Two Ladies and Sky - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Flock of Sparrows, Sarah Myers
Charcoal on paper, 2019

A lady with a flock of sparrows fluttering in the air behind her, the whirl of their wings echoing the spiral of the long ringlets trailing down her shoulder… and a woman staring earnestly out at us from a background filled with climbing, billowing clouds which mirror her bouffant bows, her frills and edges of lace. These two drawings are part of a recent collection of artwork in charcoal, sketched with simple lines across large sheets of paper. The darker, stronger charcoal contours follow paler pencil lines which form the preparatory stage.

I am happy to finally return to my blog – after a long and very unintended absence – and to post these two sketches here.

Woman with Clouds, Sarah Myers
Drawing in charcoal, 2019

Lady with Sparrows, detail of face.
Sarah Myers

Woman with Clouds, Sarah Myers
Detail of face

Lady with Sparrows, detail of birds.
Sarah Myers

Woman with Clouds, detail
Sarah Myers

Two Drawings in Line - Art by Sarah Myers

Abundance with a Cornucopia, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

    Here are two drawings with classical inspiration; a figure with an overflowing cornucopia and an Athena with helmet and shield. While the minimal outlines describing them are a style we associate with modernism, it's also true that the ancient Greeks were masters of the very simple, very accurate line that brings so much life and energy to their vase-paintings, and I hope that some of that influence remains in my drawings - even though these quick sketches, made at least partly to express fugitive thoughts on even more transient social media, are very much results of the present era.

Athena, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

Ladies with Birds, Two Drawings - Sarah Myers

Cherries, Sarah Myers
Minimal line-drawing in charcoal.

    Two drawings show a woman with a swallow and cherries, another lady with a dove and an orange. We might be tempted to think that the swallow was begging for fruit, but if you can see a speck in the air overhead you will understand he is actually looking to catch the little fly that is the winged thing in pursuit of the cherries. And the dove in the next picture is a friendly visitor flying into land, perhaps on the outstretched hand, perhaps on the shoulder. From my collection of line-drawings in charcoal.

Woman with Dove and Orange, Sarah Myers
Minimal line-drawing in charcoal.

Three Faces - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Woman in a Sun-hat, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

    A lady in a sun-hat, a woman in a scarf and one with flowing hair – here are three drawings from my series of minimal sketches, black charcoal describing the outlines of faces, the glances of the eyes, forming expressive portraits from lines that are almost abstract in themselves.

Woman with Long Hair, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal line, charcoal on paper

Lady with a Scarf, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal line, charcoal on paper

Three Pictures of Pigeons - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Pigeon Strutting, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

    Three pigeons busy themselves in these drawings. Strutting, preening, scratching, the friendly birds appear in dark charcoal on the white page, descriptions of their everyday life rendered simple and distinct by the strength of a bright sun...

Pigeon Preening, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

Pigeon Scratching, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

Head of a Woman in Conte & Charcoal - Art by Sarah Myers

Head of a Woman, Sarah Myers
Conte, charcoal on toned paper

    Having finished this sketch this morning I thought I would post it here - the drawing of a face with luminous highlights pouring over rounded forehead and cheeks and leaving a spark in the iris of each eye, while outlining layers of curls and beaded ribbon above. The forward tilt of the head leaves the woman's neck in shadow; lower down the light falls very simply.

The hairstyle is a fantastical one inspired by the Italian painter Fra Filippo Lippi, but the portrait itself tends more toward the tradition of eighteenth century drawings and the mediums used are similar; conte in white, red and brown; charcoal, and toned paper of a light brown.

Head of a Woman, detail.  Sarah Myers

The Fishbowl - Drawing by Sarah Myers

The Fishbowl, Sarah Myers
Drawing in charcoal on paper

    Within the transparent globe of the bowl, the fish steers itself softly through the water; behind, looking into its small world, a woman watches its swift movements. Simple lines in charcoal capture the fish, glass sphere, and the onlooker. This is from an ongoing series of sketches and drawings in minimal line. You can find many more of them on my website, Sarah Myers Art.

The Fishbowl, detail
Sarah Myers

Woman with a Diadem - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Woman with a Diadem, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal.

    One of my favourite drawings from the last year is this imaginary portrait, a woman in a Greek style of diadem. Minimal lines match the classical curves of her hair and headdress and the graceful tilt of her head, which is caught almost, but not quite, in profile. The sketch is rendered in strong black charcoal, like the others of my pictures in this long series. More of this collection is arranged on my site SarahMyersArt.com.

Woman with a Diadem, detail.  Sarah Myers

Lady with a Schnauzer - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Schnauzer, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal.

     A lady holding her small dog sits in front of us. The pet's small paws are draped gently over the woman's protective arm; fluff of brows and whiskers on the dog prevent us from seeing its eyes. But we can tell from the line of its body that it is pleased and relaxed, in contrast to the somewhat more watchful expression of its owner as she glances intently out of the picture to our left.

   This minimalist drawing in charcoal is part of a large series I have made; many of them, including the sketch here, you can see on my website, SarahMyersArt.com, under “Drawings”. 

  

Lady with a Schnauzer, detail.  Sarah Myers

Duck Flapping - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Duck Flapping, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal line, charcoal on paper 

 The duck eagerly flaps her bright white wings as she rises on tip-toe. Simple lines describe this friendly bird who has come to shore to see us; the black charcoal defines beak, eye, neck, and especially the feathers that curl as she briefly, gently, lifts herself on the impulse of her smooth wings.

Duck Flapping, detail.  Sarah Myers

Flowers and Ribbons - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Woman with Flowers and Ribbons, Sarah Myers
Minimal drawing, charcoal on paper

     With flowers and fluttering ribbons among her ringlets and with dangling earrings which swing as she tilts her head, she looks toward us - she almost smiles… This imaginary portrait is a minimal drawing in charcoal; dark, definite lines describe face, curls and the flying streamers. She is part of my long series of sketches in a more simple style. You can see much of this collection of drawings on my website, SarahMyersArt.com.

Woman with Flowers and Ribbons, detail.  Sarah Myers

Dancer with Scarf - Sketch by Sarah Myers

Dancer with a Scarf, Sarah Myers
Charcoal, white charcoal, red conte and pencil on brown paper

    Here is a dancer with a scarf. The folds of her robe and the folds of her scarf ripple across the air in hurried curves as she sways to unheard music.

    This sketch was inspired by Renaissance or Mannerist art which shows dancers holding scarves or ribbons – images that were in their turn inspired by late Roman art. My vision grew more modern as I drew, lines scattering over the paper to portray the quick movement of body, cloth and expression.  

Goose Swimming - Drawing in Minimal Line by Sarah Myers

Goose Swimming, Sarah Myers
Line drawing, charcoal on paper.

   Here is a goose swimming gracefully through the water, looking at us as we watch him. The hot summer sunlight shines down; as it makes the small lake a pleasant place to drift along it turns his feathers a dazzling white, throwing his form into a single simple, bright outline. This drawing of a bird is part of my series in minimal line, more of which you can look at on my website, SarahMyersArt.com.

Goose Swimming, Sarah Myers, detail

Calla Lilies - Line Drawing by Sarah Myers

Calla Lilies, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal line, charcoal on paper.

       Her arms full of a sheaf of calla lilies, a young woman smiles back at us. Black charcoal describes only the outlines of flowers, face, eyes, to place her presence on the white paper.

This is one in a series – a long, long series – of line drawings I have created, which I want to introduce on this blog. And also, I welcome you to visit my new website, SarahMyersArt.com, where you can see this drawing and many more in the same style. 

  

Calla Lilies, Sarah Myers, detail

Lady with a Crystal Vase - Minimal Drawing by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Crystal Vase, Sarah Myers
Minimal drawing in charcoal

      This sketch is of a lady delicately poising a crystal vase in her hand – the single, top-heavy bloom leans toward her as she glances away. The ornate trim of her dress matches her dangling earrings, and all of the detail makes the drawing, perhaps, not quite minimal; but still, every part, from pearls in hair to the curve of fingers, is described by black lines that touch the paper sparely and simply. And we wait for her to look up out of the page, in our direction...

Lady with a Crystal Vase, detail.  Sarah Myers

Sketch of a Face - Art by Sarah Myers

Sketch of a Face, Sarah Myers
Direct Charcoal

Here is a sketch, a woman looking out with large eyes – perhaps she may smile in a moment and the grave expression of her glance will lighten… The forms are created with rapid lines in direct charcoal, strokes that are almost abstract in themselves; only once they are placed together are descriptive of the eyes, of the slightly curved mouth or the wisps of hair curling over the forehead.

Sketch of a Face, detail.  Sarah Myers

Pigeon with a Branch - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Pigeon with a Branch, Sarah Myers
Drawing in Charcoal

     Simple lines describe a pigeon – or dove – with a sprig of olive in its beak. As a drawing she is partly the symbolic dove of peace but also simply a real, purple-grey pigeon, humorously plump and happy, who decided to build her nest on our roof, and who is holding a twig she has found before flying with it to her new house. Minimal line, charcoal.

Pigeon with a Branch, Sarah Myers, detail

Winter - Art by Sarah Myers

Winter, Sarah Myers
Charcoal and cut paper

Do you see the cold wind blowing, the comforting ruffle of a great coat collar, the flying feathers clasped to a hat, as the lady glances back across her shoulder? Here is my paper cut-out, or decoupe, of Winter. It was made to be a counterpart to my earlier piece of 'Summer', and I finish it at a time when a mild winter has already fled from the desert. But perhaps my friends on the other side of the equator will see the coming season, and those north of me, who are weary of long wind and cold, will see that even this lady in her warm coat is turning away as if in farewell…

Winter, Sarah Myers.  Detail of face.

Winter, Sarah Myers.  Detail of hat and feathers.

Two Faces on Dark Paper - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Face and Doorway, Sarah Myers

     Creating drawings of this type is very intriguing, as the basic technique is almost opposite that of a usual sketch. Here, the ground of the paper must be used as the shadow, rather than the highlight. It is the density and strength of the pencil that determines the brightness of the glow. Because I have purposefully left the white charcoal unblurred and unblended, you may see in the details the myriad of tiny lines that form the face's shapes and expressions.  

Head in White Charcoal, Sarah Myers

Face and Doorway, Sarah Myers
Detail

Head in White Charcoal, Sarah Myers
Detail

Lady with a Ruff - Art by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Ruff, Sarah Myers
Drawing in charcoal and conte on grey paper

She gazes down quietly at the gauzy frill running across her shoulder. The ornate ruff is only faintly outlined, but the turn of her neck and her gently lowered eyelids show her concentration on the elaborate fashion we can barely see. Our attention is not there, but on her, on the shadow that covers much of her face and the light that touches it abruptly, directly - a bright glow.

Lady with a Ruff, detail.  Sarah Myers