My paintings and drawings

[Trebor]

Although I have not been active on this forum for a couple of months or so, I thought I would announce that I have started a blog to show some of my artwork: My "blog."

My name is John Shepard ("Trebor" is my middle name, Robert, spelled backwards.); I'm 57, and I live in Austin, Texas. I became interested in philosophy, explicitly, when my father handed me a copy of the Socratic Dialogs back when I was in high school, suggesting that I might enjoy reading it. I did not agree with the conclusions, but I saw how important and productive thinking could be. I already enjoyed drawing at the time. I was introduced and hooked on Miss Rand's fiction as well as her philosophy back in the Summer of 1976 when a girl, who I had barely known in a drawing class at Lamar University, went out of her way to visit me (I was then living in Rockport, Texas) and handed me a copy of The Fountainhead, saying that she thought that it was based on the life of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Anyway, if you take a look, I hope that you enjoy at least some of my works, mostly what I consider to be studies.

Some General Information about these works.

Here are the main posts (I started the blog the first of this month.):

First Blog Post - Some charcoal drawings (18" x 24")

A few more charcoal drawings (18" x 24")

Some small, 5 x 7, paintings:

Some small, 6 x 8, paintings:

Some small, 8 x 10, paintings:

Some 9 x 12 paintings:

And some 11 x 14 paintings:

I've posted a few things since those; you can see them if you want by going to the main page and browsing.

Edited July 23, 2011 by Trebor

[JASKN]

I like these, John. You're good with light.

On a quick perusal, these are a couple that stuck out for me (not the only ones):

[Trebor]

I like these, John. You're good with light.

On a quick perusal, these are a couple that stuck out for me (not the only ones):

Thank you, James, for taking a look as well as for your comments. I'm glad that you like.

Light is important to me, and I do try to get it. That painting was a one-hour pose (split in two with a five-minute break, if I remember correctly), and from where I was (one of the better locations in the dark, cellar-like room, in as much as it has good lighting for my palette and canvas), I could not see too much detail, so the light and form and proportions were all I could go after. Even then, I only got so far. When the time is up, it's up, but that's just the nature of such sessions. I try to depend on an internalized sense of time to pace myself, working to get an overall pleasing whole within the time limits, and the light is a big player in that whole, obviously.

[Alfa]

Wow, you are seriously skilled!

I especially like your charcoal drawings. In particular the one JASKN posted, and this one:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EGg7K1x-9hc/ThB_42kPoUI/AAAAAAAAAJI/9VXalVfJBkM/s1600/dscn0332.jpg

I keep wondering what she's looking at and thinking of, and that kind of quality makes me want to keep looking at the drawing instead of moving on quickly to the next one.

I also like the more clearly rendered faces, like this one:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rKRMCOfCrms/ThB_65xUfKI/AAAAAAAAAJM/PMxP-0wXdlw/s1600/dscn0334.jpg

and this:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nLy3mwRBON4/ThB_9dQFsnI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/6PEbv4sv8Kw/s1600/dscn0335.jpg

They have the look of economy and "simplicity", something which is far from simple to achieve.

[Trebor]

Wow, you are seriously skilled!

Thank you. I see all of my poor efforts (though I do see the good ones as well), and that keeps me grounded. I enjoy it when things go well; I spiral down when they do not. There are times that I feel like I've never drawn or painted anything in my life. It's the strangest feeling, one of total incompetence, total unfamiliarity. Quite scary. At those moments, it's like there's a threshold I have to just decide to cross, to just try something, even just making a mark on paper or canvas. If it works, I'm off, unselfconscious, and in what I think is a sort of delicate dance between what I'm observing as well as my response to what I'm observing and what comes up from my past experience and learning, from my subconscious. It can be difficult to be in that "zone" while working with a group of other people. Little distractions jar me out of it. Quite frustrating. Big distractions are too much.

I think that it's like throwing a ball, the thing I'm referring to. Unless you're practicing, then you just have to decide to throw the ball where you want it to go. You have to depend on what you've learned, not think it through.

There are times that I will be heading to one of these open-studio sessions, fully confident that I'm going to really get something excellent done. I go, I start, and I spiral downhill. Then there are times when I feel like I will only make a mess. I go, I start, and things get better and better. It has something to do with my expectations, but it is not invariable.

I especially like your charcoal drawings. In particular the one JASKN posted, and this one:

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EGg7K1x-9hc/ThB_42kPoUI/AAAAAAAAAJI/9VXalVfJBkM/s1600/dscn0332.jpg

I keep wondering what she's looking at and thinking of, and that kind of quality makes me want to keep looking at the drawing instead of moving on quickly to the next one.

Yes, I know what you mean, and I agree. Sometimes I get stuck on some technical aspect, of necessity if something is off and I'm having trouble getting it right, struggling. Mentally at least, if I don't actually move away to take a look at what I'm doing from a distance, I have to make a point to just look at the work as a whole, see something in it (and the model) that actually intrigues or moves me. (If I don't see that, I can't really expect it to end up on the paper or canvas.) There are times when I fail to do so, stuck on some technical aspect (like trying to get some placement or proportion correct, but struggling to do so), and at the end of it, I realize and remind myself that I should have just looked (like a person does normally, not trying to draw or paint), that I should have seen the whole including what it was, if anything, that I was drawn to. Sometimes the act of drawing or painting can get in the way of seeing.

I also like the more clearly rendered faces, like this one:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rKRMCOfCrms/ThB_65xUfKI/AAAAAAAAAJM/PMxP-0wXdlw/s1600/dscn0334.jpg

and this:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nLy3mwRBON4/ThB_9dQFsnI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/6PEbv4sv8Kw/s1600/dscn0335.jpg

Thank you. The last one is of Michelle, one of my favorite models. (I'm not certain of the former model's name, shamefully. I've been poor about noting the model's name and dates on my work, but it is something I've made it a point to change.) Several of the local models are actors, or actresses (including Michelle), and they are thoughtful models. It makes a difference.

They have the look of economy and "simplicity", something which is far from simple to achieve.

Yes. Early on I have to get a sense of the whole, the general composition of values especially, some whole that starts to excite me. Without that, there's no way to keep it simple. Is this whole area going to be a simple light area, middle tone area, dark area, etc? If I don't see that early one or start to see it early on, there's no way to judge how to deal with any particular area. It's always the whole. Detail works within a whole.

I agree, simplicity is far from simple to achieve. I fail a lot.

Thank you for your comments.

[Tenderlysharp]

I like the substance of the people in your work, they have a weight, density, and presence.

The lines have a dynamic compositional energy, and the green is a nice contrast to the skin tone.

In this one, there is a great deal of energy radiating from her, a heat in the light in front of her, and a rocket ship energy below her. The blackness in the center giving her a contrast of weight and stability.

Thank you for sharing your work here.

[Trebor]

I like the substance of the people in your work, they have a weight, density, and presence.

The lines have a dynamic compositional energy, and the green is a nice contrast to the skin tone.

...

In this one, there is a great deal of energy radiating from her, a heat in the light in front of her, and a rocket ship energy below her. The blackness in the center giving her a contrast of weight and stability.

Thank you for sharing your work here.

You are welcome. Thank you for your comments, Tenderlysharp.

That painting, of one of the regular models, Shelly, was done during an open studio session with a three hour pose (breaks every 25 minutes or so). The session, on Saturday mornings, is held in a room that has windows on three sides, and typically there's a large mirror behind the model — I assume for an alternative view of the model. The ambient light changes a great deal during the morning depending on the outdoor conditions (warm to cool and back; bright to dark, etc.) in relation to the warm, incandescent spot light for the model. Dealing with that changing light is a challenge. As well, people move about or leave and so the reflection in the mirror, the background to the model, changes as well — at one moment there will be a dark background (reflection in the mirror), at least in part, then suddenly it will be light. So dealing with that change as well is a challenge. I basically view these sessions as study, as trying to learn to deal with such challenges in working from life. Ideally, everything would be under my control, the lighting, the pose, etc., but for a modest fee I can work from a model for three hours.

The charcoal drawing is of Laura, the coordinator for a couple of three hour drawing sessions in another building. The room looks like a basement, having only one relatively small window, so the light on the model, from a warm spot light, stays consistent. The model was late that day so Laura sat on the model podium for a few minutes, ten to fifteen, until the model showed up.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my work and, again, for your comments.

Keep painting.

[Jonathan13]

Good work, John! Thanks for sharing it.

J

[Trebor]

Good work, John! Thanks for sharing it.

J

Thank you. You are welcome.