Diane Calabro Pencil Sketches - and a bit about a Staples High School teacher named Jim Wheeler

Pencil Sketches.

Pencil Sketches of Children Pencil Sketches of Dogs Watercolors

When I was a kid in high school, I did a very smart thing. I took a drawing class with a teacher named Jim Wheeler. He said a lot of things that made a lot of sense. Some things I even paid attention to. He said that drawing is like a lot of things, 97% work and 3% talent and you can get by without the talent (as I have done for many many years). But there is the work - and that's very satisfying. Mr. Wheeler talked about negative space and integrity. The way light and dark move and define. And he said draw all the time. And I thought, yeah yeah yeah. He said study the Great Masters. He was fond of Rodin. And he encouraged good work and was not concerned about who did that good work, just that it was good. He always showed what a great light would be but always offered small and acheivable suggestions. I don't think he was all that keen on being a teacher but he was really keen on the students in his classroom. His classroom was a haven and a good place. It was one of the few peaceful and calm places I could find at that time in my life. Decades later I think of Mr. Wheeler and the gift he gave me. And I do try to draw all the time. And I try to make it as true as I can. But most of the time I just have fun with it.

A quick sketch from quite a few years back This is probably most closely aligned with what Mr. Wheeler was talking about. I was by no means his best student. And I should do more pieces like this...

For my Uncle Joe Fiore - a flower shop in Lucca Italy

These are sketches I did while I was on vacation - brought along a sketch pad and really wished I had more time to just sit still in one place and draw - but there was always a tour going on, always a deadline, always another place to go. So I did a lot of these on the bus while we went along, in the hotel room before dinner, after a show, in the airport, in the train station, on a deck with the wind blowing the pages...

Dom Cathedral detail - Cologne Germany 2007

Amsterdam Bridge 2007

Germany 2007

Estonia 2006

St. Petersburg Russia 2006

These are some still life pieces that I did - more because Johnny and Tina brought over a huge basket of fruit as a gift. I looked at all this fruit and I thought, hmmm... And isn't that how most things start?

Fruit Still Life - series - 2005

For Woody - Stone Lake Ranch - 2005

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My Anatolian Shepherd Dog - Aladdin

More Artwork: Pencil Sketches Pencil Sketches of Children Pencil Sketches of Dogs Watercolors

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