Sunday Early Edition

This semester I got lucky and am sitting in on two art classes.
Okay, actually one art class, the other is welding tech., so that's not really art but it's what I did in part to get my degree so it's sort of like art.
Actually, I'm not really lucky for I don't get to do any of my own work, at least I don't think I'll be able to, I mostly just walk around and help out, dishing out my expertise and being an art critic.
More on that later.
The other class is drawing and painting.
First of all, drawing and painting is not what I do.
Oh I dabble, and do sketch book stuff, but it's not my area of focus and honestly, not my bag of tricks.
I mean you couldn't pay me to sit down and start drawing.
Okay, you could, but that doesn't mean any good will come from it.
I got the tools:



Yes, that's yet another tool box; if you are in art school long enough it's just something you tend to acquire.
I'll be going through that box to see if anything still works.
My drawing class was like ten years ago.
Did I mention I took a drawing class?
Part of the art core so non drawing folks take drawing and drawing folks take like 3D class.
So that us art folks are well rounded don't you know.
I considered it more like the art tariff, something you had to pay in order to get to the real goods, which were my upper division classes.
I did mostly basic stuff and learned all the terminology and nomenclature and lingo and secret passwords and all that.
Mostly it was this:



Now these are real documents from the Super Secret Flat Tire Archives(SSFTA).
Eyeballs Only.
So after drawing smiley faces and beer boxes, I realized that I was taking the class for a grade so I had to get serious.
Bottle and a glass:



We worked mostly in graphite(pencil) and charcoal, working on seeing changes in values, which is like going from light to dark.
Here's one I did using half a black and white magazine add:



The add is ripped in half and finished off in graphite.
The Secret Drawing Handshake.
I sort of like that one.
We also did some conte crayon, which is like a clay chalk:



Then we went back to values again.
I've read that in the olden days, like the Renaissance olden days, art students would sit around and just draw curtains all day long.
No seriously.
I guess it's because cloth, like in drapes, is a pretty difficult thing to get right.
So, some cloth draped over some boxes:



I never felt like I got a handle on that one.
There's some other stuff like a self portrait I did while killing a twelve pack of my favorite cold beverage and my "interpretation" of a Caravaggio.
Those are in the Super Super Secret Vault(SSSV).
I don't think I have the key.
I gotta say, all this drawing stuff was a pain, especially when there was more clay stuff to do, but once I got started, it got kind of interesting.
It changes the way you see things and all that good stuff.
So anyways, I was going through all this for in working with the kids, I realized just how much I had forgotten.
It also made me realize just how mediocre I am.
As a drawer person.
So in the interest of self improvement, I have decided to take up drawing.
Now drawing is not talent, anyone can learn to draw.
I mean I couldn't draw to save my life when I started, now at least I can beg for mercy.
If you know what I mean.
Drawing is like anything, you have to work at it and practice.
If you can sign your name, you can learn to draw.
The talent part is in the composition and training your eyeballs to see.
This of course, comes only after years and years of hard work and dedication in art school.
Ahem.
Anyways, a while back I purchased some drawing pens with the intention of doing some pen and ink stuff so I'll be working with that and I think charcoals.
Part of it is to go back and remember all the stuff I forgot so that when working with the kids at least I can sort of look like I know what I'm talking about.
So, my informal reeducation begins.
Stay tuned.
This should be fun.
Maybe.