Drawing from a model in pencil. We had a great model for portraiture last week. After the drawing session, I did a quick sketch of her from a picture I got of her between poses. Her face is so expressive.
Month: January 2021
Civil Rights in American History
Civil Rights
I grew up in Hawaii and in our schools there was no extensive study of the founding fathers and the creation of American Civil Rights. Our level of education generally wasn’t the greatest. So, I am taking a free course online at Hillsdale College to learn about them now.
Learning
The first lecture was, “Why Civil Rights Matter“. It introduced me to begin considering things I have never really sat down and thought about.
The second lecture was, “Civil Rights and the American Founding.” Now, I have to bust out the dictionary to keep up but the effort is well worth it. It kind of explains the different types of rights involved. I am learning about American politics and how things are supposed to work.
Before being confronted the next time, maybe you too would like to be more informed. How is our government supposed to work? Hopefully, the next confrontation with an excited liberal will be less stressful. I want to be able to talk calmly and intelligently about truth, instead of reacting to inflated emotions?
I’d suggest that you take this course. In fact, I wish all Americans would.
Dream Inspirations
Dreams
A lot of my images are gift dream inspirations. A vivid dream occurs with an image or sound and sometimes words are spoken. If I am lucky, it flashes through my mind right as I wake up and I run down to the studio to put it down on paper before it fades away. This pencil sketch is one of those dreams.
Answers
I went to bed worried about the state of the world asking, “What am I going to do Lord?”. You know, one of those times when the world’s troubles monopolize your mind making it impossible to feel any serenity.
Be careful when you ask the Man Upstairs for advice, cause you usually get a real direct reply. This was a reply with Him standing in the wind saying, “Don’t lose your Focus!” as He reached out to me, and right then, a bright white dove returned home to sit on His hand. His eye had a great sparkle that extended out making everything bright. Right then I knew everything would be alright.
Steps to do a pencil rendering of that dream. I first sketch out a very preliminary layout moving items here and there to get the basic idea down. I begin to search my image files and the internet for references for the hand position, and the facial expression. Next is a search for a flying dove image in my reference books and online. With the help of PhotoShop I am able to build a layout to work from that fits what I remember.
