Wednesday, October 11, 2006

The Art Pipe


This is not a pipe. Ok, so maybe in some ways it is, after all, I am not Magritte either. I do, as all artists do at times, borrow from the masters. This drawing borrows from two (three if you count the slight reference to Magritte.) The first of the two is Egon Scheile: His use of line is quite amazing in itself as a way to make an image much more enjoyable and worthy of your time. The second is Paul Calle: He is the much lesser known of the two but still a master at graphite. His work was quite popular in the 60's and 70's. I particularity enjoy the way Calle lets the media show in a rather raw form. The refinement is in the draftsmanship, not in the overworking of the media. By allowing the direct application of the graphite to show, his work has an immediacy or freshness that becomes its greatest strength.

Returning to the subject of this sketch; this is the art pipe. It is a family gift, hand painted, and rather fragile. I use it for small celebrations at the completion of paintings I consider important. A ceremony, of sorts that deserves the strictest adherence.

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