I like looking at photos of artists, and here are some favorites.
Inspiration: Photos of Artists
in Inspiration
Inspiration: Ben Shahn
From Wikipedia:
Ben Shahn (September 12, 1898 – March 14, 1969) was a Lithuanian-born American artist. He is best known for his works of social realism, his left-wing political views, and his series of lectures published as The Shape of Content.
I love Ben Shahn’s Drawings, especially his line quality, the scratchiness and the sense of motion and immediacy. Here are some examples of his work. Every so often in my life I’d heard his name mentioned, but his work didn’t really catch my attention until a year ago when I read his book The Shape of Content. The illustrations in that book are great, and reading it prompted me to seek out more of his work.
Photos, January 2020
in Photos
I recently got a new (old) camera, a Fujica Auto-M. Here are some pics I took to test it out. (Film: Kodak Gold 200)
Photos, Color, Fall 2019
in Photos
Here are some photos I took in October/November 2019. I shot these on Fuji Xtra 400 color film with an Olympus OM2S.
Inktober 2019
in Sketchbook
For “inktober” this year I made at least one ink drawing every day in October (except for the 19th) and posted pics on Instagram. Now that I’ve had a chance to do some scanning, here are my favorite drawings from the month. Each one is 6x6”, ink on paper.
Photos from August 2019
in Photos
More photos. Here are some from August shot on Fuji X-Tra 400 in Portland.
San Francisco Zine Fest 2019
I drove down to San Francisco at the end of August to table at the San Francisco Zine Fest, and I’m happy to say it was a successful trip. I had a a great time at the fest and also had fun walking around the city. I was only there for a few days, but I brought my camera and shot a roll of color film as I was sightseeing. Here are some pics from my drive down and from walking around the city, August 30-31.
Process Post - Shooting Star ink drawing timelapse
in Process Posts, Video
This is a timelapse video I recorded in November 2018. I used ink and acrylic paint for this drawing. As usual, I mixed my colors using a few primary colors of india ink and diluted them with water.
My Vimeo profile: https://vimeo.com/mattschu
Process Post - Beach Houses at Dusk from 9-2018
Here are some process pics of an ink drawing I did last year, which I’ve called “Beach Houses at Dusk” (2018, 8x10”, ink & acrylics).
I made this with india ink and acrylics on watercolor paper. I mix the colors I use for my ink drawings from 4 main colors: aqua, magenta, yellow, & black. I dilute the color I’ve mixed with water in varying amounts and build it up gradually in layers like a watercolor painting to get the opacity I want. I also use acrylic paint to add lighter details on top of the dark areas.
This is a way of working that I’ve been doing for a little while now, but back when I made this drawing in September 2018 I was still dialing-in the process.
At the moment this is the process I use most often; for a little while I’ve been trying to use physical media as much as possible. It’s not that I never use digital methods, but I just like to keep it to a minimum when I can. I’ve fluctuated over the years with how much digital art I do, but over time I’ve found I gravitate more toward physical media, both in my own work and in the work of people I admire.
Photos, Color, July 2019
in Photos
Per my previous blog post, I’ve recently taken up film photography as a hobby. Here are some color photos I took on Fuji X-Tra 400 film in July 2019 in Porltand, OR.
Photos, B&W, July 2019
in Photos
Recently I got a Pentax 35mm camera and took up taking film photos. It’s been a really fun hobby so far. I get the rolls developed at a camera shop and then scan the negatives at home. Here are some photos I took on Tri-X 400 B&W film in mid-to-late July 2019, in Portland and Lincoln City, OR.
Errands - Process
Here are some process pics from a drawing I did recently. I made this digitally in Photoshop with a Surface tablet.
These are the steps shown, in order:
- Rough sketch
- Lines in-progress
- Finished line art
- Grey tones, shading, and texture added
- Final with color overlays
