Anna Pierrepont Project at Home

For those that have followed and supported "the Anna Pierrepont Project on the Road" I thank you. The following works were created in NYC during the same period. At home, I have been working on a series of drawings that I consider my whites. I have discovered chalk pastels of such misty effervescence that they literally crumble when held. When I have purchase them, the cashiers need to clean the counter of the traces of light yellow, pale green or off white dust. Since discovering these wondrous materials, I have added them to my arsenal of materials to complement colored pencil, oil stick and oil pastel. I have been seeking out motifs that feature white marble figures against white marble backgrounds, in order to maximize their impact. I know of a few of these motifs that I have returned to repeatedly. One such motif is the statues of George Washington at Washington Square Park.

As can be well imagined, drawing in Washington Square Park has unique challenges, many tourists, buskers and one day a parade of Hare Krishnas.

Nestled in a niche in a apsidal chapel of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, is a beautiful niche sculpture of St. Joan of Arc. The figure is depicted in prayer, with eyes cast down but wearing medieval armor and a sword.

As one enters the path that leads to an entrance to the walking and bike path on the Brooklyn Bridge is an allegorical figure of a woman embracing a young child protectively.

More to come, txs!

Anna Pierrepont Project on the Road is finished

To complete the pictures for the Anna Pierrepont Project on the Road, I set out from NYC on two beautiful days in late August.

The first trip was to Morristown, New Jersey and the second trip was to Phillipse Manor, New York. Morristown was chosen due to the town being the site of a post-independence military encampment for the American army under George Washington for over a year. I attempted drawings of George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and the Marquis de Lafayette in conversation and another monument of Thomas Paine writing “Common Sense”. Two attempts to draw the Paine failed. I then made a quick sketch of the statues of the three Revolutionary war generals. This drawing was more satisfactory but was not completed. The second trip to Philipse Manor was to visit Sleepy Hollow cemetery. I had never been in the Morristown area before, but had lived briefly in the town of Sleepy Hollow just south of Philipse Manor when it was named North Tarrytown. Morristown is a dynamic, ethnically diverse town surrounding an historical town center, Morristown Green. The Washington statue is installed on Morristown Green. Philipse Manor is a suburban community by a local railroad stop adjacent to the Hudson river. The cemetery is on North Broadway, a continuation of Broadway that extends to the Battery in Manhattan. There were no traffic lights and no sidewalks, so entering the cemetery was tricky, becauses cars drove fast in both directions on the double lane North Broadway. The cemetery, the resting place of Washington Irving, was beautiful. It sits on a hill with a forested valley to the west. The first image I drew was of a white marble angel holding a scroll. The second image was of the statue that made me chose to travel to the cemetery, a Union Soldier on a pedestal, standing in front of about thirty graves of Civil War fatalities.

The juxtaposition was extremely poignant. A woman drove up while I made the drawing of the Civil War soldier and asked its meaning. I swept my arm in the direction of the graves, which spoke “far above (my) poor power to add or detract”. She rolled up her window after a quick glance and drove on. The framed drawings were delivered to the individuals that requested them in Kickstarter. I thank all of those who viewed and participated in “Anna Pierrepont Project on the Road”.

Welcome to the Blogpost related to the Anna Pierrepont Series on the Road.

In this blog, I will keep the interested community up-to-date about the progress of the Kickstarter campaign. Thank you for your interest. I will also update this blog with local activities that are taking place associated with the Anna Pierrepont Series. To view the overall intent behind the Anna Pierrepont Series, please review Blogpost of 2011.

I attach additional images that have been created in NYC as a part of the Anna Pierrepont Series. If you wish additional information, please email me at skrib1@att.net

The full image featured and discussed in the Kickstarter Campaign

Henry Ward Beecher from Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn, NY, 11" x 14", Oil Pastel on Bristol Paper, 2010

This fellow seems to be Brooklyn Heights patron saint with his advocacy of abolition of slavery that set the stage for the Civil War and emancipation. This is a odd sculpture, with the big guy in his large cape, standing solidly on his feet and the little slave urchins grabbing towards him over the top of the pedestal. I have drawn Beecher a number of times. The flag behind is a particularly exciting motif, I love drawing the reds as it flutters. As I draw, people pass by who have just walked over the bridge or are from the neighborhood. They seldom are in a rush. They take notice of the sculpture and walk by, keeping their thoughts to themselves.

Union Soldiers from Civil War memorial on Battle Hill in Greenwood Cemetery [Brooklyn]
11" x 14", Oil Pastel on Bristol Paper, 2010

I visited Greenwood cemetery during the height of fall foliage on a brilliantly clear day. I drew for a third time, the large memorial to civil war soldiers on top of Battle Hill, a major battle site from the American Revolution. I find myself attracted particularly to the mustached swagger of the confident bronze civil war soldier leaning upon his weapon.

Seated Lincoln [Newark], 11" x 14", Oil Pastel on Bristol Paper, 2011
This is a statue of the Great Emancipator that sits in the shadows of the US District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, on Martin Luther King Road. I teach a drawing class in the early summer in Newark and for the 1st time, I made a drawing along side my students. It was an experiment to see if revealing my approach to drawing could help them elevate their game. The results were mixed. The Emancipator dejectedly sits in this work and can be sat on like Alice in Wonderland in Central Park. However, the strip that the sculpture is situated in is forlorn. No one sits with it or on it. These days, people stand by the statue every day and scream about economic injustice and urge passing cars to honk their horns for jobs and opportunity. Newark waits emancipation.