Tank top

Tank Top 12x16 charcoal, copyright 2013

Back to Life Drawing this week.  There were three poses; two were twenty minutes and one was forty minutes.  The twenty minute poses didn't turn out very well, but the forty minute one did.  The left hand and arm were at a very awkward angle to me and were erased several times, so I never got the chance to finish them.  I'm satisfied with everything else though.  

Get on your boots

Girl with a Cat 12x16 charcoal, copyright 2012

I was able to get to Life Drawing this week, not that I had much choice; my daughter was the model.  At the request of some of the artists she wore boots.  She has quite the collection now, and they are fun to draw.  The gallery cat, Gilda, loves Life Drawing too since it means she gets to curl up with someone who has to stay and pet her.  

Black and white charcoal works quite well on grey toned pastel paper, and I like how this one turned out overall.  I'll have to play with this set up more often.

In other news, right now I have a pastel landscape with a dramatic sky sitting on my easel, trying to duplicate the "wow" factor of the previous one.  It's not going as well as I'd like and with the frantic-ness of the holidays, it's hard to tell when I'll have the time or the right mind set to get it done right.  I may not post again until after Christmas, so have a good one for those of you who celebrate the holiday!

Charcoal portrait

Contemplating 6x8 charcoal, copyright 2012

Every artist should draw or sketch every day.  It's like exercising or doing your homework, a necessity to keep up your skills.  I know this, and while I have good intentions, it often doesn't happen.  Life gets in the way, as it tends to do.  But really, that's just an excuse, one that I need to quit using.  

Over the weekend, Black Friday in fact, I stopped in one of the few remaining art supply stores around to look for some of my favorite pastel paper.  They didn't have any so I picked of a pad of gray tone papers, thinking it would be good for sketching.  Today I decided to quit using excuses and use this paper instead.  I flipped through my reference photos and found this one.  Hands and faces and the two parts of the body that I have the most difficulty with so of course I had to put both in the same sketch.  Obviously I still need a bit of practice, but it's not too bad for a half hour of work.  Now I just have to convince myself to keep sketching every day.

Life Drawing with charcoal pencil

Reading, Hooded Sweater Vest charcoal pencil, copyright 2012

Hands charcoal pencil, copyright 2012

My goal of finishing an oil painting last week was thwarted by a particularly nasty cold virus that killed all motivation.  Life Drawing last night probably would have been skipped as well if my daughter had not agreed to be the model.   My first sketch of her in pastel turned out very rough, but the two charcoal sketches came out pretty well.  The top one doesn't exactly look like her, but I think I am getting better at faces. The pattern in her knit sweater was challenging, but not over thinking it helped.   Perhaps being sick helped me to turn off my brain, but it's not something I'd want to do on a regular basis.

Life Drawing sketch

Bookworm Sketch 11x14 charcoal pencil, copyright 2011

This week I was happy to return to the Life Drawing session after a long absence.  It was a special session for me since my daughter agreed to sit as the model - her boots and long red hair were quite the crowd pleaser.  Unfortunately I discovered that I was rather rusty and that I had brought the wrong type of paper.  I started with a charcoal pencil, hoping to get lots of detail, but the tooth of the paper is too rough and I tried too hard to force it.  This was the best of the three sketches.  I may rework it a bit to fix some proportion issues, especially with the left arm.  One other sketch was in pastel.  Her enviable hair turned out well but the face definitely needs work.  I'll post that later if it turns out.  

FYI, next month the Preble County Fine Arts Center will be featuring A Year of Life Drawing, an exhibit of sketches, drawings, and perhaps a few paintings from artists who have participated in the Life Drawing sessions.  I will have a few pieces in the exhibit.  It will open on January 4, with a reception at 2pm on the 14th.