Paul Vivier - Artblog

Circular branches

2012-02-15T16:57:00.000-05:00

I was walking by this tree on the way out from work one evening and noticed that all of the light reflecting from it seemed to be in a circular pattern. It was odd. I guess it's the same phenomenon that creates the semi-circle of a rainbow, as all the limbs had (potentially frozen) water on them. I say "potentially" because we haven't seen any frozen precipitation here in Richmond worthy of a winter. Pretty non-the-less.

Heiroglyphs

2012-02-13T18:59:00.000-05:00

I copied down some hieroglyphs from a statue at the VMFA from their regular Egyptian collection. I found that copying from the source forced me to pay more attention to what was in front of me. I quickly realized that some glyphs were carved out as lines, and some were carved as shapes. In looking at the pieces closer, I also realized that a whole section of the original scuplture was gone. Broken off, probably, and repaired at some point in a way to not be obvious. That would not have been something I would have ever noticed in passing. If you think about it, it's a little weird to see some of these things in an art museum. Imagine a piece from Hollywood Cemetery showing up in a museum 2 thousand years from now. Weird, right?

Diana-F experiments

2012-02-09T18:39:00.000-05:00

These pictures came off the same roll and span 4 years! That doesn't happen often. And just to be clear, light leaks are not really fun. There's a moment of panic when you see the roll developed with light leaks and you're thinking "Nope, they're all gone ...". Not fun.

Shields UP!

2012-02-04T18:26:00.000-05:00

Tunnel in National Gallery in D.C.

2012-02-02T18:18:00.000-05:00

From the National Gallery of Art in D.C., inside "Multiverse" by Leo Villareal. PJ wanted to go back and forth through it a few times. I thought that sounded like a fine idea.

Crown/Tiara

2012-02-01T18:10:00.000-05:00

I had a request from a special small person to make a crown for them. This was what I was able to produce. It certainly doesn't stand up to any jewelry guidelines anywhere, but it doesn't wobble, has a nice shimmer, has weight, and some attempt at decoration. I'm no Tiffany, that's for sure.

I'm told that now I need to make a crown for myself. My material of choice is a San Pellegrino Limonata can (or three). Hopefully I'll keep my fingers intact and won't spill any blood. I'll let you know how that turns out.

Poinsettia

2012-01-29T17:50:00.000-05:00

A painting I did for my aunt an uncle. I always think of them when I think of poinsettias, so it feels like an appropriate gift.

Brush pen and watercolor

2012-01-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

More experimentation. Waterproof brush pen with watercolor. Looks like it should be saying "Happy Birthday" or something ....

Figure drawing in colored pencil

2012-01-25T18:00:00.000-05:00

Colored pencil gives a remarkably different feel than graphite. It's nice to switch it up every now and then to remind myself how silky it feels compared to the scratchiness of graphite.

Figure drawing in graphite

2012-01-23T17:58:00.000-05:00

Song

2012-01-22T20:38:00.000-05:00

Heard a remake of this while I was getting gas, of all places. No one, ever, is to blame. Song. Lyrics.

Brush and ink - continued

2012-01-22T17:57:00.000-05:00

Brush and ink - Continued

2012-01-20T17:55:00.000-05:00

More brush and ink figures on more paper that probably shouldn't be used for such. If I had convinced myself of that before I did them, then I wouldn't have them to show. So there.

Ink and brush figures

2012-01-17T17:52:00.000-05:00

Experimenting with ink and a brush on paper that probably shouldn't be used for such.

Graphite portrait

2012-01-15T17:46:00.000-05:00

Mostly to remind myself that I can do this.

Futura on a Scrabble board?

2012-01-14T14:03:00.000-05:00

Help me out knowledgeable Font-Smart Friends. This is Futura, right? Futura on a daggone Scrabble board! Maybe THIS is the source, the reason I like Futura! This font has been following me around a lot lately. Now, one could argue, as with Helvetica that it IS everywhere, so of course it's following me around. But my point would be that it's my observations of it that seems to be everywhere. Maybe I can pass this observation curse on to you, like a disease ... heh heh heh ....

Also see:

Feel free to pass back any that you happen to notice as well.

Diana-F in Memphis

2012-01-13T17:42:00.000-05:00

Here are some pictures I took with a "Diana-F" years ago, also in Memphis. With a plastic lens, and light leaks everywhere, it's a wonder I can get any image at all.

The "Boycott" sign was outside of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was shot, and which has been converted into a Civil Rights Museum. A "$10 million desecration" according to the sign. I went in anyway, but it still made me feel crappy about it, so I guess they succeeded in that.

The last picture is one of Elvis's suits, and how I remember Elvis. Fat Elvis on TV, with a cape and beads of sweat pouring down his face with a white jumpsuit and a bunch of bling on it.

Figure Drawing at Visarts

2012-01-10T14:54:00.000-05:00

Figure drawings from the weekly Visual Arts Center - Figure Friday, hosted by Thomas Van Auken. I was in too much of a hurry to remember to bring my pencil, so the pen drawings were straight on paper. But then ... so where the pastels ... so ...

Crossroads - ink

2012-01-08T10:36:00.001-05:00

Every time I sit here, I want to draw. It not the easiest place to make art of, though. I don't know why, and couldn't come up with any valid reasons I believed, so I stopped making them and just drew what I could. This took about three visits. I penciled it in one.

Hasselblad in Memphis

2011-12-10T17:00:00.000-05:00

It took me four years to get these pictures developed. Crazy. I don't know whether that shows patience or extreme procrastination. Thank goodness black and white doesn't loose it's image as much as color does when sitting unprocessed. I took these on a trip I took Memphis with my cousin a few years back. There's the Arcade Restaurant, which I went in while wearing my newly acquired priest shirt. There was the iconic Sun Studios which really did have the vibe of previous artists that you would hope it would. But first, yes ... it's the Jungle Room baby.

These were all taken with my Hasselblad 500c which has a lovely lovely lens. I'm going to have to run another roll of black and white through this thing again soon.

Devil's tower

2011-12-07T13:35:00.000-05:00

Faced with a large container of mashed potatoes, how often do YOU want to make you're own Devil's Tower? It's almost every time for me. The consistency wasn't ideal. Luckily, my kids know this isn't a sign that I'm going crazy (... at least ... I think...)

How would you make a ...

2011-12-04T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is an odd thing for me. I don't design "objects". I don't sit around and sketch stuff to make. Every now and then, though, something clicks in my head and I can visualize stuff and draw it. It's easy once it's flowing, but sometimes it can be so hard to get my brain there. I guess I just need practice.

One day, I was browsing through a German Design book titled (something like) "Made in Germany". It was really cool. It got my head in that spot. I stopped and asked myself, what would stuff look like if I wanted to make it. Not the complex question of how would you design it, but just boiling it down to simple objects and shapes without thinking of how it would be constructed or would it be usable. Just what would the profile look like if you could have a wish and make it come true.

These were my quick answers. No pencil drawings first, just straight 1) Imagine it 2) Draw it. I'll have to try this exercise again sometime and see where it goes.

VMFA addition

2011-12-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

I can't express how proud I am to have the VMFA in my city. The addition that was recently completed is stunning and inspiring. Clearly a work of art in and of itself.

The part of this drawing I wanted to do more than any, was the lettering. To get the lettering right, I knew I'd have to get the perspective, and grids right as well. Once again, stepping out of my comfort zone and drawing buildings (I think I'm going to have to stop saying that at some point). There was only a slight perspective angle to this, so I just did a basic eye-ball of it. It was close enough for art. I can look at this and see that everything doesn't line up, it could use a better sense of light, and the shape of the building isn't really apparent. I can also look at it and say, this is what I did for an hour in the afternoon instead of playing video games, so I'll cut myself some slack.

Drink and Draw

2011-11-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

I hung out with a couple of friends the other night at a local restaurant. Some I had known, some were new acquaintances. The goal was to drink ... and to draw. Not really being one to draw from my head (most of these guys were comic artists), I came prepared with my backup plan, my ipod. The bottom drawing is from that. The top one, I tried to draw of Patrick, one of the guys there. I think he deserves a better representation than what I have above, so I might have to draw him again sometime. One of the other guys there did one of me in his moleskin. It looked pretty good, even though it was of me :-)

Prince Albert Monument

2011-11-26T13:00:00.000-05:00

While in London during my trip, I had the opportunity to walk through Hyde Park. It's a lovely stretch of open space that touches Kensington Palace, Buckingham Palace, Prince Albert Hall and numerous other landmarks.

In front of Prince Albert Hall, is a HUGE monument in honor of Prince Albert. On each of the four corners of the monument sculptures dedicated to are areas of the world where the English have had colonies. The United States is groups into "Americas". We, are where the buffalo roam.

I sat down on a four-inch raised curb and looked up about 15 feet to draw the "Americas" scultpures. While I was sketching, a mother and her small son (roughly five years old) walked by and sat down nearby. She was trying to convince him to draw as well, pointing towards me as an example to follow. As an aside, it's still odd being referred to "that man" in public, as well as "sir". Oh well. As I was leaving, she prodded him to come ask if he could take a look at what I had done. He reluctantly walked towards me, unable to utter the question for himself. I put on my best kid-approachable smile, turned my sketchbook towards him and received a smile of approval. He was impressed. Maybe somewhere in London there's a little boy who will grow up, create art, and remember some man in Hyde Park who was drawing. Or ... he's already forgotten.