Enjoy!

iv by Alan Lawson

What’s your name?
Alan Lawson

Where did you grow up?
Scotland/South and Central America

Where do you live now?
Switzerland

How old are you?
38

What is your educational background? What, if anything, did you study?
MA (English Literature) from Aberdeen University, Graduate in Advanced Painting from the Florence Academy of Art – where I also taught drawing for two years.

How do you make a living?
Selling paintings through galleries, portrait commissions, teaching drawing and painting. But it’s not an easy living. It’s a peripatetic existence. I’m very lucky to have some patrons that help me with portrait and landscape commissions, these people are the very best. I don’t think the art world has historically ever survived without the patronage of powerful people. Velazquez had the King of Spain. The Medici court of Florence created the milieu for Botticelli, Ficino et al. So I’m massively grateful to these people and humbled by their generosity.

i by Alan Lawson

How long have you been making art, and what role does that play in your life?
Since I was a child. My mother and my mother’s family are all artists, so I had a lot of encouragement. I went to boarding school and in the long summer holidays I would force my younger brother to sit as a portrait model! We still laugh about that.

There was very little public interest in realistic art when I was growing up, but that was the area I always loved. Art school seemed to be all about concepts and not about skills, which seemed crazy to me since you can study philosophy if you want to study concepts…! So I went to University and studied Philosophy and English and essentially taught myself to draw and paint by copying the masters: Del Sarto to Turner. I refined my skills at the Florence Academy of Art, where I was appointed drawing instructor after a year of study.

What does “art” mean to you?
Art is perhaps the most important human activity. It plays a special slow game… What I mean is that it doesn’t provide the immediate results that say a brain surgeon or a cure for cancer might, but it can slowly drip into social consciousness and change the manner in which society lives or views the world. Some artists see themselves as a zeitgeist. I personally don’t. I see art and ethics as very closely related (they both being axiological, i.e. value systems). To me, for art to be credible and enduring it must be closely tied to the value system of the artist, in other words the question of ‘what should I paint?’ is answered by ‘how should I live?’ sort of. The worst kind of art, to me, is that which is second guessing the market, or using banality in an effort to look original. Artists should be vulnerable and honest and hard working.

So you see art less as an outcome and more as a way to live life. Considering contemporary art, how, in your estimation, is the “slow game” being played, or how is “the manner in which society lives or views the world” being changed as a result? What is current art saying about how live life?
I think the contemporary art scene is largely running out of steam. Modernism had its place, as did postmodernism. I don’t advocate ignoring the historical reasons for these movements or their significance, but one big result of the modernist era was a move away from skills. The result has been a fairly dull period in art rife with poor ‘pasticheurs’ of Picasso or De Kooning. Anything vaguely ‘realistic’ has been called kitsch and actually University art departments have lost their skills in drawing, painting and sculpture. A lot of modern conceptual art is not that ‘conceptual;’ it’s often quite trivial and boring with no technical merit to make up for it.

The term zeitgeist is often banded around. Tracy Emin is perhaps a zeitgeist for something of our time. But not for me, and not for many people. I’m just not that interested in representing those particular narratives. I don’t say they’re not without importance, but I think they have predominated for too long. The world is still filled with hunger, poverty and is heating up at an alarming rate and high profile artists are sticking condoms to pieces of bent metal….?! I’m not sure what it achieves now, perhaps it did have a role, yes actually it did but it’s over…

I think we’ve reached the end of this period and now there is the beginning of a return to things like craft and technical skills, certainly in the USA the tide is turning. Craft is not enough though, if it were the modernist period would not have happened. We need to move forward with craft and concept. So as I said, I’m not bothered about things like zeitgeist. I’m more interested in what it means to be human, to live, to love and to know we’ll perish. I think things matter and I want my work to be closely associated with how I live. Ultimately I want my work to function at a variety of levels: to be beautiful, to be meaningful and to be genuine, and this is how I’ll play my part I suppose.

What role does drawing play in your work? Is it a means to an end, or an end in and of itself?
Drawing is fundamental? The Florence Academy taught me that, there you draw for at least a year before you are allowed to paint. If an attempt at realism is what someone wants then you have to be able to capture true proportions, gesture and correct values. All of this can be done with a piece of charcoal. I think drawing is an end in itself. To be honest, in painting you are always just drawing – drawing with a brush and in colour, it’s just more clumsy and difficult than with a pencil and there are many more possibilities. I would strongly urge anyone that wants to be a painter or sculptor to first study drawing intensively, and draw every day – wherever you are.

Stefano by Alan Lawson

What would you consider your “style” of art to be, if you have one?
Tricky question. I’m not sure I have a style, although people tell me I do. I sometimes wonder whether style is just one’s habitual mistakes or successes. I certainly don’t make conscious stylistic choices. I tend to work intuitively and I only work from life. I just approach nature and do my best at capturing what I see and feel and think. Working from life is always going to be an interplay between the artist, the subject, and that space that separates and binds us. Ummm, ok: the world is very different at a classical mechanical level than it is at a quantum level. How we integrate the qualitative experience of the world with the seemingly counter intuitive knowledge of the way the world is, is a problem for philosophy and for visual artists. When I work I’m always aware that I can choose the area of focus, I can sharpen an edge or make something more colourful. I think it is my job to tell just enough to the viewer, and allow the viewer space to imagine. However, this is easier in painting. In drawing I tend to describe everything with solidity. ‘Drawing like Newton’ can I copyright this phrase?! may not be an accurate narrative of the way the world is but it helps a lot later when painting, especially when the painting is getting lost in atmosphere.

So we don’t ever really copy the world, we translate.

What’s your weapon of choice? What medium and drawing tool do you prefer to use?
Willow Charcoal. I sometimes use Nitram Fusain and very rarely compressed charcoal. I also like a bit of white chalk but willow is something wonderful. I like the fact that our paleolithic ancestors were using similar tools, pieces of burnt stick, to express themselves. In this digital age, with so many shortcuts and efficiencies, I find it very refreshing to be limited by the tools. For this reason I grind my own paints and use old hog hair brushes as well. I recently read that Jack White (of White Stripes fame) uses cheap guitars that need re-tuning, and places things in awkward places around the stage in a bid to make it more difficult….! When things are difficult we try harder and I think it makes the results better.

iii by Alan Lawson

What approach do you take for your work? Do you plan it out or does it emerge spontaneously? How long do you usually work on a piece?
I don’t really plan. I tend to be struck by things or thoughts and just go to work. Then usually I have to take a step back at some point and think a bit about say composition or colour harmony. I’m a very intuitive worker and perhaps a bit too much. For me the process is a kind of controlled rage/joy and I generally walk a very fine line between dancing around the studio and tearing up my work. I’ve thrown away a lot of paintings on the last day in a childish tantrum. It’s quite silly really, but the problem for me is that if I plan everything out and approach a work in a calm and methodical manner I tend to get bored with the entire project and it then shows in the work. So yes, instinct first and then reason comes in to correct and calm. Time? Somethings are very quick – two hours. Some paintings take several months. It just depends on scale and complexity.

Where do you draw inspiration from?
Nature, people, books, music. Everywhere really. I feel quite a strong melancholy a lot of the time, although I hide behind a frivolous demeanor  For me there are great mysteries in this life and I’m completely overwhelmed and surprised by the emotions that living can stir in me. My family are a huge consolation to me and my wife and son inspire me enormously. Christian faith. Though I love to read Nietschze, and Christopher Hitchens was one of my favourite broadcasters, I still think that the Christian faith is fundamentally a ‘no brainer’. This is partly because the theology has evolved slowly with the influence of minds such as Aristotle and Kant and at best it represents the very pinnacle of Western culture, lit as it is from within by a personal and deep dialogue with the divine. That said I think Christianity is in crisis, and is actually morphing into something else, a kind of slack ‘pat myself on the back,’ ‘I’m in the club’ convention. I think Buddhism can help. This probably sounds heretical but I think Christians could do well to spend time at a Buddhist monastery.

I’ve always been a day dreamer and so I tend to wander off with ideas. I also read a lot of poetry and philosophy. Earlier this year I had the great fortune of painting the philosopher Roger Scruton at his home; he is an incredibly erudite, kind and generous man. That was a great inspiration. I’m a mountaineer, so I spend a lot of time outside. That always inspires me.

Andrea by Alan Lawson

Are there any people that influenced you that stand out? What current artists do you follow?
Aristotle. Does that sound a bit pretentious?! Then contemporary virtue theory: MacIntyre, Hauerwas, Philippa Foot etc…

My family.

In terms of artists: Velazquez of course and Titian. Cellini. Then lots of others: Boldini, Mancini, Sorolla, Seago, Turner and so on.

Current artists: Hunter Eddy, Ramiro Sanchez, friends and my former teachers, they are both very accomplished. Daniel Graves of course who is the founder and director of the FAA, he’s a brilliant draftsman and to whom generations of artists owe a debt of gratitude. There are also a lot of great artists in the US, too many to mention.

But I don’t think we have yet reached the technical level of the late nineteenth century, half of the problem is that too many young artists are working from photos and this just doesn’t help you to develop the basic skills.

What are you currently working on?
A selection of narrative paintings: The Narcissus Project. Does that sound suitably mysterious?

Do you have any upcoming events?
Plenty of workshops. Snowpainting in December and again in January. Then portrait, still life and landscape workshops throughout the year. But I also customise programmes for individual students, so at the moment I have two full-time students studying drawing for six months.

Hopefully a solo show next summer. Venue still to be decided upon and a lot of work still to finish.

What would you tell aspiring artists?
Draw and paint from life, only from life, all the time, every day, and when you’re not drawing or painting, keep thinking about it. Look at the world very carefully, look at yourself carefully.

If you’re really serious then apply to study at the Florence Academy, I don’t think there is a better school in the world, it’s particularly strong in drawing.

You place particular importance on drawing from real life, as opposed to from photographs.  What are the advantages from drawing from real life, or conversely, at what disadvantage to artists drawing from photographs put themselves?

Copying photos is not wrong per se, but it limits an artist’s skill development. This is because the camera has already made the decisions about values, so the artist is ‘copying’ the values. The skills you develop then are simply rendering/modelling skills. Working from life is much harder because you have to decide the key for your values and how much to compress the values in certain areas. This is because nature has a bewildering amount of colour values and a piece of charcoal on white paper will only give you about 9 values, so to create a sense of light on form you have to compress the dark areas (making them flat and atmospheric). By compressing the shadows, for example, you then have greater range to model the lights. Hence the old adage: light is form, shadow is atmosphere. So we are not copying but translating nature, that’s how it’s possible to make the 3D illusion on a 2D surface.

Furthermore, take landscape painting, if we use our carnivore eyes and paint everything with the same degree of focus we’ll have a hard time creating a sense of perspective. By working from life with a sense of the whole we can decide the focal point, and allow areas to be softer as they are in our peripheral vision. The lessons from working from life are countless whilst working from photos is quite limiting, unless someone already has developed the skills from life.

Related posts:

1. Steel City Artist: Drawings and Interview with Charles Ott
2. Interview with Scott Move
3. “The Drawing Is the Most Important Part” – Interview with Matt K. Smith

“Classical Drawing Atelier” by Juliette Aristides

Ateliers have produced the greatest artists of all time–and now that educational model is experiencing a renaissance. These studios, a return to classical art training, are based on the nineteenth-century model of teaching artists by pairing them with a master artist over a period of years. Students begin by copying masterworks, then gradually progress to painting as their skills develop. Classical Drawing Atelier is an atelier in a book–and the master is Juliette Aristides, a classically trained artist. On every page, Aristides uses the works of works of Old Masters and today’s most respected realist artists to demonstrate and teach the principles of realist drawing and painting, taking students step by step through the learning curve yet allowing them to work at their own pace. Unique and inspiring, Classical Drawing Atelier is a serious art course for serious art students.

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1. “Kristoff” by Richard T. Scott
2. “The Drawing Is the Most Important Part” – Interview with Matt K. Smith

“Drawing the Human Head” by Burne Hogarth

In 300 extraordinary drawings, Hogarth shows how to draw the head from every angle, age the face from infancy to old age, and delineate every feature and wrinkle.

Related posts:

1. Drawing Study of Human Anatomy by Julius Guzy
2. How to Draw Eyes: 25 Tutorials, Step-by-Steps, How-To’s and Reference Photos on How to Draw Human Eyes
3. "A Grotesque Head" by Leonardo DaVinci

“The Artist’s Complete Guide to Drawing the Head” by William Maughan

In this innovative guide, master art instructor William Maughan demonstrates how to create a realistic human likeness by using the classic and highly accurate modeling technique of chiaroscuro (Italian for “light and dark”) developed by Leonardo da Vinci during the High Renaissance.

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1. "A Grotesque Head" by Leonardo DaVinci

Phonebooth by Jeff Henriquez

Jeff Henriquez was kind enough to participate in another installment of the Drawn in Black interview (more here).  Graffiti has been a passion of mine for a long time, so it’s no surprise that Jeff’s work immediately appealed to me.  His pointillistic photo-realistic renderings of gritty urban artifacts and scenes are a labor of love and patience.  If you want to see his work in person, he has an exhibit at the Dorian Grey Gallery coming up in the spring.

What’s your name?

Jeff Henriquez

Where did you grow up?

Lynn, Massachusetts

Where do you live now?

Boston

How old are you?

37

What is your educational background? What, if anything, did you study?

I got my Bachelors degree from Bradford College in art with a concentration in painting. I went to Howard for my Masters and have a year to complete.

Parking Meter by Jeff Henriquez

How do you make a living?

I’m an art instructor at the West End House Boy’s and Girl’s Club in Boston. Also on the side I do art exhibits and freelance work.

How long have you been making art, and what role does that play in your life?

I’ve been into art since car seats and fat crayons but never thought of myself as an artist until Junior High when I won a school art contest. Since then I stayed into drawing and painting.

Dirty Fence by Jeff Henriquez (click for larger version)

What does “art” mean to you?

Art is everything, and everywhere. You see and use it all the time. From giant paintings and million dollar sculptures, to the shape, color and design of your toothbrush. So it’s all in how you see it. You can’t always define it.

What role does drawing play in your work? Is it a means to an end, or an end in and of itself?

I draw mainly to stay connected to my environment and challenge myself with projects of progressively increasing difficulty. I never use rulers when drawing in ink and I try to maintain a solid integrity with my lines. All together it’s a means to becoming a master of my craft.

Dumpster by Jeff Henriquez (click for larger version)

What would you consider your “style” of art to be, if you have one?

Bruce Lee said, “Become the kettle… I have no fighting style.” Clearly I tend to lean toward the more realist type of stuff because I’m such a technical person and therefore I find it a harder skill to command. But I have done art “in the style of” some abstract painters, Hoffman, Basquiat, Pollack etc.

What’s your weapon of choice? What medium and drawing tool do you prefer to use?

The mighty Micron pen is my favorite tool right now. Most of my new drawings are laid out with a 2H Faber-Castell and finished with Microns 01, 001, 005. It creates super clean work, forces me to work patiently and think my way through the session without f*ckin up the piece. Nah mean?

Truck by Jeff Henriquez (click for larger version)

What approach do you take for your work? Do you plan it out or does it emerge spontaneously? How long do you usually work on a piece?

Some pieces take a month some take only one day. The “truck” painting for example took about 11 hours but I did it one sitting. The “skool” piece took a month because I worked in short 2 hour sittings. Generally, a typical drawing can take 2 days. And, yes I plan the foundation and basic composition of the work then take artistic license in the details juxtaposing little bits here and there to get that “Oh shit” effect when you look closely.

What are you currently working on?

I have a couple projects on the table right now. I have a street sign drawing from LA that I’m doing for my own collection and a commission piece for a client in Boston.

Are there any people that influenced you that stand out? What current artists do you follow?

My favorite of all time is Chuck Close. I know it seems cliche but the first time i saw a 9 foot face staring at me, I was blown away and thought, oh, I need to get up in this… But today there are just too many good artists to reference.

Skool by Jeff Henriquez

What would you tell aspiring artists?

Keep doing what you do and get better a it. Don’t get stuck in a cycle of dumb habits like sloppiness, and lack of practice. Also, take criticism constructively not personally. Use every bit of time to learn from your mistakes. People who study art and look at a lot of artists work can tell the difference between a distinct style and a repeated weakness in execution. Polish all aspects of your work.

Anything you would like share and let us know?

My services are available for shows, live art, tattoo designs, interior decor consultations, commissions commercial and private.

What websites can we find you on?

www.jeffhenriquezart.blogspot.com

You can also google me. Type “jeff henriquez, art” and some interesting things will pop up.

Do you have any upcoming events?

I have an exhibit at Dorian Grey Gallery in New York coming in the spring.

Thanks again to Jeff for taking the time to talk a bit about himself and allowing me to share his work with you!

Related posts:

1. Matt Cassan: Charcoal Art and Interview
2. “The Drawing Is the Most Important Part” – Interview with Matt K. Smith
3. Caricature of Jeff Lafree by Sean Gardner

So your furry feline friend has you feeling inspired, eh?  Well it is no surprise that there are plenty of tutorials on the internet on how to draw the internet’s mascot, the kittayh!  But to be honest, a lot them just ain’t that good.  What I’ve done here is weeded through the garbage and hopefully retained those tutorials which I think are worth your time.

Here we go.

Let’s not mess around – let’s start with the good $#!+  Jack Hamm really breaks it down, as he tends to do, in this book on How to Draw Animals, available here on scribd.com – if you want the physical thang, go get it here on Amazon.

Polly Pinder wrote a book on the topic, you can grab it on Amazon.

Helen South has another good one on about.com. Look at the purdy kitteh!

How awesome is this? Even the master Da Vinci was rocking out some cat drawings – righteous!

This is a nice little tutorial over on dragoart.com, How to Draw a Cat Head by finalprodigy – very nice indeed!

This dark beauty was put together by Carol Rosinski.

Carol also has this guy, buddy on a blanket

Grant Fuller gets furry in his tutorial over on artistnetwork.com.

Good little primer on getting the shape and proportion of your kitty right, by the fellow over at drawing-pencil-sketches.com.

I don’t think the artist ultimately gets the proportions just right, but you can see by this example again how to use shapes to build up your final masterpiece.

Bob Davies breaking down the shapes of a cat – it’s all about the shapes man!

Now this is just funny:

Related posts:

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2. How to Draw a Horse Tutorial
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How to Draw Cats in Simple Steps by Polly Pinder

All drawing is based on the construction of simple lines and shapes, and this easy-to-follow book teaches how to draw short-haired and long-haired cats and kittens in easy, step-by-step stages. Including a good selection of every cat enthusiast’s favorite breeds—from domestic and pedigree cats to the amazingly-patterned tabbies—even absolute beginners will be able to create great drawings following these illustrations.

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1. 10 Tutorials on How to Draw a Cat
2. How to Draw Hands: 35 Tutorials, How-To’s, Step-by-Steps, Videos, Studies, Poses and Photo References

How to Draw Animals by Jack Hamm

Simple, clear instructions for drawing animals with more than 1,000 step-by-step illustrations. Basic fundamentals for the beginner, new principles and techniques for the professional. A detailed guide for everyone who enjoys–or wants to enjoy–drawing.

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Frontal View of Human Skull

Side View of Human Skull

Both of the preceding illustrations are from Grey Anatomy.  There are also some real skulls:

Human Skull Frontal View

Human Skull Side View

Here’s another poor soul (at least I’m pretty sure they’re real!); these are nicely lit and show great detail:

Here’s another nice three quarters view, this time with a full set of teeth:

There’s also this guy with a nice and interesting looking up perspective:

This is how the master, Da Vinci himself, drew the skull:

Of course these just scratch the surface.  If you really want to dive into the anatomy of the skull and learn what each nook and cranny is called, check out one of these:

• Skull Anatomy Tutorial
• Anatomy of the Skull
• Skull Bones | Cranial and Facial Bones

Hopefully this has been helpful, and as you can see, the internet is truly awesome and a great resource when it comes to advancing your drawing skills.  I leave you with this guy, found on Flicker Commons:

Related posts:

1. How to Draw a Skull: 50 How-to’s, Tutorials, Studies, Photo References, Videos, and Inspirational Skull Illustrations
2. Drawing Study of Human Anatomy by Julius Guzy
3. 7 Tutorials on How to Draw the Human Anatomy / Body / Figure

"Drawing: Horses" by Walter T. Foster

With assistance from Michele Maltseff, artist Walter T. Foster shows you how to render a variety of different horse breeds in pencil, with tips on adding touches with charcoal, crayon, and brush and ink. In this step-by-step book, he explains not only a number of drawing techniques and special effects but also his own method of developing a drawing to its fullest. You will learn about various breeds and their proportions, starting with their heads and then progressing to full bodies. And in addition to helpful drawing instruction, Horses also contains a wealth of beautiful equine drawings you can both copy and admire! It’s a fabulous addition to any artist’s drawing reference library.

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