Inherited thoughts on Creating Art

My Aunt Barbara was an amazing artist and I am lucky enough to have several of her original drawings in my possession. There is also a website about her work, although it is in Polish and I have yet to translate it fully. However, there is one passage that I was able to get a rough translation of, and I'd like to share what I think she is saying. (Barbara had a large area of land with a studio, her sculptures were placed all around the land and her home, living among nature)

"Living among nature has shown me what was unknown to me until now. I have seen the implicit miracle in a seed, a grain, a kernel. I have accepted sun and rain as it accompanies joy and difficulty. I have stood in humility in accordance with the chain of spring and fall, continuous births and dying, I have felt as I am part of nature, with every other creation on a level, to the magic round of existence. I am a sculptor."

Figure Drawing...Two Nude Female Models Drawn is Dastel

Our lucky figure drawing group had two lovely models last night! They always do such wonderful gesture poses, and here are two five-minute sketches from our session.

(I actually posed for the first round of 2-minute gestures, clothed, because our models were going to be delayed. As I took the first pose Bruce said "well I guess we get partial nudity". I forgot that I was wearing low-riding jeans and took a pose that, well, made them go VERY low...I am told that the color on my cheeks and the expression on my face was priceless. )

This is a shot of my drawing in progress - Nupastel on Colorfix pastel board. I was trying to be colorful, but mindful of staying in the middle value range, saving highlights and deep shadows until the very end, after making sure all proportions were accurate.

I may still add more color to the environment. I like the composition as it is, and that the legs of the model on the left are only implied, not fully defined.

This is a quick (35 minutes of drawing time) portrait from the opposite side of the room.

This is my mom's drawing! I told you she would come to class with me! Didn't she do a great job? She worked in mostly vine charcoal, and spent a lot of time working on her proportions. She developed light and shadow over the entire drawing at the same time, not getting too dark in any area too quickly. She also blocked in the shapes nicely, not depending on too much line to define the figures. Other than a few marks I made to help define the heads, this is 100% Maria!

Artistic Talent... A Hereditary Trait

I strongly believe that my artistic talent was inherited from my mother's side of the family - her Aunt (my great aunt Barbara Bieniulis) was an amazing artist, as was her father (my great grandfather Zygmunt Bieniulis).

The portrait on the left is by my Aunt Barbara, probably at least 35-40 years ago in Warsaw, Poland. I just received it this year from my Grandfather's estate - I had never seen it before. The portrait on the right I created in 2003.

I am shocked at the line quality, the characteristics of the eyes, the attitude in the neck, the treatment of the nose...they are all so similar! One eyebrow is straight, the other is curved...

I am in awe of the similarities. I am feeling so grateful that I inherited her incredible talent. I hope I can do her justice!

Artistry...a hereditary talent

This group of drawings represents three different generations of artists in my family. The more traditional figure drawing on the left was done by my great grandfather in Warsaw, Poland over 50 years ago. The more abstract female nude was drawn by his daughter - my great aunt Barbara - also in Poland. And the more colorful figure drawing I did about 4 years ago. I love the way they resonate with each other and our styles - though vastly different - all have similar elements. I especially like the way my shoulder and the shoulder on Barbara' drawing have almost the exact same line leading down to the hand.

Artistry...a hereditary talent

My three year old Jack has loved to paint and draw for a long time now. I never make him try to draw something specific or use a certain technique - I just make materials available to him and encourage him to GO! Here he is working in what was my studio, but I guess now at the very least it's our studio!

Truly abstract! So gutsy! Picasso had said something along the lines of "spending his whole life trying to draw like a five year old"...I can see why! Oh, to go back to just creating for the love of creating...

Artistry...a hereditary talent

I'm sure we've all noticed over the years that we share certain traits with our parents. The good (I can draw like mom!) and the bad (my knees are knobby and I have a temper...just like DAD!). I have recently been the lucky recipient of a pile of artwork from my great grandfather on my mother's father's side, as well as some artwork from my mother's Aunt. The journey of discovering who they were thru their art has been amazing.

The most startling revelations have come from the similarities between my artwork and their artwork - never, ever crossing paths, but yet somehow we are connected.

A sample comparisson-

A drawing of a knight on a horse, one drawn by me a few years ago (drawing from a statue) and one drawn by my great grandfather over 50 years ago in Warsaw, Poland. I had no idea that this drawing of my great grandfather's existed.