Friday 13 February 2009

Merry Darwin Evening!

Liveblogging a new painting has taught me some things:

-It is possible to tire from the taste of amaretto-flavoured coffee (!)
-Don't start until you have a kick-ass drawing already complete, scans & pain
table prints ready
-Stop reading other Darwin Day posts when trying to paint
-Twitter is all aboot being an amazing tool
-There is no such thing as a small enough brush for an 8.5x11" painting
-As prodigious and exemplary as his work was, even Mr. Darwin must have slept sometimes.

Perhaps I should have simply tinted the drawing in Photoshop and called it a night?


I will soldier on over the weekend, and post a follow-up for Art Monday at the latest. Thanks to everyone for support today and all the entertaining and informative things I never knew about our Charlie.

This ain't done.

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15 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's possible to tire of the taste of amaretto coffee??????

Glendon Mellow said...

It' true. It begins to take on a perfume kind of taste. I'm sorry, Humble.

Christopher Zenga said...

Like I said earlier, it's all the little things ON TOP, of prep. Scanning,cropping,watermarking,drying,saving,uploading,posting,repeat!

Later days,

Chris

Glendon Mellow said...

Yeah, you're right Chris. It was still fun to try.

I'll let some oil and dust settle and get right back on this painting.

Sean Craven said...

Exhaustion, caffeine intoxication, and frustration swirling into a potent cocktail of self-torture...

I'm gonna have to try this myself. It looks like a blast.

I think Chris's idea of blogging the finishes after you've done your prep work is a good idea.

On the other hand, if you don't bite off more than you can chew how are you gonna get strong jaws?

Anonymous said...

My advice, Glendon is to quit the live blogging or quit the drawing. Those are some of the things you can't do at the same time. Plus, youi need sleep. You just recovered from a stomach "bug"! C'mon! The painting and blog can wait. You're health and sleep can't. I can wait for the drawing and I DON'T want you to get sick a gain. Take it easy, will you?

Peter Bond said...

This liveblogging thing is really exciting! I've come in too late to follow live (sadly) but I can imagine the anticipation while I read the posts now.

This is great!

I really like the composition and Darwin's expression of surprise and enthusiasm. What is the plan for the space at the top? Can't wait to see it on Monday...

Glendon Mellow said...

Sean, as always you have an apt way with words. It was worth biting off more than I could chew.

And you got the self-torture part right. I'm feeling better about it today. I'll keep working on it this weekend and posting the results as I go.

Glendon Mellow said...

Thanks for looking out for me, Dr. Raptor!

Bond, your keen eye is pondering all that negative space at the top. That's the place where the surreal enters the piece. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Sure thing, Glendon! I just care about people is all. I can't help it. It's who I am. Can't wait to see it though.

Karen James said...

Coffee, in my opinion, should not have anything added to it except for milk and/or sugar and maybe chocolate but that's stretching it.

Okay, Glendon, I want you to breathe in and out deeply three times, and then count to ten slowly with your eyes closed. Next, try to stop beating yourself up about this - we are all loving it! Take your time and go at whatever seems like the right pace for you.

I too am interested in what is going into that space at the top. A shoreline landscape perhaps... with a Beagle in it perhaps???

For inspiration see this clip from Voyage of Charles Darwin, which is the discovery of Megatherium but hey, close enough. In fact the entire series is well worth watching if you have time.

Glendon Mellow said...

Hey Karen. Love your tweety post!

The painting will happen. I was hoping lightning would strike twice - not in terms of total success or popularity of a painting, but in my process.

Last year's Darwin piece was speedier than most of my work, and I thought the pressure would bear fruit. However, some ugly phases are harder to work through than others. This one will happen, and there's some changes I'm making.

Thanks for the words of support. It's weird to broadcast the inner turmoil that goes on when painting. I don't always paint because it's fun. The process can be cruel, the victories sweet.

AshleeElizabeth said...

Hey Glendon! Hope you remember me! Your'e work is AWESOME! Man, you can paint!!! I hope you're doing well and feel free to take a look at my blog sometime:
http://ashleejasmine.blogspot.com/

Thanks!

Glendon Mellow said...

Hey Ashlee! Of course I remember you! Thanks for the compliments.

Great to see your work on line.

Monado said...

Way better than I can do, it goes without saying.

Maybe I've seen too many gory book covers, but looks as if he's trying to decapitate a monster. Perhaps the bones need to be shinier?

If you've been sick and working too hard, listen to your friends. Get some sleep, so you won't relapse. You're not your normal energetic self yet. The image can percolate in the back of your mind until you see what you want to do with it. It will come.

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