Saturday, July 25, 2015

Bruised Ego

It turns out if you google something mentioned in a blogspot, the google corporation gives it preference in searches. When I google the North Park Drawing Group, a mention I made of it here years ago with my drawing of model and friend to some, Sabrina, shows up above more pertinent info on the group. Well, the North Park Drawing Group has started an instagram. Our instagramistress did not take a picture of my drawing at the North Park Drawing Group today. Nor did she take one last time I was there, and did not post the one she took of my drawing when last she deigned to point her iphone at my paper. Now she is a swell kid, and I am sure she means nothing by it. But being the petty person that I am, I will post today's long pose from the North Park Drawing Group and let the google spiders do their thing.

I used black paper, a white chalk pencil, and a soupçon of colored pencil.
Then again, maybe I just suck.

Oh, another thing. I bought a collection Tales from the Crypt from Bud Plant and noticed that they invariably have 7 panels per page. Is that a requirement for Marty's self-publishing jam?

Tom and Ellis are making my head spin. Here is another one I did on black paper a while back. This was a shorter pose and I did not discover using a white charcoal pencil underneath the colored pencil (it won't work the other way around). The shadow across the belly is kind of compelling.

This is cover art I found on Movies Unlimited and is the way I'd like to paint women, except I keep forgetting to do it this way when I have a model and colored media.

12 comments:

Tom Moon said...

Beautiful Ben! Using the colored pencils on black has yielded a very ghostly, supernatural look to the figure. And that pinpoint pupil in the bulging eye enhances the overall creepiness. Kind of zombie-like. Intentional?

BDMontag said...

Thanks, but no. The eye is a scan cleanup issue. The working on black to pull the figure out, sort of like the supernatural deal you were talking about, is why I did this experiment. I think I did not leave enough black. Too much tortillon on the last 20 minutes.

MrGoodson2 said...

Nice figure study Ben. I wish I was going with you. Weird about not being included in the instagram postings. Are they maybe tool approach biased? Everyone else working charcoal on newsprint?

MrGoodson2 said...

It's got a nice scifi paperback kind of style. Especially thumbnail size. I'd like to trade Jack Gaughan careers. Jack Gaughan

BDMontag said...

I like that Jack Gaughan stuff a lot. Is his biography a happy one?
Is the tool approach bias a real thing? I thought I felt it with my pencil drawings when other folks were using charcoal or some sort of color. I just thought it was my own paranoia.

MrGoodson2 said...

Just potentially a case of bias. Gatekeeper wants the work of the group to look stylistically unified. I don't know. Just guessing. Saw a pictue of Gaughan as an old man hanging a gallery with his work. He looked happy.

Rickart said...

I think your drawings are honest, structurally sound, well composed and well-observed. Good work!

MrGoodson2 said...

Richard Powers was THE 1960s sci fi cover artist. Not as often figurative as Gaughan.

Figure drawing is do what ever you want time. Unless it's a course. Then you'll have to put up with someone coming along and drawing into your drawing.
Get some big sticks too. Make some bold gestural marks. Go nuts.

MrGoodson2 said...

I changed my mind. I want Richard Powers career.

The second figure is also cool. You should go totally Gerald McBoingBoing on a couple of pieces. UPA style. Link big body masses with triangular overlaps.

MrGoodson2 said...

I agree, you’re being dissed.

There is quite a variety there. If you're a constant presence, they should have a shot of your work.

Davis Chino said...

Ben, love the story. Look at it this way--maybe she's not taking pix of your work 'cuz she's trying to challenge you--hoping to provoke you into pushing yrself. She knows your talent is large, your limits high. Wants you to reach--and exceed--them!

That eyeball thing on the first one is kinda unnerving....I like the way you handle the pastel/pencil on black paper. Looks great!

p.s. I'm sure this post will blaze across the internet, but if you really want to flame them, add some hashtags to this post...something like #NorthParkDrawingGroup or #InstagramTyranny

BDMontag said...

I want to be passive aggressive.