by Henk ter Heide on Monday May 4, 2009
I was planning to draw a preserving bottle, but after starring it down for a moment I decided that would be to complicated for right now.
So I thought I go for something easy like the television that is sitting about a meter from me on it’s cupboard. But that drawing turned out to be deceptively complicated.
Because I’m sitting only a meter away and part of the television towers above me the perspective plays strange tricks: I never noticed but the corner that is facing me seems almost twice as high as the corner that is facing away. Which looks very strange in the drawing.
The slots on the site of the television also behave strangely. The top one is on eye level so it seems straight although it isn’t. It’s curved just like the bottom one. The same is true for the ventilation slots.
I won’t even start about how strange the cupboard looks.
It’s strange feeling. Having a photographic memory I feel that I know how the different parts of the world connect to each other. But trying to draw them it’s almost as though having a photographic memory for shape is something of a disadvantage.
Wasn’t expecting that.
Television on cupboard
I was planning to draw a preserving bottle, but after starring it down for a moment I decided that would be to complicated for right now. So I thought I...
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by Henk ter Heide on Sunday May 3, 2009
It’s a strange feeling to sit and stare at a vacuum cleaner for a few minutes. But it is the best method to figure out how the lines run and what the relationship is between the different details of the vacuum cleaner.
Now I’m doing this I finally realizing why I’ve always had so much trouble drawing complicated pictures like this one. I have a tendency to imagine the world in three dimensions. I know, by heart, which lines are running towards me and which lines are running away from me.
But to draw them I have to learn to imagine them in two dimensions. Lines don’t run towards me or away from me but under a slight angle upwards or downwards to the left or right.
Half way through the drawing I realized that I had placed the vacuum cleaner to far away to get a good view on some of the details. Since it is not possible to move the vacuum cleaner without changing the angle and/or the perspective. I was forced to simplify the drawing somewhat. Which in the end turned out to be a good thing.
This type of vacuum cleaner has a lot of ornaments that don’t have anything to do with it’s purpose. It’s nice to look at but it doesn’t necessarily make the drawing better to understand.
Vacuum cleaner
It’s a strange feeling to sit and stare at a vacuum cleaner for a few minutes. But it is the best method to figure out how the lines run and...
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by Henk ter Heide on Friday May 1, 2009
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by Henk ter Heide on Wednesday April 29, 2009
Again a single line drawing of the same office chair as yesterday but in a different angle.
One thing I noticed while drawing, both yesterday and today, is that you hold your hand on top of the drawing while your drawing, making it almost impossible to get the perspective right.
But still this drawing is better then the one I did yesterday. Far from perfect but still far better then I had expected.
The main thing I found today is that looking at your subject is very important. It tends to get boring after a while. But still the best way to find out how the lines should run is by following them with your eyes. Imagining how the drawing will look when it’s finished.
Tomorrow I will do the chair the ordinary way.
Office chair
Again a single line drawing of the same office chair as yesterday but in a different angle. One thing I noticed while drawing, both yesterday and today, is that you...
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by Henk ter Heide on Tuesday April 28, 2009
As I wrote yesterday I tried my hand at some single line ink drawings.
The rules for single line drawings are very simple. You may double lines as often as need be, but you may never lift the pen of the paper.
If you do the drawing is finished.
So I did the first drawing yesterday. It’s of about the same setting as the color sketch I posted yesterday. Except that I also had put my sweater on the chair.
The drawing looks alright but of course being a pile of towels and a sweater gives such a jumble of lines that you can’t actually see what it’s supposed to be. So it would look alright.
The second drawing I did just now.
I won’t go into everything that is wrong about it but you can see that it’s supposed to be an office chair.
Which is a good things since I wasn’t expecting the drawing to be recognizable. And it wasn’t half as frightening as I expected it to be.
I’ll try some more tomorrow.
Single line drawing odds and ends on chair
Single line drawing office chair
As I wrote yesterday I tried my hand at some single line ink drawings. The rules for single line drawings are very simple. You may double lines as often as...
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by Henk ter Heide on Wednesday July 9, 2008
Pen and ink drawings by Pete Bromage and paintings by Nathaniel Fowles and Jon Conkey.
Drawings by Pete Bromage
Drawings of steam locomotives. Drawings of people at work. Drawings of people working the land. Landscapes and old churches. With the quality of these drawing I would have though that Pete Bromage would have his own website to sell his work.
But apparently he hasn’t.
The roundhouse by Pete Bromage
Nathaniel Fowles’ paintings
From his profile: “When I was eleven or so, I decided that I wanted to be an artist (it seemed like a good idea at the time).”
Going by the not very large set of paintings I’m assuming that Nathaniel Fowles never fulfilled his ambition. Still he paints quite nice pictures of a city that needs no introduction.
According to his profile his paintings depict fragments of stories. Which might explain why I felt that the paintings where trying to tell me something.
Themeworks
To grow people need challenges. Jon Conkey challenged himself to paint 365 oil painting in one year to practice his oil paintings skills. Themeworks is the result of that challenge.
The website consists of 332 little paintings of mostly landscapes. A few people and buildings but mostly lovely landscapes.
Although he has finished this project and moved on this site is still well worth a visit.
Pen and ink drawings by Pete Bromage and paintings by Nathaniel Fowles and Jon Conkey. Drawings by Pete Bromage Drawings of steam locomotives. Drawings of people at work. Drawings of...
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by Henk ter Heide on Wednesday June 18, 2008
Pen and ink drawings by Horrigboy, Exotic eggs by Cemedia and matte paintings by Dusso.
Pen and ink drawings by Horrigboy
I’ve always wonder what the art is of drawing with pen and ink. Do you need a very steady hand or the kind of nervous habit that keeps your hand moving all the time? At any rate it seems to me you need a lot of patience.
What ever it is Horrigboy has plenty of it. His pen and ink drawings are very good.
Nappies by Horrigboy
Exotic eggs
As far as I can make out this is some kind of trick. But still it looks very sweet.
Cemedia has a little set of exotic eggs. Although I think s/he uses some kind software to bend pictures. They are nice.
Dusso
Dusso is one of the artists whose art was used for Lucas movie Star Wars III Revenge of the Sith.
On his website you’ll find some of the matte paintings he did for that movie. Some matte paintings he did for other movies and personal work.
Pen and ink drawings by Horrigboy, Exotic eggs by Cemedia and matte paintings by Dusso. Pen and ink drawings by Horrigboy I’ve always wonder what the art is of drawing...
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by Henk ter Heide on Wednesday June 4, 2008
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by Henk ter Heide on Friday May 9, 2008
Describing the art work of Stephen Magsig (painting), Michael Pieczonka (painting) and Rod Buckle (drawing and painting).
Searching the Web for artsites I come across a fair amount of daily painters. Usually they are people with good paintings skills but not that much imagination. Almost all of them paint still lives of apple and pears.
But not the site Postcards from Detroit from Stephen Magsig.
Stephen lives and works in Detroit and fills his site with painted highlights of this city.
Although painted with oil his painting look almost as though they were drawn. With an eye for detail.
City Reflections by Stephen Magsig
Michael Pieczonka also paints with oil. His subject are both buildings and ships. His painting feel as the traditional oil paintings. Much attention for color and less for shape.
Rod Buckle draws and paints with ink and watercolor. His subject matter is diverse. Buildings, nature, old air planes and a few paintings of people at work.
Some of his drawings are sketches. Others are very nice watercolor paintings. Some with a great eye for detail, some with a lot of attention for color.
Describing the art work of Stephen Magsig (painting), Michael Pieczonka (painting) and Rod Buckle (drawing and painting). Searching the Web for artsites I come across a fair amount of daily...
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by Henk ter Heide on Wednesday February 27, 2008
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