Here’s a little post about the progress I’m making in the painting I showed previously. First I was laying down thick strokes to build up color diversity, and then I got a smaller, flat brush and am working on shaping and blending to make the image a bit more clear. I thought it might be interesting to show my process. On the next one I’ll make sure to start taking photos from the beginning! This is just a detail of one of the figures mind you, not the entire painting. I’ll let you know when it’s done!
Click to enlarge:
I’m moving this week, so I won’t be around to update with delicious artwork. But we did have our internet set up today so I’m finally connected again. There should be more Boy Stuff coming soon!
In the meantime, this is the painting I’m working on for my summer advanced painting class. It’s not finished yet though, obviously.
Currently I’m doing an independent study in drawing, and I’m excited about what I’m working on at the moment. Drawing in regular ballpoint pen has always been my strong suit and sets me apart from a lot of other illustrators. For one drawing in pen is very clean and never smudges, but has the clarity of detail and softness of pencil. I can also crosshatch finely which can’t be done with pencil. I think the reason a lot of people never draw with ballpoint is because it isn’t a traditional pen for drawing, and most people prefer to draw in pencil because it isn’t permanent. Anyway, I’m doing some 24″x32″ drawings which are very time consuming, but I’ll be excited when it’s all done.
This first one is completed, and is of the public bath in Seoul. You can read about my first experience at a public bath in an earlier post. The drawing is not based on a specific place, but is kind of a generic sauna. This is the public area where men and women come to relax together on mats, drink 식혜 (shikhye- a traditional rice drink served at the sauna) and eat baked potatoes and cooked eggs. You can see the snack counter in the back and the various sauna rooms. I’m exceptionally proud of this drawing because it took me roughly 16 hours to complete. Here is the full-sized one and some details. Unfortunately I don’t have a large enough scanner, so these are just from photos:
The drawing I’m working on at the moment still needs another 8 or so hours of work at least, and is taking a bit longer, but I”m really excited about it. It’s based on a photograph and is of 두정역 (Dujeong Station) at the subway in the early morning. I’m happy about the lighting and the composition and hope it’ll be one of my strongest pieces when I finish. I’ve always drawn in ballpoint but haven’t done anything on this scale before which requires a lot of time and dedication.
This weekend was Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving, so things were closed for most of the weekend. I stayed in a lot though on Saturday I did go out to the movies again at the World Cup stadium. There is actually a mall in a circular shape around the stadium, it’s kind of crazy. People here shop constantly. Everywhere you go there is stuff to buy in front of your face, people harassing you etc. I am constantly amazed at the vast quantity of STUFF everywhere and wonder how people buy enough of it to make it all worthwhile.
On Sunday, the day that is officially Chuseok, one thing that was open was the public bath. The one we went to is by the Yonsei east gate, is open 24 hours, and you can stay all day. You can get specific information and directions
here. I went with my roommate and two other friends to check it out and it was so much more than I thought it would be. When we arrived we turned in our shoes and things in exchange for two small towels (think decorative hand towel size) and one-size-fits-all drawstring pants and shirt. It was only 8,000 won (roughly $7.50) in order to access all of their facilities for free (excepting massages and dead-skin scraping). We were escorted downstairs where a woman explained to us what to do and we just nodded and didn’t really catch any of it. We put our personal items in a locker and received a key on an elastic band that everyone fastens to their ankle. Men and women are separated before this point, and we undress completely in order to take the bath. My roommate was explaining that this is not strange at all for asian people but it was definitely the first time I’ve been completely nude in front of friends (and it wasn’t accidental).
