SKETCH TO DRAWING

Sometimes I'll make a quick sketch from memory, then sometime later will return to the sketch as a reference for a drawing. In this instance the drawing was suppose to be a watercolour painting, but while fiddling with the preparatory sketch I got carried away and before I knew it the watercolour turned into a graphite drawing.

I quite like drawing. I suppose it's because it's monochromatic, and doesn't need a lot of thought. In this instance I used a #2B pencil and a paper stomp. The paper was a slightly off white watercolour paper that I, at one time, used for printmaking. 

Montreal River - Algoma.    Memory Pencil Sketch

Montreal River - Algoma     Memory Pencil Drawing  2021

 

TALENT HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH IT.

The other day I was told that I was blessed with God given talent. Sorry to disagree, but in my case and it was all about hard work. In fact, there are very few successful artists  that haven't worked very hard at learning how to draw and paint the hard way....by practice, then more practice, and even more practice. 

Take the painting below. I was middle aged, desperate to become an artist, and was starting out with abysmal drawing and painting skills. I thought to return to art school to learn how to paint and draw. Huge mistake. Art schools do not teach, they simply encourage by assigning problems. I should have known, I'd attended art school years before when still a teen. So, I left art school once again, and began to teach myself, not how to draw and paint, but to learn how to see. Seeing, interpreting what you see into shapes and lines that make sense is step one on the road to becoming an artist. I stress "becoming" because one never actually succeeds in becoming an artist. It's an ongoing, never ending process. It's not enough to fudge over what you see with shape and shadow, one must know, have an intimate knowledge of what you're attempting to portray. 

The painting below is a portrait of a birch tree that has seen better times. This painting evolved over a series of sittings. To teach myself how to draw and paint birch trees I trundled my equipment into the forest located near our home, and endured sitting amongst biting flies and mosquitoes, drew, then painted scrubbing out mistakes, until I was satisfied that the depiction was an accurate portrait of birch tree. In the process I learned how to draw and paint birch trees. I also learned a great deal about painting with watercolour.

Learning to see and interpret what you see into lines and shapes involved years of practice. Some attempt to shortcut the learning process with photographs, which negates the concept of art entirely. Art is all about personal interpretation. Canada's iconic Group of Seven Painters'  sketches are a good examples of not only the learning process, but personal interpretations of the Canadian landscape. Sometimes it's impossible to make a sketch on site, in which case a photograph may be necessary to capture a moment of inspiration. However, I do believe that the photograph should not be copied, and should be used to simply rekindle the inspiration back in the studio.

Art is all about hard work. There's no way around it. Mistakes are part of the learning process. We learn from our mistakes....and motor on.

Here are a few of my early landscape sketches......

The sketches above but a few of the hundreds that I've made over the years. They don't represent the true progression of my drawing skills, as believe it or not, I've actually become quite good at rendering landscape. If you've just landed on this site while doing a random search you may wish to view some additional postings. There's quite a bit of my wildlife pieces included as well. Should you be interested in reviewing some of my books, for which I should mention I receive no financial considerations, search Blurb.ca and then search books by Ernest Andrew Somers......

https://www.blurb.ca/b/9338316-the-road-less-travelled

NORTH FROM SUPERIOR

Once past Montreal Harbour on Hwy 17 one begins to experience Group Of Seven landscapes, endless forests and hills to challenge the very best hikers....and artists.

Algoma Landscape - Ink Sketch    2007

I believe that every landscape artist that passes this way is inspired, as were the members of the Group of Seven,  to try to capture the wildness and the solitude of this incredible northern landscape. I've tried on several occasions....and am looking forward to another attempt.

Montreal River - Algoma.  Pencil Sketch. 2021

From time to time I let my mind wander back to better days, days spent gazing with wonder at the northern wilderness, and I'm inspired to make a sketch.

Algoma - North From Superior.    Pencil Drawing

View From The Ridge - Watercolour field sketch.

After struggling on a rough, worn trail to the top of the ridge I found a comfortable rock on an overlook, and spent a couple of hours making several sketches.

Continuing along the ridge, near to the end of the hiking trail there was another lookout that offered a view of Old Woman Bay. As there was a comfortable rock nearby I had no choice but to once again sit and attempt a watercolour sketch.

Old Woman Bay - View from the ridge.  Watercolour Field Sketch

I believe that I've mentioned this in my postings on several occasions, sketching is much like keeping a personal diary. A sketch, viewed years later, brings back memories of a time well spent. I personally can look at one of my sketches and recall the the warmth of the sun on my face, the scent of the pines, and the call of a raven as it soared high up in the sky. I can no longer scramble to the top of a hill on a lonely hiking trail, but with the help of a sketch my spirit can.

OF HUMANITY

With the virus, global warming, and racism, dominating the headlines here in Canada, compounded by lockdown after lockdown.....and now the threat of variants, virus mutations a serious threat, it's having a negative affect on our thinking about life in general. I find that, with not being able to move about, my ability to make art has been muted, and my writing gets more and more negative.... 

OF HUMANITY

Humanity, 
a curse,
an abomination,
a blight upon the Earth.

Like maggots to a carcass

we feed upon the Earth,

consuming,

devouring ,

altering,

increasing our numbers

with ever increasing thirst.

There’ll come a day

of reckoning,

a certainty denied,

with lies,

deceit, and 

pride.

Ignoring towering waves, and

storm clouds on the horizon

humanity has set its sails,

oblivion is its course.

In our final moment,

clinging to the raft,

too late, and now 

humble, 

a shaking voice will ask, 

and wonder, 

why?

Crashing Wave - Lake Superior.   Pencil Sketch  2021

The other day while surfing, attempting to find something interesting to pass the time, I came across a documentary about the English artist, Maggie Hameling. Artists that might stumble upon my site, especially young artists, might want to check her out as her paintings and drawings are very remarkable, as well as inspiring Makes one wish that they were young again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDxvcx03c38

EVERYTHING HAS A STORY

 

 Everything has its story……

 

BOB'S STORY

The painting on the wall of our den,

a watercolour, 

purchased years ago,

a story…. with its own story.

There’s a name displayed,

Robert Patterson, and

a date when made, 

1989. 

Bob was our friend,

gone now,

not allowed to fade,

as many artists do.

No,

Bob,

although aging, 

and reclusive in his ways,

was not allowed to grow older,

be forgotten, and

...................simply fade away.

No, 

as it was,

perhaps,

supposed to be,

the Fates would have their day,

and hasten his going away.

Already suffering….

like Humpty Dumpty,

of nursery rhyme fame,

he had a fall,

broke his head, and

no amount of effort by….

“all the king's horses and all the king's men”,

…………..could put Bob back together again.

And so the story was supposed to end, but

Bob’s story lingers,

hidden,

in layers of pigment painted on paper,

a painting hanging on our wall, 

a story waiting to be told…..

A teacher, 

talent he shared, but 

bohemian by nature,

Bob shunned success,

solitude his quest, 

he fled north,

where his spirit soared.

He wandered the lakes, 

and the forests alone, 

made sketches…. then paintings, 

to share what he’d seen.

The painting,

the one on our wall,

a quiet scene,

a northern landscape,

spruce trees, an island, and

a single Common Loon,

a wilderness preserved,

Bob’s legacy shared,

a story now told.

This is not the painting  on our wall. It's a watercolour done from a sketch made somewhere in Lake Superior Provincial Park When I get around to it I'll photograph our painting, and download it for you to see. In the meantime this is one of Bob's watercolour paintings that I found in a news article on the World Wide Web. No doubt I'm not allowed to copy this photo, but seeing how this site is non commercial and we're posting it for the world to appreciate , I feel certain that no one should object. Bob spent hours layering dry-brush watercolour putting together a small collection that he would offer up for sale at the local Legion each year. He never really was properly paid for his effort. But then, that was Bob, beyond generous with his art and teaching.