Antlers and horns

Tomorrow, it will have been two weeks in a new city and I've been to the Natural History museum three times, spending most of my time with the fossils and the mammals. Both have gotten me really interested in antlers and horns. I've done a few sketches that aren't worth pictures, but here's a study I did. I'm hoping it's more playful than satanic. There are likely more to come, so together maybe they'll work better.


I used a photograph of a friend as my starting point. There are a couple of problems with the proportions, which happens, especially after it's been a while, but it's interesting to use photographs. I was told so vehemently that I need to be drawing from life and that drawing from photographs suggested something bad about my abilities as an artist, so it's taken a long time to see the good in using photographs. I'm not sure I'm entirely there, but so many of my favorite artists either quite clearly or almost certainly use photographs before they begin. Jeremy Geddes is capable of such powerfully accurate cityscapes that I have to believe the either takes photographs to assist, or he is literally sitting in the street with his paintbrush. Shawn Barber takes detailed photographs, which help him accurately represent tattoos in oil. The brilliant street artist, Mac also uses photographs for reference in his portraits. There is technique, I think, to be learned anywhere. Using photographs cannot take the place of life drawing, but it can be very useful.