Doing the Still Life Project

This project was inspired by the exhibit at the Metropoliton Museum of the still lifes of Giorgio Morandi. He spent his whole life in Bologna and he did a still life every single day of his adult life.

The goal here was more modest: only ninety days, the length of the exhibition in New York. We can do this.

It was an amazing experience in obsessive-compulsive behavior.You were not required to do one a day, just 90 in 90 days. I did 17 in the last three days. There were no restraints as to size, subject or materials. I limited mine to the size of the scanner bed. It was simpler to not select glass or reflective material. Too time consuming.

And quality was not an issue. That is very freeing. Still it is emotion that comes from somewhere or nowhere that grabs you. Some days the drawing came easy, just flowing on to the page. Other times, not so much. Drawing can be so mysterious. Looking at some of them I can't understand how I did that, other times I think why did I do that. I remember sitting there thinking, "How do I do this? I know I did this yesterday, but I don't remember how that happened." Eventually something happened and I drew again.



Here is a sampling of the results.






Piggy and the Pumpkin (first one)

















Lunch at the Tacobell (drawing in public)










The Bull and the Barbell (most complicated)














At the Meeting 2 (smallest)



















Number One Horse (I still plan to do number two)





















Lady Jar

















"The Shaman" (weirdest subject matter)














Black Polish Chicken (smallest object)






















Thor and the Sun