|
NEW
ART AS IT IS CREATED...
SURREAL BLACK AND WHITE
ART -- BEHIND-THE-SCENES
I started working on this piece
of surreal black and white art QUITE a while ago--six months
or more at least (01/24/04). Unfortunately, while it sat,
so did the cat (on it) and the dust (everywhere else). But
I finally finished cleaning off my drawing table and it is
time to clean out my pens and get started creating a brand
new work of surreal black and white art! The first new major
work created in YEARS! I'm going to try this with the fancy
expensive art pens I've had forever and rarely used. I've
never cared for them. I prefer the subtlety and nuance of
a good old fashioned ball-point (you'd be amazed at how many
different lines I can get out of one of those <lol>).
Unfortunately I can't find one with permanent ink. I guess
we'll see what happens :)
TITLE:
"The face I show to you" © Chris Eisenbraun
2006.
Click here to go to the beginning of this
set.
Click
here for a close-up look at the most recent artwork.
|
|
 |
Posted
Mar. 13, 2006: Finally, done :) It's ironic that this
work of art concerns time because it has taken such
a LONG time to complete (more than 2 years if counting
chronologically <lol>). Tooo funny :) Another
irony? The day after I finished this, a note came in
the mail from our local St. Petersburg Art Center announcing
a new member's showing. The theme of the show? Time
<g>. Can you guess where this pen & ink drawing
is aimed to make a debut? Hmmm.... <g>. Still
not sure if this is the keeper title and I'll take GOOD,
solid straight-edged photos AFTER I get the frame on
this baby. Will probably catch the news up on the website
then too :) But for now? A really good feeling of accomplishment
:) Finally. A NEW piece.
Click the image to the left for a CLOSE-UP view of
this (finally) completed, surreal pen & ink work
of art.
|
 |
 |
Posted
Mar. 01, 2006: This weekend I spent a lot of time pushing
things back and bringing other things forwards -- adding
depth to the drawing and increasing the variety of greys
:) BIGtime. Lots of little things like darkening Dali's
shadow and fracturing the sky; pushing back the castle
by adding layers of grey atop the dots, etc. Trying
to turn the picture on the paper into something more
like a space where the paper becomes more of a portal
that you are looking INTO, AT the image <g>. In
other words...a lot of subtle, fine-tuning sort of things.
This is the dangerous part...where you can over-finesse
the image. Every artist has a hard time letting go of
a piece and saying, "This is done." It's a
very hard place to realize: the stopping point. Sometimes
you only realize you are there AFTER you cross the line
and that's not a good thing. NOW... it's time to stop
finessing and finish :)
Click the image to the left for a CLOSE-UP view of
what's new.
|
 |
 |
Posted
Feb. 22, 2006: You know, I think that I have NEVER spent
so much time on one drawing...and I'm not talking hours
here, I'm talking YEARS <lol>. Too funny. Last
year was a doozy. Long story which I'll post to the
news one of these days <g>. Oh well. For all the
time in between and the fact that last year I did not
pick up a drawing pen once(!)...things are going kinda
smoothly now. This drawing is ALMOST done. Wow. It's
a really long story but I am really happy about it all.
Lots of baby steps and I am just about to have a truly
NEW piece DONE (even if it is a couple of years old
<roflmao>). Stay tuned, we're almost at the end
of this one :)
Click the image to the left for a CLOSE-UP view of
what's new. I've tentatively named this artwork,
"The Face I Show to You." One of my favorite
parts of this drawing: Salvador Dali drawing his own
melting clock <g>. Too funny :)
|
 |
 |
Posted
Dec. 06, 2004: it took a lot of dancing around the fact
before I could pick up the pen to draw Salvador Dali
<jeez>. I had to get determined, read at least
four chapters and THEN nerve myself up enough to grab
the pen <lol>. I know, I know, I put Dali in there
so there was no one to blame but myself <g>. I
just didn't want to screw it up and ink is SO UNFORGIVING!
Drawing recognizable faces is VERY hard, if you are
off by 1/1000 of a centimeter you change the entire
expression of the face. This was the hardest part of
the drawing left to do. But Dali (as a symbol) works
wonderfully, he actually acts as a key in some ways
<g>. NOW, it's a matter of trying to see how the
rest of the sketch is supposed to be (I have no clue
how the clocks are supposed to look). This part is easier
to draw but also somewhat intimidating. BUT that's how
it's going to be, until I get enough practice in: intimidating.
Oh well, some things are worth the effort :)
|
 |
 |
Posted
Nov. 15, 2004: I can feel the beginnings of how it should
be... I actually managed to find time to draw both Saturday
AND Sunday! I was SO MAD at myself for not getting to
the drawing last Sunday so I cleared off time Saturday
evening TO MAKE SURE there was time this weekend! I
got so far into the work that I woke up wanting
to pick up the pen! This hasn't happened in years. It
felt really good. Unfortunately I couldn't start drawing
right away. But that's okay. That's part of what I'm
learning how to balance right now: responsibility AND
creativity. As a side note: I have been using reading
(sci fi/fantasy) to help get in the right frame of mind
for drawing -- think of it as a bridge between realities
:) This is how I did it BEFORE I discovered drugs and
drinking. Guess what! It still works (and without all
the side effects of the latter method <roflmao>).
By Sunday I was so far INTO the art that I jumped straight
from here to there. No bridge because it was THAT strong.
Wow. I KNOW this is something that is going to have
to happen A LOT before it becomes instinctual...but
it felt so good for it TO HAPPEN at all. Very cool :)
|
 |
 |
Posted
Nov. 5, 2004: The really sad thing is that this drawing
should not be taking so long to complete, I'm just THAT
busy. No time for TV <a sardonic "darn"
goes here>. The cool thing? This is the fifth work
of art underway this year! That may not sound like a
LOT to many but it's a huge milestone for me :) You
might call this the warm up session for what's to come.
I say this, because so far I haven't really started
anything truly original to this time period, I'm just
catching up stuff that's been in the works for a really
long time. I have another huge work in my head that
I started to draw out a couple of times (a few years
ago). Probably, once that's done, we'll be into new
territory. I'll let you know when we get there <g>.
|
 |
 |
Posted
Oct. 18, 2004: No matter how busy I am, I am REALLY
trying hard to pull Sunday's off for art. Period. It's
getting easier to do and may actually become a habit
some day <lol>. I hope so :) The first time I
turned the computer off for an entire day, it felt VERY
weird. Now, I find that I like the feeling :) We'll
see. The Sunday thing...I think it was Paul Gauguin
who started out that way: as a Sunday painter. He turned
all of his Sundays into painting days. This is how he
became the painter we know. Painting on Sundays... I
liked the idea and it seemed like an excellent path
to use to get from where I am now back into what I used
to be <g>.
|
 |
 |
Posted
Oct. 11, 2004: well, after four different hurricanes
(in a row), there is finally time to get back to day-to-day
living on the weekends <lol>. LAST weekend I meant
to start drawing again but unfortunately all the hurried
and repeated packing for disaster meant that pieces
were all over the place. Prepping your house for disaster
in a short space of time doesn't always leave a lot
of time to remember where you PUT everything <g>.
It took a whole day just to find this sketch, the pens,
the photos, etc. What a trip. I knew I put this stuff
somewhere to be safe, I just couldn't remember where
I'd put this stuff to keep it safe. Anyway, my
hand is still out of shape because I haven't set up
a consistent ART time but I decided to plunge into this
one anyway. Sometimes that's the only way to do it:
just go for it! This sketch was drawn over a year ago
so I'm not really connected to it right now, but it
will make an EXCELLENT practice piece :)
|
 |
 |

Posted May 24, 2004: a sidebar on the progress of this
particular piece is posted under doodles <g>,
click here
to view.
Posted
Jan. 24, 2004: I darkened the photo up a tad so you
can actually see the pencil. We're almost ready to start
inking it in. I must admit I'm a little nervous. It
took a few days to get the pencil together and my chops
are rusty. Very rusty. Oh well, I've had to restart
drawings before. Keep your fingers crossed <g>.
|
|

Posted Jan. 24, 2004: most good pieces have a number of different
photos involved because I rarely have the luxury of working
with real models. Oh well and life goes on :) Anyway, the
drawing part of this piece is 99.99% finished. This is the
part I dislike the most, because this is where you have to
get everything PERFECT (proportions, flow, etc. etc.). It
sucks to spend almost a month inking a new piece of art...just
to find out you got the proportions wrong way at the beginning.
Believe me, it becomes all you (or anyone else) sees. So,
this is the uptight part of the whole process <lol>.
Unless, of course, you're doodling. Doodles can become quite
big and involved, but they are another matter entirely <g>.
|
|
|