Sketch Book

For the past two days my students have been taking the CAHSEE exam. Which means I have to spend the entire day proctoring the test.

It's slow for a teacher to watch students take a test so while the students are trying to decide which answer to bubble in, I get to doodle in my sketchbook. I keep a little watercolor set near by so I can color my drawings if I feel the need, it's great practice, and it's great letting the mind wander.

Oh I should mention that I never draw the students.

One thing leads to another

I have been a complete homebody this weekend. Just holed up in my studio drawing. I cut some branches from my Orange tree and brought them to my drafting table. Then I found a nice piece of cold press illustration board and started doodling the branches. Which lead to this girl's face, and then a wolf. It's funny, I wasn't thinking about little red riding hood but I guess that's the direction I ended up going. One thing leads to another.

It was nice doing a big drawing (20x30"). Just letting myself get lost in the scratching sound of the pencil, and letting my worries drift away. Next I added watered down acrylics for some soft color, and sealed the pencil with gloss.

I love what happened, I think it looks like a old faded photograph, yet it's not finished yet. Too bad my digital camera messed up the color balance.

Ugh, back to work tomorrow.

Sketch Book

Whenever I have a spare moment I draw and paint in my super rad moleskine watercolor sketchbook. Sometimes I hit gold and I feel like a genius. Below is some of my latest:

This is a random pirate chick. More often than not I am drawing pirates, because pirates are cool. Arrrgh!

I did this one while I was covering a Spanish class during my conference (I'm an Art teacher if you haven't been keeping up). The teacher left a depressing movie about a civil war in El Salvador for the students to watch. I wasn't really paying attention to the movie because it was in Spanish, yet I did notice the plot revolved around little kids getting shot by angry soldiers.
I don't know what this is, I must have been trippin' or something.
A quick architectural sketch of my future house.
I was watching a documentary about Valentino when I made this one.
I drew this one of Nicole being overwhelmed by fashion magazines at Barnes and Nobles.

Life Drawing

To keep my skills keen I try and draw from life as much as possible. There is something about drawing people that helps keep your abilities sharp. So last night I went to the life drawing session at CSULB. Unfortunately it was "student night." Which means there isn't a professional model, and students are supposed to draw each other. I dislike student night for two reasons; firstly, because students suck at modeling, and secondly, everyone is expected to take a turn modeling.

To make matters worse I am not currently enrolled in a life drawing class at CSULB so I come off as a total creepy stranger because everyone knows everyone except for me. Whatever, I figured I dragged all my drawing stuff up campus so I might as well get some drawing in. And I shouldn't really complain, I was getting a chance to draw people for free. Yet, I am going to complain anyway (it's my blog after all).

Here is some of the drawings with commentary:

This girl looked as if she was constipated. I mean come on, can you look up a little? Or at least not as if you are about to be executed?

This girl chose a position of maximum comfort, which always makes for a boring pose (unless the model is gorgeous and naked). Furthermore, I should mention; girls who cut their hair short shouldn't come to student night because they are in serious danger of being drawn boyish.
This pose wasn't too bad, but she didn't keep her eyes open. Plus she was the hottest girl of the night, so when she was finished posing all the guys left (without taking their turn posing).
This is an example of the token older lady hanging out with all the college students. I guess I shouldn't talk because I already graduated, but hey at least I'm under 60. Again, an example of the maximum comfort pose with closed eyes and cropped hair.
This pose was okay, at least she kept her eyes slightly open. However, she does look like she is on her way to the firing squad.
Unfortunately, I do not have an example of myself posing. So I will describe to you in words how I posed: Instead of taking the maximum comfort pose, I made the effort and posed standing up in a contrapposto position with my eyes open. I mean if I am going to pose, I am going to look good. Not as if I am a prisoner of war.

I just don't know about these lazy art students. . .pssh what a waste of time.

Post-It People

These are some little sketches of random people on post-its. It's a kind of brain teaser for me to draw people on post-its through out the day. I don't know where the faces come from. Perhaps they come from my subconscious memories of faces I have seen in crowds, or maybe on TV. I try to make them realistic and recognizable. . .If only I knew who they were. They are strangers from my mind I guess.

Cleopatra

Water color, 300lb paper

Prints of this work are now available for purchase! Please email me for more details at androidwilsonx@aol.com

Musing of Conquest

For the past three days I have been glued to Michael Wood documentaries about the ancient world on Netflix. Ever since high school, stories about ancient civilizations have captivated me, so much so that when I started college I nearly chose archeology as my major.

The Michael Wood episode I found most interesting was about the Conquistadors, and how they conquered the New World in an unprecedented short amount of time. Never in history have such large and vibrant civilizations, such as the Aztec, Inca, and Mayan, been completely turned upside down and overrun in such a short amount of time, by such a small number.

I find the story of the Conquistadors, in particular the ones lead by Hernán Cortés, to be the most astonishing. These were men who volunteered to go to the New World. They were acting on their own accord, investing their own money. They weren’t bound to Spain, or Religion, they were in it for the gold, although they did use religion to their advantage.

I envy the Conquistadors for two reasons. The first reason is their guts. These were men who were able to cast all doubt aside and lend themselves to the whims of the universe. I find myself always second-guessing my decisions, and I need to trust my instincts more. The second reason I envy the Conquistadors is because they lived in a time when the world was still a mystery. Their journey to the new world was the equivalent of flying to the Moon, and then mounting a military campaign when you got there.

Today there are no longer blank spots on the map, and with the Internet, and modern conveniences people seem to be exploring more internally than externally. I suppose the only blank spot on the map now is the potential of the human mind. But that’s not good enough for me.

The Conquistadors were able to accomplish great things, great and terrible things, and they were willing to risk it all for glory. (all the while wearing funny pants and helmet)

From now on I am going to try and keep an adventurous spirit, and let my art dictate where I should go.

Now I should say I am looking at this entirely from a European standpoint, I’m sure the Aztecs saw things differently.

What a strange whirlwind of thought this turned out to be.