Worth taking along.

Evaluating one's work is a tricky question, what does one enjoy out of pride or hubris as opposed to things that may be of real value. Is it a personal satisfaction? Is the value of it beyond its appearance, and in the process of its creation instead?

Is it an appearance? Something from your mind creating something real?

Perhaps figuring out a simpler way to express a feeling, or communicate a character?

Is it what the image says?

Or what the image does?

Is there a method to the madness?

Is it a burst of color?

Or just a different method of approach?

Really I don't think I can say for certain what I think is really worth keeping from a notebook. The work is the value, and value comes from the work. When your work is not enough, just go back and re-work it. Then you'll get things that really have value.

-C Art Price

The Cracked and Polished Surface. - 1

Cities are growing things. They boil up from the ground, springing up around rivers and spreading. The first elements that come are wooden, basic frameworks plunged into the ground to shore up human life. Then plaster, and brick, and stone on top of stone, Concrete and steel all piled on top of each other.

I began my day with a sandwich, and looking out the window, it's hard to tell how a city grows, unless you look carefully.

A clean and polished building stands on a busy street, with a chain bagel shop across the street. The whole intersection could have gone up overnight, at first glance. But the street is in need of repair, and the bagel shop is a different style of architecture than not only the building across the street, but even it's lower floor was gutted and replaced with something newer than the top.

I traveled just down the block, and came across a classic place, Nye's Bar and Polonaise. This plastered brick building is a holdover from a classic time, and it's wooden motif on the side wall belies that age, something old that carried over into today only in it's perseverance through time.

 

Just up the hill from Nye's is a Lutheran church, holdover from the founding heritage of Minneapolis. This church dates back to a classic period of the city, though it has been renovated over time the style of the building is very old, this fact didn't strike me in any strong way until I noticed that behind the spire of the church was a modern (probably post-modern, point of fact,) Hotel building. The hotel overshadows the church, and while the spire of the church must have been designed to stand high and be visible over the city, as the world developed around it the city rose, and the church was buried in the skyline.

A Humorous aside, as I came down the hill again, west of Nye's now, I noticed another element of the city that had grown up around an older element. The street around Nye's had been designated "one way,' and the point next to the Nye's sign was a 'Do Not Enter,' road.

The sign for this road was just high enough to make a poignant statement about modern abandonment of what is old. Progress, it seems, is built on the bones of what came before.

(end 1)

C. Art. Price

Is/Was

The first time I sketched this area was in high school when I was putting together work about urban areas. Some of the things that always grab my attention from around here are the old signs from the mills that look all the more broken and old against the more modern architecture that surrounds the area. I find that I'm really attracted to the shapes that these old buildings have.

Minnepolis river front trip

The whole time I was down town by the riverfront, I thought to my self, how surreal it was to be in a completely new area, that's apart of a broader area that I've know for over four years now. Walking up and down the side edge of the Mississippi river was pretty enjoyable. Along the way me and a few  friends found a couple of interesting things. Among them were a dead beards head and metallic worms. As we got further down, or should i say up the river, we came across this weird yellow sculpture. I was really pleased to see it there, although it was really confusing because it was in a "under construction" zone.

 It was fun to sit in it. From one side it looked like a cool logo. Maybe for a company that started with an "N". But that's when we headed back down the river. For a while we weren't sure wear to go so we headed to the Guthrie. Even though im not from Minneapolis, i got a cool but separated feeling form walking in this theater. Ever thing in Minneapolis looks kind of vintage in a way. But the Guthrie had a really present day look. And i really liked that, especially since we got a chance to go on the balcony. one of my favorite sites out of the whole trip was around the bride that took us from the river front to the other side. As we were walking on that bride, i saw what appeared to be a corroded stone pillar for a really old bride. In my mind I pictured a sweet fight between two warriors in the middle of the ocean. But im really happy i got a chance to experience the river front from a pedestrians point of view. lastly, the most fierce thing i saw, was the part were the Mississippi drops into this divit and greats this sharp collapse of water, which ends up shooting mist everywhere.

keeps

Carl Thompson Is/Was and Keepers

Keepers

This drawing came from the obsession concept. I kept on thinking on how the people we watched in "Horders" seemed to have a severed internal disorder. This image came to mind and I had to record it. I'm still struggling with using less detail and clean line in my sketches. I have no in between with my thumbnails to my sine drawings. I feel like I must complete everything. It cannot remain scribbles. It must be finished.

That is my internal problem. Maybe I'm a perfectionist.

These sketches came from a boxing tournament that I attended in downtown a while back. These are gestures I did in pencil, and for the sake of cleaning things up, went back in with ball point pen. I was pleasantly surprised at how I was just being okay with the doodles. Then again, I wasn't left much time to draw each figure. It's not like they were hired models. They were trained athletes.

And if I may, I definitely recommend going to see a boxing and/or MMA tournament if ever possible.

I just really feel good about this spot. So much character, even if it's not quite entirely human.

: /

I just enjoy the colors and shapes despite the lack of background.