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.

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.

Painting on a Wing and a Prayer

Oil on linen panel / 24 x 36

I have no title yet for this rather overly ambitious piece. I worked on it for about 3 hours and feel drained so knew it was time to stop for today. So many decisions as my only references are the sketches I did in life drawing, each one from a different vantage point in the studio so each one with different light source - and of course, done in graphite. So the lighting and the color are a conglomeration of imagination, whimsy, trial and error and past experience. Perhaps this is what painting is really all about. I am not displeased with this second day of painting this piece but I hope I can maintain my interest and stamina. Its a big painting and quite a challenge!

Life and a Laugh!

Cyndi in Repose / graphite on smooth tan paper / 35 minutes

Today was the end of this current session of life drawing and I am so sad! There is something so magical about drawing the human form from life and I always wish it would never end. The poses today were excellent as our model was very intensely focused. I once again went for the view with extreme foreshortening and am happy how this sketch turned out. I think 30 or 35 minutes is enough for me to catch the essence of the pose without going into excruciating detail. This drawing is on smooth tan paper with a few white charcoal highlights here and there.

Cyndi / 20 minutes / ebony graphite on newsprint

We did two sitting poses and eliminated the  long standing pose today. I think the instructor had a fear of the model falling off the platform and wanted to reduce the risk of that happening again! In any case, each one was a great pose and I was happy.

Cyndi /  30 minutes / ebony graphite on newsprint

As a warm up, we did our usual five 1 minute poses - they are so quick, I am never sure what I am capturing with my Conte as I draw them!

Two 1 minute poses / Sienna Conte on newsprint

Three 1 minute poses / Sienna Conte on newsprint

And now that the life sessions are over for a while, I found myself wondering what I could do with these sketches. It seems a shame to just hide them away in their sketch books so I decided to try my hand at painting a few of them in oil and came up with this composition.  I am not sure what I will do with it but it was fun getting to this stage!

24x36 / oil on linen

I had a very funny conversation with my husband the other day and thought I would share it with you. Last week, after coming home from my drawing class, I told my husband about the incident with the model where he fainted and fell off the platform. I explained that he was nude and the instructor ran over with his robe to cover him and my husband exclaimed "You are drawing naked men!" When I told him yes, we draw nude men and women in life drawing class, he asked me "Can't you find a Farm Animal drawing class instead?" I laughed so hard - I had just assumed he knew what life drawing was - but apparently NOT!

Thursday Life Drawing and a New Painting Start

Ebony graphite on newsprint l4 x 17

Last week I had to attend to some unexpected family matters and was out of town for a while causing me to miss last Thursday's life session. Today is the next to the last class and I was overjoyed to be there. I missed some excitement last week when the model fainted during the sitting pose and fell off the platform! Apparently he was not hurt and even finished the session with the reclining pose! Today went smoothly with no model mishaps, thank goodness. This sitting pose was about 40 minutes and is my favorite of the session. I loved all of the many angles and sinuous curves, the foreshortening of the hand coming forward and the general complexity of the pose.

Ebony graphite on newsprint / 20 minutes

I felt like I was still warming up with this initial 20 minute standing pose. It is similar to one we did a few weeks ago with the model leaning on a pole.

Ebony graphite on newsprint / 30 minutes

I generally position my easel so I can have some fun with foreshortening on the reclining poses. This one was only 30 minutes as we ran out of time.


I also had a chance to begin a new equine painting since returninghome. Its rather large at 30 x 24. Here is the initial oil lay in:

And this is how far I have progressed so far:

As I may not get the opportunity to spent time in my studio tomorrow, I am hoping I can finish it this weekend.

And now I am off to have some fun in catching up with all the blogs I have been following and missed out on last week! I know there is lots of wonderful and inspiring work out there for me to view and comment on!

Robert Hughes - Portrait Practice

Robert Hughes / oil on cardboard / 16 x 14

 Recently having purchased a used copy of the book The Shock of the New by Robert Hughes, after reading it cover to cover, I decided to try my hand at painting a portrait of the author from a photo. As it is only a practice study, I decided to use a piece of cardboard as my support. As cardboard is slightly rough textured and quite absorbent, I love painting on it now and again!

Robert Hughes was a well known art critic for Time magazine and in 1980 he wrote this book after doing an 8 part BBC TV series of the same name. The book is a well written, engaging and provocative journey through the history of modern art from 1880 forward. It addresses the development of modernism from the Impressionists through Andy Warhol and is brutally honest with a delightful flair for the dramatic phrase! It's fascination for me is how Mr. Hughes relates each artist that he addresses to his time in history and how the major events of the time shaped their work. Its a dazzling book. He passed away last August and that is when I first heard about him and his book. In any case, reading his words inspired me to paint this quick portrait.

Figurative Drawing from Life

A frenzy of sketches - 1 minute each

20 minute pose / ebony graphite on newsprint / approximately 20 x 14

40 minute seated pose / ebony graphite on newsprint /  20 x 16

45 minute pose / graphite on medium brown paper with charcoal white highlights / approximately 24 x 18

A better life drawing session today than last week. I seem to have regained a bit of confidence, thank goodness :).

Equine #10

Equine #10 / oil on canvas / 16 x 12

Another spirited horse trying to defy gravitational pull!

Ballerina #30

Ballerina #30 / oil on linen panel / 18 x 24

Another ballerina takes stage front! This one is 18 x 24, oil on Fredrix linen panel. I love the texture of the Fredrix linen and how it grabs the paint but wish it was a little bit less expensive. Even though I love it, I only buy it when I can splurge once in a while.

A Struggle at Life Class

1 minute poses / conte on newsprint

I attempted to do some shading during the 1 minute poses. Out of five sketches, these two are the only ones that are recognizably human!

20 minute pose / ebony graphite on newsprint / about 18 x 12

Our model was leaning on a pole and I really struggled with the proportions for some reason. Although I came away with not one drawing that I like this session, this one really bothers me. I wish I could figure out why I struggled so much. One thought is that I had positioned the paper too low on the easel and in drawing her legs I was drawing down. So I moved up the pad of paper for the next two and didn't do much better.

40 minute pose / ebony graphite on newsprint

I was not in love with the pose and it shows in the drawing.

45 minute pose / graphite on newsprint

This seated pose is the best of the bunch although I did not put in the stool so she is floating in air. Oh, well - there is always next week : )

Ballerina # 29

Ballerina #29 / oil on linen panel / 24 x 18

I am a little happier with this ballerina than with my other recent attempts even though the color is unusual for me. Thank you for looking and for your thoughts.

Ballerina #28

Ballerina #28 / oil on linen panel /16 x 20

Harmonic Resolution

Harmonic Resolution / 16 x 20 / oil on linen panel

Finished this afternoon. I am intrigued by the blue background and greenish sky. I may try that combination again in another painting.

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