The Human Canvas - Here Comes The Sun

Well, I went to Turkey recently...great art, food, architecture. AND - I spent a lot of time at Arsah - THE place to go in Istanbul. Arsah is an antique store, specializing in carpets...but really, it's just a great place to hang. Huseyin, Mehmet, and Musa make you feel at home...and always great people - from all over -  walking in.

Curiously, visitors to the store often ended up asking why I might have 30 Sharpies with me. Take for example, Ha.

She heard the story, and was up for a session.

After trading shirts with her friend, Heena, we talked about what she might want.

In this case, it was a bit of a trial run...

...for a tattoo she wanted...or at least wanted for a couple of days.

She didn't have any pictures.

We just talked about the image...

...the kind of sun you might find on an old map...

...Or perhaps on a horoscope.

So...I had room to play...

...and just try to recreate something from the mind's eye.

We just knew that we wanted kind of a serpantine flow to it. She loved it, & wanted it signed before the final photo.

So with that...

...Done!

So...once again...meet Ha. Post-Sharpie.

And now meet Heena. She took the above photos...

And then became the next canvas. We'll get to that one real soon. 

It's a good'n.

The Human Canvas - Lessons Learned on a Footpath

So...back to that Footpath for a moment. For the complete Footpath session, click HERE. (((hmmm. not working right now. just scroll down for the Footpath session, or look for the link(s) down and to the right - in the June 2011 archive)))

This was both a successful experiment in forced perspective, as well as a learning experience for me.

While in some cases - many cases - the use of black is very useful for defining...and making things "pop" just a bit.

(((The black used here, by the way, was simply charcoal...like what you'd use for grilling. This is an inexpensive alternative to any other kind of black chalk or pastels...useful when working on a rough surface...like someones driveway...someone ELSE'S driveway. ALSO - don't get the kind of charcoal that's been pre-treated with some sort of lighter fluid or other accelerant. It smells funny and gets on your hands.)))

The lesson learned...to be careful of just how much black you use. Just like any other kind of drawing (you know...like on paper...not people?), it's easy to end up going too dark, too fast.

While the black used here was useful in defining some areas, it simply made other areas too dark, with actually LESS definition. The forest, for example.

Still though...a succesful experiment...

...and the adventures will continue.

The Human Canvas - A Footpath

Another session with Court. She was still working on her dissertation, so I knew she'd be typing away, sitting relatively still.

This was as far as we got, actually. I'd been drawing while the sun gradually set. I eventually looked to my right, and had to stop.

Not sure how I missed this...as it was happening...I was drawing I guess.

Well, after that sunset AND a bottle of wine had disappeared, we decided we really needed food by that point. This became the only human canvas session that never got finished. Let's just pretend it looked like this.

Next day - more dissertation - more sitting relatively still. So was she game?

Of course she was. She was also up for getting a challenge afoot. Or...in this case...making a foot, a challenge. What can you do with a foot?

Well, get it un-booted for one...

...then just stare at the canvas, and see what you see. Okay...beyond a good pedi...What can that shape become?

Many things I'm sure. But this is what I saw that day.

This became an experiment in forced perspective as well. After drawing in the forest, I pretty much laid my head on her knee...

...to get the dimensions right...

So we could see the path...and the forest...

...as if we were looking at it from the beginning of the bridge.

This was a learning experience for me as well. About the use of too much black...more on that next time. For now though...

Mmmmwa!

Thanks again, Court!

Contest!!! Ongoing!!! New Entries!!!

Hi.

Been gone for a while. Istanbul. Turkey. It's okay...got a cool scarf or two, and am just about caught up on my sleep.

Upon my return - a couple more entries for the perpetual contest...

Thank you Yaseen...

...And Christine!

To see all the entries, and an explanation of the contest (like...that there's no prize, no expiration, no limit to how these things turn out), click HERE...or just go to the "Contest!!! Ongoing!!!" tab near the top of the page

The Human Canvas - Don't Tread On Me

This Human Canvas post is called Don't Tread On Me. Not because of the first drawing shown. We'll get to that in just a bit. But it's kind of a shorty...so I've included this session as well. 

This started with me being at work without my sharpies, finding a red pen, and putting it toward this rose on my arm...trying to pick up on some of the vibrancy it had in '88...slowly fading over 23 years. 

This'n faded in a day...

So it became a butterfly. This was actually only a week or so after doing "The Butterfly Effect" Human Canvas session with Court, so these were kind of fresh on my mind.  

(((And you can link TO The Butterfly Effect...HERE)))

It was also an experiment of sorts...as are all of these. Instead of be-moaning a faded color...Use it as an ADDITIONAL color.

But this ink washes away even quicker than the sharpies.

So...

Back to "Don't Tread on Me". A few weeks after sitting around at work, drawing on my own arm (again), I met up with Alex, for "The Human Canvas - Smaugy in Riverside" (link HERE). This was a fun session, and I thought I'd be done for a while. 

Right?

Well, next night found a buddy and I off to Pappy and Harriet's. Pappy and Harriet's? HERE's another link. Anyway - I ran into someone I had met out there about a year and a half before. We'll call her Shaun. After talking about The Human Canvas (and me doing a quick drawing to show just HOW quick these things can be) she agreed to be a canvas. 

She wanted a very specific image...

She actually wanted it to wrap around the leg...

...but I didn't think it would be as interesting visually.

Besides...she was complaining about the cold enough as it was.

So this was a quickie...

And here it is when it's not laying on a cold bench out back of Pappy and Harriet's. She was happy with the result...

...and was trod upon by no one. 

This, so far, is the favorite of my friend Tom. Not because of ANY level of complexity...but it was the fact that Shaun brought up this image, showed me a version...and then there it was.

I mentioned how glad I was that I had brought my sharpies.

Shaun mentioned how glad she was that she had shaved.

The Human Canvas - Istanbul

                  So...we were planning a trip to Istanbul...

                                   You know...Turkey? 

              Great architecture...great sights, art, and friends...

                                     And what did I do?

              More on this later. We just got back...I'm tired...


                                  ...but I wanted to say hi.