Just TeeJay's Blog

The chalk drawing that I did (at the end of the last entry) was very popular on the interwebs and a few people asked me to put it on a shirt. I re-drew it to have a cleaner version to put online and added it to RedBubble.

Surprisingly (yes, there is some cynicism there) people actually bought some. I was impressed. That doesn’t happen very often. For all of the people that say “you should make prints” or “you should put that on a shirt”, very few of them actually purchase said items after they are made. Maybe it was just that nice of a design. Maybe it was just that people felt sorry for me because I have no income now (or for the foreseeable future) but whatever it was I really appreciated it and it made me smile inside.

The drawing.

and in the event that you would like one as well…. here is the link to the RedBubble with lettering and without lettering.

Took another go at Figure Drawing on the computer. This lovely lady is one of my favorite models from Steve’s and I am glad that I am able to keep in touch with her. I hope that when the world reopens that I will be able to paint/draw her from life again.

Another drawing prompt. “Snapchat Snapper”

Drawing prompt was something like “Dragonfly Warrior”. I think that perhaps this warrior is off duty.

Drawing Prompt “SeaShells”

Started another chalk drawing. It was brutal cold and really windy. This was as far as I could get before the cold got to me.

Another drawing prompt “Rabid Baby Ducks”. I am fully aware that these are more of a zombie sort of thing than a rabid sort of thing but I was not in the mood to render drool. Especially not foaming sort of drool.

another attempt at life drawing online

Drawing Prompt “Spring Cleaning”

Able to finish up the chalk bear.

Short online Figure Drawing session:

The first RedBubble Light Bulb arrived at the purchaser’s home (that I knew of anyhow).

Made another watercolor to use up the other half of the sheet of watercolor paper..

Then the reason that I had been practicing watercolor again. A painting that I have been wanting to make of my Aunt and Uncle’s dog (that I wanted to do for Christmas… at least Quarantine is helping me get caught up).

Helped a friend set up their zoom so that she can host her own figure drawing sessions. Did some quick drawings while we were trying out camera angles and lighting.

Another inspired by the prompt list. I had liked Spring Cleaning enough that I made a second drawing off of the same prompt.

Attended my first session of Dynamic Figure Drawing live online. Some hinks with working online, but this was an amazing model and I was super glad for the opportunity to draw her. Her Instagram is @legcrampsforcash

The timelapse video:

I had asked my sibling for suggestions on chalk drawing animals. They suggested a Badger “for HufflePuff”. The weather has NOT been good for chalking so I decided to draw the badger instead. Please do not report me. I think Disney owns that series now and it would not do me well to get anymore cease and desist orders. While the suggestion was made, I am not way representing this as a Hufflepuff badger…. only a well styled badger which happens to like the house colors. Think that is okay?

I had tried to sign up for an online Robert Liberace workshop. They got back to me (after I sent them money) and said that the workshop was full. My PayPal money got held in some sort of weird limbo. Then after the first class had happened they said that they got it figured out and I could still monitor the class. They would send me a video of the first class and I could draw along to that. Was able to draw the two short poses with him from the reference that he sent.

Then he spent the rest of the session working from another reference that I mistakenly thought he said that he hadn’t sent us. So I didn’t look for it. Instead I watched him work on the drawing. Then, wanting to do some figurative work I went and found a book that I had at the house with some vintage nudes and drew a fairy based on one of the photos.

then at some point after that I realized that he HAD sent us the reference that he worked from. Not wanting to be behind when we had our next class I drew that as well (in graphite).

It turned out that I did not need the drawing for the next class, but it was still good practice. I was able to follow directions and draw along with him during the next class.

That was as far as I made it during class. I was super grateful for having taken a workshop from David Kassan prior to this as I had learned some techniques with the charcoal pencils and this made working with the charcoal more tolerable. For the record, I still dislike working with charcoal. I mean, it looks great but I don’t like the feel at all. It is some sort of tactile thing. The pencils are better as I am at least not directly touching the charcoal, but I can guarantee it will never become my “go to” medium.

ick.

While the weather was still pretty bad and calling for rain at least every other day…. we did have one warm afternoon and I had to get out there and chalk something before the rain hit again.

You may also ask yourself what the difference it between the chalk and the charcoal and the answer is not much. I don’t like the chalk either. If things were normal now I would be wearing gloves when chalking and not touch the stuff… but I feel guilty wasting gloves when the world needs them for actual medical stuff and not so much for my weird hang ups.

The Unicorn made it about 2 hours before it started to rain.

Embrace the impermanence of life and art.

Nurse drawing – with Edgar’s help.

This one did make it to RedBubble: Nurse of No Man’s Land

Another online Figure Drawing session. Maybe the Yards? not sure.

Another drawing prompt. “Bunny in Disguise”

The weather remains gross. Too cold to do much outside and I haven’t been feeling well physically. Decided to try and make a really small chalk drawing so there would be something out there for the kids to find.

Drawing prompt “Fluffy Cloud Kittens”

Now I know I have lost track of the figure drawing sessions. This one was the Yards. The previous one must have been when the model did her own zoom one on Monday. Not like it matters. I don’t even know if anyone reads these besides me and Gretchen.

Hi Gretchen! Love you ❤

Drawing prompt: “Bass playing bass”. Like we needed more confirmation that English is an awful language to try and keep track of. One of those is pronounce bass and one is pronounced base.

Time for the Liberace class again. So went back into the full figure before class to make sure that I was as finished with it as I wanted to be.

and then what we worked on in class:

I actually really like this drawing. Its not an exact likeness…. but there is something about it that I really like. Since we haven’t needed to have the drawings more finished for the subsequent classes I don’t know if I will go back into it or not. I have no idea what I would do with it either way, but it is nice to be pleased with a piece every now and again.

I don’t know how to explain it but this one makes me feel like a “real” artist. I know that doesn’t make sense… but there it is. Maybe I should frame it.

Don’t take it too seriously. I also feel like an artist when I put on a super way too big shirt. I think that is because when I was in kindergarten we used to put someone’s dad’s button up white work shirts on backwards to paint. If I could find shirts that were big enough to do that I would still wear one like that at home when I was painting. Some remnant of the small self’s self confidence sneaks back in when I have on a really big shirt and I feel like I can do anything.

I like it.

The shirt and the drawing.

So feeling inspired by working in black and grey (and white) but still despising charcoal…. I decided to make some work on grey paper with more friendly media. The reference photo was taken by my sister Sarah. Trillium are my favorite flowers. I have some of these red ones in my back yard…. but it was easier to use Sarah’s photo.

I had started to get into (yet another) funk and didn’t want to make anything. I saw some photos posted on Facebook by a photographer named Rebecca Brooks. I wanted to paint one of the tree sparrow photos (her work is amazing. I tried to include a link but it doesn’t appear that she has a web presence off of facebook. If you are on facebook, I suggest you look her up.)

So I wrote to her to ask if I could use one of her photos as the basis for a painting and while waiting to hear from her I started a drawing.

After getting the go ahead. I made a painting the next day.

And then finished the drawing that night.

Monday night and Figure Drawing with Mia:

And then as a extra special bonus…. Mia modeled for Dynamic Figure Drawing on Tuesday and I got to draw her again 🙂

In working on my chalk drawings outside I receive a lot of positive feedback from neighbors and people going by. But one of the things that I have heard is people saying that they would never be able to draw that well. It makes me sad. I think that they are trying to compliment me, but I don’t want what I do to ever intimidate someone else into thinking that their work isn’t good enough or that they shouldn’t pursue it. I was trying to figure out how to demonstrate that when it occurred to me that I could take kids drawings and re-draw them big. Starting with some kids that I know and then opening it up for submissions from the neighbors so that some of the kids around here could come by and see their drawings big.

So here is my first collaborative effort based on a drawing that my Granddaughter Neala made.

While I was making the mermaid I explained what I was doing and why to a little person that came by. I offered to let them draw something for me to work from. The small person was very shy but their mom said that it would most likely be a robot.

It got me thinking that I haven’t drawn a robot in a long time.

Ended out my second month in Quarantine with another session online with Robert Liberace.

I did NOT like the paper that I chose for this one at all. I was disappointed as the reference photo was stunning. I felt like I was fighting the media too much to really get into the drawing. I did work on it beyond class time, but ultimately stopped at this point.

Made in through my second month in Quarantine.

I am doing mostly okay. I miss hugs. I now know a lot more about touch deprivation than I would like. If it weren’t for the kitties I would have totally lost it. But fortunately warm purring kitties can make everything okay. Carbs help too. Lots of tasty comfort food happening. Even got into banana splits which haven’t been a thing in my life for at least 20 years. Not sure why I decided I had a hankering for them but they have replaced cheese fries for the time being. Also I did put in an order for a gluten free carrot cake because why not?

Clients keep asking us when we are going to be able to open up again. At this writing I have no idea. Rumor has us at phase 4, but even if that is true no one has a time line for when that might be.

Like all of us, we just have to wait and see what tomorrow holds.

I hope that you and your loved ones are well.

Much love to you and maybe an uncomfortably long hug when we get to see each other in the real world.

~ by justteejay on May 18, 2020.

Posted in Art, Chalking, Digital Drawing, drawing, Figure Drawing, rochester, rochester, ny, TeeJay
Tags: art in quarantine, chalk drawing, drawing, dynamic figure drawing live, figure drawing, justteejay, life drawing, quarantine art, quarantine life, sidewalk art, teejay