Lendy and I have been trading drawing images lately. She sent me these by Ginny Grayson. Lendy and I often share artworks with each other, some of them end up in V. Notes. We’ve been sharing drawings especially because we both love them so much, and they are underrepresented in galleries and museums. People often want to learn drawing so they can move on to other mediums, like painting. But why? How can an entire medium of loveliness be seen as being inferior to another, viewed as a stepping stone, when clearly they are beautiful and conceptually rich on their own.
Perhaps it is the money. Drawings on paper need to be framed and protected, and often the frame ends up costing more than the artwork itself. Paper and graphite earns 1/10th of what paint and canvas earn (I am making this number up but I am publishing this on the Internet so it must be true), and work on paper doesn’t last 300 years like some paintings do, leaving drawings unprofitable for investors and unaffordable for both the artist and the gallery. What a pity.
And yet drawings are wonderful to make, and lovely to look at. So much is learned and experienced through drawing. I have deep reverence for the sound of charcoal on paper in an otherwise quiet room. The soft brush of charcoal on paper is the sound of focus and curiosity. The process of drawing is the process of seeing, and that is not unlike the experience of falling in love.
On the artist’s website, Ginny Grayson says “(…) my preference has always been for the works that look more like a smudge / pile of dust, then the form slowly becomes recognisable. It is the process of working with the medium, mistakes and what evolves that I find most rewarding.”
See more on her website.
There’s a Tuesday evening drawing class starting October 8th. Who’s tempted? Click here to learn more.
Hopper is known for his oil paintings, but he also made etchings… Hopper was not initially successful as an artist, so he made ends meet with freelance illustration work… Frank Rehn gave Hopper his first solo show in 1924. Hopper was 42. The Seattle Art Museum expected to receive Chop Suey after the death of …
Feet in blanket, drypoint and embossed chine-collé on 14×11″ Rives gray BFK. (The color is a little dark and dull in this photo, because the paper was still wet) An accidental print resulted in some body-less feet at the bottom of the page, and Nikki had a brilliant idea to add chine-collé to the empty …
From my previous post: Daily painters are artists who start and finish a painting every day-ish. Sometimes they slow down a bit, or take holidays and sabbaticals, but the basic idea is they do small quick studies frequently. (…) Daily practice makes you more decisive, and improves your artwork fast. Notable daily painters are Duane Keiser, Julian Merrow-Smith, and Carol …
Previously I posted a request for artworks related to the 6′ of space social distancing rule. This call for art has expanded to include anything and everything related to your experience in this quarantine. Open to any media (photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, writing, etc). Must be a League member to submit. IMPORTANT: Use the subject line 6′ …
Ginny Grayson’s drawings
Lendy and I have been trading drawing images lately. She sent me these by Ginny Grayson. Lendy and I often share artworks with each other, some of them end up in V. Notes. We’ve been sharing drawings especially because we both love them so much, and they are underrepresented in galleries and museums. People often want to learn drawing so they can move on to other mediums, like painting. But why? How can an entire medium of loveliness be seen as being inferior to another, viewed as a stepping stone, when clearly they are beautiful and conceptually rich on their own.
Perhaps it is the money. Drawings on paper need to be framed and protected, and often the frame ends up costing more than the artwork itself. Paper and graphite earns 1/10th of what paint and canvas earn (I am making this number up but I am publishing this on the Internet so it must be true), and work on paper doesn’t last 300 years like some paintings do, leaving drawings unprofitable for investors and unaffordable for both the artist and the gallery. What a pity.
And yet drawings are wonderful to make, and lovely to look at. So much is learned and experienced through drawing. I have deep reverence for the sound of charcoal on paper in an otherwise quiet room. The soft brush of charcoal on paper is the sound of focus and curiosity. The process of drawing is the process of seeing, and that is not unlike the experience of falling in love.
On the artist’s website, Ginny Grayson says “(…) my preference has always been for the works that look more like a smudge / pile of dust, then the form slowly becomes recognisable. It is the process of working with the medium, mistakes and what evolves that I find most rewarding.”
See more on her website.
There’s a Tuesday evening drawing class starting October 8th. Who’s tempted? Click here to learn more.
Related Posts
Did you know this about Edward Hopper?
Hopper is known for his oil paintings, but he also made etchings… Hopper was not initially successful as an artist, so he made ends meet with freelance illustration work… Frank Rehn gave Hopper his first solo show in 1924. Hopper was 42. The Seattle Art Museum expected to receive Chop Suey after the death of …
Some Pretty Paintings: Chine-collé and cold little feet
Feet in blanket, drypoint and embossed chine-collé on 14×11″ Rives gray BFK. (The color is a little dark and dull in this photo, because the paper was still wet) An accidental print resulted in some body-less feet at the bottom of the page, and Nikki had a brilliant idea to add chine-collé to the empty …
Daily Painters: Julian Merrow-Smith
From my previous post: Daily painters are artists who start and finish a painting every day-ish. Sometimes they slow down a bit, or take holidays and sabbaticals, but the basic idea is they do small quick studies frequently. (…) Daily practice makes you more decisive, and improves your artwork fast. Notable daily painters are Duane Keiser, Julian Merrow-Smith, and Carol …
Call for Art: 6′ of Space
Previously I posted a request for artworks related to the 6′ of space social distancing rule. This call for art has expanded to include anything and everything related to your experience in this quarantine. Open to any media (photography, drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, writing, etc). Must be a League member to submit. IMPORTANT: Use the subject line 6′ …