Critters on Bikes - Tyrannosaurus on a Fat Bike

 Wasn't going to let DINOVEMBER slide on by without drawing ONE dinosaur on a bicycle...

Tyrannosaurus on a Fat Bike - 35cmx28cm (14"x11") - ink on paper

Critters on Bikes - Tim the Turtle Races Cyclocross

 True story - I used to race cyclocross... 

Well... 

It wasn't so much "race" as it was "show up at races and ride around the course being passed by everyone"... 

but, y'know, it was a thing I did... 

Tim the Turtle Races Cylclocross

Critters on Bikes - Kath Redux

 Kath liked the original (done in my sketchbook) so much, she asked if I could do another for her. So I did. 

Kath the Cat Hauls Her Kitties Around in a Babboe City Cargo Bike!

35.5x28cm (14x11) - Ink on Paper

Sketching - Finnegan Watching Art History Lecture

Considering the INSANE amount of drawing I did through October, I feel like I've totally slacked off... dropped the ball... just... haven't been drawing so much...

I HAD planned to continue the two drawing challenges I was working on in October right through this month (and maybe part of December) to fill both the sketchbooks I was working in.  

But that just hasn't happened. 

And I'm feeling like a bit of a lazy slug for it... 

I did do a little doodle last week, though... 

This is a quick sketch of Finnegan I did while he was watching one of his Art History lectures. 

I took the equivalent survey of Art History almost 30 years ago!? Because he watches the lectures at home, I've sat in on a few. This one that Finnegan is taking is SO GOOD. Art History has come a long way. I mean, from the get go - my prof had, with a great deal of certainty, explained the Venus of Willendorf was a fertility symbol... and I remember sitting in class thinking "how do they KNOW that, FOR SURE!?" In this class, the prof flat out said, "WE DON'T KNOW what the WOMAN of Willendorf was for!" and that just set the tone for the entire class. 

The funny things is, I'm pretty sure the prof is a guy I remember seeing around everywhere, all the time, but never actually met. Like, I'm certain I saw him at EVERY show I ever saw at Louis or Amigos. And back in 1993, there was, like, four or five of us that were riding bikes to campus in the winter. When I showed up on campus I could look around and say "oh, there's Neil's bike... and there's Mike's bike... and there's THAT OTHER GUY's bike..." and I'm pretty sure this prof IS that other guy... 

Oh and friends of mine used to play D&D with him...  

Small world, huh...? 

40(+) Days of 40K - Chaplain

 

Chaplain of the Tangermarines Space Marine Chapter. 

40(+) days of 40K - Khorne Berserker

 

Khorne Berserker of the World Eaters Chaos Space Marine Legion. 

40(+) Days of 40K - Primaris Eliminator

Going back and filling in some of the prompts I missed. Day 29 was "Primaris", so I decided to do a Primaris Eliminator.

Primaris Eliminator of the Tangermarines Space Marine Chapter. 

Virtual Studio - Thursday Portrait Challenges

About a year ago, I joined Twitter again... I decided I would only follow artists and game nerds and turn off all retweets, and just not follow or engage with anyone political. It's been a much better experience. 

Not that I'm apolitical... it's... a long story... involving algorithms and mental health and the polarity and divisiveness of politics on the internet today... I just see no point in it on Twitter, because no one, EVER, read a tweet or a meme and said "huh, you know what, I never thought of it that way... I'm going to change my whole worldview..."

I digress... 

Very soon after rejoining, I discovered Virtual Studion (@studioteabreak - on twitter). They post a number of challenges each week; Mythical Mash-up Mondays, Shape Challenges on Tuesday and Wednesday, and a Portrait Challenge on Thursdays. I've participate in most of them at one point or another, but mostly the Thursday Portrait Challenges. 

Each Thursday they post a portrait and invite anyone make their own version, interpreting it in any way or style and share it on twitter. It has been really fun seeing all the different interpretations and styles and media used for these. 

I did a number of them... then got busy with other things and stopped... and am trying to get back to doing them again. 

Here are a few I've done...

This is the most recent - from TODAY - from the Portrait of a Hamal from Moush, painted by Simon Agopyan (1857 - 1921)

This was last week's - from the portrait of Theodora van Duvenvoorde, originally painted in oils on canvas in 1620 by Michiel van Mierevelt - all of my reproductions have been done in ink and/or watercolour in a watercolour sketchbook. 

The rest are going back to August or earlier... 

Old Woman, painted in oils on canvas by Ludovico Carracci in 1590 

I THINK this is the first thursday Portrait Challenge I participated in, back in March! It is based on the self-portrait, painted by Kohno Michisei in 1917 

14 April 2022 - Here is one where I had a little bit more fun with the interpretation... the painted posted was Portrait of a Young Woman with Puck the Dog, originally painted around 1879 by Thérèse Schwartze. When I first looked at it, THIS image of Lucy and Snoopy from Peanuts just popped into my head and I kind of knew I HAD to do it... 

12 May 2022 - From Two Sisters, orignally painted by Cornelis de Vos of Antwerp sometime between 1610−1615 

19 May 2022 - from "Portrait of a Man" (probably politician Robert de Masmines), originally painted in oils on panel by Robert Campin in the 1430s

31 May 2022 - After 'The Umbrella', originally painted in oils on canvas in 1883 by Marie Bashkirtseff

1 June 2022 - from the portrait of Emperor Maximilian I, originally painted by Bernhard Strigel sometime after 1508 

2 June 2022 - from the portrait of Ivan Morozov, originally painted by Valentin Serov in 1910

11 June 2022 - from the Portrait of a Lady in Red, painted in oils on panel by Jacopo Pontormo sometime between 1532–1535 

17 June 2022 - from the self portrait by María Izquierdo, painted in 1946 

23 June 2022 - From the portrait of Saint Rose of Lima, originally painted in oils on canvas by Carlo Dolci, sometime between 1586-1617

30 June 2022 - After ‘A Sudanese Man’, originally painted in oils on panel around 1886 by Rudolf Swoboda

7 July 2022 - From the portrait of Clara Serena Rubens, painted around 1616 in oils on panel by her father, Peter Paul Rubens

14 July 2022 - From the portrait of Margret Halseber of Basel, originally painted in oils on panel by William Key around 1808

22 July 2022 - From Mitsuuji with Mountain Roses, by Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni Ⅲ), mid-to-late 1830s 

29 July 2022 - From the Portrait of Eugenia Primavesi, originally painted in oil on canvas in 1913 by Gustav Klimt

Wow... there were a LOT of these!? Not sure why I never got around to sharing them, here, on the blog before now. I'll try to post them more regularly... 

To see more of the stuff I post on Twitter you can find me here:

twitter.com/timinsaskatoon

40(+) Days of 40K - Servo Skull

 Back to these, for the moment. 

I didn't do any "challenge drawings" the last two days. Kind of took a break. Back at it now, though. 

Servo-Skull

A Servo-Skull is a cybernatic floating drone made of electronics, machinery, anti-gravity field generators... and the skull and brain of a deceased citizen of the Imperium - so they may continue their duty to the Emperor even after their body has passed. 

Blind Contour Drawings

Finnegan's in university now and is taking a Drawing class, so, of course I'm totally interested in what he's doing!? (Also because all of his schooling, to date, has been homeschooling or online schooling, and... certain... neurodevelopmental challenges... I check in regularly to make sure he's understanding what's required of him) 

So far it's mostly been sketching in class and a portfolio of class work was submitted for midterm. The first part of the first major assignment was a Blind Contour drawing.... or at least that's what the descriptions sounded like... look at the subject... keep drawing implement moving across page as eye follows the contours of the subject... Don't worry about proportion... I feel like the written description said not to look at the work while drawing, but I can't remember now. 

He did this first part of the first assignment and I asked if I could see it... and it looked like an architectural drawing!? I said, "I think you misread that assignment, let's have a look at it again". We reread it, and I said, "that sounds like a blind contour drawing", thinking he'd understand those words, feeling CERTAIN that we'd done blind contour drawings at some point!? He had no idea what I meant and I felt like a failure as a homeschooling art dad... 

I suggested he try again... 

I suggested I could try a quick drawing to show him what I thought it meant. 

so this is what I drew. storage boxes and books in Finnegan's room.

I had a lot of fun doing this. It's been a while since I've done one. 

Maybe not THAT long, now that I think about it, I think I did some with Keiran (and maybe Amanda) back in February...? 

Then I helped him get set up with a better board to draw on in the kitchen (the previous drawing had been done on cardboard, and the texture of the cardboard was apparent)

And this is what he ended up with... which I thought was super cool... 

He took it in to class for a critique and the teachers thought it was pretty cool too! 

Feeling a little less of a failure as Art Dad.