Phlox and Spam

Last night I had a go with my new colored inks. What fun, what fun! I might really like paintbrushes after all. I started out doing my phlox blooms that were shaped like Hokusai's Great Wave - then decided that even though I saw it, most wouldn't ;-). So, in a corner, I came up with some scattered phlox blooms, as you see here.

On an unrelated note, I've had to turn on word verification for the comments. I'm sorry to have to add that step, but I am just getting hit with too many spam comments.

ukiyo-e project: A Modern Printmaker

Here's a link to a modern printmaker, David Bull, using traditional Japanese woodblock methods. There is a ton of information on his site, so I haven't managed to look at it all yet, but enjoy.

Several months ago when I looked at His Solitudes (intro page and page with prints)I was blown away.

Ingres' Advice to Degas

Fruitful, copyright Rose Welty

5in x 7in, colored pencil on pastelbord

This weekend I picked up History and Techniques of the Great Masters: Degas by Linda Bolton. It has an overview of Degas' life and then goes into detail on several of his paintings. In the overview the author mentions that Degas was fascinated with Ingres, "by the end of his life he owned some twenty paintings and ninety drawings by Ingres." They met once and Degas said that Ingres told him, "draw lines, young man, a great many lines."

It's not surprising then that Degas would also be so influenced by ukiyo-e. There is an early portrait of Degas' included in the book, it looks very much like an Ingres portrait.

The book also mentions Degas' working practice. Apparently he would draw and paint his subject numerous times until he had it memorized and then would work out his composition and do the final painting.

Drawing from memory has always intrigued me (I think because I am not all that good at seeing it in my head before I get it on paper). So, I think I'm going to try some experiments based on the line emphasis and careful study mentioned above.

Off I go to draw a great many lines!

The Importance of Line

As I mentioned yesterday, the flowing lines of kimonos in ukiyo-e are a point of fascination for me. In ukiyo-e there is no shadow, toning to create form, or traditional western 3D perspective. And yet, these prints are full of movement and do seem to create a world to look into.

The importance of line to artwork is echoed by Dow in his book on notan and composition: "A line-scheme underlies every notan composition, and a notan-scheme underlies every color composition." - page 67 Composition: Understanding Line, Notan and Color

Above you see another quick copy of a figure. In the Taschen book the editor makes the comment that the ukiyo-e figures are strange in that they are a bundle of flowing lines with a hand or foot stuck on the end, and yet they work. In some of them, there does appear to be a thought as to anatomy in the placement of the appendages. But most often, there is not a clear logic to the waves and folds of the clothing. The clothing seems to pay a passing attention to anatomy and then it just takes on a life of its own as the artists creates folds and waves pleasing to the eye.

In my mind, this is akin to Western art that suggests form but then moves on to stylistic concerns quickly. In my figurative work I have long sought to find the "magic formula" that tells me what is enough to make a convincing presence or posture. I'll let you know if I find it. These prints are an important step in that journey for me, I think. I'm planning on another exercise later in the week to help me continue with this idea.