#oneweek100people2021 day3

 

#oneweek100people2021 56-61

Seeing the Buddhist Monks join the protests in Myanmar on tv in solidarity against the military, I was moved to sketch them. I learned the symbolism of the 3 finger salute - for democracy, freedom and solidarity  

#oneweek100people2021 49-52

The two girls looked quite comfortable sitting up in the nook of the branches of the huge tree and chatting away at the park :)  The lady with the dog sat long enough on the bench for me to complete the sketch. 

#oneweek100people2021 45-48

The park benches and dog play area was a great place to sketch - people linger and that gave me time to sketch them - or easily replace one incomplete figure with another :)  

#oneweek100people2021 53-55

The guy with the mustache drawn on the mask had to sketched - not often you can see such sights! I am trying different poses on figures trying to get lines and shapes - I think it’s been ok so far - have to keep reminding myself not every single sketch is going to be perfect :) 

Small Works at Charles Taylor Visual Arts Center

Central Park  acrylic on NYC-MTA card by Meera Rao 

Grand Central Station acrylic on NYC-MTA card by Meera Rao 

Central Park, Grand Central Station - both acrylics on New York Metro cards and Figure 2, watercolor on Yupo will be on exhibit at the Charles Taylor Visual Arts Center Small works Exhibition in Hampton,  December 10 2019 to January18, 2020.  Holland Wentz Etheridge is judging the show and a big thank you to her for selecting three of my art works. 

I continue to  use the expired MTA cards as canvases for tiny paintings.  This is my way of  bringing awareness and curtail environmental damage by upcycling the plastic cards that would otherwise end up in trash and landfill. Painting on tiny cards in acrylics is a daunting task and has pushed me out of my comfort zone but has been a very satisfying experience. These days I always leave some visual markers to draw attention to the card's previous life. 

I am aware that the MTA by the end of 2019 is planning to test the next generation fare-payment cards, phasing out these cards that have  expiration dates. That makes these NYC MTA paintings my special small contribution to environmental conservation. 

Figure 2 Watercolor on Yupo

I am happy to have this painting also included in the show ! Painting watercolor on the slick non-porous, acid-free, pH neutral  synthetic polypropylene  'paper' Yupo is always challenging and fun. It stretches my skills and challenges my creativity as I manipulate the paint that is not absorbed by the paper and sits on top of the surface. The surface calls for experimentation and fresh directions, building up nuances that are unique to Yupo. The translucency of the Yupo gave the Figure that particular aesthetic I was looking for. I think it helped tell the story yet keep her secret. 

If you are in Hampton do stop by and visit the Small Works Exhibit - you will find 450 wonderful art works by 140 artists :)  

#OneWeek100sketches2017

Day 1-sketches 1-7/100 by Meera Rao

I took up the challenge #Oneweek100sketches2017 organized by Marc Taro Holmes  who blogs as 'citizensketcher' and Liz Steel.  Sketches 1-32 were from my own photographs - photos that I wanted to paint and saw this as an opportunity to practice sketching before I attempted to paint them.  I could not go out and sketch people live because of lots of other things I was busy with.  These sketches were breaks I was taking from doing those other things - mostly unpacking and getting things in order after a long trip to India.  The sketching also was an opportunity for me to put my feet up and rest the slowly healing ankles from a bad fall back in October of last year!!! I also felt safe working in the privacy of my home while working on improving people sketching skills. 

Day 1-sketches 8-14/100 by Meera Rao

Day 2-sketches 15-23/100 by Meera Rao

These 9 sketches were of scenes that I had seen during my trips to India begging to be sketched! I encountered them during my daily errands and had not yet sketched them out.  

Day 2-sketches 24-32/100 by Meera Rao

Lots of people in India take public transportation --buses mainly and can be seen waiting at the bus-stand. Bus stops are like airports these days where passengers are mostly waiting, some people watching or chatting or on their digital devices :)  

Day 3-sketches 33-63/100 by Meera Rao

On this day, I received a poster in the mail from the UN Refugee agency. I was reminded of the devastation facing so many families around the world and the chances they take for a chance at safer, better life. This particular boat load had only men filled to capacity. I know for sure there are other boats filled with women and children making similar perilous journeys. Sketching them was emotionally draining making me wonder what it was like to be fleeing like that! And I stopped at 100 unable to sketch the rest of the people in the boat.

Day 4&5-sketches 64-100/100 by Meera Rao

Boat People 2-Page spread by Meera Rao

I only sketched using a #4B pencil.  I had planned on using watercolor but liked the sketches as they were. I did not time myself but did not spend more than 45 minutes at a time each day. My sketch book was 12x16" and the two page spread was 12x33" .  I am pleased with the sketches and felt sure of my lines and marks the more I drew.  I quickly learned less is more! My goal was to draw 100 people, draw without overthinking every line like I seem to do while I sketch people. I wanted to work on getting the proportions and perspectives correct, and draw people in all different angles, sitting, standing, walking, crawling, front, back and sides :) 

This was a challenge I really relished by the time I was done with 100 people! 

Figures in Color

Figure in watercolor on Yupo by Meera Rao

Figure in watercolor on YUPO by Meera Rao

For almost three weeks now I have been practicing drawing the human figure.  Painting on Yupo was perfect for practicing with watercolors since I could easily rectify any mistakes by wiping off! I drew with watercolor pencils for the top one and graphite pencil for the bottom one before picking up transparent watercolors and had fun with it. It has been very exciting and challenging.  

Last year I volunteered to be a model for a portrait painting demo at our watercolor society meeting.  The one thing I noticed was that the artist constantly looked at me --as much or more than looking down at the paper.  Her rapid fire glances, constant measuring and checking the angles was my takeaway from the session --since I couldn't see what she was drawing only how she was looking at the model! 

I came across this quote by Leonardo da Vinci : "Life is pretty simple: You do some stuff. Most fails. Some works. You do more of what works."  So off to more practice :) 

To Erase Or Not To Erase?

Randompose pen by Meera Rao

I have been sketching these poses from the App Random Pose  for a few days now spending a couple of hours or more working on one pose each day.  It feels good to flip my sketchbook and see a collection of these.  But just as I was getting confident about the end results of each day, my ego got a reality check -- I was erasing so hard couple of days ago that the paper tore! I remember reading in Bert Dodson's book 'Fail and exploit the failure.'  So yesterday  I made myself sketch with pen only being more mindful of each line I put down.  I have to say it didn't take hours to complete the pose! 

Random Pose Graphite by Meera Rao





Random Pose  Graphite by Meera Rao



Bert Dodson in his book Keys to Drawing with Imagination writes: " I'm a strong believer in a quality I call 'wobble,' the less-than-perfect execution of things crafted by hand"   So I am setting aside my hesitations about using the eraser. Why unnecessarily make things harder on myself. As it is the human figure is complicated enough. I will concern myself with observation and practice and more practice alternating pen and pencil in my daily sketching and build my skills and confidence.

Habit Forming

Sketches from 'Random Pose'  5x7 graphite by Meera Rao

This past week, I started to sketch atleast 30 secs early in the morning as I sipped my coffee instead of reading the paper or checking the e-mail. I want to be disciplined enough to sketch every morning - so I signed up at http://tinyhabits.com/ to participate in 3Tiny Habits. Dr. BJ Fogg from Stanford has created 'a way to tap the power of context and baby steps.'

I started the tiny habit last friday (even though official start date was to be on Monday this week.) So far I have enjoyed sketching everyday. I keep sketching for a little longer or go back and finish them later in the day but I really like the 30 second option :) Rather than try to think of what to sketch, I have been selecting poses from an App "Random Pose" in my phone.  I downloaded the app from the iTunes store more than a year or two ago but was apprehensive until now about using it. 

While it is not anywhere  close to drawing from life, I am getting practice in drawing the human figure on my own terms. The poses show major muscle groups and I am learning with every sketch.  So far I have not pushed to finish a figure in 30 secs but at the website http://www.posemaniacs.com/thirtysecond a timer can be started to practice gesture drawing.  May be in a few days :) -- right now I am getting familiar with the body shapes, proportions etc.. I hope to add colors and washes sometime soon. Do you have any practices to help you be disciplined about your daily sketching or painting?  

I have added a page to my blog for my Sketch Book project "A Day in the Life."  Now you can see the book from cover to cover in the right order! Please do check it out  and leave me your feed back :)