdOsusgTYL0S-pwmVq1Be0Z-imnTknqRkoFI5IBqdbHbKm_BIl0J_9r-l-7w5IWZzIL5kRnboY6qq62OKwXwsM/s400/Jim_Farmyard_12.25.10.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />I don’t even know the name of this donkey, but she was very friendly, nibbling on my fingers (and the sketchbook) as I did her portrait. Handsome, the barn cat, curled up on my lap and swung his tail across the drawing.<br />-----<br />Previously on GJ:<br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2009/12/christmas-surprise.html">Christmas Surprise (birth of Joy)</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/01/joy-in-farmyard.html">Joy in the Farmyard (one week old)</a><br /><a href="http://gurneyjourney.blogspot.com/2010/07/donkey-portrait.html">Donkey Portrait (Peanut)</a>

Christmas Donkeys

We took a walk to the farm to see Joy, the donkey who was born exactly one year ago. That’s Joy, the dark brown one one behind on the left. ...

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Suitcase Santas

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1Y5XSdwb8pdAEtcA5CfPb5sLbFTVWdRUdcVQ3kwZosnOeSRFYV-74Y6mrqaByfhUfTpaB6vNStQSN2tk5IgXPx-O0RDEXGafkMbYygcTuZqG5TZ4ZR4fasY-jLrPVyTJqKI4DoaZYNE/s1600/Travelers.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Best wishes to all who are traveling today. Right now some of you are waiting in airports, driving on busy roads, or standing on train platforms. <br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1Y5XSdwb8pdAEtcA5CfPb5sLbFTVWdRUdcVQ3kwZosnOeSRFYV-74Y6mrqaByfhUfTpaB6vNStQSN2tk5IgXPx-O0RDEXGafkMbYygcTuZqG5TZ4ZR4fasY-jLrPVyTJqKI4DoaZYNE/s1600/Travelers.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1Y5XSdwb8pdAEtcA5CfPb5sLbFTVWdRUdcVQ3kwZosnOeSRFYV-74Y6mrqaByfhUfTpaB6vNStQSN2tk5IgXPx-O0RDEXGafkMbYygcTuZqG5TZ4ZR4fasY-jLrPVyTJqKI4DoaZYNE/s400/Travelers.sm.jpg" width="387" /></a><br />To all of you suitcase Santas, safe journeys, and may the season bring you closer to those you love.

Suitcase Santas

Best wishes to all who are traveling today. Right now some of you are waiting in airports, driving on busy roads, or standing on train platf...

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Youth and Age

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3kofjV3SIKrfj_bGbmYCo0GmT9AAZ_oYKH-oUykOxmdgUtnbM0nOD2mbz4Lnu6YalFH-e-Pv5PL1zUb9vOIzc4Oo-6rmsr4E7nClLwyX6BWba3RGqZJ3FY3aoMecjo7g1WuPKNPlmGV-/s1600/Baby_On_Bus.combo.sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>The bus ride from downtown Florence to the airport takes twenty minutes.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3kofjV3SIKrfj_bGbmYCo0GmT9AAZ_oYKH-oUykOxmdgUtnbM0nOD2mbz4Lnu6YalFH-e-Pv5PL1zUb9vOIzc4Oo-6rmsr4E7nClLwyX6BWba3RGqZJ3FY3aoMecjo7g1WuPKNPlmGV-/s1600/Baby_On_Bus.combo.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3kofjV3SIKrfj_bGbmYCo0GmT9AAZ_oYKH-oUykOxmdgUtnbM0nOD2mbz4Lnu6YalFH-e-Pv5PL1zUb9vOIzc4Oo-6rmsr4E7nClLwyX6BWba3RGqZJ3FY3aoMecjo7g1WuPKNPlmGV-/s400/Baby_On_Bus.combo.sm.jpg" width="400" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3kofjV3SIKrfj_bGbmYCo0GmT9AAZ_oYKH-oUykOxmdgUtnbM0nOD2mbz4Lnu6YalFH-e-Pv5PL1zUb9vOIzc4Oo-6rmsr4E7nClLwyX6BWba3RGqZJ3FY3aoMecjo7g1WuPKNPlmGV-/s1600/Baby_On_Bus.combo.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />Across from me, a mother tenderly holds her four-month-old baby girl. The baby rests on her mother’s shoulder. The little girl lifts her head from time to time, enjoying the feeling of balancing as the bus moves.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3kofjV3SIKrfj_bGbmYCo0GmT9AAZ_oYKH-oUykOxmdgUtnbM0nOD2mbz4Lnu6YalFH-e-Pv5PL1zUb9vOIzc4Oo-6rmsr4E7nClLwyX6BWba3RGqZJ3FY3aoMecjo7g1WuPKNPlmGV-/s1600/Baby_On_Bus.combo.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDvYuR8PvoyrAYOEJYF2DJixEPSGq9F8Y8eP4uYcP1WmHWqKXXIrD3MsbR22MhNbJ8lNS4T0oxmx_pOlZOwftiHGsgARe0jBTAsckcL6xwoEwtxyKuz9pTjS4-e7MCQtHSviGO6zjX33D/s1600/Youth_Age2.sm.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDvYuR8PvoyrAYOEJYF2DJixEPSGq9F8Y8eP4uYcP1WmHWqKXXIrD3MsbR22MhNbJ8lNS4T0oxmx_pOlZOwftiHGsgARe0jBTAsckcL6xwoEwtxyKuz9pTjS4-e7MCQtHSviGO6zjX33D/s320/Youth_Age2.sm.jpg" width="320" /></a> <br />A man stands on the bus, looking out a window. His eyes scan the traffic. He glances at the people around him and smiles at the baby. He has taken a long journey inside his skin and bones since his mother held him on her shoulder.

Youth and Age

The bus ride from downtown Florence to the airport takes twenty minutes. Across from me, a mother tenderly holds her four-month-old baby gir...

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Loomis Baby Heads

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRT8JD5Z3WMHSxlAJkZegLmlN7TBthCBFyEaQ15h9FEtuBL-k3lJnF6_VtLyHlELtxKxbtJqy4Rf7ID-i6AH70JYbtWUlkfNHEAbrnkCb4wAV2z-8tuJsqxJ2IUyM0tW4YDBZ1lDg3PWr/s1600/Babies_Loomis_FunwithPencil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>These drawings of baby heads by Andrew Loomis show the importance of careful construction, especially in foreshortened poses.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRT8JD5Z3WMHSxlAJkZegLmlN7TBthCBFyEaQ15h9FEtuBL-k3lJnF6_VtLyHlELtxKxbtJqy4Rf7ID-i6AH70JYbtWUlkfNHEAbrnkCb4wAV2z-8tuJsqxJ2IUyM0tW4YDBZ1lDg3PWr/s1600/Babies_Loomis_FunwithPencil.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXRT8JD5Z3WMHSxlAJkZegLmlN7TBthCBFyEaQ15h9FEtuBL-k3lJnF6_VtLyHlELtxKxbtJqy4Rf7ID-i6AH70JYbtWUlkfNHEAbrnkCb4wAV2z-8tuJsqxJ2IUyM0tW4YDBZ1lDg3PWr/s400/Babies_Loomis_FunwithPencil.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />When the head tips upward, downward, or to the side, those center lines and equator lines really help to place the smaller forms in their proper relationship.<br /><br />Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! <br /><br />From <a href="http://www.alexhays.com/loomis/Andrew%20Loomis%20-%20Fun%20WIth%20a%20Pencil.pdf">“Fun with a Pencil,”</a> by Andrew Loomis.

Loomis Baby Heads

These drawings of baby heads by Andrew Loomis show the importance of careful construction, especially in foreshortened poses. When the head ...

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