"Paintings have a life of their own that derives from the painter's soul." Vincent Van Gogh

Thursday, June 6, 2013

More Progress and a New Life Session!



I am taking my time on this big figurative piece. Generally, I am a fairly rapid painter preferring to complete a painting in one or two sessions. This one is demanding a slower approach and I still have a long way to go.

Happily, I found an on going life drawing studio at Nevada Fine Arts sponsored by the Reno Portrait Society! I am very excited and will attend as often as possible. The group meets mostly every Wednesday morning with a live model for portraiture in any medium desired. I went yesterday to check it out and found it was well attended with 7 or 8 other artists and a very interesting model. Roger, who works at the Reno Food Co-op posed for us but I have a suspicion that he is really Genghis Khan pretending in these modern times to be Roger! Any way, here are my two graphite sketches on newsprint. Each one is a little larger than life size - about 17 x 14.



17 comments:

  1. I love this guy--and I see you did too. He's inspirational. Great looks you can get your teeth into. It's not surprising that the large figurative piece will take some time. There's a lot of information to consider in that many bodies. It's a sure bet Raphael didn't knock 'em out in a couple of sessions. :-))

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    1. I always do so much better when I am inspired by the subject matter - and he was so interesting, so unique and so self assured. I loved drawing him!

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  2. Bonjour ma chère Susan,
    Un portrait fascinant... Ce n'est pas une personne dans l'ordre du commun. Son faciès est particulièrement intéressant et sans doute tout autant à dessiner. C'est un excellent travail.

    Je suis heureuse de pouvoir admirer l'évolution de cette dernière peinture. Elle est déjà bien aboutie et j'aime ces corps, comme s'ils participaient à une séance de relaxation...

    Je vous fais de gros bisous.
    Un grand merci également pour votre gentil message.

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    1. And I thank you for your kind words and your constant encouragement.

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  3. He surely is an inspirational guy! Beautiful sketches!

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  4. This new painting is so intriguing - I can't wait to see where it goes! And the portraits are superb! Life drawing classes terrify me! :0)

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    1. They absolutely terrified me in the beginning, too - and, come to think of it, they still do!

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  5. Susan, I am so happy to read that you have found another life drawing class. I LOVE your drawings!!! I read somewhere that Genghis Khan was quite the amorous man, and his genes are very well-represented in the world's male gene pool. So, yes, Roger really does look like G.K.!!! :)

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    1. LOL - I do believe he may have a genetic connection to the great GK!

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  6. Susan!
    Your drawing of Roger rocks!
    Glad you are back at Life Drawing Class!
    Enjoy every second!
    Michael

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    1. These classes are so special to me - when I lived in San Diego, I could never find one to attend - now I am in sketching heaven!

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  7. I am in awe at your adventurous spirit taking on something so complex as your big figurative piece. Pushing the boundaries and I hope the rewards will be many.
    Love your drawings - brilliant stuff!

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    1. Many thanks, Julie - sometimes I don't know what comes over me!

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  8. Je maakt mooie schetsen hoor!
    groetjes,
    Simonne

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    1. Thank you, Simmone - I was inspired by such a great model!

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  9. Love your drawings and it gives me a push to get back to our life drawing classes at one of the colleges here. The large piece is ambitious indeed but I love where you are on it - it looks wonderful.

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Your comments are welcome and brighten my day!