Philadelphia Sketch Club Drawings

Here are two drawings recently done at the Philadelphia Sketch Club. Each drawing was done during a three-hour drawing session. At the beginning of the session, everyone sketches 5 different poses are performed at 4 minutes each. One pose is chosen after this 20 minute period. Then the model repeats the chosen pose for about 3 hours -- twenty minutes in pose with ten minute breaks in between. The ten minute breaks are just as important a time for me to draw; it is during this time that I can clean up or refine the section I had just drawn it.
As I begin these drawings, I am trying to see what I don't have to draw. Not drawing in such things like the tall candle stick, the woman's hair, or the man's shoulder in a shadow on his right side creates a more dramatic effect. Plus, it's make it easier to complete the drawing within the three hours. Both reasons are equally important!

An Afternoon at Longwood Garden

Last Monday, I spent a beautiful afternoon at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. With the sketch book in hand, I went ready to draw.

So, I go to a famous garden with thousands of flowers in bloom

during the wintry month of January and I first draw pipes of the pipe organ.

But, they were just so cool!

A sketch of a pathway in one of the large indoor gardens in the conservatory.

This Black and White drawing does not do justice to the beautifully colored orchids.

I tried my best to find orchids I would not typically find at a Home Depot.

It wasn't easy to find truly unique orchids.

After I got back to the studio, I could not stop thinking about

the uniquely shaped orchid and it's rich burgundy color.

So, I did this watercolor sketch with the faith that my memory

of the color is close.

Work With What You Have

I was confronted with a challenge this week: To draw a portrait of a friend, Chris Patchell (aka. Patch) without an ideal reference. Conflicting schedules prevented a photo session that would have provided me controlled lighting. I prefer this dramatic lighting that would fall upon his face, but without the session, I did not have this key information. But, I utlized my experience of the many portraits I have drawn and painted over the years to persevere. I selectively edited out parts of his face and carefully moved the highlights observed in the photo reference. I was very pleased with this portrait, and it will soon be published in a book from the Philadelphia Cartoonist Society.

Sketchbook + Pencil + Imagination =

A common complaint artists criticize themselves for is not drawing enough. (aka sketching or doodling) With iphones, you tube, facebook, emails and TV programming available 24-7, it is harder than ever to make time to experiment, explore, and enjoy the simple act of creating, whatever. Much less, devote the many hours required to make a well crafted image, whether it be a painting, drawing or digital illustration.

Every art teacher, art book, and successful artist praise or passionately demand that every creative person sketches at anytime possible. There isn't an easier opportunity for artist to record ideas, document one's surroundings, experiment with art supplies and techniques with little pressure to create the master piece so many of us aspire to. Just draw...for fun.

So, when should one sketch? How can one find the TIME to sketch? Well, a close friend keeps a 1 inch by 1 inch sketch book in his pants pocket at all times and draws while on the train going to work or while in the theatre, during the 10-15 min wait before the movie starts or the many other random times he find himself just hanging around. Another artist I read about, keeps a sketch book in the bathroom with the philosophy that ideas come at the most "unusual" times.

Currenly, I have three sketch books in use. Two, I keep in my backpack, which I carry 90% of the time, away from the studio. The third sketchbook is kept on the coffee table. Below, are some samples from the coffee table sketch book. These examples were usually done during those times I'm in front of the TV not really watching the program, but not feeling like doing anything else. All pages but the one with my cat, Phoebe, were done freehand. No photos or reference objects were used. Only my imagination.

First blog entry!

Hello.

Welcome to my first blog entry...ever. Let me introduce myself, I'm Kyle...Kyle Margiotta. I was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. I have known that I wanted to be an artist since I was in the fourth grade during a summer at the Fairmount Art Camp. As a kid, I was always sent to after-school classes and summer class for everything, from sports to crafts. Drawing and Painting was the only thing that I never stopped doing.

Many years later, after receiving a degree in Illustration at the University of the Arts in PA, I have created works for the commercial field, but primarily for the gallery scene.

The drawing above was done during a 3 hour session at the historical Philadelphia Sketch Club.