Back to the Drawing Board - New Life Sessions

1 minute warm up poses in sienna Conte crayon

 I forgot how nerve wracking the 1 minute poses are, and I felt soooo rusty and a little nervous with so many weeks between life drawing sessions. I tried just for the gesture - the emotional component of the pose - in these very quick sketches. It amazed me at how short 1 minute actually is!.

20 minute pose / graphite on newsprint / 24 x 18

 Gary was the model and it was his first time posing for figure drawing. He posed for the portrait workshop a few months back. He did a very nice job and held his pose well. If I thought the 1 minute poses went by quickly, this 20 minute pose went even faster!

45 minute pose / graphite on newsprint / 24 x 18

 This was an interesting pose to me - I was directly in front of the model as he was raised on a platform, sitting on a stool with his feet on another small stool (no time to draw the stools - lucky I had time to draw the fabric under him although he still seems to be floating in space!). In any case, in tying to take my drawing a step further, I tried exaggerating his forward hand and feet. Not sure if it worked or not.

45 minute pose / graphite on newsprint

I loved drawing this perspective - directly at the models head, seeing only a small portion of his face. I loved the shape of his legs and the glimpses of feet. It was a challenge and was a lot of fun to wrap up this first session.

Untitled / 16 x 20 / oil on linen

And today I began an equine painting - this is the first pass after about 2 hours of work.

Ballerina #27 as a Work in Progress

Ballerina #27 / oil on linen panel / 20x16

A few final small tweaks and she is finished (highlights on lips and softened edges here and there). As promised here is her work in progress from beginning to end:

Stage 1

Once I have the idea for the painting in mind, I always begin with a rough oil sketch directly on the canvas. Once in a while I will do preparatory drawings but not generally. Once the proportions are correct and the oil sketch has the right amount of energy and motion, I begin adding color thinned with mineral spirits to get an idea of the value structure.

Stage 3

 In this stage, I continue working on values and have refined her face and tutu. At this rough point, I decided on a dark background with lots of intersting things going on.

Stage 4

The back ground was painted with a mixture of burnt sienna and ultramarine blue in just the right amounts to create this gorgeous grey.  I also added some raw sienna here and there to warm the grey.

Stage 5

Refinement of her slippers and clothing, adjustments to the skin tones and continued work on the background elements. This is the photo that I posted yesterday.

Stage 6

 The final painting with softer edges and some additional highlights.  Actually the color is more true to the previous photo but the lighting today was different in my studio and this is the best photo I could get.

And a close up of the face.

 Thank you to everyone for looking and thank you to Sandra Busby for asking to see a wip.
Happy Spring and Happy Easter to everyone!

Ballerina 27 - A Celebration of Spring

 

Ballerina #27 / oil on linen panel / 20 x 16

She was a long time in coming but made it here just in time to celebrate spring! My forsythia is brilliantly blooming and the grass is beginning to green. My pink day lilies are beginning to sprout and the magpies and flickers are busy building nests and starting families. For some reason, all this rebirth and renewal put me in the mood to paint a ballerina.  I have taken a series of photos of her progress along the way and will post them tomorrow as a work in progress for anyone who might be interested. Thank you to Sandra Busby for suggesting I do that. Happy Spring to everyone!

The Return

18x24 oil on linen

Its been quite some time since I posted a new painting in my blog. This past month has been one of struggle and introspection. I would like to begin painting and posting regularly and hope this painting marks the beginning of a new and productive phase for me.

One of my clients was kind enough to send me a photo of a painting that she recently purchased and framed. I think her attention to framing the piece so beautifully has really made this little painting sing.  As I always have a bit of separation anxiety when a painting is sold, it helps immeasurable to know that it has found a good home and is highly valued by its new owner. Thank you, Dana, for cherishing this painting.

Equine #7  14x18 oil on linen, framed

Self Portrait Inbetween Studying

Self Portrait in Mirror / graphite on newsprint

Only time for about a 30 minute study and the only live model around was me :o !

Tuesday Life Drawing

Gary / graphite on newsprint

Gary / Graphite on newsprint

Today was the last life drawing session for a while - I will miss it but am overjoyed that I had this opportunity to draw from live models. Our model today was Gary, an airline pilo,t and it was his first time modeling. He did perfectly. And am I crazy, or does he look like Bobby Kennedy? Last week I seemed to draw a Toulouse Lautrec dance-hall girl and this week I draw a Bobby Kennedy look a like? LOL - oh, well - I do try to draw what I see!

Equine #9

Equine #9 / 16x12 / oil on canvas panel

This is the only painting I have had a chance to do this week as I am studying to renew a medical license that I am afraid to let lapse. I quit my day job a little over a year ago and have been trying to make a go of painting full time. But with the license coming due, I got a little nervous and think its much better to be safe and keep it current than to regret that decision at a later date.  In any case, this little piece at least got me back to my easel and away from the books for a short time.

Life Drawing Smiles

Lynn / 40 minutes / ebony graphite on newsprint

Lynn / 60 minutes / ebony graphite on newsprint

 Lynn, our lovely model with the bubbly personality smiled throughout the session today.

Equine #8

Equine #8 / 18x14 / Oil on linen panel

And #8 makes his presence known! I just love painting these equine athletes - their exuberance is catching and makes me want to paint more and more! Recently, I must have ordered a lot of 14 x 18 linen canvases as, when I look back on this series, they are mostly  that size. I guess I should order some frames and see how they will look all framed up.

Equine #7

Equine #7 / 14x18 / oil on linen

I am pleased with this study but not very pleased with the photograph. I take the photos of my paintings in my studio under pretty constant lighting conditions but the color in this, after taking several shots, is kind of washed out. This photo is the closest to the painting as I could get but still not correct. I may try to retake it in the morning tomorrow.

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.

Equine #6 - another study in the series

This painting was done from one of the Equine Wednesday post drawings of last week and is 14 x 18 oil on linen.

Equine #5

Equine #5 / oil on gessoed cardboard / 15x11

Another quick oil sketch of equine power and motion. I am happy with this one for some reason :). I am resorting to numbering these studies rather than naming them as they have been coming fast and furious hence this is Equine #5.

Equine Wednesday

 More experimenting today with drawing on brown paper - possibly in preparation for a painting. The horse on the right is a second attempt to capture this gesture and is done in black charcoal with conte highlights in white and sepia. I will turn the drawing over so you can see the second drawing in the upright position.

You might be wondering about the positioning...... In order to do this drawing, I taped brown paper to a 24 x 36 canvas and did the drawings to maximize the drawing space!

Here they are individually in their correct positions.

Thank you for stopping by - and, as always, your comments inspire me and make me think!

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.

Remote Possibilities

Remote Possibilities / oil on linen / 18x14

Ebony graphite on sketch paper / 18x24

Still exploring - with an oil sketch and a pencil drawing.

A Day Spent with Pencil in Hand

Three Horses / graphite on white sketching paper / approx 24x36

Trying to find a good composition for a possible painting I have in mind.. This is done on two pieces of 18x24 paper pushed together and is quite rough. You can see all the erasure marks and smudges all about the paper. But I am getting a feeling for where I want to go with this.

Probing Remote Possibilities

Probing Remote Possibilities / oil on canvas/ 12x16

Oh, this fellow was so elusive! I wiped off my first attempt after realizing the anatomy was not quite right. I am more pleased with this outcome and he is happy to join the other energetic equines in this series.  In my last  painting post, Kathryn's comment expressed a concern that I might be adding human qualities to my horses (anthropomorphism). I found that to be an interesting observation, however, that is not my intent. I realize, as with all art, each viewer may see something different and interpret the paintings in unique ways. That is what art is all about as I think the viewer adds so much to the experience of seeing what the artist has wrought. In my mind these recent paintings are totally equine but I admit they certainly are stretching their athletic abilities! Thank you  for making me think about this, Kathryn!

Drawing What I See

Stephanie / ebony graphite on newsprint / approximately 18x14

Stephanie / ebony graphite on newsprint / approximately 18x14

Stephanie was our very professional and  lovely model in life drawing this morning. She wore a red felt hat and turtleneck sweater as well as funky dangling earrings. She has quite an interesting and unique face and I had a great time drawing her. The top drawing was about 40 to 45 minutes and the bottom was done in two 45 minute sessions. Stephanie is a professional photographer and does some stunning female nude work. If you would like to visit her site, her work can be seen at: Stephanie Hogen Fine Art Photography
As always, thank you for stopping by my site and I appreciate all thoughts, comments, concerns.....!

Held Fast by Delight

Held Fast by Delight 18x14 oil on linen panel

Looks like I might have the beginning of a series!