Blue
29December 1, 2018 by petrujviljoen
Work in Progress
Copyright Petru J Viljoen
The artwork is unfinished
and so am I. I am undone.
petrujviljoen
art, writing, reading
Work in Progress
Copyright Petru J Viljoen
Available on Amazon
Available at Amazon.com
As the World Burns
Available at https://www.amazon.co.uk/As-World-Burns-Writers-Artists/dp/1951724046
petrujviljoen 
Painting. Can really bring you undone sometimes. Its looking good tho.
Thanks Suzanne. I’ll hop on over to your blog to see what you’ve been up to lately. I was off line for a week so want to catch up. Hope you’re much better after the pneumonia.
Oh, I like the idea of bird women. It makes me think of a photo of some unknown planet–lightning streaking over oceans. I think bird women live there.
We had a typical storm here the other day. The electricity was down for a day and a night – caused by lightning. It must’ve creeped in. And I’d love to live on a planet where bird women made a home!
This makes me think of an aerial picture of the ocean with islands or volcanoes, and in between are white wispy things that could be clouds or birdmen.
… or bird women! Nice interpretation.
They could be women, you’re right.
It’s a work in progress. I’ll see what happens to the painting. I try to let the painting decide what happens next without forcing my will on it.
Painting with your eyes closed is like writing with your eyes closed I imagine.
It can be done and sometimes it should be done! It’s one of the exercises they gave us at art college: to not look at the work surface while observing the object/model and drawing. Hones the observation skills and helps the eye-hand coordination.
Hand-eye coordination is one of the things they don’t bother with much these days. It’s far more important to know how to get a whole sheep into a bottle…
You talking about Damien Hirst?
Yup. I think it was David Hockney who said that the art schools had stopped teaching how to draw. Draughtsmanship was considered optional, not important. He very much disagrees.
It was the same at a local university. I did a two year stint and remember at the time not really holding a pencil in the hand at all. The first art college I went to had us drawing the whole year! It was all we did. I miss it. Just said the same thing to Claudia and Ann Isik, over at Poetic Walking into Art.
Three of my kids have looked into art courses and found that the most interesting part of the courses offered was the pre-inscription year of learning the basics that aren’t actually covered by the art schools any more. Once you get onto the degree course, it’s computer graphics, infography and the more sexy kinds of visual ‘art’. Straight drawing and painting isn’t taught any more.
I’m just having a discussion with Ann Isik – https://annisikarts.com/ about the same topic. That an art student has to be ‘directed’ or ‘formed’ to fit ‘Those In Power’ idea of what art is, is akin to being ostracized from society. I’ll never be able to leave my pencils ad paint brushes and I don’t care who says what. In South Africa painting and drawing is still very much accepted as high art – if there’s such a thing.
I’m afraid I feel about visual art as I do about poetry. If nobody understands a piece of work but its creator, what is it worth? I’ve just been over to Ann’s blog and read the post (and left a comment). Interesting. It even encouraged me to have a go at drawing without looking. I’m going to do this more often and suggest my arty kids give it a go. I love the idea behind it, though I wouldn’t describe it as love, more like empathy.
Concentrated observation I’d call it – one gets to know the subject one is working from really, really well!
I’ve done several ‘sketches ‘ of the same dead tree. I like this idea very much.
You showing us?
I don’t know how to. They’re just pencil sketches on white paper.
Take a photo? Scan it in if you have a scanner?
I just have a telephone that won’t take close ups and no scanner…
Okay. Oh well. Next time you’re rich get a little digital, they’re helpful.
Next time? I’m holding out for a first time 🙂
Ha-ha-ha!! The only way I managed was getting a tiny wee bit of an inheritance when my father passed away. Just some policies he hadn’t cashed in on yet, lucky me. So I got myself a laptop and a camera. Changed my life!
I’ve got the laptop. I justify that because one day I’m going to be a famous author 🙂
You are! You are! With the sale of the first book published then.
The sale of the first book might go towards paying some robber of a builder to put in a bathroom here.