Starting a Large Drawing

This weekend, I will be beginning what is the largest drawing I've ever taken on. Not usually did I ever use the medium of pencil or graphite to do a finished piece of artwork. Maybe only twice to three times over the last 35+ years of drawing and painting. I did one of my daughter as a toddler, playing with an antique Fisher Price Farm set on an old wooden cereal crate my Grandparents gave me years ago. The second one I recall is a commission I completed. I expect this drawing to take over a year to complete. It is 22x30 inches.

Originally I was going to do it on a tinted surface in charcoal and white pastel pencil but I would have needed to work much larger even to avoid the surface texture inhibiting my ability to get into fine detail so I changed to use graphite pencil. I need a sharp sharp soft pencil in many instances and charcoal is just to fragile and difficult to get to such a sharp point as well. My reference will be images I took of a friend's partner.

Unfortunately, I took these images Before I had the where with all to set my SLR on RAW so the images are only jpgs and at the time, not very easy to correct much in the way of contrast, sharpening, etc. to be able to see well enough to do a detailed painting like originally planned. I know better now, mainly with the help of my own partner who is much more knowledgeable in the areas of camera settings, working with images with digital software, etc. Not to mention my eyesight is not what it used to be. So, a drawing will be what I will be tackling. My original motivation for having taken these references images of my model, in the environment I did, was to complete a large finished painting that was destined for entrance into a prestigious Canadian portrait competition that runs every 2 years. I planned this back in 2010 but I did not get off the ground with it. This time I will. I look forward to it! The work will be challenging but I relish it. A while back I had wanted to try a silver point. On further research, I realized that the ground for silver point needs to be specifically prepared so since I don't want to be getting into that nonsense, having only one prepared surface available to me that comes from my partner, one he prepared years ago and never used, silver point for me would be a one off. Also, I relish dramatic lighting conditions and silver point does not lend itself to that. Darks have their limits in silver point. There are some deep darks behind my figure in the scene I have chosen so silver point is out as well.

Maintaining my artist side, working full time, as well as the expense of some of the materials, is not an easy pursuit. But just thinking about beginning an extensive project already is uplifting and positive! Nothing worthwhile comes easy. If one really loves something, a way will be found to pursue it in some capacity. Even if my piece does not end up selected, and truly I don't expect it to, mainly because it is pencil, I will still thoroughly enjoy doing it!

a warming up pencil portrait of my partner John - from life

The Guildwood Inn - Had No Idea!

Ok, it was news to me that the Guildwood Inn was long abandoned, and not recently either. I myself have never been there, open or closed. Never attended a function there, never set foot on the grounds, nothing. My boyfriend's daughter was the one from whom I learned it was a closed up place. I know that you had to have money to have your wedding there at the time it did exist, it was a "ritzy place". This made it seem even more impossible that it could have been abandoned.

It's actually quite something to walk around there. There are all kinds of huge salvaged sections of stone, pillars, walls, ornaments, from the early 20th century Toronto buildings. Lots of cliche shit for photographer's to take pics of lol! Much of it is quite fascinating. Structures in marble and stone from another time and space, dislodged from their original environment, from their long ago everyday presence, now surreal, wondrous and out of place seeming in their permanent home by the Bluffs. The surface texture alone on many of them is fascinating and gorgeous.

The sounds we heard as well were amazing. An owl was Definitely heard! As well, my favourite, the distant call of the Long Tailed Ducks out on the lake.

We hope to go there again in spring and summer.

Saving my Pennies for the Nikon DF

It will be a Long saving wait I'm sure. However, I feel it is worth it instead of replacing my down for the count D70 with basically what would just be a newer version of the same thing that in 5 yrs or so time will then need replacing again. I got 7 yrs out of my D70, with the majority of the images shot in the last 3 years so I cannot complain, I got lucky with it and it was a great camera.

However, I want to use my old Nikkor lenses on a digital SLR and though it was possible with the D70, you were basically winging it. With this, it seems like it will be better a possibility! I have 2 great old lenses that I bought used but are considered excellent still. One I bought specifically to shoot portrait painting reference. I want to be able to use them.

Another reason this camera would be a good investment is that it handles low light and high iso settings well, eliminating noise (grainy speckled dots of colour).

This is a camera I should not need to replace for a long long time. I am not the "gotta get the newest gadget" type anyway, I use what works for me, what does what I need and gives results I like, regardless of how old it is. I also have No use for video capability so as Ken Rockwell so aptly puts it in the review I link to below "good riddance" lol! That and bye bye to an auto flash - the way I love to shoot I have no use for that little tool either.

Ken Rockwell has quite a good resource of investigations and reviews on literally hundreds of different cameras, etc. I was introduced to his reviews by my boyfriend. The one for the Nikon DF is actually quite funny at times as well, though to some persons I can see it being taken as a bit harsh or offensive, even snobby lol! However, I feel it is good and worth the read. What draws me to this camera is that it is a camera for the artist/photographer and not just the technical concerned photographer.

The Review by Ken Rockwell

Happy New Year!!!

It's been a year full of exciting experiences as well as soul crushing experiences as well. Began in 2012, with an extreme family issue that continued throughout 2013, having devastating effects that may very well be permanent and may never be resolved. Just when we thought it cannot possibly get worse, we learned never to say that, because it can and it did :-(  Many have said to me, "you gotta write a book" however, no, that won't solve anything, would take the rest of my days, I don't really have the talent to make it great, and on top of it all could actually continue the destructive affects that the catalyst person had on my siblings Dad and I our whole lives and the destruction they left us and do more harm than good to anyone. Time will tell if people and circumstances will heal. Sadly, I suspect no but have to learn to live with that. Life is very short really.

My camera breaking was not a fun event either. It took away the ability to do something I enjoy - taking photos. I do use my boyfriend's but I miss my zoom lens.

Never have I been a superstitious person but I am glad to see a year with 13 in it gone.

Exciting events included moving to what will be a permanent till the end of life home. It isn't as gorgeous and enjoyable an area as where we lived near the lake and conservation areas in Whitby but we like it very much. Without my camera, I don't have the drive as much to visit those areas anyway as that was half the enjoyment. There are many areas near where we live that are gorgeous to visit, such as Rosetta McClain Gardens and the Bluffs. We will hopefully get to them more as time goes on. I plan to visit the bluffs, though really I was not a huge fan of them when I lived in Scarborough in the early 90s, being scared of the area really, but I want to search for fossils in the rocks in the spring and get some images of those with John's camera. We are also closer to The Leslie Spit which we love going to.

My kids come by often and they like our place. We also enjoy using the pool, hot tub and exercise room. We have yet to bring and watch a movie on the theatre movie screen that is available but we are planning to do that soon! Our place is easy for me to get to work and we no longer have to drive to the grocery store or any mall to shop. We are able to walk! So awesome.

There is so much to be thankful for in life and though huge and little challenges, some that must be accepted as impassable, some we are able control, will always present themselves, life can be exciting and beautiful if we work to make it so. So many have less tools than any one of us are equipped with.

Here is to 2014 - wow, 2014, it seems like 1980 was just a few years ago.