Timothy J. Pruitt's Blog, page 126
January 8, 2022
Sketch Toddler First Snowball Fight
I loved watching Nick and his first snowball fight. Here is a sketch of the day.
Art Unboxed Composition
I was watching an old episode of Sky Arts Landscape Artist Of The Year recently, and the selected artists were assigned the challenge of painting a specific lighthouse. Each took a different approach, the above sketch was my version, which touches on the topic for this week’s Art Unboxed, Composition.
Composition in art boils down simply to what I described above, how are you going to display an image. Whether it’s a portrait, landscape, or concept, the way you arrange it speaks to it’s composition. It is why each of the lighthouse paintings on the episode I described, were different, none were the same.
When you consider how many times lighthouses have been painted, and that each artist was assigned the exact same scene, it’s extraordinary. It’s also a reminder that God has blessed us all with individuality, which leads to seeing things differently. Seeing things differently is important at eighteen, but it’s also much easier. The challenge can be seeing things differently, when it comes to composing art, at sixty five than you did at eighteen.
I should clarify I am speaking of when you draw or paint something, as another example consider Abraham Lincoln. Each time I sketch or paint the sixteenth President, one is different. It’s important as an artist to keep growing, the same is true as a writer. When I’m seventy five, I don’t want to have painted the exact same picture for forty years.
I don’t revisiting the same subject, as I do this regularly, but I want to bring something new each time that I do. Whether you’re painting a painting, or writing a book, you’re telling a story, and composition is a huge part of this. One way to see differently is an age old trick, the viewfinder.
It’s basically a square you look through, but what makes it amazing is that you can move the square. The palm tree, or the sitter if a portrait, doesn’t have to be in the center of the painting. They can be in the lower left hand corner. The viewfinder is a wonderful tool to help you look at some things differently.
Another tool artists use is to squint. Looking at a scene and squinting blurs just enough to allow you to eliminate distractions. It helps you see colors, and shapes, which help when you paint the picture. This doesn’t mean you have to paint an abstract art piece, it will merely help you see unique components which can help with your painting. This can work for realism painters as well as abstract impressionists.
One more tool that helps you see things differently, is a visual database of what you’ve already drawn or painted. Looking back regularly on what you’ve already completed, will help you to know how not to frame something again. This doesn’t mean you can’t paint the same setting and do something new, Van Gough’s Hay Bails come to mind, but it does help you avoid retreading old tires.
Composition is a wonderful tool that all of us have, the ability to see something new, and to apply it. This concept works well in life as well as art. I have a friend who likes to find a different route to go home with, to keep from developing a rut. Staying engaged, seeing differently, and looking for new ideas not only helps you paint a better painting, it will help to keep you young.
January 7, 2022
Sketch Sidney Poitier
A sketch of Sidney Poitier, in honor of his memory. A Humanitarian, artist, Oscar winner, and successful businessman.
Sketch T R Smiling
I love Teddy Roosevelt, and this digital sketch was taken from a photo that reminded me of one of my favorite Teddy Roosevelt stories. Of course he preferred to be called The Colonel, which is so Teddy Roosevelt.
He was making a speech, and someone shot him, the bullet hit his eyeglass case and then the speech before hitting him. As blood seeped from his chest he completed the speech. Teddy had enough medical knowledge to know if he wasn’t coughing up blood, it had not hit his lung, so he continued.
After the speech, he accepted medical attention. The doctors determined it was more dangerous to remove than to leave, and the bullet remained for the rest of his life. Did I mention the speech was fifty pages long?
Book Release – Writing In Real Time – A Guide For Writers With Busy Lives
I’m excited to announce our new writing guide, Writing In Real Time – A Guide For Writers With Busy Lives. I believe in the power of writing, but I also strongly believe in the ability of writers to change lives. If you are like me, you’ve dreamed of writing a book most of your life, but like all of us you’re busy. What if you had a guide to help you get there just a little faster?
This does not mean you can’t get there alone, but why go it alone? Wouldn’t it be easier if you had some simple methods that sped up the process? If you would allow me to, I’d like to share some things I’ve learned over the last thirty books that I’ve written.
The book is I believe an easy read, and while it’s a stand alone book, I do hope to share an online course in the future on writing. Lives are very busy, I get that, but I also believe that something you know could help someone else. If that’s the case, doesn’t it go beyond a desire to write to being a duty to share?
If you feel that way, I hope you’ll allow me to help you to tell your story. Whether you’re sharing a personal experience, or sharing an idea you’ve held in for years, it’s valuable. Please, allow me to help you bring it from a thought to a tangible, shareable book. I believe it will be well worth the time you take, and Writing In Real Time, is much easier than it sounds.
January 6, 2022
Sketch Danny Thomas
I have always loved comedy, and comedians, but I admire Danny Thomas both for this, and a far bigger reason. We know it as St. Jude Hospital, a hospital he built to keep a promise, and that has helped I don’t know how many people. His daughter, the actress Margo Thomas has continued his legacy.
He sent her a gift once, I think it was during her first play. It was a box that flowers come in, and I think he sent roses too, but in it was a set of horse blinders. These are what they put on a horse in a race to keep them from being distracted by the other horses. His card read “Run your own race kid”, if memory serves. A wonderful gift from a loving Dad, and a man who had a huge heart for others.
Sketch Miracle Napping
I sketched this of my son napping, no matter what he’s doing, it amazes me to see the miracle that God has placed into our hands.
January 5, 2022
Sketch Oswald The Lucky Rabbit And Walt
The above sketch is a wonderful reminder that when things don’t work out the way you want, that’s not always a bad thing. Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was a character a young Walt Disney created in 1927 for Universal Pictures. Through a series of issues, Walt lost the rights to the character which led him to create another character, his name was Mickey Mouse.
Had Walt never lost Oswald, Mickey would never have come along, and perhaps the Disney Empire would have at least looked very different. All my life I’ve heard it all started with a mouse, and while that’s true in many ways, there’s a rabbit hole involved.
An the story doesn’t end there, fast forward to Bob Iger becoming CEO of Disney. At one point he promised Walt’s daughter Diane he would bring Oswald home, and in 2006 he kept his word in a very funny way.
The exchange, or ransom happened this way. ABC no longer had the NFL contract, NBC now had it. Al Michaels wanted to rejoin John Madden on the new broadcasts, and Disney ABC agreed, if they got Oswald back. From 1927 to 2006 is a long journey, even for a bunny, but he was back home.
It’s a reminder that, like the three times Walt went bankrupt before succeeding, you can’t let obstacles stop you. You have to keep going, keep working, and keep dreaming.
