Morgan saves the Day

Our scheduled model Wailana did not show up and so we pressed our youngest prettiest member into service as a substitute model. She had never done it before but likes to do new things, and as it turned out she was a natural. So beautiful and graceful that Matisse for sure would have loved to draw her!

Our model for next Saturday is a great and very well developed body builder named Joe, and so I am thinking of changing my plan for our Thursday afternoon class. I think I will lead a crash study of anatomy and the way the muscles attach to the skeletal structure, to help keep students from getting lost in the array of fine bumpy muscles that Joe will present.

(Materials will be provided)

First Life Drawing Session

I began my five-week life drawing intensive with an exercise in seeing negative shapes. If you can recall the coyote (from the roadrunner cartoons) punching through a wall at high speed, and leaving his exact shape as a hole in the wall, the solid wall would be his negative shape. These can be very helpful in composing a drawing, and getting the shape of the body to fall into place on the paper.

So I cut some large cardboard frames, and had Neil model on a table behind them so you could only see parts of his body, surrounded by various-shaped glimpses of the white wall behind. Then I had the students draw that rectangle in careful perspective (a challenge in itself!) and then sketch the white areas in white conte. As the group struggled with this concept I berated myself over a really bad way to start the class, but by the end of the 2 1/2 hours they were getting it and producing some great drawings! And overall they agreed that it was a helpful lesson.

Next week I plan to review the gesture drawing and why it is part of our usual life drawing practice. I'll also give a quick review of anatomy and human proportions.

Register for this class (Thursday afternoons for the month of July) by calling me at 965-7642! Or email me at arthurjohnsen@hotmail.com.

We also have a non-instructional session Saturday mornings at my studio from 9-11:30 AM, model fee by donation.

Life Drawing with Arthur Johnsen

Arthur will have his first life drawing session with instructions this Thursday, July 2nd, from 2 to 4:30. Be ready to learn a lot. Materials for the first class will be provided. Please call 965-7642 and let him know you're coming. (Click Image to enlarge)

Art Opening, Friday, June 19th

Here's our newest gallery member, Bonnie Sol-Hahn, putting up her work for the latest show. 'Little Paintings of the BIG'. She's the featured artist but the rest of us will have new paintings as well.

Hula at the Gallery!

With very short notice, Kumu hula (teacher) Ehulani Stephanie agreed to bring members of her halau (hula school) down to the gallery first Friday evening April 3 to perform for our art opening. Cosette, Tuko and I created some new work to celebrate the month of Merrie Monarch, which of course is a huge Hawaiian cultural event in Hilo. We hope to add to our collection of new paintings as the actual week approaches.

I found inspiration for my works in some photos taken by my friend Nikko at one of the halau's performances, so it was especially wonderful to have them dance in the gallery. Another source: last year's opening night performance by another great halau, the Halau o Kekuhi, excited me with their incredible bright yellow pa'u costumes with twisted tapa belts.

Sketches for a Legend

I did some sketches for a hotel project I might get to do. The painting would be a large one for behind a reception desk, so a Hawaiian legend was proposed. I enjoy doing sketches of this sort because one can give free play to the imagination within the bounds of what one knows of the tradition. The hard part comes later when you have to make sure everything fits in with some accuracy and with no insult to the culture. These images are from the story of Pele and Hiiaka, where Pele travels in her spirit body and dazzles the court of Lohi'au, prince of Kaua'i. Later Hi'iaka, Pele's sister, must bring Lohi'au back to life from where his body has been hidden high on the Napali cliffs. Then finally I sketched the two of them descending back to the shore on a rainbow, which is one version of the story.

In the Garden

There's a part of me that likes to just plunk down in front of a plant and draw it. I never think this is a very sale-able artform but Mary Philpotts ASID occasionally makes use of dense and subtle drawings of botanical subjects. I guess they link to an art tradition in Hawai'i that goes back to a time when tropical florals were new and exciting subjects for Westerners. Here are some I did recently in Davis Dalbok's garden and one from the garden at Ramashala, a nearby retreat center.