Seasonal Adjustments

Even though practically every entity I know is coming out with their own tantalizing list of books to read this summer, my reading habits are in flux.
I find I don’t read anywhere near as much, or as fast, at this time of year as during winter. So I’m stowing away most of the suggestions that are rolling in and will return to them in the colder, darker months.

John ©2018 Elizabeth Fram, 18 x 24 inches, Graphite on paper The contrast between the rich, dark background and the strong light on John’s face was striking. This relatively quick study couldn’t do justice to the deep, velvety background that I envisioned, and which would be such a strong component in the hands of a competent painter. I was drawn to the idea of the composition being very long & narrow, say a 1:3 ratio – with the head at the far right side, posing a strong counterweight to the expanse of dark space. In making use of as much of my paper as possible to study and map the characteristics of his head, I wasn’t able to realize the proportions I would have preferred.

During June, July, and August I tend to gravitate toward periodicals for my art reading, catching up on the back issues that have been piling up. My current favorite is Art & Antiques — a much appreciated Christmas gift subscription from my father. The articles are short enough to squeeze in around the warm weather activities that are taking precedence right now, while still maintaining an engaging diversity of scope that carries just the right depth of information so that I feel like I learned something, yet without needing to wade through an overly erudite dissertation. And the best part – of course – is the images are plentiful and lush.

I have memories of A&A as one of the magazines that sat on my grandmother’s coffee table when I was a kid. I would occasionally flip through an issue, only to be disappointed by images of old, dark paintings and old, dark furniture…a memory that could well be attributed more to my age and lack of knowledge, than to reality. But times have changed, I’ve changed, and so has the magazine. My dad definitely made a great choice of gift; I’ve been delighted to see that Art & Antiques is now a vibrant and current art journal — anything but old and dark. I’m discovering artists that are new (to me) and learning about old familiars in a fresh light.

Converse ©2018 Elizabeth Fram, 18 x 24 inches, Graphite on paper Usually I try to compose my life drawings so that the full figure is included, but this time, for reasons mentioned above, I only included John’s head. After lunch I couldn’t resist working on his shoes, also full of character and ripe for an interesting composition when combined with the shadow shapes cast by the strong lighting.

However, if you’re looking for something more substantial to sink your teeth into, a new list popped into my Feedly stream last week from My Modern Met: “20 Books Every Artist Needs on Their Bookshelf”. I have only read 7 of the 20, so I’ll be adding a few more titles to my TBR (to be read) list for the fall.
How about you? Are there any on this list that you would particularly recommend, or that you have been meaning to read?

Meanwhile, I just discovered painter/instructor Ian Roberts, who trained in Toronto and Florence, and now resides in LA. I can completely relate to his writing and ideas, so I treated myself to a Kindle edition of his book Creative Authenticity: 16 Principles to Clarify and Deepen Your Artistic Vision. It’s a series of essays that evolved from a talk he gave to a large group of artists and writers, spiraling outward from those ideas by posing questions and suggesting possibilities, rather than proffering answers.
So far, I’m finding it excellent.

What, if any, seasonal adjustments do you make in your practice and/or reading habits?