Cherry trees

Branchbrook Park, Newark, NJ

Wrapping up

I have the pleasure of seeing my good friend Barbara today after a long time. I have a birthday present for her. I like to make my own wrapping paper and I was pleased at how this turned out so I thought I'd throw up an image. I used this flower arrangement this week with both my Watercolor Techniques class and my portfolio class and I thought they did a fantastic job with it.

158 West 27th Street painted sign

I'm fascinated by these painted signs in New York, surprisingly durable artifacts of an earlier age. Below is some backround info on the companies listed.

I'm not sure whether to crop the image or leave the raw edges that display the technique. I underlayed yellow ocher for the old morter, splatter painted red on top, and then painted the bricks using the edge of piece of watercolor paper soaked in a deep reddish black. The lettering was done on top with a white colored pencil.

Stemmerman Photo Craft Laboratories located here from 1913 to 1918. William H. Stemmerman (1867-1951) was a druggist and physician in Passaic, New Jersey where the original Laboratories was located around 1911. In the early 1930s the name changed to Taylor Photo Co. By then they were located at 117 E. 24th St., where they remained until the mid-1960s.

David Blustein & Bro. was founded around 1905 by the brothers David and Isidor Blustein. David (age 34 in 1910) immigrated from Russia in the 1890s living in Manhattan (West End Ave. in 1920) and later on Long Island. The business was located here from 1913 until 1948. In 1940 the name was changed to Blustein Furs. American ginseng has been exported to China from New York since 1784 when the first U.S. ship, the Empress of China, arrived in the Pearl River Delta.

National Waist Mfg Co / Silk Blouses was in business from 1913 to 1921, located here at from 1918 to 1921. Proprietors were Joseph Mirman (1860-?) and his son, Louis Mirman (1886-1959). Both men were immigrants from Russia ca. 1892. Joseph Mirman was in the candy store / stationery business from around 1900. Louis Mirman worked in these businesses around 1907-08, then got into clothing manufacture and was probably the more active partner in National Waist Mfg. Co. Waists, short for shirtwaists, are among the first mass produced clothing for women. They were blouses designed to be worn with a long skirt. In the early 1900s there were more than 500 waist factories in the city employing more than forty thousand workers, mostly immigrants, in horrible working and living conditions. The awful working conditions and the tragic fire at the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory would give impetus to the founding of the trade union movement in New York.

Credit Trading Corp / Commission Merchants / Raw Furs & Skins was probably a financial institution founded by furriers, who had a furs and skins department located here in the late 1920s. Credit Trading Corp. was in business from 1925 to 1938. Most of this time the main office was located at 128 W. 31st St. The "furs & skins" department was located at 158 W. 27th St. from 1928 to 1929. Furs and skins have been exported from New York (or New Amsterdam) since the arrival of the first Western colonizers, including Jacob Astor, the first U.S. multi-millionaire.

Quickie

Warm up from today -

Designed by Lucian E. Smith, the Methodist Church is a large brick romanesque church with brightly colored terra cotta animals detailing the massive structure. A pair of stylized peacocks adorns the entryway to the church. Early Christians adopted the symbol of the peacock to represent immortality. This came from an ancient legend that the flesh of the peacock did not decay. The peacocks are portrayed drinking from a vase symbolizing a christian drinking the waters of eternal life.

Nude Seated

Using colored watercolor pencils on paper that I marbeled ahead of time. The pattern gives the image a smoky, dreamy quality that I like. I didn't go back into the image with water, but left it just as pencils. I like the energy of the lines, but I'm not sure whether converting some of the lines to washes would add to the image. For now I'm just leaving it.

Portrait of Angus

Animal portraits - i'm getting into my colored pencils a little more. I was trying to capture the gray/blue of the fur on the side of Angus' face by overlaying several pale colors but it seems to have gotten too dark a blue. Its just an experiment for now.

Colored pencils after an image filtered in photoshop.

Bench bracket, Walnut Street station.

I've been telling my students that there is subject matter for drawing and sketching all around them. Faced with 5 minutes waiting time and what appeared to be a train station devoid of interesting topics to sketch I found this detail on one of the waiting room benches. Had to take my own advice.

Blue Beret

New media - watercolor pencils. Interesting effects combining linear marks and washes. Will be experimenting some more.

Another preparatory sketch. Working in pencil with very few lines and using it more like a brush. I'm still not sure I like it - seems a little too quiet. I like the energy of the lines.

Arm Detail

Detail of CL's arm, preparation for charcoal and watercolor. Did this on the train this morning from a photo on my phone. New tools are exciting.

...and the sketch done on the train

I'm back

Finally moved into my new place - set up my studio and I'm hard at work. I start teaching Drawing on Monday for the next 5 weeks. I'm nervous but excited. Here's a recent self portrait:

Got stuck in the terminal at Hoboken this week for 30 minutes. Made this sketch of three conductors at the shift change. I think it would make an interesting painting. I don't do justice to the Tiffany ticket window. The station ceiling is also covered with antique stained glass from the Tiffany workshop. I need to spend a day there capturing it...so many places to go:

Reclining

Forest for the trees 4-21-07

My buddy Chris very perceptively asked me yesterday if I ever have a problem finding subject matter to sketch. This is a sketch of a flowering pear tree - I sat down to sketch some people walking by a cafe, but the passersby tend to be more "pedestrian" in the burbs. It was then I noticed the elegance of this tree and created a quick study in about 10 minutes while having my coffee. so sometimes you can't see the forest for the trees and somtimes you cant see the tree for the people I guess. Maybe I'll make this the subject matter of a painting - who knows?

Sunbathers on the Christopher Street Pier

Went on Sunday to the pier in NYC to sketch - great location to people watch. The first sketch below is Chris - stylin' in Joe's shades. The others are various people hanging about enjoying the beautiful day. I'm intrigued that the gay community that's moved to Chelsea and Hell's Kitchen still goes down to the Christopher Street pier to sunbathe. Nostalgia, habit? How many of these young guys even know the darker history of the location?

Nude seated

Pencil drawing - still exploring different media.