AmishCommy's SB - update: 05/22 (Progress Report on various paintings)

**AmishCommy** · November 25th, 2006, 02:51 AM

Carlos - thankee

Listing - thanks. unfortunately the lighting in the places i draw sucks. and every time i try to make it interesting everyone else in the group starts bitching me out. But i do need to try a new pallet. You'll see a drastic change in my next update (toward the end of the weekend).

bhanu - i recommend you get some good paper and some nice, BIG (size 10, 16, 20) natural hair brushes and continue experimenting. when laying in color start with the lights and gradually progress to darker colors. Play around and see what the water and the colors do. it takes a lifetime to "master" watercolor. It's a real bitch.

David - you know of the ASL and Salamagundi already. I moderate the Jazz Sketch Sessions at the Society of Illustrators on Tuesdays and third Thursdays. And i head out to Haven Arts Gallery in the Bronx on other Thursdays (they have free figure drawing every Thursday). and then theres the Dr. Sketchy's in Brooklyn. I've never been to one, but i know Molly (who runs it) and she gets the same models we have at the SoI.

small Digi update. This is for the illustration i started in between round 1 and 2 of Last Man Standing. Snuck in a quick greyscale sketch at work and worked a little more at home throughout the week. It's still a WIP. eventually i'll blow it up and do it traditionally.

**Fellah.** · November 25th, 2006, 03:27 AM

amazing work here, dude! As always the watercolors are masterly done and i just love line drawings in the mini moleskine!

**bhanu** · November 25th, 2006, 03:31 AM

Hello AMish ji,
Cool wip , I bet it will look great when finished.
About the advice, I ahve been experimenting and i have the best watercolor paper I can get. But the brushes seem big , so that means I should start painting big too? I think so.
And like you said I have been experimenting too. I have done some random paintings too. Its fun I must say. I also approach the painting by first doing lighting then adding the darks. But its hard to get consistency , and I will put in a life time , cuz seriously I want to.
And I dont want to be a bugger , but can i ask you more questions about watercolors?
And also I have posted some watercolors in my new thread , it'd be great if you could drop by when you have the time and give some crits.
Thanks a lot for the help.

**AmishCommy** · November 25th, 2006, 05:23 PM

Simon - thanks buddy

bhanu - i like big brushes because they allow you to cover more territory. a good Kolinski or Red Sable brush has a nice point that will allow you to be delicate yet still be large enough to lay down big pools of water. I've looked at your thread. I'll stop by next week when i have a little more time and go in depth for you.

here's the stuff from this week.

Sunday i went out to Long Island again. Jeff made me use crazy colors to avoid what i'm used to using. These are chalk pastels except for the last one which is house paint and some poopy acrylics.

and back to my normal watercolor at the SoI:

5 min each

10 min

20 min

hp · November 25th, 2006, 05:54 PM

those are beautiful watercolors! i'm trying to get into them...

that trip with ds looked really fun, wish i was there ^^

*subscribing*

**tensai** · November 25th, 2006, 06:27 PM

i was just flipping through the watercolours again yesterday and thought you would probably do really good with opaque paints as well. i dig that house paint job up there - but the pastels are out of here man. sweet sweet stuff.

**Listing** · November 27th, 2006, 12:24 AM

Thanks for commenting. I really do need to work on that saturation which you've certainly got down. I've noticed in the last few posts that some of your high, bright colors are becoming almost excessive (for God's sake, don't become cutesy).

**bhanu** · November 27th, 2006, 01:38 AM

Cool update sir,
Yeah you are so right , the big strokes always feel so good. Tel me how big are normal watercolor sketches. And Yes, eagerly awaiting your comment.
Acrylics look nice , please post more like these.

**sve** · November 27th, 2006, 10:45 AM

Hello, Arkady, hehe, wrote and went to look spelling. Don't want to get a second warning

.

Yeah, I want to have your invitation, i will put it in my art albums. Where should I send you a prize of shipping and how it should be done? I'm sorry for the show been canceled... That's very upsetting... Don't feel down though, it will be more opportunities, you will be all right. I wish I could see your art personally, huge difference how paintings look when you stay near them, they always look so much more personal, and vulnerable comparing to prints and internet images. I thought about it yesterday standing in front of Van Gogh drawings... They look so much gentler, more like a shy plead than a desperation or scream of which I often thought looking at his art in albums and prints. Those little gentle shades were washed out by prints, in real life human eyes create more nuances.

Looking at your art I think one of your secrets, why your watercolors catch the eye is this: in the base of your paintings lay a good drawings skills, ability to draw a pose and gesture truthfully and effortlessly, good proportions, good observation skills...

I think sometimes the balance between chaotic and order is too skewed to the chaotic side. skin tones are getting hard to recognize, flesh look like a raw meat, there is something violent in this, different than enjoyable, more like angry. I shouldn't probably complain, Picasso drew his women in this way, like ugly stumps with short legs and arms and rough skin... But he was angry when he did that. It is all art in the end... But I enjoy when you admire your models more

.

OK, if your don't mind a bit closer look...

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/So...oI-060926e.jpg I love this one very much, good placement on paper or crop, with wide base on the bottom of the page and figure going across, lovely brush leaks from the top to the bottom of the page, I like how they follow body motion lines. colors are energetic and the glance of the young man is vivid, he looks like a hawk, ready to strike back, even in this reclining pose. Despite that he looks energetic and alert. Muscles are tense. Very attractive painting and a lot of precise hints on the personality of this person. Young man, in his prime, in good shape, when everything is so easy for him

. the look at his face is great, a great catch, and this is not random at all in your art. You look very carefully at people faces and your hand obeys you so nicely.

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/So...oI-061019d.jpg I like this one, although you are balancing like acrobat here. one more step and this will go overloaded, i think. I might be wrong. But I feel some mocking as well int his image. not because she is huge, because she looks like peace of meat. I met men who like it in woman though, so... it depends

.
But for me she looks a lot like clowness, still womanly tough. There is an attraction in her vulgar style.
Again and again your themes remind me Toulouse-Lautrec pastels, I guess you both like life in all its colors, pretty and ugly too.

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...060923c-sm.jpg Beautiful shapes, so simple and effective. Three circles placed on each other with overlapping, looks perfect, because composition is great, and rhythm.

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...er1105d-sm.jpg This one is effective but too stylised for my taste, too smooth and obvious, if you don't mind me saying this.

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...er1105h-sm.jpg This one is perfect I think, despite electric colors, my eyes recognize human form and the pose and mood. Good volume, because the body depicted so right, all the right proportions and outlines and the values show volume very truthfully. It is beautiful as a design too. You have a very high possibility of these happy accidents. which makes me think they are not accidents, it is a good taste and skills.

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...skine02-09.jpg I can almost hear the murmur of their conversation. Their body language and interaction and lighting are so good, sent messages to my brains where it is happening, when, what time of day and how involved they are with each other. Good sketch, very vivid. Time of day, I think, it is a day time, shadows are not too sharp, although I'm aware it might be probably electric light. But it is too soft for me to think that. Lines give this effect of fast, bright conversation.

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...er1119d-sm.jpg
http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...er1119c-sm.jpg
http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...er1119a-sm.jpg
I still like it but in my opinion you are reaching, she looks almost like breathless heap of meat... Hard to find her soul there. People like are still lives, you had it before in your art. but this looks almost like grotesques. Don't pay too much attention to my words. It is all art. It feels that you are angry though.

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...r1119e1-sm.jpg I like it all the same, it is almost cubism.

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...skine02-25.jpg I like this one, it could pop up with right values. the drawing was great, beautiful.

Bye, all the best.
Sveta

**strych9ine** · November 27th, 2006, 11:01 AM

The digi piece a few posts back is fucking great, love the blood streak coming from the birdie hands. That sky is just begging to have some of her crow buddies flying around behind her.

And your watercolors, as usual, completely suck.

**bdfoster** · November 27th, 2006, 11:14 AM

Arkady---

Your watercolors are the shiz, my friend... I love your color choices, but it's awesome to see Jeff pushing you to experiment with different color choices in the pastel studies...

The digi-rough for the illustration is super hot. I assume you're going to do oils on that one? I can't wait to see more progress shots on it.

I can't believe I've never been subscribed in here. Consider it done

-Ben

**4rt-r41d** · November 27th, 2006, 11:24 AM

mindblowing stuff!

**RETEP** · December 1st, 2006, 12:45 AM

the crazy colored figures are gorgeous, i think you should try it more often.

**Icey** · December 1st, 2006, 08:23 AM

damn... u get to see boris vallejo working?!! OH!! You lucky......!!!!!!!!!!

**AmishCommy** · December 18th, 2006, 12:56 PM

hpslashluvr - any time spent with Dan and the rest of the NYC gang is always fun.

tensai - thanks bud. I keep walking by this office building on my way to work and it has a landscape sculpture in the lobby made out out of layers of wood that kinda reminds me of your landscapes. I keep on planning on bringing my camera with me one day and taking a few pics for you.

Listing - sorry about the "cutesy" colors. I'm making do with what i have or what i am given. the valuable thing about using such ugly and bright colors is that it fucks with your eyes and forces you to rely on your drawing skills and not the shortcuts that tend to become part of our visual vocabulary.

bhanu - i usually work on 11x15 paper but i generally like to work bigger.

Sveta - just PM me your address and i'll send it out to you. Yeah, I totally got screwed with the show. It's a long story and there's more to it now then when last posted. Left a really bad taste in my mouth. But I have another show coming up in January (group show) so i'm just moving on. Thanks for going in depth with your replies. I really appreciate it.

Cody - oh i plan on it. Gonna finish it up for the Spectrum deadline.

Ben - i'll try some oils on it. I've been restarting it for the past few months. In the end i think i'll end up using a ton of different media. My problem is that i still don't really have a technique or a way of working every time i approach something that is not from life. and the other problem is i'm never happy with anything i do over an hour.

wakazou - thankee

RETEP - more coming up

Icey - not really, i blinked and he was done. That dude is Ninja fast.

Here is a HUGE update!

Haven't really had time to process all the images i did this month. I've been picking away at it. There will be more to post around Christmas time.

Society of Illustrators - Jazz Sketch - 11.28.06
Tuesday night at the SoI and a lot of screw-ups but the thin model was a lot of fun to draw.

Haven Arts - 11.30.06
I finally made it up to Haven Arts. It's been forever. I got there almost an hour late and there was no one there. Just me and the model. After a some waiting and some wine someone showed up to pay her and she started to pose. This woman was an interpretive dancer and did a series of slow movements with short pauses to hold a pose. I just went along with it and this is what came out:

**AmishCommy** · December 18th, 2006, 01:02 PM

The Drawing Studio LI - 12.03.06
After a Saturday of staring at Sargent and Whistler at the "Americans in Paris" show at the Met, drawing on Sunday at the Drawing Studio on Long Island was as easy as cake (or is it pie). I was tired and sleep deprived from a night of drinking with some college friends, but i was in a good mood for once and after a few shots of espresso I was ready to rock and roll.

Started off struggling a bit:

but this was my turning point. This is a blind contour drawing done with my left hand (i'm a righty) with the paper against my chest, facing away from me. It may not look like much but it really helped me to focus on what's in front of me.

and here is what happened afterwards:

This exercise is called "5 lbs of bologna in a 3 lb bag". Basically you have to stuff the figure into a box so that there is no negative space. I failed on this one. Exaguration is really not my thing.

This one i did drawing with both hands at the same time. I started with the gray pastel in my left hand and the violet in my right and then moved on to the light blue in my left and peach in my right. I forget which hand used the red but it was used together with one of the other colors.

This one is called "Bug's eye view". You pick a point on the figure and pretend you have a bug's eye. The point gets distorted to the foreground and everything else gets pushed back like a modified fish-eye lens. Once again i failed at it.

back to what i'm good at.

on this one, after some trouble starting out i turned into a study of the planes in a foreshortened leg. Ever since this drawing i've become more attentive to the planes on the figure (even if it may not show

)

and this one was done with my left hand and the figure flipped (the model was turned the other way and we had to mirror her).

Society of Illustrators - Jazz Sketch - 12.05.06:

**AmishCommy** · December 18th, 2006, 01:12 PM

The Drawing Studio LI - 12.10.06

Another Sunday with Jeff at the Drawing Studio. The model was a beautiful yoga instructor so she was able to get into interesting and dynamic poses and hold them for a long time. Plus she has a thing for mythology so she "loosely" based a few of her poses on the Greek legends.

drawn with my left hand.

I really paid extra attention to the graphic elements and the composition they create in this one. Unfortunately, I lost that when i moved to the hips and legs.

two more "bologna" exercises. I still don't have it but i'm getting better at it.

drawing with both hands at the same time on this one.

two failed attempts at the "Bug's Eye" exercise.

**stalsby** · December 18th, 2006, 02:33 PM

very nice water colors! and the painting retreat looked really fun!! wish i could have been there!!!

**Rich Pellegrino** · December 18th, 2006, 03:04 PM

DOOD! You are kicking so much ass right now! I love those pastels, you are really "getting" them...and I hate pastel work. But I love yours. Nothing but asspats from me bro.

**bumskee** · December 18th, 2006, 06:18 PM

Amish,

woah.. man you are certainly kicking off with these life drawings.. these are really great man.. I love all the experimenting you are doing with different medium.. and the fact you are going for colours..

sweeet.. always pleasure seeing your work mate.

Hope things are awsome at your end! cheers, Min

**koppa** · December 18th, 2006, 11:09 PM

that last ones cool man, reminds me of david macks stuff,
um in answer to your question i usually use a combination of a mechanical pencil and a graphite stick

**t11** · December 19th, 2006, 12:06 AM

http://www.arkadyroytman.com/drop/Sk...skine02-01.jpg The directions written on this page tell me someone was visiting Pratt. You pooooorpoor soul... j/k

Fantastic work sir, I've been enjoying lurking your thread for a while and I don't think I've said anything up to this point but I wanted to drop a few cents in. First would be a congratulations on your development. Second I'd like to know if you're going to start mixing materials up more, I saw hints of it with an ink or watercolor outline and then some pastel shading, I'm interested to see what you would get out of that.
Thirdly the two handed drawing techniques were my favorite. Had a professor at Pratt that swore by ridiculous drills. I lovingly refer to it as figure drawing bootcamp.

I also wanted to ask if the Drawing studio was really worth the cash, I'm on the island with no place to draw other than home, with the exception of the rare occassional trip to the city.

Keep it up, update more, break yoself foo!

**openanewworld** · December 19th, 2006, 01:29 AM

your traditional drawings are great, beautiful line and insane strong water color, so lucky you can group with other great artists (Boris ... etc) and share ideas, all my art jorney is lonely feel so jealous you have so many, again beautiful works show more please, but if you can move those traditioanl skills on digital your digital works will be even stronger

**bhanu** · December 19th, 2006, 07:00 AM

biggy big updates huh?
damn man pastels look so good in your hands. they hate me though. Great work man. Wierd you left handed work look n times better than mine right handed ones. haha.

**Kliment** · December 19th, 2006, 07:58 AM

Post more, please!!!

**Chuck,mate.** · December 19th, 2006, 08:01 AM

dude you got skills....
and those photos of your little artistic adventure
up in the woods there just made me all envious and bitter.
I mean - MORE envious and bitter.

j/k
man, good to see you all creative and prolific.
keep `em coming.

**Bowlin** · December 19th, 2006, 08:43 AM

Holy Crap!! Man you are really going at it! I carefully look at each of these man, your definitely getting better. I really love seeing you trying out new stuff (pastels/crayons?). I'd like to give some constructive crits, but all I can say is keep at it man, you've definitely got somebody here watchin your stuff and appreciating it. Keep pushing forward.

**AmishCommy** · December 29th, 2006, 11:48 PM

Time for the rest of my UBER December update:

Society of Illustrators - Jazz Sketch - 12.12.06

Haven Arts - Figure Drawing - 12.14.06

The Drawing Studio - 12.17.06

Another crazy Sunday at the Drawing Studio. I was up early and had to take the train out because my ride (Lynne Foster) was out of town. I also had to "babysit" Lynne's son, Guy, which wasn't as bad as i thought it would be. We met up with David Hollenbach and Doug Cowan along the way and made it out to Jeff's on time for a change. Most of my drawings sucked until i got some caffeine in me.

these two were done with a piece of charcoal taped to a 5-foot stick which i held tight against my shoulder. This forced me to slow down when drawing and use my whole body in the process. moving along with the stick constantly changes your vantage point on the model which, along with less control over your medium, creates some interesting abstractions.

i'm finally starting to get the whole "5-lbs of Bologna" exercise down.

and the "Bug's Eye"

**AmishCommy** · December 30th, 2006, 12:13 AM

Society of Illustrators - Jazz Sketch - 12.19.06

The last Tuesday night of 2006 at the SoI. Martina and Julie modeling. Great time.

detail: (used some chalk for some highlights)

and the replies:
stalsby -it was all sorts of fun. I can't wait for RBL2007.

Rich, Min - thanks guys. I just got off the phone with my sister, and she's bringing up all my soft pastels and oil pastels from my FL studio. I can't wait to get my hands on them. they are the hardcore shit.

koppa - David Mack was a huge influence on me back when i was in school. i guess you never really outgrow your heroes.

TroyWilkerson - i was meeting up with the Infamous Doug Cowan for some deer hunting.
Ya dude, Jeff will kick your ass. There are high school kids there that scare the living shit out of me. they are so damn good and improve on a daily basis. Plus there are cute girls (albeit some are not technically "legal") there.

openanewworld - that's how i felt down in FL. that's why i got my ass up to NYC

bhanu - the left handed drawing tend to have more happy accidents that would never happen with the dominant hand.

Kliment - good?

Chuck,mate. - are all Israelis bitter? My brother-in-law is one bitter Israeli.

Get your ass States-side. with your skills i'm sure you could have a pick of any animation company.

Bowlin - thanks buddy

and an announcement: Friday January 19th i'm going to have some pieces (the ones that were supposed to be in the solo show at the late Ironworks) in a group show up at Haven Arts in the Bronx. If you're in the area, come on up.

**t11** · December 30th, 2006, 01:54 AM

Infamous indeed. Speaking of ass kicking mofo's Doug's definitely one of 'em. Deer Hunting... I'm going to assume you mean at the Alibi... does it still smell like feet?
We'll see about Jeff's, your mention of high schoolers fills me with a dread so complete I fear being thrust into the same void I dwelled while teaching them myself...

Though judging by the awesomeness of this last update I may have to reconsider

1217c, e, h, and k made me feel all warm n' squishy.