Lora, Two Ways

“Lora” – trace monotype print, detail added. © Katie Kath 2022. Do not reproduce without permission.

You know how at some fine dining establishments they often have those dishes that are supposedly served “two ways?”

Well, here is my friend, Lora, who now appears on tonight’s blog in two ways!

The below image is a pencil sketch I made in order to create a trace monotype print (like the image from the last post), only this time I used standard Kozo paper (a good idea–the Strathmore was really too thick for it, and I knew that at the time, but I figured what the heck, why not give it a try?) and burnt sienna Akua ink to give the finished product a warmer tone.

“Sketch of Lora” – pencil. © Katie Kath 2022. Do not reproduce without permission.

I drew the sketch during lunch–dodging M’s spaghetti-flinging and meeting his rowdy, medieval tavern-esque demands for more milk–in the hopes that it would save me time on the printmaking end, which it did. Huzzah! This also means an earlier bedtime for me, DOUBLE-HUZZAH!

Until next time, folks, thank you and goodnight.

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Tiny Bather

Y’all, I need some sleep.

M. has been waking up at those hours where no matter WHAT you do, you just can’t fall back asleep. (I’m looking at you, 3 and 4 am…) So, in light of this situation, all I’ve got tonight is just a simple, tiny bather, using a not-so-simple method.

There is a second kind of monotype printing process besides the dark field monotype (still my favorite) and I wanted to give it a quick go because why not?

In this type of monoprint, a thin layer of dark ink is rolled onto glass–much like what you do for a dark field–but this time, you delicately lay a sheet of paper down on top of it, practically letting it float on top of the ink. On top of this you can add a sketch, carefully tape it to the paper on top of the ink, and trace the sketch with a drawing implement (preferably a sharpened pencil or pen) bearing down upon the sketch so the paper underneath picks up the ink on the bottom. Peel away, and hopefully, the drawing comes out without too many smudges (or worse yet, just a big black blob).

These types of monoprint are really a pain. But I will say that they do give a very interesting-looking line effect that cannot be replicated by any drawing tool.

Get Your Friends To Sit For You

And I don’t mean babysitting!

“Connie Seated” – charcoal on Strathmore paper. ©Katie Kath 2022. Do not use without permission.

Many people erroneously think they would make terrible models.

“Oh, I couldn’t,” they say, and list off a myriad of excuses, “I’m not attractive enough. I’m too tall/short/old/petite, I don’t like my face/arms/flab/wrinkles/scars”…you name it.

But I’m convinced something magical happens when a person is drawn.

One of my college professors once told me about a figure drawing session in which the model, after taking a look at all of the artist’s studies of her, said, “Wow, is that me? I didn’t know I looked that good!” To which, everyone responded emphatically, “UM, YES! You do look that good!”

And guess what? The model was a regular person. not a swimsuit model, not a runway model, not a Maybelline model, not super young, not super fit, just….an average person with an average life.

We artists see the beautiful in the average. So go ahead, artists: talk your friends into sitting for you in a drawing session. They may be pleasantly surprised.

Neocolor Nite

“Bather – neocolor crayons and charcoal

I love using Neocolor crayons because 1. I have an absolutely MASSIVE amount of them, thanks to a gift from a dear friend, and, 2. because they are considerably less messy than soft pastels.

I don’t really mind a messy art evening, but after a long day the prospect of cleaning up large amounts of paint-dust and little finger-printy bits that have been accidentally stamped everywhere by yours truly isn’t a very enticing one. Maybe one of these evenings I’ll be feeling some soft pastel love, but not tonight, I’m afraid.

Although this one did turn out much tighter than I’d really have liked, what I wanted to focus on most was playing around with color. So: I had my fun, mission accomplished. Consider this blog entry posted.

The Beauty of The Lowly Pen

“Joy Ride” – Pen and ink on Strathmore paper. © Katie Kath 2022. Do not use without permission.

For today’s sketch I turned to a favorite go-to implement: a smorgasbord of pens.

Simple but mighty, ink pens are one of my top choices for sketch materials. In fact, when teaching Drawing I or Intro classes, the first thing I do is banish pencils (at least, mechanical or similar types with erasers. Charcoals and chunky, non-erasable pencils were allowed, but I digress) much to the chagrin of the students. The “no pens allowed” rule is actually a technique I stole from a former Drawing I instructor and it’s one of the best ideas I think anyone has every had.

The reasoning behind this is that it’s easy for the eraser to become a crutch to any artist. Obsessing over details and the tendency to focus on “mess-ups” instead of what is truly important about a piece–composition, technique, a conveyed emotion or feeling–can quickly overtake an artist and thus sabotage the visual integrity of a drawing.

So there you have it, folks! A quick, frizzy sketch of two kids and a bike in motion, no erasing, using several of my favorite pens: Zig Mangaka 2, Sakura Microperm, gray tone Mildliner, and Le Pen, all from my absolute-favorite pen shop: The Goulet Pen Co. They even include a DumDum pop with your order! (At least, they used to.)

Rainy Day Dark Field

“Caught in the Rain” – dark field monotype print. © Katie Kath 2022. Do not use without permission.

Today I was out on an excursion (read: errands) and as I was completing my transaction I watched the outdoors become an increasingly menacing shade of gray. Luckily I managed to load up everything and stuff my son into his car seat just as the first humongous drops were starting to pelt at the windshield.

And then: le déluge.

Frantic shoppers were dashing out of the store in that awkward jog that happens when you realize that splashing around too much will ruin your shoes, yet if you don’t book it pronto you’ll arrive at your car as a drowned rat.

The scene was just screaming to be turned into a dark field print, since these prints lend themselves so beautifully to rough-sketch, textured atmospheres. The final result is from my imagination, but inspired by what I saw from the car in the parking lot.

Behind Blue Eyes

Much as I love “The Who,” the title has nothing to do with this post except for the fact that I began humming that tune as I began to draw and I figured someone else should get it stuck in their head tonight, too. You’re welcome.

I took up piano 4 1/2 years ago as an adult (the extremely brief time I tried to take piano when I was quite young doesn’t count because it lasted for about two seconds before I got very bored with some of the monotony involved and decided I wanted to draw stuff instead) and when I began taking lessons I could maybe tell you where middle C was and that was it. I started off playing what probably everyone starts off playing, which was “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” and “Au Clair De La Luna.” Talk about swallow your pride.

I wish I could say now I can play Rachmaninoff, but that’s not the case. I can, however, definitely play more complex pieces these days and I love that the decision I made to learn to play piano is probably one of the better ones I’ve ever made.

Now, go forth and make some good decisions, folks. Good night.

Dark Field Part Deux

Oh, dark field monotype*, you are sexy and a bit elusive, which makes you even sexier.

Squirrelly as it can be to work with, I think I might fall in-love with you yet.

It may be just the medicine this gal needs: a drawing technique that is different, somewhat finicky, not very forgiving, and does not lend itself well to detail.

I think all art-makers can easily find themselves wound up details, and–as the saying goes–the devil is in them. I know I am guilty of being too detail-oriented, I try to break myself of it, I’ve tried to break students of it, and I can tell you it’s probably the toughest thing to learn about art: that less is more and often times less is much better.

This time around I kept it smaller and simpler, taking a cue (yet again!) from the impressionists and going with the classic “Bather-inspired” theme. I’m thinking I may make it a series, at this point. At least, it will keep me from having to come up with a new concept each time.

Sunny Days in Monoprint

Tonight I got the Akua ink out and tried something completely new to me–monoprinting! (I have the ink because I usually use it for wood block printing.)

“How hard can it be?” I said to myself.

Answer: very hard.

Now, maybe it’s because it’s so late at night (for me, anyway) or that I am on a time crunch to get some kind of small sketch done–regardless of what it is or how it turns out–in a timely manner about every other day, but I’ve always found subtractive art processes to very difficult. I am very much an additive art gal, and thinking backwards ESPECIALLY after a long day kind of hurts my brain. So please cut this gal some slack.

For those unfamiliar with the monoprinting technique, What you basically have is a plate of clear glass or plastic over white paper that you coat with dark ink and then ERASE in varying degrees with a Q tip and/or rag to bring out your white tones. Blacks can always be made blacker, but whites really can’t be made whiter after pulling a print. The “mono” in monoprint means “one,” which means you get only one print, as opposed to a linoleum or wood block, which can yield as many prints as you can stand to do.

I wonder what the gal in my picture is thinking. Any ideas?

Friday Nite is Selfie Nite

Some days are just devoid of inspiration. You want nothing more in the evening than to just hit the sack. And there’s merit in this–I am in full support of sack-hitting: sleep is the Great Restorer.

But sometimes, like exercise, it’s when you don’t want to do a thing that you should do that very thing. Starting a visual journal blog is fun. Keeping it up regularly is a different story. It’s when you are about a week into a new workout that it begins to hurt and you can either give up because of it or push through in spite of it, and end up being glad you did in the end.

Needless to say, tonight was one of those nights, but I wanted to draw something. I said in a previous post that self portraits are generally my go-to when all else fails, so for lack of something better and more creative and certainly more exciting than my face, I stuck with the fall-back plan.

Hey, at least my face is always there and always free. You gotta pay a model.