bnagel

Nobody ever talks about what happens to the early worm.

I’m sure most will recognize this as an homage to Vermeer.  I kept the composition, the clothing, the pose, etc. , I simply replaced the standard equipment.

I’ve always found it funny that those trying to rebel and look fearless end up dressing all the same.  I guess you have to fit in to stand out.

Its been a long time since did anything for Illustration friday and it feels good to be back in it.

Living in Minnesota, our homes can become cocoons that keep us inside all winter long.

I have been reading the blog by Stapleton Kearns for a while now and its one the best and most informative art blogs that I’ve found.  Lately he has been dissecting seascapes and has gotten into the anatomy of waves.

I’ve never been into seascapes and have never even tried to draw one.  But after reading the blog post for the past week, I’ve been sucked in.  I’m especially interested in the play of black and white and textures.  You have the bright white of the foam against the dark of the water and rocks. and you have the smooth soft lines of the water vs. the jagged edges of of the rocks.  Now I understand why some painters have been fascinated with seascapes. The possible compositions are unlimited, and since the sea is constantly changing,  no two seconds show the same scene.

So for this weeks challenge I decided to take a stab at creating a seascape that focused on just the tonal values.  I stole most of the composition from a painting by Frederick Waugh but I added a new breaking wave and changed some of the detail.  Oh and as for the IF topic.  I wouldn’t mind taking a dip in the ocean.

If you like art and you like documentaries,  I would highly recommend “The Rape of Europa” .  Its the story of the Nazis obsession with art and the alies tremendous effort to rescue the stolen objects.  Its a fascinating movie.

sometimes if I think about something for too long, my mind plays all kinds of tricks with its self and I end up with something that kind of makes sense but usually only to me.  This week’s IF word is just such a case.  I was thinking of how everything expires.  So that made me think of flowers.  Something that is the both a sign of life, spring, and something that expires quickly.  But then for the style of illustration I thought why not use use the style of an expired painter.  So I illustrated this as a poor combination of two of my favorite paintings by Richard Diebenkorn.  But, coming up with strange ideas and exploring new styles is why I like IF in the first place.

I watched the movie Touching The Void a few weeks ago.  It was great documentary about two climbers stuck in the Andes after one of them had an accident.  At one point, one climber falls into a giant crevasse and has to make a decision.  He could either stay where he was and die, or he could climb down deeper into the unknown.

I thought my son was very brave getting on the bus on his first day of Kindergarten.

Is it the news or or a used car promotion?  Is there a difference?