The Great Michelangelo

I thought that you might like to see a portrait painting of Michelangelo. Unfortunately I was not the one that painted this portrait, it was done by Jacobino Del Conte. Here is a little more information about Michelangelo: Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci.

Michelangelo

Once again a copy of Michelangelo´s work. This copy was done with a dip pen and some pastel.

I´m back, I´m back

I'm back online again, although I have not been online, I have still done my daily drawings. So here is for yesterday as well as for today.

A few images because:

I will probably not have access to the internet for a few days, so to that end, I have uploaded a few drawing to cater for each daily image I´m supposed to put up. Obligations are obligations. I will still be drawing daily, so if these do not cover the days that I do not have access, it will be made good with some others. One drawing per day for a year was promised and so it shall be delivered. Picasso, Modigliani, Matisse, Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Frida kahlo, Raphael Sanzio, Albrecht Dürer, to name some of the greats that will be copied.

Flogging a dead horse

Unfortunately I do not have the complete image to copy, but the main thought that went though my mind was the saying "Its like flogging a dead horse". That saying was a favorite of my father's , when he was trying to convince some one of the errors of their ways, and he was not making any headway. The original artist was Raphael Sanzio.

Raphael Sanzio

This drawing was a pleasure to do, sometimes the art flows and other times there just seems to be blockage. This was a great time - almost a type of high was felt when doing this image. Hvae a good weekend everyone!

Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse

Henri-Émile-Benoît Matisse, 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954, was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter. Matisse is commonly regarded, along with Picasso and Marcel Duchamp, as one of the three artists who helped to define the revolutionary developments in the plastic arts in the opening decades of the 20th century, responsible for significant developments in painting and sculpture. Although he was initially labelled a Fauve (wild beast), by the 1920s he was increasingly hailed as an upholder of the classical tradition in French painting. His mastery of the expressive language of colour and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.

Matisse

The great Matisse, this is a copy of one of his drawings. When I finished with the drawing I felt quiet satisfied with the result. However, the next day looking at the image, it stuck me that I had made her right leg too thin. It is amazing how many times this situation happens. It is like writing something today and then reading it tomorrow. and one thinks" Wow did I write this crap!". Anyway, it needs to be shown as a days drawing.

Giulio Ramano

Giulio Romano (c. 1499 – 1 November 1546) was an Italian painter and architect. A pupil of Raphael, his stylistic deviations from high Renaissance classicism help define the 16th-century style known as Mannerism. Giulio's drawings have long been treasured by collectors; contemporary prints of them engraved by Marcantonio Raimondi were a significant contribution to the spread of 16th-century Italian style throughout Europe. I added in the pastel and did the drawing with a dip pen on recycled paper.

Jacques Callot

This copy was done from the work of Jacques Callot. Jacques Callot (1592–1635) was a baroque print maker and draftsman from the Duchy of Lorraine (an independent state on the North-Eastern border with France, Southwestern border of Germany and overlapping the Southern Netherlands). He is an important figure in the development of the old master print. He made over 1,400 brilliantly detailed etchings that chronicled the life of his period, featuring soldiers, clowns, drunkards, Gypsies, beggars, as well as court life. He also etched many religious and military images, and many prints featured extensive landscapes in their background.

Luca Signorelli

Now this is an interesting artist and not that well known. Luca Signorelli. He was born Luca d'Egidio di Ventura in Cortona, Tuscany (some sources call him Luca da Cortona). The precise date of his birth is uncertain; birth dates of 1441–1445 are proposed. He died in 1523 in Cortona, where he is buried. He was perhaps eighty-two years old. He is considered to be part of the Tuscan school, although he also worked extensively in Umbria and Rome.This copy was done on recycled paper with a dip pen and pastel.

Raphael Sanzio on the statue of David

Raphael Sanzio drew this of the famous statue of David. Whats interesting about this drawing is the perspective. The statue was higher than the artist, hence the legs looked longer than in reality. This artist understood the technique of foreshortening. I drew this with a dip pen and filled in the back ground with pastel.

Could Jackson Pollock have drawn like this?

Jackson Pollock, the much admired American Abstract Expressionist, is one of my favorite. But the question is: Could he have drawn like the great masters or anything close to it? Some people think that you can not call yourself an artist until you manage the skills in drawing, myself included. So when one gets a little weary of training on a daily basis, one can not help but start to look for excuses like: Jackson Pollock, Vieira da Silva or Kandinsky not not paint pictures that demonstrated that - So why should I keep at it? But the next day, ones at it again. By the way this is a copy of Michelangelo's work. Have a good weekend.

Handy work by Michelangelo

The study of hands was a favorite of Michelangelo's. So I thought that i would give it a go again. Naturally I added in the colour background. The drawing was done with graphite and pastel on recycled paper.

Annibale Carraccie

This drawing that I copied was done in Charcoal and Pastel. The original did not have the face fully drawn, so neither did I finish it.

I Thought I would show you a self portrait of the original artist.

Simple drawing

Today's drawing was rather on the simple side, but the hatching was practiced to help give the illusion of shape.

A take on Albrecht Dürer

This copy that was made, has had some colour added in, but it still looks like a very server looking woman. I think that this model was very strangely formed, or the artists appropriation of proportion is to me, very strange. I was reading that each artist assigns his own ratio of proportions to the human figure. Dürer, Rafael and Michelangelo, not to mention some others, all used different proportions for the human figure. Could this have been the result of the type/race of the people that he was working with. In other words, the models in Italy had a slightly different proportion to the models in Holland or Belgium?

Portrait - Albrecht Dürer

Those old masters often drew small children and babies, I suppose it had something to do with religion and the Baby Angels and Jesus. This one done by Albrecht shows a child that looks normal, but there is anther of his drawing where the child looks like it is snarling. I will have to have a go at that one as well.

Albrecht Dürer

Once again, and without a doubt, this artists work will be shown again, Yes, its Albrecht Dürer again! The man was a tower of strengh and talent.

Gues who

That's right - Albrecht Dürer again. An image very similar to the one that was done yesterday. Have a good weekend

Once again, Albrecht Dürer

Once again, Albrecht Dürer. I keep coming back to his drawings, why? Well maybe it has to do with the way that he draws, he seems to be particular about using hatching. Not many artist use this technique today, but it is a very effective way of rendering a 3 dimensional object. It might also have something to do with the fact he was a printer and therefore used some technique to print the images, that left a undeniable mark on his drawing. In other words: he drew in such a way that lent itself favorably to printing.

Naked Man

Since I have been on the hunt for images of the most famous drawing masters, I have noticed that there are considerably more drawing of naked men than woman. Apparently it was more expensive to hire a nude male model than female(In that time), but this did not deter them. This is in stark contrast with today, where we think of nude models as woman only. In fact, I heard about an exhibition in one of the towns in Europe, where the theme was male nudes. The public reaction in general was very negative, to the extent that some of the images had to be removed from the shows publicity. (Unfortunately I do not remember the name of the town where this exhibition took place). I think that the public in general, has to rethink their present "Acceptableness".

Am I a forger?

No !!! I copy the great masters for one reason only, to learn from their techniques. None of these drawing have been pushed as the original, neither have they been sold for financial gain. And anyone with some knowledge of these drawing will very easily be able to state that they are not the originals. I redid yesterdays drawing as I was not happy with it.

Michelangelo and a Little Calligraphy

Playing arond with a little calligraphy will copying an image of Michelangelo.

Copy of an ugly face

This is one of the drawings from Michelangelo. He was found of drawing some very ugly portraits of people, that probably had a very hard life.

Annibale Carracci Copy

I found another drawing by Annibale Carracci, a little similar to the one that was done yesterday. Originally it was done with black chalk. This copy was done with charcoal and pastel. Have a good day.

A copy of Annibale Carracci

This is a copy of an artist that I have not copied before, Annibale Carracci. I also have not heard of him so I will be looking for more information. The white highlights and background I obviously added in. I hope that none of you are sitting at home on this cold Saturday night, but are rather out with you friends and family. ************* I went ot have a look at some in for about this art, which here follows: Annibale Carracci was born in Bologna, and in all likelihood was first apprenticed within his family. In 1582, Annibale, his brother Agostino and his cousin Ludovico Carracci opened a painters' studio, initially called by some the Academy of the Desiderosi (desirous of fame and learning) and subsequently the Incamminati (progressives; literally "of those opening a new way"). While the Carraccis laid emphasis on the typically Florentine linear draftsmanship, as exemplified by Raphael and Andrea del Sarto, their interest in the glimmering colours and mistier edges of objects derived from the Venetian painters, notably the works of Venetian oil painter Titian, which Annibale and Agostino studied during their travels around Italy in 1580-81 at the behest of the elder Caracci Lodovico. This eclecticism was to become the defining trait of the artists of the Baroque Emilian or Bolognese School.

Albrecht Dürer - The Great Master

Don´t all pupils of great master try to emulate them? But do they get it right, that is the vital question? Most don´t. I will be shooting to fit into the group that gets it right. Not right to the extent of being able to forge art work, but rather get the techniques right. I think that I have a long way to go, because understanding the techniques is not the same as being able to use them successfully. However, practice makes perfect. Having completed only a little over 1 month, and with still 11 months ahead, I have become to wonder if there will be enough copies of the masters out there to copy. Take a look at the oeuvre of Michelangelo, he destroyed a lot of his own work, and of that that remains, many educated professionals don´t agree as to which is his or not. There are only about 600 works that the Pros more or less agree upon. Jokes aside: there is more than enough to keep me copying for the rest of my life. To all those out in the big wide world - have a jolly good weekend.

Recycled paper

The problem of doing sketches on recycled paper is that sometimes, actually more times than not, at the very end of doing the drawing, one notices a small mark one can not rub out, only to find that it is embedded in the damn paper. No matter how careful I have been in examining the paper before hand, it still seems to creep upon me and bite me in the ass.

Copy, Copy, Copy and Copy the work of the masters

No, this is not a self portrait, it is a copy of one of my favorite artists works: Albrecht Dürer. The idea of copying so much of his works, is that I hope that some of his techniques and knowledge will rub off onto me.

Gentile Bellini

I don´t know much about this artist, basically nothing so I had to look him up, and this is what I found: Gentile was born into a family of renowned painters: his father Jacopo Bellini, was a Venetian pioneer in the use of oil paint as an artistic medium; his acclaimed brother was Giovanni Bellini, and his brother-in-law Andrea Mantegna. He was christened Gentile after Jacopo's master, Gentile da Fabriano. Gentile was taught painting in the workshop of his father. Although today Gentile is often seen in the shadow of his more famous family members, in his own time he was considered among the greatest living painters in Venice and had no shortage of commissions; his talent as a portraitist revealed itself at an early age.

Copy of Albrecht Dürer

Another day, another copy. This is the work of Albrecht Durer, and if you ask me on very ugly portrait. But credit has to be given when due: he did a damn fine job of the drawing. In this copy the yellow background is dry pastel, the rest is normal pencil on recycled paper.

No models

The experts tell me that this drawing was originally done purely by the artists knowledge of the human body. They knew that when a person stood in that way, which muscles were evident and visible. No models were used for these poses, apparently. I added in the flourishing around the drawing. Done with a traditional dip pen on almost white paper.

Leonardo da Vinci

This original was not done by Leonardo da Vinci, but one of his pupils. I spent a lot of time on the face only to find out later that I had not left room on the paper for the rest of the head. Not planning out the position of everything before doing the details, was not a good idea. I should have known better, but one can becomes so engrossed with what you are doing, and at the same time knowing that I should have paid more attention to the layout first. Still, at the same time thinking that I do not need to worry about it, it will work out in the end - then CRASH - Not enough room. Lesson taught again - follow the procedures!

Summer - Pieter Bruegel

Every artist has what he considers to be the best drawing he/she has done, and this one, to date, I think is my best. It is a copy a section of Pieter Bruegel drawing called "Summer". Originally it was done with pen and brown ink, but I coloured a few sections with some pencils. What do you think about the man´s shorts, they were designed with a ball-bag? Imagine if you saw someone today wearing pants like that?

Michelangelo copy and interpretation

A copy of none other than Michelangelo' work, with a blue pencil background. At least this drawing was better than yesterday's.

Copy & alteration

When Michelangelo drew this originally he did not pencil in the background with a coloured pencil, or what?

Copy of Copies - A Dürer

I hate to admit it, but this is not one of my favorites, I do not think that it was one of my best. Drawing done with normal pencil and coloured pencils . But all haul, Albrecht Dürer.

Copy Michelangelo again

This take on one of Michelangel´s work is taken from a drawing he did of Cleopatra. He made many similar drawings of the woman with accessories such as head dressing and scarves. Most of the drawings were done with proportions of the ideal beauty of Venice of that time. The original (there are many that dispute the originality of this piece) was done with black chalk.

Copy Michelangelo

Once again this is a copy of Michelangelo's work. I wonder if I always have to say that these drawings are a copy? Besides this being a copy there is the added colour done with pastels. Hope you are having a very pleasant day!

Michelangelo - Another of his great works

Oh no, not again - another drawing from the master Michelangelo! Yes it is a copy done with graphite on recycled paper. Doubt very much if they had recycled paper in those days. Probably paper in those days was a precious commodity.

Another day, another drawing

Doing a drawing a day from the masters is not all that easy, especially when each of them have their own technique. The type of drawing that I find most difficult to do are those that have been done with red chalk, a type of dry pastel. So I thought that conté would work well, only to discover that it is a pretty unforgiving medium. Once you have made a mark with it, it leaves a permanent mark on the paper, not like graphite or vine charcoal. But, the results are very striking provided that you got the drawing correct.

The master Michelangelo

Yes, this is anther copy of one of the great master´s oeuvre. The word oeuvre: the works of a writer, painter, or the like, taken as a whole. The origin being french. But it is a word that I have not been able to pronounce.

Faith

Oh ye with little faith, thought I would not be able to get one drawing out today! Well, I'm glad to prove you wrong, after a very difficult day I still managed to churn one out, so how about that. I promised one per day for a year and I will do my best to copy a master.