drawing people in clothes is so boring!
why won't girls just walk around naked?

From the horse's mouth

I came across a funny sculpture in the Tretyakov gallery. Forgot the author's name. Yeah, this is a work by a Soviet sculptor Isidor Frich-Haar. It's supposed to be a scene from the Civil war in Russia (1918-1922). Red Army guys do some military planning (they are using 1:1 maps, obviously)

btw, I like the thoughtful eyes of the messenger's horse. The reference site says Mr  Frich-Haar was working in the naive style, because, like he said, "I can't afford being a serious artist".
 

Растущее достоинство

рассматривая первое, наткнулся на второе. Колонка главного редактора в журнале объявлений, Новосибирск
     

Red Square renovated for the May 9 parade

the guys are replacing pebbles in front of the Kremlin wall. Check out the instruments they are using - a replica of a good old wooden mallet?

weekend in a small town

 We went to Dmitrov for the Pancake week a few weeks ago. Actually, we planned a trip to Kolomna, a lovely town in the opposite direction, but Dmitrov was much closer. It was quite a "blind date", because we knew nothing about the town - but we weren't disappointed. 
 

well, I didn't make it to the class last Thursday (so the previous figure remains unchanged) - but I did manage to get there two Tuesdays in succession. So, here's our new model - Anatoly, an amateur actor, loves to talk during sesions, recites his new role (a sparrow - quite a challenging part for a guy of his proportions) and ... well... here he is:

Меня достают эти разговоры о том, что "вот при Сталине был порядок", "вот Сталин сейчас бы навел порядок". Какой на хер порядок? Убить накануне войны всех военачальников - это порядок? В ходе индустриализации сажать специалистов - это порядок? Устроить чехарду в науках? Переписывать историю каждый день, замалевывать на фотографиях расстрелянных комиссаров? Вчера герой - завтра предатель: это порядок? Это бардак какой-то. Если любите Сталина, так честно и скажите: мы хотим вернуть кровавый бардак!

Drawing class

I finally got to my drawing class and here's what I got after 4 hrs. I was sorta rushing the shading, because I wasn't sure I'd take another lesson next week. 

it was coal pencil on A2 paper.

The teacher said I shouldn't apply so much tone at this stage. The figure looks too black where it's opposed to the light - infact, the model's right side will catch reflected light and look lighter. Also, at this stage, I should draw more of his face. And, finally, the front plane of the belly should be narrow, I got it too wide. Personally, I'm not happy with the posture - it's somewhat lifeless, not energetic. But: I hope to improve things next Thursday :)

Gasmasks on parade

Ballpen on A3 paper

drawing this took me a while and I'm not too happy with the result. too gray, to put it briefly.
I got disappointed with ballpen at this stage, because you can't apply strokes indefinitely with it - the paper resists.

Russia - sect

I went to my friend's countryhouse this winter, and as I was driving, I saw a strange structure, that looked like a chirch. I stopped by.
Infact, it wasn't a church at all. Locals told me, members of an obscure sect lived there and turned their house into a temple (where grizly rituals were performed, of course)
 

Subway pics - latest pack

 

Soviet TV cameramen - the invisible hippies

I came across a bunch of old Soviet photos - the making of Soviet TV. And - wow! - I always knew, TV cameramen are chic and hip, BUT: how did they manage to do it under Soviet regime? they look much cooler than all the rest. Check'em out!

more subway people

I thank all my models for joining this session. Some of them never noticed anything, others got suspicious, but didn't mind anyway. I drew about a hundred passengers by now, and - strangely - none ever objected.

о преемственности

 мне кажется, правящий клан губит жадность. Ну сколько надо денег человеку -неужели мало уже нахапано рабским трудом? Сотни миллионов, десятки миллиардов - а надо еще и еще, все контролируем, этот нам откатывает, здесь нам должны... Уж скоро в гроб пора, сколько тех лет осталось? Ну 10-15-20. Ни прожрать эти деньги, ни просрать уже не успеют. Что за упыри непонятные?  Или детям хотят завещать - так им все равно впрок не идет никогда. Даже клещ или там пиявка, насосавшись, отваливает - а эти нет, не хотят.

Subway sketches

 я стал рисовать в метро, потому что иначе совсем нет времени. главное выбрать людей, которые не выходят на следующей станции и не очень вертятся
   
they are pencil drawings, but photoshopped with added contrast, they look like ink. Anyway

Единая Россия - знакомое

Аэропорт Новосибирска, весь засыпанный снегом. Плакат Единой России: кругом колосятся поля. Надпись на плакате: "Нам есть чем гордиться. Единая Россия".  Я бы написал по-другому: "Единая Россия: всегда на теплом месте."

At last! Coca-Cola ad in the Kremlin!

Now here it goes, Coca-Cola ad on the Kremlin wall! It was so natural for it to be there, I just wonder why they took so long :)

Not the real Kremlin, of course. Ice sculpture from Novosibirsk. Cool place in winter.

I went there on business a couple of weeks ago. What can I say? You can ski to almost any place in the city - there's so much snow. It was just -15 degrees, we were lucky to catch a few warm days.

Deep forest providers

This is the office of my internet provider. It took me an hour to find them, though I had the address. Because actually they are in the forest. I had to go looking for them, because they couldn't connect the internet for 5 weeks!
 

Basement studio

Visited my friends the other day. They are sculptors and work in a basement studio of the institute, they just graduated from. Looks like the whole place used to be a bomb shelter. Rather cold inside, and the room is crammed with plaster models they did (or others, who had been there earlier)
       
yeah, the eagle wasn't actually their fancy, but because they take orders, clients sometimes have bizzare ideas. Some of these clay models are for a chocolate factory. So, one guy wanted a chocolate head of city mayor (did they eventually eat it? cannibals! that was for the mayor's birthday). Another one ordered a figure of the president - and the president's dog, too.

even more stuff from the old days :)

  
with the first one, I had an idea to draw these guerillas dying underground, with huge fugures walking above them - but ultimately I had difficulty finding the model (kinda difficult to draw yourself at such an angle - you have to use a big mirror lying on the ground) - and also stuffing the figures in the remaining space proved next to impossible. So I dropped the drawing at this stage. And the second one should be Lenin singing karaoke in a Berlin pub (the guy drinking coffee is Engels, of course. I don't care if time doesn't match or if they don't look like themselves - one mismatch at a time, please :)

2002

another old pic

ballpen on A4 paper

Old stuff

before I sort out my recent sketches, I'll post this pic from 2001. Ballpen, A3 paper

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