My Techniques - What Works for Me and What I continue to Learn

Hello fellow figure drawers and artists! I have decided to add another page to my blog concentrating on the techniques I've learned, what I enjoy (or avoid) and more detail with the processes I use to draw a live nude. This will be much different then my Featured Process which takes one particular project and I ramble about how it kicked my butt. I would love to hear from you, and would love to hear about your techniques, your favorite mediums, styles and tricks that work for you!

A Little More About Me

Part of what prompted this new page was an inquiry from New York artist Patience Brewster. Patience’s company, which produces handmade Christmas ornaments and works to support cancer research, has been encouraging artists, in the spirit of Artist Appreciation Month to answer a few questions about their artistic process. I’m kinda late, as August is Artist Appreciation Month…but why not! It’s certainly an honor to be asked, and I thank Patience for the interest and kind words about my work. Here are the questions posed, and my responses:

1. As a child, do you recall a significant moment when you felt truly affected or inspired by any particular artist or artwork?
Absolutely! M.C. Escher and Edward Hopper were the first two artists that I really felt pulled to. Escher's repeating themes, architectural details, and physically impossible applications of everyday forms were of constant fascination. I really tried to emulate him when I was thirteen or fourteen, and found that I enjoyed doing so :) Nighthawks by Edward Hopper resonated a deep and personal want to understand those around me. It is personal and intimate yet presents as cold and secluded. Everything is guarded, no one appears to be conversing. Yet we get to watch them, and they are, after all, together! Purchasing a print of Nighthawks in 1991 meant the world to me; it was and will always be on display in my home no matter where that might be!

2. As an artist, what do you hope to convey with your work?
I certainly hope to capture something of the spirit and individuality of the folks that I draw; everything down to how they were feeling that day. To convey that is something that I strive for every time I hit the studio and relish when I get some semblance of an emotion behind someone I'm drawing.

3. What memorable responses have you had to your work?
Ha! One of our models was very amused at the fact that his naked picture was on display for thousands to see at a show I participated in...his wife, eh, not knowing how to take that one!!!!

4.  What is your dream project?
Welp - I'm a very fortunate and busy Dad with two fantastic sons and a great career that takes care of us. My significant other, Jen, and her sons are everything I had hoped for in a partner and family. My family and friends are supportive and always there for me. I work with one of the most patient, compassionate, and tough bunch of co-workers imaginable; those that care-for and treat those suffering from mental illness. And I am certainly blessed with a love and fascination with charcoal (aka: art stuffs) ;) My dream project I am living, and I can't wait to see whats around the bend!!!! But my big dream project? Make enough of a profit to donate a considerable sum to the Shriners Children's Hospital here in Spokane - working on that one! Have to make this bidness all official like first...

5. What artists, of any medium, do you admire? (Famous or not!)
My home stomping grounds of Spokane, Washington, is really growing, art wise. I am very fortunate to know and work with several artists, and I continually meet great new ones constantly (when I'm able to hob-nob, that is)! Sarah Shears, Nikai Birchler, and Danny Caldwell are all close High School friends and fellow artists who I love and respect dearly. Kathe Kollwitz I greatly admire, along with Italian director Federico Fellini, and, well, a whole host of others!