nintendo DS sketchbook

Waiting for the market response to the Ipad (specifically new developments in stylus compatibility).
In the meantime, i heard about some artists hijacking the nintendoDS as a crappy tablet pc substitute, and it works. I can now make full colour-studies in under 4 minutes standing on the platform waiting for the train.
Here is some spam:

No pressure sensitivity, no undo, but huge novelty value. Introducing: my cup of tea that went cold, my long-suffering brother, some other nonsense, inside the Perth Artifactory, Leederville train station at night (in under 3 minutes) and a plushy frog that i dissected/reassembled.

The following week: the honeymoon was over and the absence of pressure sensitivity started getting to me. Fancy tools do not make you a better artist. However, i'm getting faster at composing my tones, and the lack of an undo function is good discipline. 

Above are a few more train stations, a hilarious collaboration (the squiggly one is a snippet) and some special requests.

After a few weeks i got over the lack of pressure sensitivity and started to have some fun.

More train stations! (including an icy sunrise), some robofun, a nebuliser in a kitchen sink.. and a persistent aquatic theme.. Most of these took less than 10 minutes.

People-watching and RSI

The WA Museum is becoming a favourite haunt for those times when I get the itch to sink my teeth (pencils) into some complicated subjects. >>Simon Boxer was my sketch-buddy for two consecutive mornings. After putting up some work for the Laneway Art & Lattes exhibition (part of the >>Eat Drink Perth festival) we plonked ourselves outside the state gallery for some old-fashioned people-watching.

The next day we got up bright and not-so-early for some more serious practice at the museum. I tend to forget what my muscles are doing while I’m concentrating on a piece (for way too long) and almost killed my shoulder drawing mr Antelope with its fiendishly complex shiny black horns. I left Simon at the Dinosaurs Alive exhibit and he rocked on into the afternoon with another friend.

After all that I still haven’t made it past the bison.

Museum Again!

School has resumed and the museum is back to its eerie old self again. I could easily lose track of time in there if it wasn't for my drawing buddy's occasional huff of frustration.  This time we hit the skeletons straight away. It's usually a good idea to do some quick warm-up sketches first, but no, we both got bogged down in a half-hour marsupial marathon. Having not warmed up, i probably spent much longer than was necessary, but i'm pretty pleased with the result.

"Gah, can we do something with fur now??", came a very sensible suggestion. Sitting still on the floor, hunched over a sketchbook is hard work for you back - remember to move around, kiddies! 

My friend, who is just getting back into drawing, found the 2hr session simultaneously relaxing, meditative, challenging and exhausting. It wrings your brain in much different (and subtle) ways to what is required in day-to-day exchanges and problems.

She watched over my shoulder as i drew this last one, so i felt pressured to set a good example and not be lazy with my looking and judging and shape-relationships. Subsequently, mr monkey has very nice proportions.. but i used a HB pacer or something, which is great for skeletons, but the tone/texture didn't turn out as nice as it could've.

In the end, we still didn't make it past the buffalo. Next time, i'm going to see what's around the corner.
Also, i'm quite sure there was a small child who kept substituting the word 'dinosaur' as a desriptor for 'skeleton'. Awesome.

Another bit of serendipity: On the way to the museum, met an old artist with a lot of opinions about a lot of things. I sat and talked with him and another artist for a bit; he was surprised to find a student so into drawing in an academic environment where the war between concept and craft rages on. I actually find the debate extremely helpful and stimulating as long as i can observe it at arms length, taking everything with a pinch of salt and forming my own philosophies that can withstand arguments from either direction. Art for me is no longer something to be learned, but a platform from which to learn about the world.

Stuffed Animals

Another drawing expedition with another friend!  This time we partied at the WA Museum, which is FREE.  I must say it was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon: good company, good pencils and dozens of small children running around the biggest still life setup you could ask for.

I remember museums being eerie, muffled spaces with static animals watching you from every corner. It took so long for me to get back there and over-write those impressions.  The lighting is dim and the walls are sound-proofed; once you enter the space, your senses take time to adjust from the bright, echoing foyer. I found this affected my drawing; I wanted to spend longer on each drawing, relaxing into a rhythm, just drawing for the sake of feeling the pencil against the paper. I used a H conte pencil.. took a while to warm up and find what kind of marks it was good for, but perseverance is rewarding.

Drawing at public displays is extremely good for developing your concentration. People are watching you and you have to ignore them to a large extent. As you learn to acknowledge and engage your audience in a relaxed manner, you really appreciate how encouraging it is for people to watch you developing a skill that is becoming less and less common. I love it when kids tell me how they draw all the time, and when parents say "see, keep practicing and you'll be that good." People need more ways to express themselves, the more languages you feel comfortable with, the better.

Dinosaurs Alive

Went to visit the touring Dinosaurs Alive exhibition at Perth Museum with >>Jeff, and some pencils!

Great practice if you're prone to stage fright: all the kids looking over your shoulder, critiquing your work, then running away screaming when the exhibit gets too lively. I highly recommend the show. Animatronics have come a long way since i was small and i'm very excited about the future of this branch of mainstream simulacra. Next 5yrs: motion tracking.. next 10yrs: realistic muscle flexion and dinosaurs chasing you around the museum.