Wednesday Morning Portrait Session

Chuck / graphite on tan toned paper / 14 x 11

Chuck / graphite on white paper / 24 x 18

There was a really large and boisterous crowd at the life drawing session this morning making it a lot of fun. Our model was Chuck Shapiro, owner of a fine restaurant on the Truckee River in downtown Reno called The Wild River Grill. He was a fine model although I kept having the feeling that he would rather be just about any pace else rather than sitting still for over 3 hours. He seemed to have a ton of bundled up and barely contained energy!

Back to the Drawing Board

Frank / Conte crayon / tan laid paper / 14 x 11

After long weeks, days, hours of struggling at my easel, I finally found inspiration this morning in the interesting and unique face of our wonderful model Frank. Frank is an investigative journalist, a professor of journalism, a historian and an author. He is funny and kind and he relaxed easily into his role of model and muse. For the first time in a long long time, I felt a connection to what was happening on the paper - the graphite and Conte marks emerging on the rough paper were Frank but they were me, too. This gives me hope that I will be able to break out of my current states of despair and exasperation at the easel. Is there such a thing as trying too hard? That is what is happening to me - but today, with Frank, I felt free of that - free of the need to succeed. After carefully considering the subject, choosing my spot wisely and freeing my mind, I let the pencil do the work.

Frank / Ebony graphite / 20 x 18

And a word of wonder and thanks to those of you who noticed my long absence and privately expressed concern. The very singular relations that have developed with fellow artists here in cyberspace are, without a doubt, strongly influential  and deeply meaningful to me. Thank you.

And Then There was a Parrot!

“She was not quite what you would call refined.
She was not quite what you would call unrefined.
She was the kind of person that keeps a parrot.” 
― Mark Twain

I was so excited to attend life drawing this morning! I got up with thoughts of truth and sincerity abounding in my mind and rushed off to the studio with lofty goals of rising above the mediocre, of guiding my pencil to hint at the complexities of emotion and substance of my model. How funny that I should be so taken aback by the presence of a parrot! She was a glorious green with a yellow head and one or two red wing feathers and was a paragon of mystery - warbling softly to herself, laughing heartily at her own jokes, crunching mightily on toasted oats, occasionally bobbing her head in wonder at the action around her. Oh, to draw the truth of a parrot! And so, confronted with the enigma that is her mind, I decided to focus on her owner instead!

Milo and Linda / pencil on cream laid paper / 24 x 18

Linda / pencil on cream laid paper / 24 x 18

The Purity of Life

Genelle left profile / 20x18 / graphite on Strathmore 400 series drawing paper

Genelle  right 3/4 view / 22 x 18 / ebony graphite on Strathmore 400 series drawing paper

What an adorable, beautiful, lovely, fresh and personable model we had this morning!  Genelle, the granddaughter of one of the portrait artists in the group, will be 11 years old on Friday and begins 6th grade on Monday morning. Having just returned from an adventuresome vacation in Oregon, she was eager to tell us all about it and found it hard to stay awake unless she was chatting. I wish I had drawn her yawning - her yawns were priceless and she had a tendency to randomly say things like "I can't wait to get out of here and run around!" It was a most relaxed and delightful morning and I feel very pleased with the likenesses that I captured. This week I used a more grown up paper than the newsprint I have used for so long. It is a cream colored 80 lb smooth surface Strathmore drawing paper. I like how it grabs the graphite but I had trouble with my hand smearing the lines quite a lot and found I was using my eraser much more than usual. Perhaps it will just take some getting used to.

Algerian Woman Graphite Portrait

Last week it was dreadlocks, the week before it was horn rimmed glasses and this week it is a head scarf! Each week the Reno Portrait Society presents a new and difficult challenge! Our model from Algeria (I am sorry to say I did not catch her name) was serious, subdued and very still. I first tried drawing her in 3/4 view but she had such an interesting profile that after this sketch of about 45 minutes, I moved my position to the other side of the studio.

The next 10 or 15 minutes were spent in quickly doing these two sketches in an effort to get a feeling for the curves of her profile.

This is  the final drawing - taking about 40 minutes. What an interesting model and a productive morning. Now back to the easel.....

Multiplicity of Humankind

Slender, young, delicately beautiful Stephanie posed today at the Reno Portrait Society. She is tiny with elfin features that are dwarfed by her mass of dread-locked hair. She presented an interesting juxtaposition of the sweetness of her face with the tangled harshness of the matted hair.

I also spent a day at the easel with my oil paints doing this portrait practice with the intent in mind of capturing expression and something undefinable - perhaps about the character of the subject. This painting was hard work and I kept wanting to scrape it off but decided to go the whole way with it. Its an imposing presence in my studio while it sits drying on the easel. 14x18 oil on linen.

A Lesson in Life

Jolene 1 - graphite on newsprint

Jolene 2 in ebony graphite on newsprint

Jolene 3

This morning I arrived just a few minutes late to the portrait session to find the model already posed, the lighting in place and the studio crowded with artists in deep concentration. Tip toeing to the far corner of the room, I found the only place to set up my newsprint tablet. Unfortunately, it was directly behind the studio light focused on the model and the corner itself was very dark with almost no light to draw by. Complain, complain, complain - I learned a lesson - get to the studio early on Wednesday mornings! I like to do several sketches although most of the other artists work on one sketch the entire time. I was unable to move my easel more than a few inches so ended up with 3 very similar sketches. I will get myself moving earlier next Wednesday morning in hopes of a better spot!

Also working on a British steeplechase scene - oil on linen panel 18 x 24.

Portrait Drawing

Ebony graphite on newsprint / 45 minutes

Ebony graphite on newsprint / 45 minutes

 

Ebony graphite on newsprint / 10 minutes

 
This Tuesday morning was session 4 of 6 life portrait drawing classes and our model was the lovely Carol once again. Instead of standing to draw at an easel, today I chose to sit down and had a bit of an upward view of Carol as she was on a slightly raised platform. I am fairly happy with the results although I did not find myself getting into the zone as I had in previous sessions. I am not sure why as there were no distractions.

Tuesday Portrait Drawing

Alejandro / graphite and white chalk on heavy brown paper / approximately 14x17

Alejandro / ebony graphite on newsprint / approximately 15x14

Alejandro, with his heavy five o'clock shadow, was our model for portrait session this morning. The studio has concrete floors and it was cold! Outside at 9 am the temperature was 16 degrees F and it wasn't much warmer inside. A space heater was brought in and finally the room warmed up a bit and we could draw without shivering! The top portrait was done a little smaller than I usually work as I wanted to include the models hands. I love drawing hands! He was straddling a chair (which I eliminated from my drawing) and resting his arm across the back, He was lit from the back and above so I didn't have much opportunity to use the white chalk for highlights on the brown paper but did manage to catch a few. The second sketch was done in about 15 or 20 minutes and my goal was to get a likeness in that short time. I like the looseness and scribbly character of the second drawing.

Portraiture from Life

 

 

Life drawing once again. I find it so exhilarating! This is my first time drawing a portrait in ebony graphite from life. As usual, on the first session I felt nervous and so rusty - not even knowing how to begin. So I just use my painting philosophy when confronted with a blank canvas - jump right in and get going. To my mind, there is quite a difference between figure drawing and portrait drawing from life. When doing the figure the concentration is on capturing the gesture of the form, the weight distribution and tension of the pose. The face is a whole new ball game as the focus is not only on capturing a likenss but, perhaps, if one is very lucky and very skilled, of capturing something more - something about the mood or character of the model. No easy task! The way the light falls and contours and shapes the face is the same so I took some little comfort in that!!
This model was an older lady, quite beautiful, with a kind and gentle face, gorgeous cascading hair and an overall serene countenance. I loved drawing her and spent about 30 to 40 minutes on the top two drawings and 20 minutes on the last. The class instructor is Martha Voyevidka - a classically training artist whose own drawings are superb and quite an inspiration.