faces

The old farm

A recent ink painting by Tarragon.

Grey-Eyed Goddess

A drawing done from life, in perhaps ten minutes, during a classically themed Keyhole Session in Toronto.

Sharin Barber and Bryce

The talented Sharin Barber, master of portraits and animals, drawing Bryce. I was drawing Bryce too.

Summertime Sadness

a church

The apse of a church in the village of Settignano, which is located a short trek east of Florence. It is not, to my knowledge, a church of any particular interest, but if you walk around it you will discover an abrupt turn that is not visible until you are upon, and which leads to a narrow path above a rural valley.

It's a beautiful and rarely frequented walk, and one I recommend for anyone who enjoys tramping around in Tuscany.

The picture was done with gouache, in less time than it ought.

Some games are bigger than others

Jacki and Rob, dawn from life in 60 seconds.

no chances to rewind

a boy in my dreams

A small linocut. The original is less than three inches to a side. That's not why this picture lacks polish, however. It's possible to achieve incredible precise results with lino- (and wood-) cuts. Sometimes, however, I prefer it rough.

A drawing done from life, in around ten minutes, with markers.

Portrait sketch

A portrait sketch by Tarragon. An easel painting in oils is not a light undertaking. It takes time and effort, of course, but also requires space for longstanding messiness. Oil does not dry swiftly. Nor is the rather factory-like perfume it exudes the sort of thing you want to keep in your kitchen.

Which is why Tarragon, like most painters in oils, makes small sketches in order to plan out larger paintings. That way you can be confident of the composition before breaking out the big guns.

Hamza

I know I'll see you

I made this drawing with a black brush pen at a Toronto Keyhole Session in February of 2012.

The colours came later, in photoshop. It's a bit more garish than I'm used to. I recall that I was listening to A Place to Bury Strangers when I chose that green. Which may seem a trivial reason to select such an aggressive hue, but a lot of this comes down to instinct, and instinct comes down to experience, aural and otherwise.

Only a week into classes and already people are asleep. Shocking!

reclining model

One of those quick marker drawings.

Apres Hiroshige

Of late the British Museum has been in the habit of getting Julian Opie to curate shows of Japanese prints. Dream job, in my opinion. I hope they keep doing it.

In 2007 Opie selected a whole range of Hiroshige prints, including the late triptychs. Tarragon and I saw them that winter, and a little bit later Tarragon made this oil sketch based on one of them.

Specifically, the view of Shisaku, Iki Province, from the series Famous Views of the Sixty-Odd Provinces.

It's a nice painting, but I find it a bit jarring to see a Hiroshige view without that rich and characteristic blue that is so common in his landscapes. I suppose the cooler blue in Tarragon's painting suits the snowy scene.

Just some quick sketches from life.

let's think about this carefully

Florentine alley

A view down the Canto del Guidalotti in Florence. It's a small watercolour, done while leaning against the opposite wall.