100 Heads: Head #14

This is a copy of the drawing Head of a Woman by Correggio. 4B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #13

I was unhappy with Head #11, so I redrew it. In Head #11, the lower face (mouth and chin) was a little too far out, so I moved it in a hair. I think Head #13 looks much better. Portraiture is very exacting. 2B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

In the Realms of the Unreal

I recently saw In the Realms of the Unreal--The Mystery of Henry Darger, a documentary on the life and art of recluse Chicago artist Henry Darger (1892-1973). His art is considered to be outsider art, since he had no art training and worked completely outside of the art establishment.

Darger's life story is a sad one. When Henry is 4, his mother dies giving birth to his sister. Henry's father, who is both sick and poor, gives Henry's sister up for adoption, and Henry never knows his sister. Henry lives an impoverished but happy life with his father until the age of 8, when Henry's father becomes too sick to care for him any longer. Henry's father goes into a home for the poor, and Henry is put in an orphanage and later an asylum. When Henry is 16, he escapes from the asylum and makes his way back to his birthplace, Chicago, where he works as a janitor, lives in a single room, and avoids human contact for the rest of his life. He retires in 1963, and eventually dies in the same Chicago poor house as his father. After his death, his landlords discover in his room a 15,145 page manuscript called The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave Rebellion, along with several hundred drawings and watercolor paintings illustrating the story. Here are two of Darger's paintings.

Darger felt very protective of children (perhaps as a result of his own childhood), and his story centers on children and their battles. Strangely, in his paintings, naked little girls all have penises. One theory is that he was so socially isolated he did not know that females are anatomically different from males.

Darger was very poor, and could not afford expensive art supplies or training. He created art on phone book paper. He went through the Chicago garbage cans to find newspapers and magazines that could provide material for his art. If he like a picture he found, he would trace it or practice drawing it until he was satisfied. He apparently did not have strong drawing skills, but instead relied on tracing and collage to create his pictures. Composition and artistic vision seem to have been his strengths, not technical skills.

Darger never showed his art to anyone.

The documentary is informative, not sentimental, and shows some of Darger's artwork. It features interviews with people who knew Darger, which I found to be the strongest aspect of the documentary. The film animates some of Darger's artwork. I did not like the animation. I would prefer to see it as Darger produced it.

Overall, I found the documentary sad, because Darger's life seemed to be a sad one. The one thing that struck me, however, is how Darger devoted his life to creating art that no would ever see, and he did this despite the fact that he was very poor his entire life. This I find very inspirational. Here are the questions this documentary raises in my mind:

• What if I never showed my art to anyone? What if I did art for my own enjoyment or psychological well being only? How would that change my art? What if there were no Internet or blogs?
• What if I didn't depend on purchased items to create art? How would my art change?
• What if I didn't care what other people think?

I have not been able to find a reasonably priced book of Darger's artwork. Amazon says used copies of Henry Darger: In the Realms of the Unreal start at $495.00. The Dallas Public Library has this book, but it is for reference only, meaning it cannot leave the library.

100 Heads: Head #12

The live model failed to show up for my Saturday Oil Painting From Life class, so the instructor quickly changed gears and instead reviewed the standard proportions of the human head and demoed painting a portrait from imagination. We then had 2 hours to paint a head from imagination. You can see where I first painted in guide lines in a neutral color. I used 5 colors on a monochromatic scale: Titamium White with a little Cad Yellow, Titamium White with Cad Yellow and Golden Ochre, Golden Ochre, Terra Rosa, and Purple Lake. This is a fun exercise that helps solidify knowledge of the human head.

Oil Painting From Life Class: Final Painting

My Oil Painting from Life class ended on October 11th; this is my final painting. It was an 8 week class. We painted this pirate pose the last 3 weeks. I used a monochromatic color scheme, so I could focus on drawing and values.

Because I learned so much from this class, I am taking it again. This is the first art class I have repeated. Many adult art courses are as much about entertainment and relaxation as education. This is not a bad thing; it just doesn't match my goals. In contrast, the instructor in this class really helps students to improve their skills. Self-study has its limits; It is invaluable to have an instructor that constructively points out the shortcomings in your work. Also, painting from life forces you to think and paint quickly, which in itself improves skills.

100 Heads: Head #11

This drawing is another copy of a Julia Margaret Cameron photograph. The lower face (mouth and chin) is a little too far out. 3B and 6B pencils in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #10

This drawing is another copy of a Julia Margaret Cameron photograph. The head in profile is 7 parts high and 6 parts wide; you can see my construction lines in the drawing. 4B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #9

This is a copy of a drawing by Bernard Siegfried Albinus (1697-1770). Micron pen in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #8

I am now attempting 3/4 views. Using anatomical knowledge to construct a head is much easier and faster than uninformed observation (although in theory, careful observation with no anatomical knowledge should get the same results). 5B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #7

This drawing is a copy of a 1867 photograph called Jacques Blumenthal by Julia Margaret Cameron. 5B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #6

This is a copy of a drawing by Bernard Siegfried Albinus (1697-1770). Micron pen in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #5

I am studying the skull. I hope knowledge of the skull will improve my portraits. This is a copy of a skull from an anatomy book. Black and white charcoal on tinted Strathmore Charcoal paper.

100 Heads: Head #4

This drawing is a copy of a 1867 photograph called Woman with Lilies of the Valley by Julia Margaret Cameron. In this drawing, I emulate the drawing style John Singer Sargent used in Mme. Pierre Gautreau.

3B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #3

This is a copy of the John Singer Sargent drawing Mme. Pierre Gautreau (1883). Another 19th century female with no first name of her own.

Sargent's drawing is so beautifully simple. He captures the profile in a few simple strokes. The face is the most defined part of the drawing; the ear and hair are but a few scribbles. How many heads did Sargent draw before he was able to produce such a beautiful portrait with just a few strokes? He makes it look easy, but it isn't.

3B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #2

This drawing is a copy of a 1867 photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron. The woman in the photograph is Mrs. Herbert Duckworth. Didn't Mrs. Duckworth have a first name of her own?

I am memorizing and practicing profile proportions. The distance from the back of the eye to the back of the ear equals the distance from the eye to the chin. The back of the neck meets the skull on a horizontal line between month and nose. I want to do so many portraits that these rules become second nature to me.

3B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.

100 Heads: Head #1

I am starting a new project: 100 heads in 100 days. Right now, I am studying the basics of portraiture: Where are the features positioned on the face? The eyes are half way down (or up), there is one eye distance between the eyes, and so on. I plan to use a variety of media in this project.

This drawing is a copy of a photograph by Julia Margaret Cameron (not The Artist's Way's Julia Cameron). Julia Margaret Cameron lived in the 1800's, in India and Britain. She is known for her beautiful portraits. You can see a selection of her work here.

3B pencil in my Strathmore 400 Series Sketchbook.