Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Sketching Subtleties - A Pencil Sketch

pumpkin drawing by Lori Levin "Subtleties"
graphite sketch in moleskine

Sitting at our lovely kitchen table on Sunday morning I was fixed to my chair having the urge to once again capture the light filtering through the window. One lonely miniature pumpkin was my subject. My goal was to give it the importance I saw there. The light changed quickly. Every minute my subject seemed to transform. The shadow would shorten and reflected light would appear in new places. I had to focus on the big picture of mood, composition, value and structure. The subtleties that made this image beautiful had to be saved for the last strokes of my pencil.

So often I want everything done and perfect just as I see it in the moment that I see it. I crave instant gratification. Nothing in life works that way. As a matter of fact, the more I try to rush through things the more obstacles are put in my way to stop me in my tracks. The universe keeps telling me to see things as a whole and to save the details for last and savor them when I get there. Art and life cannot be separated. Will I ever learn?

What is happening in the studio you ask? Well, I'm about to learn how to update my site myself with the help of Christine from Websketching. That should be exciting. The pet portrait of Buster is going well and I will share updates soon. I am trying not to finish it too quickly as I will use it as my demo piece at the Business Expo at the end of the month. I photographed 3 dogs last week for a large commission and am off now to photograph cows in landscape for yet another commission. Right now I am playing with those pictures to develop my layout. Friday, I will be at First Impressions Gallery for another show opening. "The Freshmen" will be shown there for the first time. There are so many new things going on in my life and Soulful Studios. I certainly don't suffer from boredom.

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