area 404: Lunchtime Art Tour

During lunch today, I finally had the chance to see the ‘Sargent and the Sea’ exhibit at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. I adore Sargent as an artist, so it was a real treat to see some of his early works – watercolors and drawings when the artist was between 18-22 years old.

It was interesting to see how much his style had changed. Even though the exhibit focused more on his maritime artistry, there were a few rough portraits speckled around the tour. Sargent’s portraits were relatively primitive in his early years. His models faces were either quick, vague sketches, or completely blurred and implied. Sargent focused more on the model’s pose, stance, and contours.

One thing I always admire about Sargent’s drawings are that, they are seemingly simple. They consist largely of some contour drawing, and lot’s of simplified lines. But all these elements put together really create an extraordinary composition. It’s so much fun looking at his pieces up close. His line strokes are so delicate and calm.

Unfortunately, the museum wouldn’t allow photos of the ‘Sargent and the Sea’ exhibit, but they did allow us to photograph some of the Corcoran’s permanent Sargent collection…which oddly enough consists of my favorite drawing by the artist, “Olimpio Fausco” (photo below).

At the very end of the tour, the museum set up a still life, surrounded by benches with sketchpads and pencils. This interactive part of the tour allowed the visitor to freely sketch the still life. I figured, I really couldn’t call myself an artist unless I participated. So, I drew a rendition of a portion of the still life (which you will have to wait and see on Corcoran’s site). The museum plans on scanning in each visitor’s drawing, and posting them up on their site. I’ll post a link once it’s available. Believe me, it’s nothing fancy – just a quick sketch with minimal shading.

Something else I picked up from this tour…my new slogan from John Singer Sargent:
“Sketch everything and keep your curiosity fresh”

And how true this is, for any artist. Sargent had countless sketchbooks. One caption on the tour stated he had about 13 completed sketchbooks by age 18 – full to the brim with completed works, studies, and random renderings. I’ve made a promise to myself to try and keep a sketchbook with me at all times. I really miss the days when I used to sketch vs. solely working on the computer. In some ways, graphic design can really dull raw artistry - if you let it.