Katharine Cartwright
Regarding Early Works
I was thinking about Katharine Cartwright's blog posting about Retrospectives. It's an interesting question: how do we feel about our early works? For me, the feelings are mixed. I am humbled by looking at early paintings. In spite of my best effort, sometimes the works look rough and awkward. And, sometimes I'm pleased. Even considering my lack of experience, I think that the work is worthwhile and stands up to scrutiny. There is something precious about paintings done before I realized what I didn't know about this world of painting and art. I can not go back to the state of before knowing. I have come to value the paintings as steps along a path that has not finished.
Here's one of my early works that is a personal favorite. It's a simple statement that seems complete to me. Flawed? Perhaps, but it was the best I could do then and I still like it.
Thank you.
DD9: MsKitty Visits Egg Cup
For today's "Daily Drawing", MsKitty visits an egg cup with broken eggs, (silent nod to Katharine Cartwright and her broken egg series called "Fragility"). I saw the egg cups in a drawer earlier this week and thought they'd be fun to visit. I was given this egg cup when I was in Norway. They're Norwegian Wood egg cups! MsKitty seems to be a bit defensive about her egg cup and broken eggs. Enjoy!
MsK & ToyPony in Blue DaisyLand
It’s mid December — what better time to visit Blue DaisyLand? What, never been there? MsKitty and ToyPony figured “if not now, then when?”* So off they went. Blue DaisyLand has a sort of zany, joyous feel about it. Gotta kick up the heels a bit.
You may think this is a glorified doodle; well, I suppose it is. That’s what’s fun! Do a little drawing from life, change, embellish, decorate, shake, add a story and there you are! Blue DaisyLand! Enjoy!
* Thank you, Katharine Cartwright; see her posting on The BEST Advice!
Posted in Cats, Katharine Cartwright, MsKitty's Story, Watercolors | 
Tags: MsKitty's Story, Watercolors | 
6 Comments »
Thank You: Art Every Day Month & 20 Min Challenge!
Thank You Art Every Day Month!
And, thank you Katharine Cartwright for posting my drawings to “Twenty Minute Challenge!“ I invite you to visit these wonderful sites!
Art Every Day Month:
It is fitting to end November with a MsKitty piece since I started the month with “MsKitty visits Still Life with Toy Pony”. This month I participated in “Art Every Day Month (AEDM)”, with Leah Piken Kollidas Hostess Extraordinaire! Leah is a wonderful hostess and artist. Her kitty series is delightful; she has a knack for catching the gesture and expression of cats. And, she does other exciting pieces, including blobs, female figures…well worth a visit to her blog.
The artist who participate in “Art Every Day Month” are a diverse group. The arts include sculpture, writing, collage, mixed media, altered books…etc! We’re all out there searching, creating, cheering each other along. It was a fun adventure. Thank you!
A word about Katharine Cartwright’s blog and the “Twenty Minute Challenge”: They’re special! Kathy’s blog discusses all sorts of interesting topics on painting, to include books and composition. The Twenty Minute Challenge has postings of twenty minute created pieces of art from a diversity of artists. The work is inspiring!
MsKitty’s Visit to the Lighthouse — D2
I wanted to build on the first version I did of MsKitty goes to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is inspired by our local Grays Harbor Lighthouse. The lighthouse is across the bay; I use a small replica ornament as model. The sea shell is stylized after the types I find on our beaches.
Some thoughts on design: I’m experimenting with repetition as a design element. I’m repeating linear shapes to link the elements of the composition. After seeing the first piece, I wanted a more variation in the violets, going from cool blue/purple to warmer violet/red. I like how the variations of color and shape size play with the feeling of depth.
These are fun little studies. The fun part is having each one generate more ideas. MsKitty’s quest continues, though at a slow pace! I’m adding the previous version of MsKitty at Lighthouse for comparison.
Blind Contour Drawing: Developing Critical Skills
Doing blind contour drawings is all about developing my ability to see as as a two dimensional artist. Training, exercising and improving my “seeing muscle” are personal goals that I’ve been working on. I think they’re critical to an artist embarking on a self-guided course of art instruction.
I’d like to refer you to Katharine Cartwright’s blog and her 4 November posting. She talks about three important steps. They involve mind, eye, hand. To paraphrase, the mind must know what to look for; the eye must know what to see, the hand must know what to draw. These critical skills are what I’m working on when I do blind contours drawings. Hmmm, this is more important than I thought, now that I think about it!
More about developing these three basic skills tomorrow.
Just a note: I did look at my paper to orient my mind, eyes and pen for the details. When the pen started moving, my eye stayed on the shoes. And, the subject is my husband’s shoes.
Posted in Blind Contour Drawing, Katharine Cartwright | Tags: Blind Contour Drawing, Drawing | 10 Comments »
