Your Drawing Questions Answered Here

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Questions, Answers & Tips:

Cathy: Thanks! I'll be ordering it! Love your drawings/paintings!

BB: Thanks too. It means a lot to me . Enjoy

1/31/2012

Cathy: Hi, is your Zen Breakthrough, Figure Drawing available? thanks!

BB: Thanks so much for asking! Next week is the debut. Amazon should have them by Wednesday (or sooner) straightt hot off the press!

1/31/2012

Ismael: Hi Bill, I've recently acquired your book and DVD's (all of them) and am finding them extremely inspiring and instructional. Am wondering when your new DVD on using Sumi brushes for figure drawing/painting will come out? Also, enjoyed your little cameo on Henry Li's youtube videos. thanks, again

BB: Thanks very much for checking in. I am always extremely happy to hear of the usefulness of my efforts. I am counting the days until my two new videos arrive from the manufacturer.The new figure DVD is called "Zen Breakthrough: Figure Drawing Techniques" (not to be confused with my recent "Zen Breakthrough: Making Contemporary Art with Sumi Bushes,Reed Pens, and Mixed Media"). It is also two hours and twenty minutes long and features a wide variety of figure drawing techniques with Sumi brushes, reed pens, and other unique materials. The other new DVD expected shortly is entitled "Keeping The Melody: Making Contemporary Abstracts with Inspiring Materials and Techniques" It is loaded with creative strategies and practical applications for making abstracts. It is also over 2 hours long. I hope to have them both available on Amazon through the seller "Sumi Brushes" within a few weeks. with free shipping (like very nearly all my products) Great that you spotted Henry's video. Thanks again and happy painting and drawing!

1/11/2012

Christine Schmidt: What schools did Bill take training? What credentials?

BB: Although this space is for questions about drawing I consider this a fair question. A short summary of my background (with many things left out) as an artist goes like this: Thanks to my mother, an accomplished amateur artist, I grew up surrounded by art and I regularly attended with great interest as a child and throughout my youth the great exhibitions during the years of Modernism's triumph in America ( the 50's and 60's) at MOMA, the Guggenheim, the Met, etc. Studied art (including figure drawing) with various teachers as a teenager including with two artist/teachers of national significance, Fletcher Martin and Victor D'Amico. The first was at the Albany Institute of Art and the second at the Institute of Modern Art (also known as the Barge -Now the Victor D'Amico Institute of Art, I believe). At the time I took classes with Victor he was the director of Education at the Museum of Modern Art. I did a series of oil paintings in high school which may be seen on this website under the gallery heading "Early Works". After high school I spent two years studying painting and drawing at Cornell University. After a stint at Boston University majoring in English. I spent some time traveling, fought forest fires in Alaska, did street portraits in Boulder , Colorado, played in rock and blues bands, including the Mojos with friend Sesu Coleman, (punk luminary , and founding member of the Magic Tramps), attended Woodstock, (saw Jimi Hendrix play the Star Spangled Banner at 6:30 in the Monday morning there when there were only 200 of us left in the audience). Studied exotic religions including Zen. Moved to Boston where I studied Jazz Improvisation and Third stream music at the New England Conservatory of Music and took courses with the leading musicians and music teachers of the day including Jaki Byard, Ran Blake, John Lewis, and George Russell. Played trumpet in the New England Conservatory Ensembles under Phil Wilson and Ernie Wilkins. Had my own jazz band and played and worked with such luminaries of today as Tiger Okoshi,, Ricky Ford, Akira Tana, Leonard "Boots" Maleson and Claudio Roditi . I received a Bachelors and Master's Degree in Music from the New England Conservatory of Music and became a full time jazz musician and worked with such major figures as Jo Jones (Count Basie's drummer -the inventor of modern rhythm) Nils Bertil Dahlander (who worked with Charlie Parker, Earl Hines and Teddy Wilson) Joe Muranyi (who worked with Louie Armstrong), Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis , Red Callender, singer Joe Lee Wilson etc.. Got fed up with the jazz (non) life. Returned to my artistic roots (circa 1980) . Moved to Europe, Studied European art on my own and at first hand and close up for the next five years in Paris , Florence, Amsterdam, London, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Germany , etc. and painted and drew. Taking with me all that I had learned I settled in Copenhagen, Denmark (1985) and began full time art activities concentrating on figure drawing and abstraction... for a long period I was drawing from the live model as much as twenty hours a week. I met and learned a great deal from friendships with mature painters and poets that befriended me in Scandinavia, such as Gunnar Saietz, Buster Bruun, Krister Follin, Leaonard Malone and Emmanuel Abdul Rahim (with whom I studied Schillinger techniques ) as well as from just working and exhibiting. Please see my regular bio page on this site for the list of exhibitions from then till now. I always taught occasional private students in both music and art since my teen years. In 2001 I returned to the US and began teaching workshops and small classes in Florida. In 2007 I recorded the DVD, "Art is an Attitude" on figure drawing in which I put the essentials for learning how to draw the figure on film. This led to being invited in 2008 to write the book "Expressive Figure Drawing" for publisher Watson- Guptilll (the premier publisher of art instructional books for the last 100 years). This also lead to being asked by importer Savoir Faire to demonstrate my techniques for leading European art materials manufacturers and to give workshops nationally at many different venues. I continue to teach, exhibit and sell my work, and have other related projects such as my line of "Zen" Sumi Brushes and Bamboo Pens.. My third DVD "Zen Breakthrough" on contemporary uses of the Sumi brush and bamboo pen has just come out. My fourth , "Zen Breakthrough II", on figure drawing with the Sumi brush and reed pen and other unique materials, will be out in a few weeks. A fifth DVD. "Keeping the Melody" on the subject of using unique art materials for making contemporary abstraction will be out early in 2012. I find that the toughest lesson to convey to my students is that we learn by doing. The works that can be seen in the various categories in the gallery on this website constitute a record of my studies, journeys, friendships, experiences and aspirations This learning process is very much a never ending ongoing one. As you might imagine from this synopsis, musicians and poets and their creations and of course, life itself, are as important a part of what informs my work and teaching as what I have learned from visual artists and traditional art educational resources.

12/12/2011

Anibal Coufal: Many thanks for your site! I really respect what you’re writing here.

BB: Thanks for letting me know!!

11/25/2011

chadron: I am an artist you can see my work at artbychadfacebook.com my question today is what should i do to be succesful at art and be in a gallery someday ? I would like to be great like known and great like you one day.

BB: Sorry for the delay in answering your question & I appreciate your optimistic estimate of me and my work. How to be successful as an artist in today's world is not an easy question and there is no easy answer. Also, every person's path is different.. I will try to list (in no particular order) what I think are some of the most important activities & qualities that may help lead to developing your art and being accepted into the professional art environment. 1.Get a bachelors and masters degree in fine art at a school with art teachers you respect and like. 2. Establish good work habits and plan your work and study strategies both for daily work as well as in 6 month to 1 year segments. .Establish achievable goals and achieve them in a step by step program. 2. Be ambitious.Work harder than everyone else. 3. Go to every museum and international level art exhibition. Study the art there. Figure out what you like and don't like. 4. Go to openings and art galleries and make friends in that environment... especially with artists better than you. Study with them if possible. Ask lots of questions. Act on what you learn if you get good advice. Learn to distinguish from good and bad advice.. 5. Figure out what your goal is: i.e: what type of art you wish to make and make this goal as narrow and achievable as you possibly can. Pursue this goal with laser-like consistency and persistence 6. Develop emotional skin as tough as rhinoceros while shepherding, cultivating and refining the tender artistic sources, resources and motivations within you. 7. Learn how to pray.

11/8/2011

Hallie Heald: I am a college student in a small liberal arts college in California. I am in my first life drawing class and started out well but am now stuck doing the same quality of work. I continue to disappoint myself and my teacher because I am never finished in the 20 min drawing time. I am a perfectionist and focus on the modeling and details of the figure. Everyone in my class is excelling and I am failing. how do I break these habits ( i practice almost daily).

BB: Stop trying to do the Mona Lisa! Ignore the details ..learn to draw the big shapes and capture the gestural elements. , My book and DVD explain and demonstrate exactly how to do this so I will not repeat here..The exercises therein will enable you to break the self defeating "perfectionism" habit which is based on an illusion...that a drawing to be any good , has to be perfect.. Would you go to learn tennis, golf, or the violin and expect to play every shot or note perfectly right away? Why should drawing be any different? To learn anything you have to become humble and willing to make mistakes. . even fail.There is an exercise called "make a bad drawing" in which the goal is to make the worst drawing you can ..this will break this tendency to over carefulness. If you have to do something perfectly observe the directional angles of the main body segments perfectly. That will give much better results that superficial modeling which is just one aspect of drawing and of lesser importance than most other aspects (see book). Direct your efforts on mastering these other principles. If you are sincere you must do this You must struggle to improve..I have never heard any one claim that it should be easy or perfect. Remember...practicing the wrong things is worse than not practicing at all.

10/28/2011

Cathy: I just bought your wonderful book Expressive Figure Drawing. I have been using watercolors and sketching with them but love your expressive drawings. How can I translate your expressive figure drawing to still life and sketching? I also love your statement about "working with what comes out rather than "correcting" what you do".....I just want to immerse myself in learning as much as I can about this! thanks, (are you ever coming up to Northern CA to teach-Sonoma County ?)

BB: Thanks for your kind comments and enthusiasm. I hope to come to Northern CA sometime but haven't lined anything up yet If you have any good suggestions as to where I should teach up there I am all ears.I hope you you can come to on of my workshops at some point at any rate . I am doing a figure drawing workshop in Santa Barbara the weekend of the 21st of this month if that helps . In the meantime have you seen my DVD's which offer much additional info and "live" demonstrations of my approach (available at Film Baby and Amazon)? I have three new DVDs coming out within the next few months as well. You can translate my approach to still life and landscape, etc. The principles are exactly the same. Try it!

10/8/2011

CHRISTABEL: REASONS FOR GOOD BACKGROUND IN LIFE DRAWING

BB: It has occured to me that your question was not regarding making a good background in a figure drawing but rather why one should have a good foundation in figure drawing. I answered the first possibility a while ago below.. Now I will try to answer this second possibility: The human figure is not the most difficult thing to draw as anyone who has tried to draw a horse or a bare tree knows. But the varied forms of the human figure are a perfect subject to develop all the basic drawing skills.... Answer regarding the background aspect of a figure drawing: Everything in a picture should be there for a reason. It should serve the purpose of advancing the message and meaning the artist wishes to convey. For me the message I wish to convey is about the emotional and musical power of the rhythms, contours and spatial relationships of the figure itself. So, for me, the only reason to put in a background is to make those things clearer. However I most often find that if the weight and angles of the figure relative to the page are convincing then a background other than the tone of the paper is superfluous.To put in an identifiable background would tell a different story ..perhaps about the model's life and situation ..an actual narrative about the model's world. That would be, in my way of thinking, the reason to make a background with its own interest and identity... BTW. If it is just a question of having a good atmospheric background color I recommend doing a light varied watercolor wash (or even a heavier one in liquid acrylic) and then doing your drawing in layers of dark and light on top. Also you can try working on tinted papers and drawing with materials that contrast with the paper (white crayon on black paper for example).

10/8/2011

karen: hi bill, i am wanting to make my own torchon, can you advise or point me in the right direction as all i can find on line seems to be food related. many thanks x

BB: I have never tried to make one.. Torchons come in many sizes and are very useful for blending especially in areas too narrow for your fingers because they have nice (rounded )points.. Some artists use tissue paper, chamois cloths (wrapped around a pencil point, bits of sponge , fingers and so on. It would hard to improve upon a manufactured torchon and they cost very little. Maybe get a ready made and use the time on making drawings instead? :-)

9/14/2011

Er Sanjeev Kulkarni: ...2... from a loooong time I wanted to sketch on your pattern... exactly the same type of sketches with a brief watercolor... how you made your hand turn so easily.. you know...it required a lot of efforts to come out of your sketchbook and nude male/female figures.. you are simply splendid...absolutely awesome.. regards with a lot of luv your greatest fan from India,Asia

BB: Thank You very much. I appreciate your comments and your drawing passion from a world away. Its all about seeing...the more carefully and deeply your eye sees, the more information there is for your hand to follow. ..The eye is the master and the hand is the slave. :-)...The artist is both.

9/6/2011

sanjeev: I am interested in only sketches with gel pens drawn with a speed without any details...that too with a neat proportion.what exactly should I do to achieve this.can you recommend a good site..??thanks

BB: To do what you describe you need to learn how to do gesture drawings with a pen. Thorough explanations and demonstrations of the main ways to learn how to do this are found in both my figure drawing book "Expressive Figure Drawing" (Please see on Amazon) and my figure drawing DVD, "Art is an Attitude" (Please see elsewhere on my site or else on Amazon). To learn how to do this please check these out. For this purpose I also recommend the book "The Natural Way to Draw" by Nicoliades. Happy drawing!

9/6/2011

Debbie: Good Morning Bill - another question from greenhornville :) - I just received your book Expressive Figure Drawing and LOVE LOVE LOVE It! Is there a certain kind of 'paper' that you favor when doing acrylic ink/gouache washes? In your book on page 20 you have an example of a figure done with with sumi brush and thin acrylic ink wash, what kind of paper did you use for that? As always thanks so much Bill! Debbie

BB: I am glad you are so happy with the book.The real answer to the question you ask is simple: you can use any kind of paper that is made to be able to take water media. Page 44 in the "Materials" section of my book gives a good explanation of the various types of papers and makes recommendations. As far as that specific picture goes: In my foreign sojourns I have used many papers that were local to the country I was in. The picture you refer to was done quite a few years ago on a good quality (but by no means, exceptional quality) "sketch" paper that is local to and only available in Denmark. The photograph makes it appear more off-white than it is (white surfaces are notoriously variable in photographs and photographs don't reveal the qualities of paper particularly well). The papers I recommend in my book are the best that I know of and I really do recommend them over others that are around. because they are best suited for the techniques in the book...they are the ones I use. For you to to start with I recommend the Fabriano Eco-White 220 gr (95 lb) which is similar to the paper in the image you refer to. I think you can get it through Jerry's Artarama. If not just Google it and I am sure you will find it. Good luck and happy drawing!

8/20/2011

debbie: Good Morning Bill and Happy Sunday :) I"ve got some watercolor paper that is kind of an off-white. I know this sounds like such a stupid question, but can a person gesso over the paper so it's white-white or is there another way to to tint the paper so its super white. Many Thanks! Debbie

BB: Dear Debbie, You can go over the paper with one or two layers of thin diluted gesso to create an all white waterproof surface but it defeats the purpose of the watercolor paper. with its attractive absorbent surface. Once gessoed you can still paint on it with acrylic or even oil (depending on the type of gesso) but the surface will not easily accept watercolor or ink. The paper will also warp unless you have it stretched and taped. I personally much prefer off-white watercolor paper which is warmer in tone. Probably its better to use the off-white as is and next time get a very white paper if you really need the cooler background tone. :-)

8/14/2011

Debbie: Aloha Bill, Just wanted to say how much I love your instruction and your art :) Quick question: 'what brand of acrylic ink do you use?' Thank you! :))))

BB: There are several good brands. Dr. PH Martins Spectralite and Tech inks, GoldenAirbrush color and Schminke all work well and have different color choices. I especially like the new Liquitex. Best of alI I like the Lascaux acrylic gouache which functions like an acrylic ink when diluted but can also be uses more thickly. I hope this helps. Aloha

8/10/2011

Jay: Hello Bill. I recently purchased one of your line of sumi brushes. I never knew such a quality brush could be had for so reasonable a price. It performs wonderfully and has only shed one hair that I'm aware of. My question is when are your line of bamboo pens coming out. ?

BB: Hi, It is because I found it was nearly impossible to find really top quality Sumi brushes in the US that I decided to make these brushes available so it is encouraging to hear your experience. My "Zen" bamboo pens will be available in a just a few weeks. I will post the news to you as soon as they are. Thank you very much. Enjoy!.

8/7/2011

cardaddy: Hi guys! Cool website! Do you know more blogs on this topic?

BB: figuredrawings.com hasa great many figure drawing resources.

7/26/2011

tom: do bamboo reed pens need to be soaked in water prior to use

BB: Not really, although it will tend to improve as you load it with sumi or india ink and work with it a little. Actually you want to avoid soaking it as it might cause the wood to expand and split. So when you are done using it rinse it thoroughly and dry it off thoroughly with a paper towel.

7/6/2011

Sean : Hey Bill what kind of pastel or pen is it that you use when doing your figure drawings? Thank you!! Sean

BB: Hi Sean, These are the materials I generally use in my figure work: Crayons/Chalks/Pastels:... Cretacolor Pastel Chalk Fired Deep Black, Extra Soft;... Cretacolor Art Chunky;... Cretacolor Pastel Carré;... Sennelier Soft Pastels,...Conté Crayon 2B;... Oil Pastels: Sennelier Artists Oil Pastels, Regular;... Sennelier Artists Oil Pastels, “Grand”;... Charcoal:... General’s Charcoal Chunk;... Graphite: Cretacolor Monolith graphite pencils;... Cretacolor Graphite 5.6 mm leads and holders;... Water-Soluble Crayons:... Cretacolor Aquastics or Caran D'ache Neo Color II;... Fountain Pen & Ink:... Pelikan Souveran M series 1000,600,400 or 300) Fountain Pen, B nib;... Pelikan Fount India Ink;... Rollerball Pen: Various Zebra rollerballs .7 mm or larger;... Sumi Brushes:... Bill Buchman Zen Sumi Brushes (various sizes - available through this site);... Reed Pens: Bill Buchman Zen Reed Pen (available soon);... Sumi Ink: Yasutomo Liquid Sumi Ink;...Other watermedia for use with Sumi brush:... Lascaux Acrylic Gouache;... Sennelier Watercolors, Turner Acrylic Gouache;... Liquitex or other airbrush colors(liquid acrylic)... Sketch & Drawing Paper: Fabriano Eco-White 56 lbs (120gms) and 94 lbs (200gms) - 20” x 25.5”;... ... Canson Biggie "Sketch" pad 50 lbs 18" x 24”;... Fabriano Studio Sheets - 200 & 300 gms - 19.5"x 27.5";... Watercolor Paper:... Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper - 200 gms & 330 gms &640gms- Traditional White - 22" x 30";... Fabriano Studio Watercolor Sheets - 200 gms & 300gms - 19.5"x 27.5";... Brush Cleaner for Sumi Brushes: General’s Brush Cleaner; ...also....An oriental style circular mixing dish with seven sections; plastic or ceramic;... A water container for cleaning brushes and some paper towels;... A plastic squirt bottle. i hope this helps. Please see my 'Art is an Attitude" DVD and my book "Expressive Figure Drawing" for more detailed explanations and demonstrations of how and when I use these materials. Happy drawing! Best Regards, Bill

7/3/2011

Harriet Williams: Bill,I guess i should have been more specific in my last question. I have most of the books you mentioned, what i"m looking for are books that have photos of the nude model in various poses. Many of the books have a DVD included to download. I should have been more specific. I can't always make it to the evening live model drawing sessions locally. Thanks, H WIlliams

BB: Hm-I don't have nuch help to offer you there- especially with photo DVD's Don't know much anout them although I know there a bunch of them around.around. What i have seen are pretty boring ..I would recommend drawing things around your house: furniture, fruit, flowers, plants pets, guests, family members, etc.. Drawing something from 3D life is best Or copying master drawings from drawing books.Sorry I can't be more helpful.

6/7/2011

Harriet: Hi Bill, I forgot to ask if you can recommend any DVD's or books on drawing the nude figure. I'm tiring of the ones i have. They include The Nude Figure by Mark Edward Smith, The Nude Female Figure by (see previous author), and Art Models 3 by Maureen and Douglas Johnson. and I will try following your advice from the last posting!! Thanks again, H

BB: The Natural Way to Draw - Nicolaides; Learning to Draw - Robert Kaupelis; The Practice and Science Of Drawing - Harold Speed; The Art of Responsive Drawing - Nathan Goldstein; The Natural Way to Paint –Charles Reid; Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters - Robert Beverly Hale; plus of course, my "Art Is and Attitude" DVD and the "Expressive Figure Drawing" book. Look for my new DVD's in a few months

6/6/2011

Harriet: HI Bill, I'm working my way through your book. Several of my "experiments" have turned out well, others not so much, but will continue to plug away. I have a question about the use of oil pastels. Do you use any fixative and if not do they hold up well on paper? Should they be framed under glass? I find it difficult using the fountain and reed pens, i think because correcting seems impossible. I suppose i should continue to work with them until my drawings show improvement. I really like the " structure drawing" with conte followed by contour and the massing-in followed by contour. These are great ways to loosen up prior to a session. In fact, for most of my successful drawing lately I have been using these methods. I'm drawing almost every day now and my enthusiasm seems to be based on those successful approaches. thanks

BB: Dear Harriet. I am glad you are getting motivated to draw as much as you are..The idea with the fountain pen and reed pen is to let yourself make "bad" (i.e.not fully controlled drawings) drawings until that doesn't bother you any more. Then you can start to improve them by finding out how to make the uncontrolled parts work and maybe getting some more control going as well. The whole idea is getting used to working with what comes out rather than "correcting" what you do. Its a matter of commitment. As far as fixing of oil pastels: after a while they will cure and not be so moist to the touch. Sennelier makes an oil pastel fixative which can help . A thin (diluted layer) of acrylic varnish (matte or satin) is another possibility when you are completely finished.This works surprisingly well. For exhibition purposes they do need to be framed under glass or plexiglass. By all means keep that enthusiasm going.

6/6/2011

John: Hi Mr. Buchmann, last year i bought your book and video 's and they are really great. But i have a question: when i practise with the sketches / drawing and after wards i want to use the water colors: --> do i need to wet the paper first or --> do i just use the brush with the water color soaked and then color the places? would be nice if you could help me with the correct order of drawing / sketching and coloring. thankz John Q. from the Netherlands.

BB: Hi John, I am glad you find my DVD's and book useful. I never wet the paper first ..wet paper dilutes the color and makes it impossible to control (exception: ... doing a light blue sky in a landscape) Follow the order as I do it on the DVD..oil pastel drawing first ...then juicy watercolor.s Load the brush with the color so that when you paint with it the areas of greatest concentration will appear dark while the medium and light areas appear translucent (so that the paper shines through). Loading the brush with the right tone takes experimentation. The main thing is to use the brush really loaded and much wetter than you think it should be. Watercolor, as the name implies , ought to be wet...really wet. I recommend studying a book on art materials and their uses that will enumerate the basic ways watercolor can be used... just to learn how it behaves. I will be doing a DVD that will show this in the near future but you don't need to wait for that. Go for it!

5/12/2011

Jay: Hello Bill, I must tell you I have gotten a great deal of knowledge and inspiration from your book and DVD's. In your book, you mention a brand of bamboo pen, Zen. I cannot find them sold anywhere online or in stores. The only ones I have found are badly made and to o frustrating to draw with. Do you have information on where I can find the pens you mentioned? Thank you.

BB: I am very glad to hear that and thank you for telling me. It means a lot to me. The bamboo pens I have designed and called the Bill Buchman Zen Pen will be coming out soon . They will be like the ones in my book and on the DVD's (Actually, better) . Unfortunately they are not ready quite yet. I am waiting for the final details to fall into place and hope they will be available within a month or two. They will come in 3 different sizes and really work well. Please check back in about 6 weeks. Sorry for the delay.

4/12/2011

Carol: Dear Mr Buchman: I love your jumbo Sumi Brush. I ordered it from Amazon from the link on your website. I have your Creative Break Out dvd and I have learned so much! I want to practice the one gesture ink paintings with the jumbo brush. I have a few questions about how to use the brush correctly that I was hoping you could help me with: 1. I followed the instructions and soaked it before I used it but when I painted it had almost a soapy bubbly consistency. Is that normal? and 2. When using the brush, should I dip in in water first and then ink, or dip a dry brush into the ink? Thank you very much again for the great tips and inspiring dvd. Carol

BB: Thank you for your message and for purchasing my DVD and the Zen brush and I am happy to hear you are getting so much out of the DVD. Regarding your questions: 1) When you soak your brush the first time to remove the starch some residual bubbles may appear but these will not continue for long. Sometimes your ink (which should always be diluted with water to some extent ) may also create some bubbles but this will only add to the interest of the brush stroke when dry. 2) Your brush should be thoroughly wet before using it so always allow the brush to soak for a couple of minutes before you begin . When you dip your wet brush in the ink the amount of wetness of your brush will influence the brush strokes that follow - the more water in your brush, the more translucent the stroke...the less water in your brush, the more opaque your stroke will appear. Happy Painting

4/8/2011

pat: Hi Bill: I purchased your book while on holiday in Phoenix AZ. I note you mention you can purchase Zen sumi brushes through Jerry's Arterama. I have looked them up and no Zen Sumi Brush available. On your site it directs me to Amazon.com and they do not ship to Canada. Any suggestions as to how one can obtain a set of these brushes. Thank you. Pat Jasper

BB: Dear Pat, Thank you for contacting me. I am sorry you have run into difficulty obtaining the brushes. I think the brushes should be shippable to Canada from Amazon. I will check out why they aren't and see how it can be rectified. Alternatively you can buy them directly from me. Please send me an e-mail at art@billbuchman.com and I will provide you with the relevant info..

3/8/2011

ivan: Hi Bill I was in your San louis obispo class. I am trying to find out where to buy the "Oriental style mixing dish we used (ceramic) & also a holder for creta color crayons. Thanks Ivan

BB: Hi Ivan These links give you some choices. The crayon holders I usually use aren't made any more. The ones listed below are all new to me. I've ordered the Hanson , the Lyra and the Standard to try them out . http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/painting-supplies/palettes/glazed-porcelain-and-enamel-palettes/english-glazed-porcelain-palettes.htm http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AZFBQ2/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000FN0ZIE&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1QYPG9WTKXV991SQ5VG3 http://www.amazon.com/gp/cart/view-upsell.html?ie=UTF8&storeID=office-products&nodeID=1064954&HUCT=1&newItems=U3IXA1T1EEJ7ZG%2C1 Good luck and cheers, Bill PS. 4/8 These holders all turned out to be too large for the CretaColor crayons . I am still searching for a holder which will work and will post the link here when I find it. Anyone : Please let me know if you find one.

2/17/2011

jacob: how to hold your pencil when drawing

BB: Please see answer below.

1/26/2011

Mo: Hi Bill, I was in your San Luis Obispo workshop, I loved the class! You mentioned you would put a list of supplies you used during the class on your wed sight. It is probably there but I can't seem to locate it. Please direct me. Thanks, Mo

BB: Here's the complete list: Materials for Bill Buchman Courses/Workshops 2010-2011 - Water-Soluble Crayons: Cretacolor Aquastics;... Water-Soluble Colored Pencils: Cretacolor Aqua Monoliths;... Crayons/Chalks/Pastels: Cretacolor Pastel Chalk Fired Deep Black, Extra Soft;... Cretacolor Art Chunky;... Cretacolor Pastel Carré;... Conté Crayon 2B;... Oil Pastels: Sennelier Artists Oil Pastels – Regular;... Sennelier Artists Oil Pastels – “Grand”;... Charcoal: General’s Charcoal Chunk;... Graphite: Cretacolor Monolith graphite pencils;... Graphite 5.6 mm leads and holders;... Fountain Pen & Ink: Pelikan Souveran M1000,(or 800, 600,400 or 300) Fountain Pen, B nib;... Pelikan Fount India Ink;... Rollerball Pen: Zebra GR8 Roller Medium Point 0.7mm;... Sumi Brushes: Bill Buchman Zen Sumi Brushes (various sizes)(available through this site);... Reed Pens: Bill Buchman Zen Reed Pen (available soon);... Sumi Ink: Yasutomo Liquid Sumi Ink;... Acrylic Watermedia for use with Sumi brush: Lascaux Gouache;... Turner Acrylic Gouache;... Dr PH Martin Tech Inks;... Golden Airbrush Colors;... Sketch Paper: Fabriano Eco-White 56 lbs (120gms) 20” x 25.5”;... Fabriano Eco-White 94 lbs (200gms) 20” x 25.5”;... Canson Biggie "Sketch" pad 50 lbs 18" x 24”;... Drawing Paper: Fabriano Studio Sheets - 300 gms - 19.5"x 27.5";... Strathmore Drawing Paper Medium - 400 Series - 80 lb - 18” x 24” Watercolor Paper: Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper - 200 gms - Traditional White - 22" x 30";... Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper - 330 gms - Traditional White - 22" x 30";... Fabriano Artistico Watercolor Paper - 640 gms - Traditional White - 22" x 30";... Fabriano Studio Watercolor Sheets - 200 gms - 19.5"x 27.5";... Fabriano Studio Watercolor Sheets - 300 gms - 19.5"x 27.5";... Strathmore Watercolor Paper - 400 Series - 300 gms - 80 lbs - 18” x 24” Brush Cleaner for Sumi Brushes: General’s “The Master’s” Brush Cleaner and Preserver Final Drawing Fixative: Grumbacher Matte Final Fixative (all drawing media) Other materials: An oriental style circular mixing dish with seven sections; plastic or ceramic;... A water container for cleaning brushes and some paper towels;... A plastic squirt bottle.

11/23/2010

EYEYE JUSTICE EROWO: what does take to draw to precision in a life drawing section?

BB: Please pardon the delay in my response. Thank you for a great and big question but there are no easy answers. The easiest suggestion, however, is just to observe and draw more slowly and carefully in order be more precise. But there is a great deal more to it than that. I would say learning to draw with precision is a training process. First of all, a drawing does not have to be totally accurate in order to be interesting. I have found that focusing too much on precision often leads to a lifeless result. There are different kinds of precision and some give a more lively and artistic result than others. For example if you accurately observe and capture the main angles of the axes of the hips, shoulders, spine, arms and legs you will end up with a figure that appears able to support itself. This impression of the correct weight distribution has more to do with the believable impression your drawing will make than any other aspect. Also being able to capture an accurate impression of the overall sense of action and interaction in a figure, ( known as capturing the “gesture”) will do more to make your drawing convincing than if you just portray surface details and the individual bits and pieces. Once you are able to capture the gesture and the directional axes of the various body parts it becomes a great deal easier to flesh in the details and the end result will be more convincing and powerful. There are many training exercises for learning how to isolate and accurately observe these factors as well as the contours, shading, volumes, and so on. The process is: once you have sensitized yourself to each type of observation it becomes easier to put the various aspects together. My DVD, Art is an Attitude and my upcoming book Expressive Figure Drawing (coming in December) explain fully explain how all this is accomplished. Since you asked such a big question I would humbly point you in those directions to find your question more fully answered. Best regards and happy drawing!

9/12/2010

osmundp: how to hold a pencil when drawing

BB: Many people advocate holding your pencil loosely between your thumb and first two fingers almost horizontally so that the back end of the pencii dangles under your palm . I do not recommend this. We have all grown up writing with pencils (and pens) held firmly with the thumb and first two fingers so that the pencil is at an upright angle sticking up through the space formed between the thumb and the forefinger. This is already a familiar and natural position and definitely gives the most control. With this ordinary writing grip you still have firm control even if you draw in a free and loose manner. And by the way, free and loose, is the way to go. :-)

5/30/2010

Louise : How do I 'clean' a paper torchon for drawing? :)

BB: A torchon , also known as a stump, is a tool made of a hard roll of paper that is used for blending tones of charcoal, graphite(pencil), pastel, chalk or other dry abrasive drawing media. They come in different sizes and are a more accurate tool than your fingers for controlling "smearing " effects. When you wish to clean it for fresh use, usually with a different drawing media, just sand it down a little with a piece of fine sandpaper. Stumps are good but try also pieces of sponge, felt, kleenex, or other odd materials for different blending and graduated tone effects. : -)

11/29/2009

jina: how do you color your drawing, a plant with contrasting colors on the outsides of the drawing where there is space?

BB: If i am not mistaken, you are asking how to make a colored background to contrast with your subject. There are many ways to do this. First, it may not be necessary. The white background of the paper often makes the best background because it keeps the sense of air and transparency. You will notice I rarely give more than a slight hint of a background (if that) in my drawings because the background can take over and dominate the drawing and change the appearance of the subject (i.e the plant or figure) in unexpected and unwanted ways. But anyway good contrast and a feeling of air and transparency is generally what you want. The color should be applied in a diluted or porous and varied way. If the color is too flat or heavy it will tend to not look like space and will instead come forward and compete with your subject (although sometimes I like this effect). Using a different medium for your background can create an additional contrast of texture which can be very effective.In general do your backround so that it is less powerful than your subject and does not compete with it. A background should be just that - a background. PS if you do your drawing on toned or colored paper than you have a background color right from the beginning to contrast your subject with. i hope this helps. Good luck!

11/27/2009

Emani: I am a college student majoring in Graphic Design. I am currently in Drawing 1. We are into self portraits now, and I am having the hardest time being able to draw the exact same thing on both sides of the face. I am not an artist, but have surprised myself on some of our projects! Is there any advise you could give that would help me with this problem. I know they say practice, but my project is due now and I need HELP! Thank you in advance for your assistance.

BB: Sorry if this answer comes too late. I believe you are referring to getting the eyes and ears and corners of the jaw, etc. to line up on both sides. You draw very light (6H pencil) guidelines parallel with the edges of you paper from one side to the other to indicate the bottom and top of both eyes ears, etc. This is assuming the head is level. if the head is at an angle the indicator lines will be parallel with the angle (at the same angle) as the head. Once you've got the basic positions you erase the guidelines and draw in the features. :-)

11/23/2009

monika: I am practicing the dvd "Art is an Attitude"; finally, I got to draw the last demo chapter 27 Mass & Line using acrylic ink & watercolor crayon. I like the finished color you get on a figure; I see there is a little bit of yellow, orange, red/ochre as they are bleeding into each other. When I mix my colors, I put a little water in a dish and start adding few drops of Dr. Ph. Martins Spectralite liquid acrylic little bit of yellow, red & brown. Then, I dip my sumi brush in, and all I get, is one shade of hot orange on a paper. Would you tell me why this happens, please help to understand. Looking forward to hear from you.Thank you again for your wonderful dvd.

BB: Monika, I am glad you are practicing the exercises You will find they they will pay off the more you can do. To get the effects of the mixed colors that you like: have three separate mixing containers or one mixing dish with separate divisions (like the oriental flower mixing dish you can see on the DVD).. Put several drops of one color in one and the next color in the next and so on so each color is separate. Always add the water second so you can control the concentration. You will end up with three separate fully mixed colors ready to paint with. The idea is to add one color to the paper very wet and then add the next so it comes into contact with the edge of the first color and blend with it a little bit. Yellow , red and brown are all warm colors and very close together . You will get a more interesting result using a combination that includes more contrasting colors. For example, try using a warm and a cool color together (like yellow and blue). I will be giving my figure drawing class on July 12 at the Learning & Product Expo in Chicago so you haven't missed it. Try to make it if you can. You can register at www.learningproductexpo.com Happy drawing!

6/23/2009

david: what arethe 5 main drawing equipments andb th eir uses

BB: Nice question. You know...you can draw with almost anything. You can dip a stick into a bottle of ink or even a cup of coffee and make quite an interesting drawing. And not all artists would agree what the five main drawing tools are. So I can only say what my top favorites are. The number of traditional drawing tools is huge and growing all the time. Here follows a list of some of the traditional drawing tools (please be aware that each drawing tool has unique functions and abilities which are useful for differing results and effects; there are many terrific books dedicated to how to work with each of these types of drawing materials ): charcoal and charcoal pencils, chalks, pastels (hard and soft), Conte crayons, litho crayons and pencils, graphite pencils and carbon pencils, colored pencils (water-soluble and non water-soluble), wax crayons(water-soluble and non water-soluble), fountain pens, reed pens (bamboo), quill pens (feather),dip pens (with detachable nibs), sumi brush, brush pens, graphite powder, felt tips, gel pens and so on. In my teaching we start with a square conte type of crayon -I use the Cretacolor black pastel carre which is a little darker and richer than the conte. Also we draw with rollerball pens. My favorite is the Zebra GR8 Roller. And we draw with sumi brush with ink, reed pen with sumi ink, wax watercolor crayons (Cretacolor Aquastix))and Art Chunkies (big earthy chalks). So that's my personal big seven. For the sake of full disclosure I should mention that I sometimes work for some of these companies and demonstrate their products but that doesn't change the fact that these are my favorite materials anyway.

10/1/2008

Tip #1: What is the best way to hold your pen or pencil when drawing?

BB: Some people like to hold their drawing instrument loosely and even awkwardly in order to be more expressive. I recommend holding your pen , pencil, or crayon firmly (although not tightly) in the same way you would hold it to write with. This gives maximum control. Having a good and naturally comfortable grip will help you to draw with a confident and fluid motion. Then the energy and movement of your arm and hand will translate to the page.

7/23/2008

Julienne: Thanks Bill. Great video! Are you teaching any upcoming classes in the Los Angeles area. I am a student at Art Center College of Art and Design, and I need some additional help.

BB: Julienne, I will be teaching classes at the Learning and Product Expo in Pasadena, October 24-26. For more info see http://www.learningproductexpo.com/splash.htm I hope to see you there!

5/30/2008

prons: Hi I've been trying to draw lately and I've gotten better except for one problem. All my art looks like cartoon characters without the color. It seems I can't figure out how the achieve the full look or shading of professional figure drawing. I'm just using a #2 pencil and notebook paper, so I'm not sure if the problem is my technique, or my equipment. Can you help point me in the right direction to pinpoint my problem?

BB: Perhaps the answer is both equipment and technique. Get an art sketchpad and try differnt types of drawing and sketching pencils and crayons. For shading I recommend trying a broken conte crayon on it's side and practice making five patches of tone each distinctly different going from light to dark and then also single strips of shading going from dark to light. Also try the same thing with a water soluble lead pencil like General's "Sketch and Wash" or a 6B (very soft)woodless (solid graphite pencil)pencil both with the point and on it's side. Also get some styrofoam 3-dimensional shapes from Micheal's Craft Store to study how to shade spheres, cubes, cylinders etc. and practice the shading effects. "Rendering in Pencil" by Arthur Guptill, "Anyone can Draw" by Artur Zaidenberg (you can find cheap out of print copies online) and a new one "Keys to Drawing" by Bert Dodson are 3 great books on drawing. And, of course, if possible, try a local figure drawing class or course. Happy drawing!

5/30/2008