Hello Brett,
"If you remember me, I'm the Spanish guy to whom you recently sent DWBJ vol IV.
It's been some time since and I wanted to thank you for your kind annotations, but these last weeks were so busy for me with work. I also wanted to ask you about the exhibitions (I checked your website and looks they were fine) and also share my thoughts on DWBJ IV. (You asked for, but although you hadn't it's a pleasure for me, since I've enjoyed every single line).
By the way, I ordered a set of playing cards to JP Games and I really found them amazing. No wonder they were voted among the best playing cards in the world. Each card having a different design!! It's absolute madness. Must confess that I was so focused on graphite that I hadn't payed much attention to cards. Simply fabulous.
I keep on drawing as much as my work allows me, so I took my reading of DWBJ IV with a hungry attitude, but steadily, reading one article at the time. And I have nothing to say but that I enjoyed every single line.
This issue is a much more deep travel into the high end of drawing, you digging deeper into, as you call it, the Enth Degree and the Deep End of the Pool (I enjoyed particularly Part IV). At first it may seem that this kind of contents are too far from the needs of any average drawer and that it's only worthy for those attempting hyper-realistic works. ("Sorry if I scared you", you said). But I think not.
I think that no matter in which step of the road from the rough sketch to the hyper-realistic work you are, some things apply at any occasion. What I loved of your approach from the beginning is that you take the drawing battle to where it's fought: in the mind. In fact your four magazines (what a nice book could be made out of them four) are a thorough drawer mind's travel road book.
I think that, as you explain, drawing is a mental activity that you play with your brain while your hand is a mere executioner, a constant fight against what your eyes are actually seeing and what your brain thinks they're seeing, the latter trying to fool you at any moment. Even if your skills are not yet ready for hiperrealistic work (my case so far), the challenging cicle of judgment, reflecting, deciding and then marking the paper, as the drawing develops and acquires a life of its own -and, like a newborn baby requiring constant attention and corrections-, is always the same, being the only difference, as you say, that it's up to you to which degree of detail you want/are able to go, or how many shapes within shapes within shapes within shapes you want/are able to dissect.
Because the more you see... the more you see! Also happened to me that after days of seeing, some at first completely dark section of the reference image suddenly pops out with different shapes that just weren't there the days before!! Amazing, that's why your comments on perception are so interesting. A drawer, if you think it well is nothing but an illusionist.
I remember having read the great Monet saying: "it's important to watch, but the most important thing of all is to reflect". You describe that journey, the cycle of seeing, thinking, judging and drawing in a way I've never seen before. As I think I told you once, you have created an artistic world of your own, both with your graphite works and with your deep writings. One of a kind. Obviously not for the masses: for good or bad (I think for good) your work is for the "immense minority" who knows how to appreciate it.
Besides that, your technical advices have been for me invaluable. When you learn them like you feel able to draw anything... until reality gets in the way and you understand how long the trail (learning curve) is. But as you said, there's no such thing as too much practice. I payed too much attention to the concepts of cleaning house, drawing mood/gravel (specially), drawing by/up the ligth and the others you talk about in this issue. As I attempt every time more detailed drawings I understand the better the importance of things like these, and some others like
*outside the light, inside the dark
*there's no such thing as too small an adjustment
*needle sharp
*draw the darks and let the lights take care of themselves (they shall appear when you need them, I add).
But I must confess some things look easier when read that when you try to apply them in the paper...
I've never tried pastels, but after reading Lantana articles I think I'll try sooner or later. Seems like a more lively, sketchy technique, more similar to charcoal, which I have attempted with unequal results.
Well, I could be endlessly talking about this, so I'm ending. I think that I have stealed to you time enough.
I wish you the best for 2017. Me, I'll keep needle sharping my Lumos.
best regards from the other side of this world",
Jose Maria Justel, Spain