Leonardo and the Library

Drawing people when they don’t know I’m drawing them is my favorite hobby to do in the library, but today I broke the ice.

Let me tell you a story before I begin my experience from today.

My dad once told me years ago a story about an old well known artist. This very artist enjoyed holding a pencil in his pocket and drawing people on the streets. The people were not posing, and this artist did not look at his paper while drawing. This very old well known artist is Leonard Da Vinci.

Leonardo Da Vinci loved drawing the most grotesque faces he could find on the streets. They were not his angelic portraits of his Madonnas or angels. These people were rough looking, but real looking.

 This inspired me to start drawing people without their knowledge of me drawing them. To keep me busy during church sacrament I would get out some paper, and pencil and observe people. Children were the hardest of course because they never sit still.

They were some interesting sketches that ended up in the trash can most of the time, but I've been doing this for years now and my skill has increased. I can do it quicker and more accurate as I've had more practice and more years to understand the human portrait. I decided with my new sketch book to dedicate a page towards drawing people in the library studying.

Today, as I studied for my art history class, there was a girl sitting across the table from me very diligently studying on her laptop. She had gorgeous flowing curls, and without a minute to lose I got my supplies and my hands got busy. I sketched her out, but then I decided to surprise her with something. I sketched her again on an index card, and wrote, “Thanks for being my model: Art 117.” As she was quickly leaving I got up to tap her shoulder. As she turned I said, “You dropped this,” and walked away smoothly.

Never saw her reaction, but I quite enjoyed it. 
(I drew the very curly haired young lady on the bottom left corner)

Portrait Study: 3 hours

There are portrait and figure classes on Fridays for anyone who wants to come. I came in at 9am, and we painted till 12. There was a real model there. I do have to say, he was pretty good lookin' guy ;)

Anyways, It feels good to back in a fine art class studying portraits. I felt very amateur next to the seniors and teachers in the room. I was the only person in that room under 21 years old. I loved watching these very experienced artists paint the portraits in oil paint. So it was a great experience, and I'm planning on doing it every week.

Commissioned Art Pieces

"Families are Forever"

Oil painting by McKenzie Clarke

"Joy of Family"

Oil Painting by McKenzie Clarke

These two pieces were made for a commission from one of my youth leaders. He wanted to surprise his wife for Christmas with a couple of paintings of his silly kids and them at the temple. I really really loved doing this project. It was a challenge for. Completing six portraits in one painting, and having them resemble the person the best of my ability was a bit nerve racking. It all proved itself to turn out wonderful. Surprisingly, these paintings turned out better than expected (which is rare for most paintings.) I am very grateful I was given this opportunity. It helped me to grow as an artist, and my youth leader absolutely loved them. 

Redeemed

"Redeemed"

Oil Painting By McKenzie Clarke

This started as a quick practice with oils to capture a human form quickly, but as I got more into it the painting started to show a message. Her expression is humble and willing to receive. She is willing to change. The contrast between the lights and the darks present the battle and relief getting out of a struggle. The pieces of red are placed to symbolize the atonement taking place in her life. 

 This piece was definitely a wonderful experience to experiment. The abstract texture was very different, but very fun to see how the brush strokes effect the texture and color.