For Tickets to my 5th RAW: NATURAL BORN ARTISTS showcase in Houston, Texas at Studio Live on Wednesday July 29th 2015
Click here more information and tickets ($15)
I begin with a blank piece of white, generic 8.5x11 printer paper set on a smooth plastic
clipboard
In the past I've used a variety of
colored pencils;
ROSE ART,
CRAYOLA, and
SARGENT but beginning with “ATLANTA, GEORGIA” I've decided to use
only PRISMACOLOR colored pencils from now on
Some of the pencils that I used on drawings before #ATL were part of a large set of Prismacolor pencils I was given by my older brother who is also an artist. In some of my previous drawings the sky and a few buildings were colored with pencils less
than half an inch in length! I've been using them since I was around 10 years old.
This is an example of how small some of the pencils are in comparison to the new set I bought
For a few years I was using a folding table to draw, but this past Christmas some friends pitched in and bought me a drafting table!! :) here's how it looks
When I'm
beginning the journey of a “city drawing” I first choose my
destination, the city that I want to capture on the small empty page.
I usually prefer to draw cities vertically in order to emphasize the
height of the buildings, but in the case of my “SAN FRANCISCO, CA”
drawing I chose to represent the city horizontally
(Currently the
only city I've drawn in this way)
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| "San Francisco, CA" |
If I'm drawing an abstract or surreal scene I usually think of a theme and then shut my mind off and just draw what I feel, let my hand draw random shapes, and then choose bright colors
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| "The Artist Can Only Draw From the Colors Within Himself" |
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| "The Artist Can Only Draw From the Colors Within Herself" |
My desire is to capture the
architecture, culture, art, emotion, and scenery of every city that I
draw. In the case of cities that I've visited or been through before,
I add specific images that represent my experience...
Examples: My childhood home as the
centerpiece of "OAKLAND, CA"
My character “A. Arrow” walks down the 16th Street Mall in downtown “DENVER, CO”
(to read about my “detour” through the Mile High City CLICK HERE)
The smog that always made me get sick fills the sky in my “LOS ANGELES, CA” and I'm reminded of the many memorable trips to Disneyland
Last but not least the PAC-MAN
graffiti and words “
Never Give Up” on a train bridge over Lady
Bird Lake in “THE ATX” Austin, Texas directly across the pedestrian
bridge where I sat many times (before the graffiti was there)
contemplating suicide and giving up
If I choose a city where I've never
been the first thing I do is research the city on the internet using
Google, Wikipedia, and most importantly
Emporis which helps me see
the most important buildings in the city from a wide variety of
angles. This was helpful with my "FORT WORTH, TX" drawing since it is the only major city in Texas I've not visited (yet)
I occasionally choose buildings that have been demolished and
have historic importance such as the (upside-down) City Hall building in
"EL PASO, TX"
I always look for
important public art structures, interesting parks, museums, state
and local government buildings, and in most of the drawings I try to incorporate the city's flag, state's flag, and and
in “SEATTLE, WA” I decided to make their central library windows
contain the city's flag.
Before I start
drawing I choose what I want as the focal point of the drawing which
I generally put at the bottom center. Also, I always research the
tallest buildings in the city and try and in some way make it obvious
by making the tallest building the biggest in the drawing. In the
case of “MEXICO CITY, MEXICO” I literally put the tallest
buildings in order from one side of the drawing to the other and back
again
Here's one of my first truly "international" drawings of "SHANGHAI, CHINA"
And here's one of my most recent drawings "SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA" definitely one of my most colorful!
Sometimes I choose
to place art or buildings in the exact way one would see them when
visiting the city. This is easier for me when I actually visit the
city. In the drawings of cities where I've visited, I use photos I've taken as inspiration. Such as "HOUSTON, TX"
"CCTX" Corpus Christi, Texas
"THE DTX" Dallas, Texas
"SACRAMENTO, CA"
And the city I call my home, "SAN ANTONIO, TX"
The most important
thing besides choosing the cultural, artistic, and architectural
highlights of a city is deciding on placement in the drawing. This
depends on different factors for me. To be honest, there are some
buildings I don't like and I generally try and make these smaller or
less important while giving a bigger place to what I feel is more
visually and thus artistically interesting
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| "#SATX2" |
Follow Me!
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| "THE LAND OF TEX-OZ" |
Email me at
timothymcvainlives@live.com
(to read about my “detour” through the Mile High City CLICK HERE)
