The time between completing one drawing and starting out on another is never a comfortable one...if I stop for too long it is never easy to start off again and sometimes the ideas just will not come...so when the light bulb goes on in my head it's time to grab it by the horns. Ok - wrong choice of metaphors and the light bulb will probably not survive that...
This idea hatched a few days ago...I must have been looking at a reproduction of Grant Wood's iconic American Gothic - painted around 1930 - or just possibly one of the many parodies it has spawned over time. So I reckoned why not a Maltese parody on the subject. We have our own iconic neo-Gothic cemetery and our local gravediggers have a reputation of sorts - specifically that they are often insensitive to the point of uncouthness during burials...understandably a poignant moment for the relatives and friends of the recently departed.
So I find myself drawing a rough sketch of what the picture/composition might look like just a couple of days after completing work on my previous drawing - a luxury in the sense that I now have something to chew on, an idea that needs development, and questions that I will ask myself. What will the characters look like? Will I add a couple of tools of the trade - like a wrecking bar for instance - thus consciously imitating Grant Wood's pitchfork-carrying countryman? Will the scene be at night or should I go for a dreary daytime grey sky? Which part of the cemetery should I include as backdrop? The magnificent main chapel or the main gate as in this preliminary doodle?
A few sketches will definitely help clear these dilemmas. What is fairly certain is that the long process of composing a picture has started and I am enjoying it.
Practically that's enough for now!
This blog post will be updated with progress on this drawing as I plod along...
This idea hatched a few days ago...I must have been looking at a reproduction of Grant Wood's iconic American Gothic - painted around 1930 - or just possibly one of the many parodies it has spawned over time. So I reckoned why not a Maltese parody on the subject. We have our own iconic neo-Gothic cemetery and our local gravediggers have a reputation of sorts - specifically that they are often insensitive to the point of uncouthness during burials...understandably a poignant moment for the relatives and friends of the recently departed.
So I find myself drawing a rough sketch of what the picture/composition might look like just a couple of days after completing work on my previous drawing - a luxury in the sense that I now have something to chew on, an idea that needs development, and questions that I will ask myself. What will the characters look like? Will I add a couple of tools of the trade - like a wrecking bar for instance - thus consciously imitating Grant Wood's pitchfork-carrying countryman? Will the scene be at night or should I go for a dreary daytime grey sky? Which part of the cemetery should I include as backdrop? The magnificent main chapel or the main gate as in this preliminary doodle?
A few sketches will definitely help clear these dilemmas. What is fairly certain is that the long process of composing a picture has started and I am enjoying it.
Practically that's enough for now!
This blog post will be updated with progress on this drawing as I plod along...
Maltese Gothic / Id-Deffiena - exploratory sketch 18/06/2013
Does a grave digger look like this? Exploratory character sketch - I like the hare lip...
Tall, gangly type...
Sourced photo of the Addolorata gate helps me to start drafting...
In reality the sourced photo is very little to go on - so I drive to Addolorata and take a few pictures myself on a Saturday morning. Now at least I know what the detailed carving looks like up close - though I will use artistic licence liberally...
Pencil work ready - four days after I started. Still have not figured out what color scheme to use,
a monochromatic scale is also an option.
a monochromatic scale is also an option.
Tentative pen work in black and sepia while keeping an eye on the complicated symmetry
(no pun intended)
(no pun intended)
Straight line-work...I hate this part of the drawing
A color scheme starts to emerge - blue-grey sky, diffused trees and a subdued palette...
...and finally Maltese Gothic is done.
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