After Manet, Olympia

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Digital drawing after a painting ‘Olympia’ by the artist Manet. I think this was another one of the challenges I drew at sketchfu. It’s a few years since I drew it. Apologies to anyone who does not like nude pictures. Edouard Manet was a French artist born 1832 died 1883.

From Wikipedia :

“Born into an upper-class household with strong political connections, Manet rejected the future originally envisioned for him, and became engrossed in the world of painting. His early masterworks, The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l’herbe) and Olympia, both 1863, caused great controversy and served as rallying points for the young painters who would create Impressionism. Today, these are considered watershed paintings that mark the start of modern art. The last 20 years of Manet’s life saw him form bonds with other great artists of the time, and develop his own style that would be heralded as innovative and serve as a major influence for future painters.”

When I was studying art Manet was one of my favourite artists. I also loved the French impressionists. I wish I had the skills to actually paint in his style. This is the closest I ever got.

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My Sketchfu drawings

There used to be quite a basic drawing website called Sketchfu. These are drawings I did there and saved before the site closed around 2013?

Some of them were challenges to copy images that had been posted to the site. It was a good community and I’m proud to say I helped moderate it over quite a few years. All images are digital drawings by myself, not photos.

Lifeline

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So many years ago, 2003 was when I did this art work. The hand print was a photocopy of my hand I think. Then I used photoshop to add colours using flood fill and a drawing tool. Finally I used one of the texture tools to break the image up into shards.

16 years on its at my studio at Spode. I really want to do more experimental stuff. I have been trying to get in the front room where my computer is but it’s full of my partners train stuff which I don’t want to move.

Life can be complicated. You have to have give and take. That’s what my lifeline was shining I guess (although I don’t believe in that kind of thing).

Partner

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Well it’s a reasonable attempt at a portrait as he was moving for most of it. Bug I do think he looks like a tired Liam Neilson! We’ve been together for almost 40 years. A lifetime. We’ve both changed. Got older and creakier. I think I’m lucky being the younger one. But I do want him to stay healthy and enjoy his life. Today was his birthday so I took him out for lunch and to a garden centre. His choice of present? Compost and a brazier to burn garden rubbish in. We’ll practical at least. Tonight we might go out again, or a takeaway. Then we have a couple of other entertaining things to do later in the week.

 

Old life drawing

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Last year I used to go to to life drawing class on Wednesday evenings. But the winter weather put me off and now I’ve lost the habit because I have been so busy lately. I would love to go back, but it depends on the rest of my life. I enjoy drawing and was going out with urban sketchers too. I need a big wall planner I think!

Anyway I hope you like this drawing of a musician playing his guitar.

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Xie Xie, thanks in chinese.

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I was just sitting in my local Chinese takeaway restaurant and decided to draw one of the fish they have swimming round in a large tank. When I had done it and the food was ready I showed my drawing to the lady behind the counter. I explained that it was a quick sketch as the fish kept swimming. It looks a bit worried but that’s just my drawing.

I asked how to say thank you as the food there is always lovely and the people in the restaurant said xie Xie and wrote it down next to the sketch. They are Mandarin speakers. I had asked if they were Cantonese. But they said no. The words are very similar in both languages but that the writing of Chinese script is the same in both languages (dialects). I think I remember reading that in a friends blog here, that even if the words are pronounced differently the script is the same.

Anyway it was a tasty supper and it’s nice to communicate even if it’s only with a few shared words.

Thinking about it the words I have learnt in other languages like Greek and Thai all tend to be the ones meaning please and thank you. I must have been bought up right!

Gallop

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Gallop, race, run, jump.

The horse runs free.

Soar over hedges and fences,

Fly across the hills.

White horse of chalk

Black horse of earth.

Where are your wings?

You fly so high.

Graceful and beautiful

Full of energy

Vibrant with power.

Fleeing from capture

Running from man

Escape to the hills

Straight as an arrow

Sharp as a beam of light,

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Then the horse becomes the unicorn…

Illness

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Two years ago I ended up in hospital and had to go on intravenous antibiotics. I was so miserable I decided to get my partner to bring a sketch book in so I could at least draw the view.

The room I was in was on one of the top floors, so unless I got close to the window all I could see was a few rooftops then sky. I took a few photos of the drawings on my phone while I was there for a few days.

My most miserable memory was the food. Tasteless stuff, pap, soft with no flavour. How patients are supposed to get better when the food is so awful … I think it must have cost pence to make. I remember enjoying the sandwiches, they were the only tasty thing in there.

Apart from that everyone was good and kind. But I was pleased to escape. Unfortunately when the ambulance took me home there was no one there to let me in! Luckily my partner turned up so I managed to avoid being carted back to the hospital! Happily we don’t normally have to pay for treatment in this country. Long may it remain so.

Tonight’s sketches.

These are the best of the bunch of sketches I did at the Beehive pub in Honeywall tonight. Some of the others were not too bad, but when you are trying to draw moving people it is difficult to get enough information down rapidly enough. That was what happened with the other ones – I was not speedy enough.

One image I do want to get is my friend Kate playing the trombone. It’s a wonderful sound in a small pub. I’m also in love with the gleam and reflections on it. Next month I will try and get closer and do a better drawing if I can.

These drawings were done in a Seawhite of Brighton Plein Air Sketchbook size A5 with watercolour paper. Using a Bic grip roller black roller ball pen.