Some guys just get lucky …
I am presenting you with a selection of drawings which I did in a number of my books. These drawings were made for fans, colleagues and friends who either bought a copy of the book, or have got it from me as a present. The intention was to do a little sketch and to make their copy more personal and special. But in each of these cases, soon after I started to draw, I felt inspired and instead of a simple sketch I ended up with a detailed drawing. All of them were done in my studio, or during one of my vacations, when I had enough time and when I was in the right mood. Usually when signing my books during the conventions, I do not have enough time for a nice drawing. I am always excited and even a bit nervous in this kind of situation. This contributes to the poor drawing results and therefore I am almost never satisfied with the sketches that I do during the conventions. These lesser drawings “decorate” the books of the less fortunate buyers. But, I presume, they are still luckier than those who only got a signature in their copy.
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| A convention sketch |
Unlike the drawings from the conventions, the drawings presented below were done in the familiar surroundings, with no time limit, and in peace and quiet. They are a kind of materializations of my thoughts and feelings, the ghosts of the ideas that are roaming through my mind in search of a proper “body” and the final incarnation. When starting such a drawing session , I often have no idea of what I am going to do. I just begin drawing lines on the paper and I follow the shape that starts to appear. Reacting on what I see in front of me, I gradually build up the form. The story of the piece is developing simultaneously, inspiring the addition of new elements and features. The theme of the drawing often has something to do with the content of the book, or it might be connected to the subject matter that preoccupy me at that time.
However, I was so pleased with a few of these drawings that I decided to include them in some of my book projects.
The next two drawings were conceived as the illustrations for the book Banished demons. As you can see there is not much difference in terms of detail and general quality between them and the drawings from above.
I told you, some guys just get lucky…
Excellent work Petar! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteFun ! I love the free spirited nature of these drawings.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't help noticing that you put a lot more effort into drawing the giants than you did when drawing the girl. Are giants more fun to draw ? :)
ReplyDeleteJust beautiful Petar. Of course if you ever really want to learn to draw come see me. I don't charge much. Seriously, I enjoy how revealing drawings like this are. Maybe you'll do one in my copy.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Stephen. Very kind of you to leave a comment! Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteBill – Although I recently decided not to spend too much time drawing detailed drawings for free any more, I just cannot say “no” to some people. Unfortunately, Bill, you are not one of these……….This was a mean, highly unfriendly joke, I admit. If somebody deserves a drawing, than it is certainly you! I will gladly do a drawing for you as a token of my gratitude for your continued support of my blog and my work.
The only problem is that I cannot draw with pencils in your US copy of Steel Bashaw. The paper does not permit it. Another possibility is to buy one Serbian copy of Steel Bashaw. In fact, I just came back from Serbia and I brought with me 15 new copies that I soon will start selling through my website. The drawings with the yellowish background were done in the Serbian edition of Steel Bashaw…Of course, there is also my Dutch sketchbook as an option…What do you say…?
Larry – Yes, indeed, I find the imperfect bodies and faces of the giants a little more interesting to draw then the smooth perfect shape of a girl. Generally speaking older people are more fun to draw than the young ones. All those wrinkled weather beaten faces and the subtle distortions in their anatomy, offer me more material to “chew” on. By the way, Larry, what I just offered to Bill counts for you as well, if you want…Please do not feel obliged to accept…Thanks anyway!
Dutch sketchbook? I haven't seen that. Are they available?
ReplyDeleteBill - Yes, there is a 364 page Sketchbook that has been published almost a year ago by a Dutch publisher. Unfortunately, I have heard from a number of people from the US that, due to a certain problems on the publisher’s behalf, it was impossible to order the book through the publisher. I still have to talk about it with them and to find out what the problem is, and what we can do to solve it. Please, go to the NEWS chapter of my website to see some pictures of the sketchbook.
ReplyDeleteI cannot tell you how much I would love to have that book. Please let me know when it will be available. Sometimes it is very difficult to get books here as strange as that sounds.
ReplyDeleteSure, I will let you know as soon as I find out about the possibilities of purchasing the book from the US. Thanks, Bill!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I love your new “Horne Envy” painting! The row of the thin trees in the background is an ingenious compositional solution, and at the same time it is so simple…
Petar - I will see you at Illuxcon - all will be settled there :)
ReplyDeleteThank you my friend. If it's not possible to find a US distributor is there some way I can get it there and pay for shipping? I know that is difficult, if nothing else the language barrier, but I really would like that book for my collection. As good as you are it might be worth a million dollars someday.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the kind comment about my little painting. I found simplicity a great compositional solution for a lot of my work; paring away to the significant. Working on copper is also particularly time consuming so that can help too.
No problem, Bill. I will get a copy for you here, anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that you often paint on copper. I never thought of painting on copper. It sounds quite interesting – I would like to know more about the procedure when painting on such a surface. Perhaps I should try it, once…
Larry - Excellent idea.
If you're serious about painting on copper email me.
ReplyDelete