Comments on: Creative bravery

By: cynthia

cynthia — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 00:42:01 +0000

Peter, thanks for the compliment and yes, he does seem to morph expressions as you view him at different angles. I generally intend the Vignettes to be displayed at just below eye level, but so far–unless I supervise the display–everyone else puts them about 6-10 inches above, so that I’m looking up their nostrils. It’s taught me to make sure I get the underparts (nostrils, chin, underbrow, etc.) right, anyway.

By: Peter Cummings

Peter Cummings — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 22:07:58 +0000

I too find that first push the hardest. I can draw, swap colors around, change shapes, research books etc for ages, and avoid the shed like its dissappeared. Like Milly I trot around to other artists and galleries, but don’t talk about my current plans. Like visiting rele’s thay usually want to pull me away from anything out of the ordinary. I don’t believe photo realism will ever portray or produce emotion as much as an artists instinct. That face is wonderful and has a subtlety that means the expression will develop with the viewers attention, and change a lot with different light and angles of viewing.Will you display him at eye level? Art is scary OK but when you venture into such a human realm its very very scary. Remember Pygmalion and Galatea.
Peter.

By: cynthia

cynthia — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 18:39:55 +0000

“Sawbones,” for the non-US-grown, is old Wild West slang for “surgeon…”

I do get a lot from comparing versions with others, especially family because they’re generally pretty honest. My mother especially–we trade photos via e-mail and I’ll get a lot of “the nose is too broad at the base” kinda stuff from her.

In this particular case, as I said, the model has taken a very proprietary attitude toward this work and is doing his best to make sure it’s accurate…I’m sometimes tempted to give him a mustache, or maybe a third eye, just to see his reaction.

By: Milly Frances

Milly Frances — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:11:32 +0000

Sawbones Susan?!! Think I might need courage to meet you – let alone the fear of creating…
Trusting your instinct is HARD! I can happily potter about with tests, progressing with ideas etc, but when faced with beginning the actual piece, like I am now with two projects I’m working on, my nerve fails me and I keep avoiding my studio like the plague.
Are my designs any good? Does the glass process I’ve chosen express the essence of the original designs? Isn’t it all just tacky rubbish? Shouldn’t I get a job in Ikea?That’s the script I battle with at this point…
I find trotting along to other artists, trusted friends and my partner with handfuls of samples invaluable at this time; they can give a perspective that has sadly abandoned me – and help me gather the courage to move on to the next stage.
Good luck with your man Cynthia – he looks like he’s just found out Michael Phelps has chosen his discipline for 2012!

By: cynthia

cynthia — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 16:06:11 +0000

Absolutely! C’maaaan down (or up or over or whatever it is), make some extra time and we’ll do stuff. Got about three dozen restaurants that need trying, if nothing else…

By: Susan Menke

Susan Menke — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:53:37 +0000

Hey, Cynthia, greetings from Sawbones Susan! Nephew Chris’s wedding is Nov. 8 in Salem–want a visitor?

By: cynthia

cynthia — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:32:21 +0000

Thanks (although I’m looking at that photo now and thinking I need to fix that area under the left eye…). It’s of a colleague at work and both model and coworkers have been offering all kinds of suggestions (“you know, the bump on the end of my nose is a little bit bigger and rounder–just add a little more clay…”). On Friday the subject offered to come to the studio, bring his wife (“she knows how I look better than I”) and a bottle of wine so he could sit for hours with his hand on his head while I finished up. At least if this one doesn’t go anywhere I know I’ve got a ready taker!

I am finding that I prefer live models to photographs–much less estimating. I am a little concerned that this looks TOO much like the guy in question, too much like an illustration, but I’m having so much fun with it I don’t care. Yet.

The colors are bugging me. I’d originally planned for night colors, i.e., purples and dark blues, maybe a combination of lavender and skyish blue on the face itself. Now there’s too much tension in the face and hand for that kind of serene, monochrome palette. The face needs a shocking, complementary color that vibrates off the background. Probably stick with midnight colors in the background, but shoot for a hot, shadowed orange on the face and hand, something like that. This whole Vignettes series looks like graphic novels, anyway, so it’d fit right in.

But again–the color choice is another one of those bravery problems and as this guy is about 18 inches tall (something like 2.5x lifesize) this is a LOT of color. Be interesting to see if I chicken out at the last moment and go back to safe and creamy neutrals.

By: gary

gary — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:08:42 +0000

Geez… what a dork.

That sculpting goes FOR teh win. Proofread? Who needs to stinking proof raed?

GcB

By: gary

gary — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:06:08 +0000

Cynthia…

That sculpting goes the teh win. Scary good. What are you thinking of for the glass?

GcB