Van Gogh's Drawings

Recently I found Vincent Van Gogh: The Drawings at the library. I looked at him last year and I remember others mentioning this book, but I didn't check it out. Now I've looked at it and must find a way to get myself a copy. It's an amazing book. Vincent's drawings are far more sophisticated than his paintings would lead you to believe they might be.

Lots to pour over...Above you see a quick copy of one of his figures, Man with a Hoe. I also particularly like Peasant Woman Gleaning.

Have a good weekend....

A Language Barrier

Yesterday I promised that study of the self-portrait...today I am failing to fulfill it. I did finish the study, but it doesn't flatter Vincent or me. My goal in doing it was to try and get an understanding of what he was going for.

You see, I read somewhere, about his self-portraits:

• that the anatomy is different in each one (intentionally I presume - because he was a draughtsman)
• this was due to his desire to represent himself differently to different people.

And more generally,

• he was trying to give an impression, rather than realism in his work
• his stroke work was intentional, he wanted that barrier between art and life.

OK, so I figured the green face was trying to tell me something. (The print I drew from had stronger greens and blues than this image.) So, try as I might, with each stroke, I racked my brain about what he was telling me. But, I confess, I just didn't get it. I don't know what he was trying to say, or how he was trying to represent himself.

So, I decided that was the end of my Van Gogh study. Then, as I was falling asleep last night, I thought about doing something with his color choices. In the end, I came up with this still-life (the image isn't cropped well-the blank at the top should be ignored :-). It has the deep blue, orange-red, and sage green that his portrait has. I didn't want it to have a polished/smooth blending feel to the pencil strokes(which it doesn't), but I couldn't find a way to "translate" his emotive brush into colored pencil. Looking at it, there isn't much Vincent there, but it was an attempt to honor someone that everyone else finds so alluring.

This still-life will be the end of my Van Gogh study for the month. I have some other things that I want to get underway before there is an artist to study for March!

A New Respect for Vincent

At the beginning of February I said that I took up this month's study of Van Gogh with reluctance. My "objection" is two-fold. For one, I hate that "tortured soul" aspect of his work. Secondly, while others praise his patterned stroke-work as emotive, I just see "this is all I can do with paint." So I quickly moved onto his drawings. (I was just trying to be honest, not arrogant. He was, after all, human and our society has made him into something else.)

My last post had a quick study of his "Landscape with a Church." Today I went for a fuller study, above is my effort. I must say I have a new respect for Vincent (this is how he would want me to refer to him, as I'm an American and don't pronounce his name as he wanted it pronounced.) Yes, his work is filled with "patterned" strokes that are not always successful - look at those twigs in his trees (I know that his drawing is not a finished work, but the same thing applies to some of his paintings.) But it is also filled with strokes that are successful, deceptively simple, and difficult to replicate.

As I worked on this I had all sorts of questions...

• what is his focal point? The church is in the center and the most detailed, but it's in the back.
• are the people important? I nearly missed them.
• is there a door on the church? Is that intentional? Wait, maybe it's open...well, no, I don't know what that is.
• did he just find bare trees interesting? Maybe they are not such metaphorical insights into his soul as we make them to be.
• why does this drawing appeal to me if I can't find a focal point or emotional emphasis?
• if I tried to just draw a building, with trees in front and a few random backsides, would it be nearly so successful and engaging - I know the answer to this one, NO.
  

I also found that my hand was trembling at the end of this short drawing. I've done pen and ink work before, that doesn't usually happen to me. So, I'm being honest again, there is more to Vincent's drawing skill than I before admitted. As well, I think his composition choice here is masterful.

So, I am thankful to the Fine Line Artists for their push in the Van Gogh direction. Be sure to check out Katherine Tyrrell's post about the project and her list of participants. They are all very talented artists with insightful blogs. I benefit greatly from their work and wisdom.

Falling...into a Snowy Lane

Just a quick post today, again, life is moving at a fast pace. Here is the waterfall to date. I hope to have it nearly completed after this afternoon. The second image is a 5 minute sketch from one of Van Gogh's drawings "Landscape with a Church". It is from 1883 - so an early work. As I search for something to do with this project for the month I am finding myself more drawn to his early works.

Things I like about this drawing of his:

• the church is done almost entirely with values and no outline
• the church also has surprising suggestion of detail to it
• the figures are quickly done and yet suggestive (something that he later strove for, according to a letter I saw quoted)
• his pen and ink work is well done

Where my project and this drawing may collide:

• I'm going with the bared tree look
• it seems he always has a "lane" going somewhere in his landscapes, so I gotta have one of those
• I may do a "translation" (as he called some of his own work) of this - so I'll have bared trees along a road, four figures with backs turned, a building in the middle of the background (i.e. all the same elements, in the same places) but somehow make them my own - so they may be people in modern dress, trees I see everyday, a building I am familiar with, etc.
• something I read said that he would look at a scene and then turn his back and do what he wanted with the impression that the look left on his mind - so I may go for that, the 5 minute sketch being my "look"

Those are my thoughts for now...no guarantees, it may all change. Off I go...