Jamie Sweetman: Elemental of the Earth Art Show + Flower Maiden Work in Progress

Last week I visited the Sturt Haaga Gallery at Descanso Gardens and I was thrilled to see Jamie Sweetman's artworks up on the wall.  Earlier this year, I took some drawing workshops with her at the Norton Simon Museum.  There are works up by other artists in a variety of styles, but on this visit, I only had the opportunity to photograph her works.  This show runs until November 24th of this year, if you're in the area, I think it's definitely worth taking a look.  If I get a chance to visit again before the show ends, I'll try to take some photographs to share of art by some of the other artists, it's an interesting show.

Jamie Sweetman, Layered Plexi Tree Roots 1

Jamie Sweetman, Golden Roots

Jamie Sweetman, Lavender Root 1

Jamie Sweetman, Tree Root 3

I also posted about the art workshops that I took with Jamie Sweetman.
The still life drawing class is here.
The animal drawing class is here.
The flower drawing class is here.
The tree drawing class is here.

To see more of her artworks, here website is at http://www.sweetmanart.com/.

I am linking this post with Inspire Me Monday
http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Here is another work in progress view of my fairy flower maiden.

Tree Drawing Class at the Norton Simon Museum of Art

Last Friday I attended a tree drawing class taught by artist Jamie Sweetman.  I think trees and roots are really her passion.  If you'd like to take a look at her artwork, her website is here.

She said that it's natural for us to have a narrow cone of vision, but she suggested looking for the simple shapes first and looking at the negative space.  She said that sometimes if you draw everything it's boring and too complicated, sometimes you should only show some of what you're drawing.

My Sketch One

The main focus of this class was cross contour drawing.  Ingress described cross contour drawing as if an ant was dipped into ink and was following the form.  It's meant to describe the form and volume of the object with lines.  In my tree sketches, I tried to use cross contour lines.

Alex Ledante's Duckosaur

Artist Alex Ledante attended the class with me.  It's always interesting to me what different artists see when looking at the same object.  Both of us were looking at and drawing the same tree, but in it, Alex saw a duckosaur.  If you'd like to see more of his stellar art, visit his website here and his facebook page here.

She also likes cross hatching.  In shading she said that what is closest to you is lighter and that what goes back in space is a little darker.  She suggested starting with little strokes and then do larger ones and get a rythym going.  She said that mark making is like your hand writing and practicing strokes builds muscle memory.

My Sketch Two

She said that how to see and how to observe are key.  She suggested drawing observationally as often as possible, that drawing observationally from 3d objects strengthens skills more so than drawing from photographs.  She advised the more drawing that is done the better and that any kind of drawing helps even if not always drawing realistically.

This was the final class in a series of four classes, I very much enjoyed the series.  If you'd like to read about the prior ones, the Still Life Drawing Class is here, the Animal Drawing Class is here, and the Flower Drawing Class is here.


To view more Sunday Sketches, please visit:
http://www.bluechairdiaryillustrations.com/

I am also linking this post with Inspire Me Monday
http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Flower Drawing Class at the Norton Simon Museum of Art

On Friday I attended a flower drawing class taught by artist Jamie Sweetman.  I love drawing and painting flowers, so I was really looking forward to this one and it did not disappoint.  I'm usually very fond of my eraser, but for these classes, I've been trying to go without it.

She started by doing a demo about basic shapes, suggesting that loose ellipsis shapes are very helpful for drawing flowers.  The iris was actually the last flower I drew, but since I ran out of time and didn't finish it, I've decided to share it unfinished.  You can see areas where I've lightly blocked in some of the basic shapes for proportion so that when I went into more detail, the basic form would be correct.  This was based off of a fake flower she had brought in, that I didn't manage to photograph at quite the angle I drew it at...

We started the class in the garden of the museum, but when we lost the light, we went inside.  I chose to sketch some lilies in the garden.  She suggested in starting out that to warm up, we should start with the buds, since they had simpler forms, before moving on to the open flowers.  I think the buds were quite beautiful.

She suggested choosing subjects to draw that would make you feel good.  Ones that would challenge you but not be so difficult that you would give up on them.

To draw the forms she also suggested to look at the negative space, the space between the objects you are sketching, to see the form and proportional relationships.  She also said that if you'd like you may use a viewfinder, a rectangular form either created with your fingers or one of paper to help determine composition.

She said that drawing is like a sport, practice is very important.  It's also key to relax and focus at the same time and not worry about what it looks like, just get into it.  She suggest doing a lot of drawing to analyze forms and to do throwaway/practice drawings.

I know I sometimes forget to draw just for the fun and practice of it, but it really is a wonderful way to spend an evening!

This was my third class with her, the final one is next Friday.  To read about the Still Life Drawing Class, visit here and to read about the Animal Drawing Class, visit here.


To view more Sunday Sketches, please visit:
http://www.bluechairdiaryillustrations.com/

I am also linking this post with Inspire Me Monday
http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Animal Drawing Class at the Norton Simon Museum of Art

On Friday I attended an animal drawing class taught by artist Jamie Sweetman.  The title of the class was "Drawing the Horses of Degas," but in actuality it was geared towards animals in general.  In addition to the Edgar Degas horse sculptures that were at the museum, she brought in a lot of animal figurines.

Sculpture of a Horse by Edgar Degas

The first one I went for was a Degas horse.  She recommended starting with a loose rendering of the entire form and then breaking it up into simple shapes, like spheres and cylinders.  After that she suggested going into general details, followed by shading and putting in the core shadow.  The core shadow is the darkest part of the object and helps to define the subject.

My Sketch of the Degas Horse

She compared the finishing details to the desert, with the prior steps being the main course.  I didn't really get to finishing details with the horse.  Degas didn't consider his sculptures to be finished, they were a way to see them better.  

My First Sketch of the Polar Bear

The next animal I chose was a polar bear.  This was my first sketch.

Jamie Sweetman Polar Bear Sketch One

The instructor decided to sketch the polar bear.  She said it's important to stay loose for as long as you can.  She decided the proportions in her sketch weren't quite were she wanted them, so she flipped the page and put the bear to the paper and did a loose sketch.

Jamie Sweetman Polar Bear Sketch Two

She refined it further.  She said when she doesn't understand something, she draws it again and again.  I love the bulk of her sketch, it really has the feel of a polar bear.

My Polar Bear Sketch Two

She said if you get too into it, stop and draw another one and that each time you draw you learn.  I gave it another go, putting it down first for the proportions.

My Scorpion Sketch

After that, I decided to go for something a bit different.  I decided to sketch a scorpion.  She told the class that when laying it in, it's good to be always adjusting, also she said that you can chart the angles.  She also said it was good to jump all over the place while sketching.

This is my second class with her and I'm looking forward to the third.  To read about the first class, visit here.

Happy Mother's Day!

To view more Sunday Sketches, please visit:

http://www.bluechairdiaryillustrations.com/

I am also linking this post with Inspire Me Monday

http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Still Life Drawing Class at the Norton Simon Museum of Art

On Friday I attended a still life drawing class taught by artist Jamie Sweetman.  While most of my sketches are pretty loose, these are even more so because we were sketching with colored pencils and the erasers didn't work with them...  She had us look at an incredible and intricate still life painting by Frans Snyders, that I will try to post some images of tomorrow.  Then we went into a different gallery and she had us pick some plastic fruits and various objects to sketch from.

She advised that we start with a general shape and then refine it from then.  She also suggested that we shade from light to dark and mentioned that the darkest shadow on an object is called the core shadow.  Once that is in place it helps to define the object.  She also talked about negative space, the space between the forms of the object and how it can help in seeing the object more clearly.  She also suggested prismacolor or faber castel colored pencils for drawing.

She then set up a more elaborate still life and said we could attempt to sketch it or continue sketching the individual objects.  I blocked in the basic shapes and then went into some of the smaller details, I'm pretty slow though, so I didn't do much in the way of shading.  I'm not sure why, but I think what I really wanted to draw was the plastic bug...

It was an interesting class.  I don't usually sketch from life, she calls it observational drawing.  She says there is a definite difference between drawing from life and drawing from a photograph due to the 3d versus the 2d nature of the experience.  I am definitely far too slow to paint from life though, my flowers would wilt before I could finish.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel about the class since I feel quite self conscious sketching in public, but it was definitely an enjoyable way to spend an evening!  Which is good since I've signed up for three more of her classes at the Norton Simon...

To view more Sunday Sketches, please visit:

http://www.bluechairdiaryillustrations.com/