The last of the New Mexico road trip posts. A journal spread/watercolor of the front of Mabel's house from a shady adirondack chair one hot afternoon - pencilled onsite and finished in the studio.
Mabel's front door...my comfort drawing in the midst of a week of stretching and experimentation with the pencil and looking and seeing in a different way.
An early morning retreat for drawing on the mighty Rio Grande while it was peaceful, quiet and cool. A little cross and it's reflection in the water. A watery memorial? Sun glinting.
Besides my little retreat to outline drawing (Mabel's door), I spent the week in Sas's Drawing as Discovery class really exploring other ways to draw.
Four exercises for seeing with a pencil...blind contour in the lower right hand corner...a quick gestural drawing of the same nest, apple and rock to it's left. A little more time for detail in the upper right hand corner. And finally a five minute drawing in the upper left. One pencil, looking for the both the volume and texture. Ditched the rock, added a horizon line.
A sunny morning in my solarium perch brought my trusty Faber-Castell pen to the creamy white page for a blind contour drawing of my bed.
And oh the figure drawing morning...difficult for me, not my favorite drawing activity. Looking for the volume and not the outline. Much easier when I switched it up and picked up a brush and some ink. With this drawing I finally felt like I was getting closer. Such a mystery.
Approached this BIG piece of blank paper as a fencer would. Black gesso, brush in hand. Begin. Make a mark. Respond. Draw. Obliterate. Draw again. Some white gesso fencing. Add some pencil marks. Moments and movement caught in time. Satisfying. Freeing.
I journaled along the way and as contemplation when I reached home base. The map of my summer rambles in the Land of Enchantment. Little photos and watercolors...
...detailed borders, ephemera and lists...
...black and white photos and haikus. A shelf of bones...
...and reflections on my visit to Georgia O'keefe's house in Abiquiu.
An altered postcard for Consuelo and a bit of a poem from Mary Oliver...
"A lifetime isn't long enough for the beauty of this world and the responsibilities of your life. Scatter your flowers over the graves, and walk away. Be good-natured and untidy in your exuberance. In the glare of your mind, be modest. And beholden to what is tactile and thrilling. Live with the beetle, and the wind."
from: The Leaf and The Cloud.
I always look forward to your postings about the drawing class with Sas in Taos. This did not disappoint!
I love NM, and these two posts made me realize I need to go there again...
Love, love, love your journal pages!
Posted by: Gwen Delmore | August 26, 2012 at 09:56 PM
always a treat to travel with you...I can SEE you sitting in the little covered area drawing in your journal.
Interesting to see the different drawing techniques, I've got myself a little book that walks me through similar exercises, so very enriching!
Posted by: Stephanie | August 28, 2012 at 04:17 PM