Drawing was never my strong
feature as an artist. It was always the place where I had to
struggle, and it never seemed to come easy to me. It was a means
to the end in painting, and as a painter I could "get by" most
of the time with my limited drawing skills. But after awhile
"getting by" wasn't enough and so I began to focus attention on
honing my drawing skills. Drawing has taught me how to see. I
didn't like drawing much because it was harder than painting,
and I had to work at it. After I had some training with some
very fine teachers I began to love to draw for the sake of it,
and now I teach it myself. I think that because of my
struggles with drawing I am especially tuned to my student's
difficulties with learning this skill, which is, after all, so
closely allied with handwriting that in my opinion if we could
learn to write we also can learn to draw. How well, depends on
how often you do it! Drawing, for me, even for a short time,
feels like I just just rebooted my computer.
The Many Moods of Miss Puss
9B Graphite on Black Illustration Board
20 x 15 (currently unframed)
Miss Puss entered my life on February 6th, 2010, a
fantastic find from my county animal shelter. She is a Korat
Cat, a special breed from Thailand, with an interesting history.
She was a stray and she lucked out in finding me, since I am
totally crazy about her and she has fit into my life like we
were made for each other. While working on this drawing she
often came to plop herself down on my drawing and looked up at
me, as if to say, keep it up, Gainor, you are doing a great job!
NFS
at this time
similar
drawings
of your
pet
will be
considered
Live Oak
Tree
Silverpoint on
Gessoed Illustration Board Size: 17 x 13
Finished with
mat, glazing and Gallery Clips
Silverpoint is rarely used and few artists even know about this
wonderful drawing tool. It is a real piece of silver inserted
into a holder to make a drawing instrument. It makes a beautiful
silvery surface which in time gradually tarnishes to a patina
that is much sought after by most silverpoint artists. This
drawing took me many hours of labor, many of which were spent in
my car at traffic jams and red lights. Silverpoint is layered
and it can become a very tedious affair to get a silverpoint
drawing to where it looks good.
private collection
Orchid
Graphite on
Plate Bristol
Size:
18 x 21
Finished with
mat, glazing and Gallery Clips
I used to grow
orchids, many years ago, in a window sill greenhouse in
Connecticut. Now that I live in Florida I am struggling to keep
one orchid alive over my sink. It finally bloomed and I had to
record this wonderful plant's bloom and foliage. Orchids are
endlessly fascinating, and why I don't fool around more with
them here I can't say, except that they take time and can be
very particular about their environment. It was really a chore
to get them to do well in Connecticut in the winter!
$75
The Guitar
Graphite on
Plate Bristol with Sewing Thread
Size: 18 x 18
Finished with
mat, glazing and Gallery Clips
After I got into
this drawing I realized I was going to have problems showing the
strings. They appeared very light against the dark fret board of
the guitar. I fussed around with erasers, thought about how I
could show the strings with white paint, thought of faking them
and putting them in as dark lines, and suddenly I had an
inspiration...use heavy duty white sewing thread! So I did a
trial run and it worked wonderfully well. It is somewhat unique
for me, as I rarely do mixed media.
$75
Pears with Hearts and Stars
Graphite on
Plate Bristol
Size: 12 x 16
Finished with
mat, glazing and Gallery Clips
I love to draw shapes and forms
with no particular content intended. This is one of a number of
drawings I do to demonstrate the method I teach in my classes.
Many people find this method, somewhat difficult at first, but
makes sense after a few drawings are completed. Drawing with a
simple pencil is such a wonderful pastime.
$50
private collection
The Gift
Graphite on
Plate Bristol
Size: 18 x 22
Finished with
mat, glazing and Gallery Clips
Shows with themes are not one of
my favorite "art things". I feel that it is one of my "duties"
as an art club member to participate in their shows, even when I
don't have anything that fits the theme; in this case a
Valentine Show about Love. The Gift was a drawing I did
for that show. It was really fun to get into all those
curlicues.
$75
Pitcher with Bananas and
Strawberries
Graphite on Plate Bristol
Size: 8 x 12
Finished with mat, glazing and
Gallery Clips
Even though the fruits have such luscious colors
it is a challenge to make a grey drawing that radiates color!
That idea is of course something that always draws raised
eyebrows in my classes because it is a concept that makes sense
only to those who understand the oxymoron.
$55
Tea Time
Graphite on Plate Bristol
Size: 14 x 16
Finished with
mat, glazing and Gallery Clips
Another favorite student had me come to her
apartment in south Tampa every week to teach her drawing and
painting. Her stuff was so elegant and fun to assemble into
still life subjects. I wanted to show her how exciting a simple
drawing could be when placed against the light.
$50
private collection
Zea Mays
Graphite on Plate Bristol
Size: 17 x 10
Finished with mat, glazing and
Gallery Clips
Zea Mays is the Latin name for corn. This
was a rather difficult drawing to do, for obvious reasons! I
love the drawings of Ingres, so elegant, with portions of the
drawing left as simple lines and others areas more developed
into tonal statements.
