Just noticed as I was finishing this, that I put in a weeping willow, a weeping pine, and made it a rainy day. Hmmn, the unconsious mind works in strange ways. Maybe sadness about the plight of those who live with MS? Maybe.
Anyway, here’s the finish to “MS Bike Ride”. I changed the composition dramatically. In Northern Connecticut, the landscape indeed sometimes suddenly drop off, and reveal a big hill. I found it gave a sense of distance that I felt enhanced the composition. Without further ado…..

I didn’t work on the MS bicycle ride for a while. I started to add the background, and put in a weeping willow. It made the whole thing look kitschy and awful. I tried to erase it, but it was too firmly drawn, that I couldn’t do it. I got very discouraged.

But then, the other day I peeked outside, just as it was beginning to rain. One thing I love about summer is the rain. It changes the atmosphere, puts a green cast over everything, makes everything moody, and enhances colors. So, I decided to go for it, and make the bike ride a rainy day. It also casts a serious note on a serious subject without being dismal.

So, here it stands. The bike riders will end up standing out more because of this change, which is a good thing. I’m going to have to darken the road a bit to play down the shadows. They’re too distinct for a cloudy sky.

So, back on track…but a different direction.

Started the redo of the MS bike ride, and I’m pleased with it. To get the asphalt right, it took long tedious work. Thank God for the invention of the iPod, otherwise, sitting, making miniscule pencil strokes over and over would have made me start raving….well, raving.
For those of you who are artists, just a note. Asphalt is very complex in color. It’s actually layers of color, so caution as to just making it gray, and that’s it. Of course, the local color is gray, but it reflects the light, making it have a cast of yellow to it, which makes it a gray-green…or on cloudy days, a purplish tone. And it’s got texture. Boy, does it have texture. Maddening texture. I accomplished my asphalt with small strokes of blue violet, grayed green, and yellowish orange, avoiding, of course, the dreaded Prismacolor orange.

I also moved the bikers over to make more room for the landscape, which I’m salivating to get started on.

So, here’s where it stands.

I tend to include diversity of people in my work. I guess that’s because I live in the most diverse county in the country, Queens, NY. That’s my world. So I was a little surprised when looking for copy for this drawing…all the bike riders I found were white!

I discussed this with my contact, and he said, originally, MS was thought only to affect people of European descent, although now it is known it affects other groups, too. So, I guess that’s the reason there are so many whites in these pix.
Well, here’s the first WIP, and I’m making everyone white….except I screwed up the fellow on the far left. I may make him another ethic group to cover up. So, I’ve shared a dirty little creative secret of mine.

I’m doing work on the MS bike ride drawing. I’ve done a very, very, rough sketch. I’ve sent it to my contact for his opinion. Here it is, remember, it’s very rough.

When I decided to look for charity work, my first thought was to contact my friend’s husband. This man is very involved in all sorts of causes, but he is also a person living with MS. Our lives were also touched, when another man living with MS, took his own life to avoid the progression of the disease.
Well, the bike tour….when you draw anything as complicated as bicycles and figures, you really should have a photographic reference. Since there is a copyright issue in using photos, I intend to change the figures I’ve taken from the photo as much as possible. So, here’s the first sketch.