A Blind Contour Drawing From An Artistic Photo - Old Brass Water Tap

AKA Vintage Spigot ..

How did I come across such a thing a why on earth am I sharing it and a blind contour drawing of it with you today? Well the first part of this question has a pretty simple answer. To put it bluntly, I have a thing for old crap. Not necessarily nice, beautiful antiques, but rather the overlooked or tossed out vintage garbage. They (whoever they is) do say that one persons garbage is another persons treasure.

So is the case today! I happened upon this spigot while walking one day. I found it partially buried in the dirt and it was obvious that the person that held it before me, tossed it away like yesterdays trash. I bent over, poked at it as it lay there in the musty soil, and eventually took it a step further and pried it up out of the sandy, loam dirt. After a little wash and tap, It was as good as old. You didn't expect me to say 'New' did you? Oh NO! This thing isn't new by any means.

I Like To "Collect" Things..

As my wife will tell you. What I am thinking most of the time, is that "I'll polish this thing up", or "fix her up" in order to sell it. That's what I am thinking at least. What usually happens is that I buy or find to many things at once and it takes a considerable amount of time before I get around to polishing them all up. It's a problem.. there, I admitted it. I have a problem. Now leave me alone.. haha.

So back to it .. I was rooting around in some of my 'STASH' (as I like to refer to it) the other day, and came back around to this spigot. It's old. It's what some would call vintage. It's not in the best of shape and was probably used quite often when it was attached to the end of a water pipe. It has character! I have yet to actually hook it up to see if it works well. If it does, then all I'll do is polish it up and list it for sale. Etsy and/or Ebay have some listed and ranging anywhere between $10.00 and $50.00 USD. So I may see a small profit on what was free to me. Bonus!

I Took A Few Photos ..

Of this new/old find. I wanted to show the potential buyer most of the dirty details. As I took a few, and you can find them all below, one in particular grabbed my attention. The piece was placed on it's side and a quick photo taken. I then realized that the photo was a well over exposed. Whoops.. I took it again but kept the over exposed version. I really liked it. REALLY REALLY liked it! I liked it so much I want to put it up on my Shutterstock account and possibly make a few prints of it. Tell me if I'm crazy.

The first one here is the one I fell in love with and the others follow:

Photo To Art ..

I haven't made any decisions to place the photo on shutterstock or to make any prints yet, but I did want to do something with it artistically. I had a few minutes around lunch today, and told myself to get to drawing something! I took my down time to clear my head through drawing, through creation. I only had about 10 minutes to spare for this, so I made the decision to create a blind contour drawing of the 'Old Brass Water Tap'.. and named it accordingly. A nice way to get a little meditation of sorts in before getting back to the grind.

The last time that I produced one of these drawings was on May 13th of this year.. way too long. What happened to me?? ugggg.. But Hey! I am back to it again. For about the next 5 minutes, I utilized a pen in my hand and glued it to the paper to form one continuous line; a contour line drawing. My eyes never once wandered from the subject photo (blind drawing). This is why the drawing is a bit grotesque and funky looking, but also why they call it blind contour drawing. I can never wait to see what I end up with!!

Let's Create! ..

I grab the essentials and try not to spill any lunch droppings on the paper. The downside of using my lunch time to create art. hehe. I will need my trusty pad of paper, the reference photo clipped to it, a pen, a pencil for shading, and an eraser. The only other tools I'll need will be my eyes, brain, finger and camera. That's it right??

Now that I have my items laid out, I grab the fine point pen (Sharpie like pen) and prepare to start the drawing. I pick a starting point.. for this drawing, I chose the very top of the spigot. I ended the drawing near the threaded end of the water tap. Over all I would say that it came out pretty cool. Not too grotesque, yet it still protrudes an artistic sloppiness that I find appealing. Basically what I am saying is that I can still tell what it was I set out to draw 'Blindly'. A successful grotesque blind drawing of an old water spigot!!

Now and again I like to shade these drawings. I think it just adds another needed artistic element. It adds a little character that, in a way, feels missing from the piece. I chose a 5B pencil for the job. This hardness is dark but not too dark. I don't want to over do the shading. Just enough value to add a little interest to the piece.

The Finished Piece .. 'Old Brass Water Tap' ..

That's it!! 10 minutes of my time to create a lifetime of joy. haha.. Now, I am not sure that this pad of paper, or the art within, it will ever out last this water tap I found in the dirt. For now though, it does make for an interesting story.. Doesn't it?

'Old Brass Water Tap' ~ By BDMiller

Thank you for swinging by my blog and checking out the post. Have a great day!

“Anybody can look at a pretty girl and see a pretty girl. An artist can look at a pretty girl and see the old woman she will become. A better artist can look at an old woman and see the pretty girl that she used to be. But a great artist-a master-and that is what Auguste Rodin was-can look at an old woman, protray her exactly as she is...and force the viewer to see the pretty girl she used to be...and more than that, he can make anyone with the sensitivity of an armadillo, or even you, see that this lovely young girl is still alive, not old and ugly at all, but simply prisoned inside her ruined body. He can make you feel the quiet, endless tragedy that there was never a girl born who ever grew older than eighteen in her heart...no matter what the merciless hours have done to her. Look at her, Ben. Growing old doesn't matter to you and me; we were never meant to be admired-but it does to them.”

― Robert Heinlein

Below Are Some Of My Most Recent Blind Contours ..

It's been a while since my last drawing of this type, but here are a few of the drawings that I have blogged about in the past. Possibly worth a look.

'Three Ladies'

'Einstein'

'Mangled Wrangler'

'Odo'

'Expression of Cabernet'

'Nadi'

'Blind Folded Rolls'

'Chuck'

'Six Bottles Of Beer'

'Pepperdoodle'

'Smoking Lady'

'The Man In The Shadows'

'Dobby The House Elf'

'My Blue Guitar'

'Blind Wine'

All words, pictures and art pieces are the sole property of B D Miller Gallery, unless otherwise noted and credited, and are not to be reproduced or copied without the prior written consent of B D Miller Gallery.

About Me ~ The Artist

My art work incorporates a wide variety of subject matter, including landscape, seascape, cityscape, and still life images. My works are the product of a continuing process of exploration through which I seek to portray personal and visionary interpretations of my surroundings. My paintings are impressions of places and events from everyday life, an interpretation of my imagination, and personal responses to what I see and feel on a daily basis. More recently I have invested generous amounts of time into my landscape painting. I am surrounded by natural and man made beauty, which inherently presents itself in the tri-state area, and almost demands that I paint it.

Not everything is art. Art is not everything, but it comes close. Art is everywhere and all the time. Art makes you experience the beauty of the world, the people in it, and the places we call home. Art itself is so influential that it can tell stories, show feelings, and express passion or fury. Art exists in addition to language; expression of sensations and thoughts, revealing a way of thinking too subtle and delicate for words.

For me art requires love, honesty and perseverance. In return, it reveals some personal, non-analyzable, and creative untamed passion. For the public, art with its magnificent beauty, improves mood and health and builds better human beings and communities. It engages the intellect, softens the heart, strengthens the soul and frees the spirit.

If Your Interested In Purchasing Any Of My Work:

They can be found for sale on

Saatchi Art

Or

Etsy

If you don't see the piece in either shop, It may still be drying. Let me know and I can upload it as soon as possible to be available. Or you can always make me an offer (in crypto) in the comments section of this post. If we agree on a price, I will then ship the painting to you. (shipping costs will be determined by your location).

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