Thursday, October 25, 2007

Pastel Figures



These two figures are drawings I did in Scott Noel's class in the last two weeks. Both are in pastel and done of Reeves BFK paper at 18 x 24 or maybe slightly larger, 22 x 30. These drawings were really a fight to get after the principles that Scott is going for and teaching in class; drawing form without drawing the value exactly as we see it, but in a more deliberate way to try and express the form more, almost like a statue, concentrating on plaanes, big changes in form. So you ignore things like local color etc. While I think I won some part of the battle I lost some too, so I am not that happy with them. But I can see an improvement. Hey, only 5000 more to go!

5 comments:

J Gilpin said...

Cool stuff Mike!

Definitely a departure from your look or style of a even a year ago, the bottom image is reminiscent of 1930's WPA art somehow...

Missed you at SPX! It was a different sort of con for sure! Enjoyed Bill Griffith's panel on creating 30 years of Zippy and the Center for Cartoon studies how to draw a comic page in 25 minutes (or spend $15k a year for a non-accredited associates degree. Spoke with several indie creators and even ran into Shawn Crystal who I met for the first time this June in Charlotte at Heroes con.

Best to you and Echo,

-Jonathan

Mike Manley said...

J, Yeah man, Friday night at the last moment I had to bail on the con due to work. I had a term paper due Tuesday and freelance burning away. I wish I could have gone, but the thing about cons is that there's always next year.
I don't have any free time till summer...Thanks about the work. Several people have remarked that the work looks really different, which is good.

Maybe we can hook up in Charolette next summer.

Echo Shi Volla said...

Good drawings!
:D

J Gilpin said...

Mike and Echo,
It's like an alternate corollary of the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times." only it's now: "May your days overflow with things you love." Sort of like a blessing of multitudes...always having to choose. Isn't free will grand!!

Hey, there's always chat and emails. Glad you are keeping up the journal of your "artistic journey of discovery". And I need to update my blog, come to think of it! Holly, an art teacher, always talks about process not product (if that helps any?).
PS: Thats 4,999 more to go by my count!

the nena thing said...

I really like the bottom figure the top feels more archaic in comparison to the bottom. She is a great image of planes and strong lines as an artist I feel this captures scotts wants much more so then others. Great job and keep working at it.