Come along with me on the road in Greece, as I try to sketch quickly from the car and during brief stops in-between destinations. (Headphones and full-screen viewing recommended, but it's also fine without.)
And please tell me what you like or don't like about this experimental video, because I'm hoping to do more of them. My videos so far are collected on a new page at my artist website, Studio Cassandra.
Thanks for watching!
Incredibly beautiful drawings and such a good and generous idea putting them together into this video, taking us with you, as well on this road trip through Peloponnese as also on your creative trip afterwards. I’m especially thankful to you because, as you know, some of these landscapes are home to me. The mountains around the Corinthian Gulf are the frame of my soul. Thank you, my dear friend. I hope you and Jonathan can one day come back in a time I’m also around there!
Posted by: Magda Kapa | July 11, 2020 at 10:18 AM
Magda, how I wish we could be there again! Making this video only intensified my love of the landscape and culture and people of Greece. I wish I had had time to take more pictures and explore that region near Corinth, which was so beautiful -- so I'm hoping there will be not just one "next time" but many more in your country. Thanks so much for writing -- you are always in these pictures too!
Posted by: Beth | July 11, 2020 at 11:27 AM
Beth, these drawings are indeed lovely and putting them together in a video sequence works very well. Keep on making these videos, brava!
You ask for feedback so here's my only quibble: the background music is too much. It distracts from your narration and sometimes blurs it. If the video was only the images, or images with minimal voice-over, then the music would be fine. But since you're addressing viewers in a conversational way about your experience of drawing in Greece, adding music behind your voice seems to me superfluous, gilding the lily!
Posted by: Natalie | July 11, 2020 at 02:56 PM
I don’t mean to be difficult, but I think background music is a good idea. I happen to love Bach, but maybe some other music would suit.
But that’s a side issue; having tried it, I am awed by your ability to make a quick sketch of a scene in a few minutes, and I can’t imagine how you might dash off a sketch of something you have just passed in the car.
And I am fascinated by the processes you describe!
Posted by: Peter | July 11, 2020 at 09:43 PM
To my eyes this video seems very good and inspires me to try it out with my work too. The energetic sketches and the fact that some of them have been done on scene is impressive and makes me regret that I do not compel myself to do that. I especially like the painting of the cotton fields.
Posted by: Priya Sebastian | July 12, 2020 at 05:25 AM
Watching your lovely video and listening to you talk about your art work makes me want to draw again. I look forward to seeing more of your videos.
Posted by: am | July 12, 2020 at 07:04 PM
Natalie, I'm sorry the voice-over conflicted with the music for you! Thanks for your feedback -- I'll think about it for next time.
Thanks, Peter. I like the background music too and think it adds to the overall feeling, and fills in the gaps – we wouldn’t want the narration to be going on constantly. I’m glad you liked the sketches and got something out of the notes on the process. Believe me, it’s just a matter of practice. I’m not nearly as confident about drawing people, for instance.
Priya, thanks, your opinion is important to me! I hope you will try it with your own work, which would lend itself to this medium so well.
AM, I always appreciate your comments and love hearing from you, but it’s especially nice to know that this might inspire you to start drawing again. Please do, and please let me know about it... I enjoyed doing this video and will be thinking about how to do some other ones. It’s fun, and a different way to share the work and the process. Online teaching would be interesting and challenging to me too, but I don’t know if there would be enough interest.
Posted by: Beth | July 12, 2020 at 07:41 PM
Beautiful video, beautiful art work, wonderful narration! Thank you, but you made me so homesick. I was born in Patra, right there at the Gulf of Corinth in the Peloponnese. You brought my homeland vividly to life. Montreal was also my home for the most formative years of my life. So your website brings me close to my two homelands. Now I live in Portland, Maine - but Patra and Montréal will always be my two homes. You are a very creative, very mindful writer, journalist, and artist.
Posted by: Kostas Sarantidis | July 14, 2020 at 07:37 AM
I enjoyed the video. I like to see/hear the way artists work, what inspires them, how it comes together. I'm amazed that you can paint such vibrant lovely works from those simple pencil drawings!
Posted by: Liz Nestler | July 14, 2020 at 11:56 AM
Very well done; just right touch of music (thanks for posting the credit to Bach) and your own narrative. I enjoyed seeing the different types of sketches, both quick and more detailed. Your work is inspirational and I hope you will do more of these videos.
Posted by: Jumpringer | July 16, 2020 at 12:41 PM
I really enjoyed your video! It showcases your artwork well and it's interesting to hear you talk about your process while watching "les images qui défilent". I look forward to seeing more!
I thought the rhythm of the editing was good and the music was not too loud for me. You could experiment with longer narration pauses during which you could raise the volume slightly, but that might also get distracting... I like the use of photography to compare with the sketches. I found myself wanting to see a video (with sound) of the scenery as another point of comparison because there is so much movement in your sketches! If you happen to have videos for your next piece, it might be nice to experiment with that too.
Posted by: Martine | July 20, 2020 at 05:29 PM