Tuesday, July 16, 2013

3rd entry for July 10, 2013




These are three 10-minute studies, and the final one was around 15 minutes with some extra time after Amanda finished for background marks.
These are all done with a range of warm gray Copic markers. The top is on 18 x 24" Canson Recycled Sketch paper, and the lower three are on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Mixed Media paper.
I was liking the music better this week at the Art Bar. Walt was playing some Van Morrison that was nice, and some easier-going jazz. Towards the end though, a CD jazz sampler he was playing shifted over into more challenging stuff, and that got to be distracting. In particular, a 10-minute excerpt from the Ornette Coleman Double Quartet's Free Jazz was tough for me. When music plays, I tend to move in time to something in the music, and this composition is jumping in so many directions that I couldn't find one to latch onto. That I find slows me down as I have to focus on my moving in spite of the ambient sounds. Also,  I'm suspecting hearing loss in our host, as the volume kept creeping uncomfortably loud, which was grating as well. That was aided by some impromptu earplugs.
Don't get me wrong - the Ornette Coleman Double Quartet are virtuoso musicians, and they created a rich, complex carpet of rhythm and melody.  But I like my drawing music absent, familiar or more insipid, as then it is easier to incorporate or ignore.
Owing to a CD repeat, we ended up getting treated to the Free jazz excerpt twice. I was curious as to what I would have produced if I had surrendered myself to the music, but wasn't willing to relinquish my control on this particular evening. The staccato music was good for hair shading in the last one.
But one doesn't go to the Art bar session for a contemplative drawing space. One goes for beer, lively music and some drawing. It's good the city has the mix of different environments. And the drawers are nice. Every Wednesday night, 8 - 10 at the Gladstone hotel, open to all, $10.



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