"Paris Street; Rainy Day" by Gustave Caillebotte

Gustave Caillebotte (1848-1894)

See conservator Faye Wrubel in the Art Institute's conservation studio cleaning Caillebotte's 1877 masterpiece "Paris Street; Rainy Day":

Follow the link below to view the video

http://youtu.be/RK9x16RsITU

Free Hand Drawings

This post was motivated by one of my studio visitors during May Open Studios event.
She saw me working on the drawing of the girl and the flower (shown below) and asked me how did I trace it. At first I didn't understand what she was asking; my question for clarity brought up the same response. Her air of intellectual arrogance gave me the impression of not believing that it was a free hand drawing.

A free hand drawing is a style of drawing made without the use of guiding or measuring instruments.

We live in a world where it is difficult to distinguish what is real and genuine as we are so use to "copy and paste" that it is difficult to believe that there are artists that enjoy working on a drawing in the style of free hand. I am one of them. Of course I do not rely on it all the time. There are some of my paintings that have some images in them that I have traced or that were informed by photographs but when in trying to perfect the art of drawing, there is nothing more challenging and demanding as a free hand style. It calls upon a combination of deep focus, concentration, and determination like any other drawing style, in my opinion and experience. 

My latest drawings- the girl and the flower and the six chickens are all done free hand. 

In order to satisfy the skeptical minds I am posting few pics at different stages of development of this latest drawing that is actually the basis for an upcoming painting- and by a way- the final drawing may have found a home already.

 

The Girl and The Flower.
Graphite on Paper
May 13, 2014