Popcorn Line at Movie Theater

 

 

This afternoon I went to Bell Tower Movie Theater to see Argo. It was supposed to be a thriller but not so much as to make one hold his breath. The plot was a little too simplistic and characterization wasn't, to my mind, fully developed. It was a good serious movie, though. It won't make you feel regretable after you watch it. There was about 15 minutes before the show began and I happened to have my sketchbook with me, so I grabbed two quick drawings. One was done in the hall when a number of people stood in a line for their popcorn. The other I did inside the theater before the lights went out. A couple behind me diagonally on my right-hand side were eating popcorn. It was pretty dark but I managed to catch their images, I think.





Landscape: Owl Creek Boat Works Office, Alva, FL

This morning I went to Owl Creek Boat Works. They seemed to have good business. Not only did I see quite a number of boats which arrived there recently, but also see an unusual large number of boat owners there, either checking out the boats they docked there or getting ready to sail. Anyway, it was weekend. I loved the scene with a yacht jacked up right in front of their office and a SUV parked there. It worked perfectly there to break the rigid rectangle of the door frame. There was a rich variety of different geometric shapes in the picture. The soft green color of the building blended well with the boat and the SUV. I didn't have to do any changes.  A few employees of the boatyard looked at my painting and told me that it was a shame that Mr Butcher, the boatyard owner, wasn't in the office. Otherwise he would have liked it very much if he had seen it. I  hope you like it, too.



Subjective Composition

 

15-Minute Life Drawing

(Part of the Subjective Composition Requirement)

 

Subjective Composition (Unfinished)

 

Subjective Composition II

 

 

 

This is a two-week drawing class work called "Subjective Composition." The same model did two 15-minute poses first. Each student, based on his or her perspective and poses sketched on paper, drafted a number of thumbnail compositions and decided how one should goup the two poses in the same picture. While the model repeated the two poses by turns, students should form his/her own composition and fill in the details. We will continue the process and try to finish the drawing next week.

 

In the second-week session, instead of continuing my composition last week, I started a new one. I liked to play with the medium -- charcoal mixed with soft pastel. It is very expressive and fast. so for the new one,  I simply reversed the two poses to see how they looked differently. That's why I edited this old post instead of writing a new one.





Sketches in Acrylic: Zilda and Jackie

Zilda

Jackie

 

Yesterday I called Kirsten, the Manager of the Reflections Unit (Alzheimer) at Winkler Court Nursing Home, saying I was going there to paint today and that I also intended to do two portraits. So when I got there around 9:30 AM. Zilda had been chosen to pose for me first. Zilda was a very amiable lady. She didn't need a break even when I asked her. She was quiet and didn't smile much. I used about two hours including settling up and waiting for Zilda. She finally cracked a sweet smile when I showed her my completed portrait of her. In the middle of painting, Ellen, whom I painted before, recognized me and came to talk and distract me, but she was nice and I have learned to cope with this kind orf situations at Winkler.

 

I gave myself a lunch break since it was also the lunchtime for Winkler residents. When I came back from lunch, an interesting thing happened. I saw an elderly lady sitting in a wheelchair stuck right in the middle of the hall. As I was about to pass her, she suddenly asked me, "Could you push me that way?" I immediately came to realize that in their world anyone who could walk fast and straight must be a Winkler employee. What the heck. "Of course," I responded. Then she navigated me like a ship captain: "Make a right turn... yes...Slow down, please..." Following her directions, we arrived at her room at last. It was Room 303. Then she told me that I might leave.

 

My model in the afternoon was Jackie. Jackie was also quiet, but, unlike Zilda, she was unable to sit still. She seemed to be bothered by the Band-Aid on her hand. I would have been very happy if she could have sat straight for twenty seconds on end since she frequenly bowed down to fondle the bandage. I was proud of myself for handling a situation like that. Even the janitor noticed that, saying "You did this one really fast." In fact, they are both just sketches in acrylic. Hope you like them.





Colorful Umbrella

 

Late this morning, I decided to go to Fort Myers Beach, thinking the weather was so great. It was the first time in a year that I was on beach. Everything stayed the same except for the fact that it cost more to park there than a year ago. I remembered it was $6 for the whole day but I couldn't find this line any more on the meter. OK.

At first, I saw a group of old Germans sitting in the shade. To be cautious, I went over and asked them how much longer they were going to stay. I didn't want them to take off when I set up and got started. The answer was 20 minutes. Of course, I couldn't paint them. Then I noticed, not far from where I stood, a young couple were reading with their opened umbrella leaning on the sand. Chances are they would be stable if they kept reading. So I set up to paint them. I didn't go into details in the picture because I reminded myself that they might leave at any minute. I had to catch the images as quickly as possible. Fortunately, when they got out of their chairs and wrapped up their stuff, I was done with the picture. Hope you like it.



Louise' Kingdom

I use this title because "Kingdom" is the name of the fishing boat and Loiuise is the owner's name. Fortunately I finished painting the two boats before they sailed out of the dock.I think  digressed a little so it took a little longer than it should. Hope you like it.

 

Drawing: Bag Lady (Model Celeste Borah)

 

 

This is a drawing exeercise in class, for one session only. Celeste Borah, the instructor's wife, posed for us as an urban bag lady with a bottle of liquor in her hands. I felt comfortable with soft pastel. Hope you like it.