Nude Live @ arthouse

life drawing nude @ arthouse, originally uploaded by deepwarren.

Back to the life drawing spiel after a few years(!?) of not doing any drawing. Well, not 'real' drawing. Like from life. Nude life that is. It's a very relaxed class, with no tutors and 2 models on 2 separate podiums. We had one boy and a girl. Naturally we choose the girl.

the spectacle of advertising

the spectacle of advertising, originally uploaded by Lenbuster Syftningsfel.

Yep, we're so in love with the picture that it's going to kill us one quietly selfish day at a time. It's hard now to do anything without seeing it through a camera. And I'm an obsessive about it. I've done it for so long, that it feels normal.

And this anti-image is the ultimate image. How cool will people look walking past this big type. You want to see it double the size; big enough that the meaning of the words drop away.

Love. It's the craziest thing.

Brian is an infatuated man. I find it so hard to understand. Where is the fun in having someone not love you. Why would you chase that? 
http://courthouseconfessions.blogspot.com/2009/06/inner-inner-inner-inner-inner-beauty.html

How long can you play the denial card, or is the point to self-destruct before you  have to?

Hat, suit and tie

Hat, suit and tie, originally uploaded by deepwarren.

sketchy sketch that wasn't sketchy enough.

When in doubt, paint what you know

Oil on brown paper. Approx 50x70cm

I think he's listening to her heart. Or maybe just resting on her bosom. Boys I know are fond of singing a song of which the line 'everyone needs a bosom for a pillow' is about all they can remember. And it's a strange concept. You wonder somedays if you could just detach your boobs and pass them over and go about your business, leaving the boy at home sitting on the couch with the bosom.

He can reach out and grab it occasionally just to check it's still there. For cranky days, it would be a good solution.

This is a draft on brown paper. It's dressmakers paper and is great to scribble on as long as the paint stays nice and runny. Good from a scrambling paint sort of view. Not good for  anything with depth. And because it's not primed, you can just rub it back when you have finished or the paint is just all wrong. Found the paper in our rubbish room downstairs. Someone had decided that the world of dressmaking wasn't for them. Their lost, my gain.

Lady in coat

balcony pictures, originally uploaded by deepwarren.

She's coming along, although I think I prefer the dark gloomy vibe rather than the bright blue that's sneaking in from the top. At the moment I'm gettting into her feet. It's the yellow light behind them. I'm working on top of a cheap canvas I brought at Recycled Garabge (a re-use co-op) for $3. It seems a little rude to paint over another painting, but really that's the risk you take. Nobody ever has quite the respect you think they would.

I started working on this and realised that I own no big paintbrushes. It's handy to vary the size of yr stroke. Stops everything becoming a bit same-same.

So wandered off to the artstore and discovered that even the cheap arse big brush was 60 bucks. Well. Brought a much cheap, slightly smaller weird looking one to try out for $16. Seemed more sensible. Am considering new and exciting ways to justify buying expensive paintbrushes. The normal way would be to sell a bloody painting :)

Hats on heads, no hats on beds.

hats on tables, originally uploaded by deepwarren.

I've started painting a bit more in the last few weeks. More because I brought a couple of canvas pads off ebay and discovered I really them. Painting on paper, is quick, minimal mess (well, for me) and it dries fast.

Using a lot of darmar varnish/turps and medium (about 1/3 each mix), to get a nice smooth drawing line. Trying too. it's a bit hit and miss, and I'm still overworking everything like there's no tomorrow.

About 7 years ago (pretty much the last time i did any painting, aside from some half-hearted attempts) I did a series of people wearing hats, and it's weird that I've ended up at the same place. Maybe it's just not quite finished yet.

And I'm trying to get large strokes. I just want to paint a big fuckoff painting for the lounge. It's harder to paint something like this than smaller for me. I think it's almost you have to embrace the loud brushstroke. And maybe that means a bigger paintbrush. More mess, I think. But needed, somehow. I've started on a little bundle of an old lady in her coat and hat. It's only 50x70cm, but if i can actually resolve that space, then I can go larger. Somewhere she's gone from dark to gradually lightening up, but trying to go too high-key. But she is wearing the very practical world of a hat and coat, while somehow has the air of being rather old fashioned. Will post pix of the work in progress at the end of today.

Ugly paintings

yellow couple, originally uploaded by deepwarren.

I've started trying to loosen up my painting style. It's normally overworked and tight, and in an effort to defeat this I've been doing some sketches based on old black & white photographs.

The photographs are from an exhibition at the Police and Justice Museum, that showcased old mug shots of criminals from the 1920-1940's in Sydney, Australia.