First Class with Karl Dempwolf

I had my first class with Karl Dempwolf this Saturday.  I have wanted to study with him for many years but couldn't quite figure it out.  We painted at King Gilette Ranch.  I was very clumbsy out there painting in the plein air with my fancy umbrella and easel.  I felt like I sort of forgot everything that I ever knew about painting.

My paintings were sort of a mush of nothing.  It was weird,  Karl would come over and correct the painting and he seemed to make more of a mush,  He was totally different than other landscape teachers I have had .  He walked around the whole class talking to people and helping them.  My last landscape painting teacher sort of just worked on his own painting sort of forgetting he was teaching anything.

I will post my paintings once they dry.  The are very wet right now.

I liked Karl as a teacher I think I can learn a lot from him. 

My first painting I had a real hard time getting any separation in foreground middle ground and background.  My second painting was more informational than painterly,  I had all the right amount of windows in my building and I had trees,  Karl told me I had a building and I had trees but I didn't have a painting.

I think I will study with him as much as I can.  I had gotten intimidated and afraid to paint.  But now I feel like I have to start somewhere and sometime.

Rick Morris Class

Feel pretty good about this drawing I did in Rick's Class last night.  He said I had a good block in.   My materials suck.  I am going to buy some materials today.  I always say I am going to but I don't.

It was the first time in there that I wasn't exhausted which is a huge plus.  Atleast I think it is a plus.  Sometimes in Bikram yoga they say how you feel before you go in the room doesn't really mean anything to how you will perform in the room.  I don't know if that is they same before drawing.  I have to experiment with that.  You can feel like utter shit before Bikram and then perform well in the room or you can feel great and have a shitty class.

Drawing I think it helps to feel good.  But I haven't drawn consistently enough to be totally sure.

I went to Bikram before I drew and I ate a Trader Joe's salad in my car before the class at 3 Kicks. I guess my goal for next class is to get some good materials and a nice tackle box like a never have had and put a more serious artist face on the whole thing.

Some how my Wolf pencils don't work well for Head Drawing with Rick the way they did with Glenn Orbik.  The generals work a lot better for Tonal Drawing.

Trying to Get My Art Life Together

I have been listening to these self help disc series called - Your Wish is Your Command.   I was really skeptical about the discs in the beginning but they are quite helpful.  I haven't been that productive lately and I have had a real malaise.  I give all my energy to my Set Decorator life.  I give all my energy to crappy TV shows and Telenovellas, low budget movies and TV movies and in the meantime I never get my graphic novel done and a never get as good at drawing and painting as I want.

I take classes at night which I go to exhausted from a 15 hour or more work day.  I am tired all night at class and when I finally get a second wind I get home and can't fall asleep.  It seems like such a diasterous way to live but it is how I have been living for a long time.

It surely isn't working for me but what I am going to do about it??  How am I going to change.  When will I follow my Bliss and give up decorating or atleast take a break from it and give my art a chance?

Will I ever do that or will I die not realizing any of my creative dreams with a least of crappy movies and TV shows under my name when you look me up on IMDB.

I need a mentor.  I need a guide to show me how to get out of this one world and into another.

I am sick of being wonderwoman running from work to class and always being exhausted.  I want to be creative and full of energy and life.  I don't want to be always asleep on the couch exhausted because I have tried to do much but not accomplished anything.

I have to get off the plantation of low budget filmmaking and start realizing my own artistic goals.  I have to give myself a chance.

The disc series Your Wish is Your Command - talks about your teachability index: your willingness to learn vs. Your willingness to Change.  What are you willing to give up in order to accomplish want you want. I have to ask myself I am willing to stop watching Laker Games in order to learn how to draw? Am I willing to give up making so much money so I can concentrate on being an artist?  I can't firmly say yes yet.  I am getting closer but I can't really give myself and emphatic yes.  But I am going to work on getting my teachability index up.  In my heart I know I will never be happy unless I devote myself to my art fulltime.  Now I have to decide if I want to be happy or if I get some kind of payoff from suffering.

Some Work March and April

These are some images I have drawn the last 2 months. I have had a hard time keeping up on my blog this spring.  I have been working way too much and have been generally unhappy. I think this is the first time in a long time that I have been so bad at keeping up my blog.  I hope I can get back on track.

I did this sketch last night in Rick Morris's Class at 3Kicks it is the last semester he is teaching.

 Did this last Thursday in Rick's Class. Left early and started a little later due to Rick's demo (which was great).

 I did this some time last month of Kwante in Rick's class.  Rick criticized me for making Kwante too juvenile.

 I don't remember much about this pose.  It is reading like a little bit of a mess.  I am not happy with it.

 I did this in Howard's workshop after not having drawn for a couple of weeks.  It is the drawing that convinced me I need to keep studying with Rick.

 I did this in the last class I went to the last semester of 3 Kicks so some time at the end of March.  This is one of my favorite drawings. She kept looking at me the week I decided to retake Rick's class. She reminded me how much I have grown under Rick's tutelage and that I needed to take advantage of him being around.

 I remember Rick criticizing this drawing for problems in the point of view and placement of features on the face.

 Tim likes this drawing a lot.  I did it of Maude at Howard's workshop. I think the features may be too close together and perhaps the head is too narrow.