Well, the kids are coming from Chicago. William will be one year old! A lot of preparations are under way. Shopping has changed a little, since I was younger. William’s mom, Bethany came along with us… face-timing on Joy’s phone. They were going down the aisle, looking for the right kind of bottle. Beth kept telling her mom to, “back up,” or “let me see what’s on the next shelf.” Sheesh! It was tiring. I tried to convince Beth that it was time for William to drink out of a glass. I mean, he’s going to be one, after all… No dice. We were off to the sippy-cup aisle.
Well, they’re going to be here Friday. Sidra is really looking forward to seeing her cousins again and the American Girl store. I hope we get to do some more stop-action movies with her dolls. I’m the cameraman. I’d better get some rest before then.
Today’s study
In keeping with the theme of ‘resting’, I thought I’d sit down under my shade tree. That would be Arthur, my pet avocado tree… ‘Under’ is a little bit of an exaggeration. Make that, “I thought I’d sit down next to my pet tree.”
Under the Shade Tree
9″x12″ 140# Hot Pressed Watercolor Block
Comments about the study
The first thing I noticed is that my approach to drawing has changed since I have been studying the Paul Klee‘s instructional works. His idea of drawing as ‘taking a line for a walk’ is really staying with me. However, I may be using his credo in a different sense than he meant it. The lines I ‘walked’ today represented things: my foot, the clay pot, the shadow. Klee’s vision of taking a line for a walk, if I’m correct in my assessment, is based on the impulse of the artist who is causing the motion of the pencil. The idea from the artist’s head is supposed to be linked in some way to the artist’s hand, which in turn, makes it visible. That is, in fact another of Klee’s famous quotes, “Art does not reproduce the visible but rather, makes visible.”
Perhaps my idea of resting under my avocado tree would be a different sketch altogether of I just trust the linkage. The trouble is I don’t know how to do this. It’s frustrating.
Maybe Sidra can shed some light on this. I never asked her to take a line for a walk before. She is a very good artist and I’m looking forward to her approach. Stay tuned.
I think an artist friend told me that hands and feet are the hardest things to draw. I love this foot. You haven’t ducked it at all. It reminds me of a Gauguin foot. Enjoy the visit 🙂
Thank you, Liz. I got the right number of toes! No small feet, ha ha ha…
J
From the Healing Garden we have profited greatly from the progression of your watercolorings and linear walks. It is often difficult to see the fruits of our own work up close, because if I understand Paul Klee through you, we are part of the picture. So, Grasshopper, look for the Zen Ox Herding Drawings online. We think this frustration is a very good sign and you are right up against a whole bunch of visible representation of the invisible. Like today. There is everything in a shadow. In the lines of a shadow. Yes, Grasshopper, we are shy about our feet, too. You had to use someone’s foot. THGg
Here is a good wikicommons example of the 10 drawings. Notice the 500 years old brush work http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22Looking_for_the_Ox%22,_by_Tensh%C5%8D_Sh%C5%ABbun.jpg
Thank you for this, THGg. I wish I had better screen resolution – it is hard to see the brushwork on my computer. That is one of the problems with on-line books. I may be Luddite-ish in this way, but I prefer books, whose pages I can turn, and look at through a magnifying glass if necessary, to improve resolution.
Thank you for participating in the blog, THGg. I look forward to your comments and appreciate your kind words. There is a place for frustration, I agree. I hope that it isn’t a permanent condition.
best,
j
Jack, the Oxherding pictures are an ancient story about the ‘search’. Many artists, in many styles have created the ten oxherding pictures. Frustration is a natural product of an intense search. Supposedly, we grownups learn how to travel through this to our goal.
If I were an Art collector following your blog, I would say to myself, “He’s on to something with his hand gestures, but not yet.” When you graduated to Klee (it could have been anything – how to draw road maps), and intensely began examining ‘making visible what it is you have to express,’ you produced Arthur’s shadow on your foot.
I don’t know why. If I were an art collector, I would call that a ‘turning-point’ or ‘break-point’. I would say to mayself, “Know I am going to look more closely, because no he has really started to explore his ability to paint.” Like awakening from a coma, it is not easy to embrace life with everything we have.
The frustration is just high speed air turbulence where your lines are learning to become visible. Thank you for keeping an extraordinary record. THGg
Thank you THGg. There is a lot to be said (and a lot that has been said) about the search. I have been through this cycle many times, with other endeavors and it never ceases to be disquieting. I experience a lot of discomfort when I’m creating in a style, medium or mode with which I have no experience. I am most uncomfortable when my experiment doesn’t look like a copy of anything AND it doesn’t speak to me. I have learned over the years, to work through this feeling and come out the other side. Often, it doesn’t seem like this is possible, but I usually come up with one resolution or another.
Thank you again for your appreciation of my efforts. It makes a difference to me.
Best,
Jack