Hurry Down the Chimney...Tonight

Christmas party at the drawing class. A good group gathered for coffee, good treats and Erin H as the model. Beautiful black and silver dress and red heels...really nice outfit...a 15 minute sketch does not do it justice. I liked this one with her holding Santa's hat. Conte and pastel. $185.

Emily at the Barre

Loved this pose tonight at the drawing class...great lines and expression. 15 minute drawing in conte and pastel. Model, Emily T, stretching at the barre. $225. 18x24 paper.

8 X 8's

Small studies for sale...original art at a great price. These 8"x8" oil on panel studies are $165 each. Shown above: "Minnehaha Falls", "North Georgia Falls", and "Apple Tree". Unframed panels look great in a small shelf easel or hanging on your wall.

Tiffany in Black and White

Well, she was dressed in a bold black and white striped sweater. Model Tiffany M is back in Newnan after having been away. Great to have her pose for the drawing class again. This 15 minute conte and pastel was my favorite.

Fashion Studies

Some mixed media fashion drawing studies from older photo reference. Model, Erin H.
One of these is like an earlier life drawing. These done later in the studio with pencil, colored chalk and pastel.
Pair- $325.

The Cheerleader was Here but She had to Split

Another first for the Monday night drawing class...Cheerleader night. Give me a "C" for conte. I forgot my pastels and only had a small speck of flesh tone to give a little color in the face and hands. This was a 15 minute split...amazing that there are people that can do that..and still walk. Model, Caroline W.

Ballerinas Gone Bad

Not really, but sort of. Erin H as the "Black Swan" tonight at drawing class....lots of fun. Erin and I came up with different pieces of the outfit and it turned out great. Something old, something new, something borrowed and something black. Erin did her own makeup...super! Great poses sealed the deal. Two 15 minute sketches shown, conte and pastel. Look for a painting soon. Most drawings posted are for sale...that includes these two. $225 each.

Holy Batskirt Batman

Are you kidding me...Batgirl at the drawing class! That's what I'm talking about. Frank Sinatra on the CD with Batgirl posing...a near zen moment. Her secret identity is Laura B, but you didn't hear that from me...great job posing...lots of fun. 15 minute pastel and a 2 minute gestures shown.

The Witching Hour...and a half

October is costume month at the drawing class. We're starting with Bracey P as a witch...gotta have at least one witch in Oct. Close up, 15 minute conte and pastel. Also shown is a 3 minute gesture done with fat sharpie on newsprint. Next week, Batgirl!! Same Bat-Blog, Same Bat-Internet.

Katie Fans

Small crowd at drawing class but we were all "fans" of Katie C. This drawing shows her holding a fan and sitting on an un-drawn stool. The long tutu was bright yellow with black borders but this is as far as the 15 minutes would allow me.

Solitude

This started as a painting of a bride running through a forest...seemed like a good idea at the time but it never panned out. I made some changes in the trees and added the female figure in red, sat on it for a while and here it is. Being alone in the middle of a large forest is an amazing experience...a little scary but a bit euphoric as well. 24x30.

Goin' Home

Final art for an earlier post. This painting is currently hanging in my Civil War show at Newnan's Centre for Performing and Visual Arts. A lone confederate soldier is wounded and cut off from his army. One way or the other he is going home, possibly very shortly. He's prepared to take someone with him with his Colt army revolver and his Bowie knife. Perhaps a last minute appearance by the cavalry will save him from certain death.
Oil on canvas...30x48.

Christina's World

Nearly finished painting from a previous life drawing(New Kid in Town). Model, Christina, posed for the class in a black tutu and took some really nice reclining poses, including this beauty. 20x30.

Aftermath

The painting, "Aftermath" was unveiled last night to a good crowd here in Newnan. The painting shows Civil War nurse, Fannie Beers(model-Laura Bradley) at Brown's Mill battlefield the afternoon of the battle. The scene is described in her journal, "Memories". It will also be the centerpiece of an upcoming one-man show of Civil War paintings and drawings that I will be having at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts. The painting is 4'x6'.

There's a New Kid in Town

New model, Christina K and The Eagles...great combo. Christina was super and took some really nice poses. Several may become paintings or involved studies later. Two drawings are shown here. The second one was a 5 minute sketch. I started from the front side of this pose and after 10 minutes I realized it was going nowhere. I moved to the back side and quickly tried to get the main gist of it all. I guess it's really a gesture drawing. The first drawing shown is 15 minutes.
Conte and pastel.

Sounds of Silence

We were forced to draw in another room tonight at drawing class. We were without our model stand and without our CD player. I "almost" sang for the group there but thought better of it. We drew in silence for the most part...pretty strange actually. Model, Katie T, had to sit on the floor for this pose. The keen observer will notice that the angle is a bit different than past drawings. Good class though, Katie came in a fun outfit complete with cool hat, cool sandals and wouldn't you know it, a cool vest.
15 minute conte and pastel.

Progress

New progress on this 30x40 of Mary N and a globe. I'm liking the colors and feeling of this. Working currently on feet, hands and the soft fleece blanket she's sitting on. Still a way to go on this. I'll post a final later.

Dancer Study

I shoot photos at my life drawing class to do this...a study beyond the 15 minute sketches we do from life. This study may lead to a more involved painting but I really like the feel this has. 20x24, though smaller than most of my figurative paintings, ended up being a great size. I also experimented with a different canvas, it's a smoother surface and worked really well for this. Robin V was the model.

Fashion 2

Another conte and pastel fashion sample. These are on 18x24 drawing paper and take up most of the page. Colors are blended with a stump or with my fingers. $250.

Fashion Roots

One of my first job offers after Ringling was as a fashion illustrator in Atlanta. I would have taken it but for an offer from Brown Dog Studios to do more of the type of illustration that I wanted to do. This is a recent sample piece for a company looking for some original paintings and drawings for a new space they're designing. They want a bit of a contemporary edge to the works. I'm trying to introduce the contemporary edge in the actual clothing since my work is fairly traditional. The drawing is influenced by a dress by a designer, Yohji Yamamoto. Very cool, simple, bold.

Small Crowd, Big Poses

Dancer Emily T is a terrific model. She takes nice poses that aren't always "safe"...even when they're 15 minutes. This is a pretty good example. Arms out from the body, leaning off balance, most of her weight on a small area, in this case, her knee. It usually makes for a fun, lively drawing. $185

Goin' Hollywood, Again...Maybe?

Recently sold this drawing to a set designer for the TV show "Parenthood". I signed a release so it could be shown on the set. We'll have to see if it makes the cut! Watch the new season and keep an eye out for it. Tuesday, Sept 13, NBC, 10pm, the new season of Parenthood is scheduled to start.
The drawing sold through my Etsy site where I have other original drawings for sale. Check them out at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/martinpate
The drawing was done in Atlanta at a life drawing class I used to go to but have not attended in a couple of years. 15 or 20 minutes, conte and pastel. Reminds me of "The Thinker".

Baby Bump

A first for the drawing class...the model was "with child", about 6 months or so I believe. Ashleigh V, excellent as always. Shown here in a side view, seated. 15 minutes, conte and pastel.

Location Studies

Been in the Myrtle Beach area for a couple of weeks...R&R and some plein air painting. We went up to Sunset Beach NC one day and I painted an 11x14 study of the marsh area. It was hot but our location was in the shade and a good breeze kept it comfortable. A fawn ran by at one point and checked my work out...didn't stay long enough for me to get a photo. The dunes were painted down the coast at Huntington Beach State Park. We set up on the beach and I turned around and painted this 11X14 study of the dunes.
$350 each.

Mary's World

Detail of a 30x40...early stages. Mary N with large globe. A chair and part of a window will be visible. She is looking toward the window. I'll show some progression on this one and a final shot later on.

Dark Side of the Tutu

New model, dance instructor, Katie M posed for the class tonight. We listened to some Pink Floyd. Excellent poses...nice, black tutu. I really liked my angle on this pose even though I might have liked to have been back a bit and a tad higher. Model was sitting on a stool, leaning against the bar, away from my vantage point. I think it's a winner. 15 minutes, conte and pastel.
Only $225.

Mr. Blue

New painting of dancer Chelsea S in a sky blue tutu...aka blutu. I also just heard ELO on Pandora, hence the title of this entry. Smaller painting than normal for me...18x24. Similar background to a recent painting..."Hidden". Full art and detail shown.

Etsy Highlight

One of my favorite life drawings in recent years. This 15 minute conte and pastel of dance model Chelsea S has really nice form and lines. I like pretty much everything about it. Did a painting from this pose but it lost something in the translation. See more original drawings for sale at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/martinpate

Girl by the Window

Painting of young model Mary N. This is a situation where I did not know the family very well but felt compelled to paint this child. Many times I've seen someone that I wanted to paint, for various reasons, but did not approach them...always regretful. This is one of several I have planned of this model. The painting ended up being a little more "portrait-like" than I planned but I love the pose, expression and setting. Also love the contrast between the darker, somewhat somber background and her vibrant, colorful dress. 24x30

White on White

12 minute sketch of dance model Sarah from last nights class. All white tutu and leotard. Might do a longer study of this later...some other nice poses were inspiring as well. Conte and pastel.

Progress Continues

I'm going to sit on this one for a while and decide what else it needs. I'm mostly happy with it but it will get some more detail work later. Still working on a title..."Charging an Unseen Enemy"..."Into the Unknown"...something will come to me. 30x48 oil. See other interpretive art paintings that I've done at:
www.pateart.com

Civil War Show

I've been working on pieces for a show of my Civil War work in September. It will be here in Newnan at the Visual and Performing Arts Centre. Most of this type of work is for commission so I don't have much of it on hand at any given time. I'm working on several large new works just for this show, a handful of smaller works and I'll be borrowing two or three commissioned works. This is part of the commemoration of the 150 anniversary of the war. Newnan,like many small towns was directly touched by the conflict with a local cavalry battle and many, many wounded and dead brought into town to the temporary hospitals that were in homes, businesses, churches etc. The image shown is a confederate infantry unit charging into a heavy cloud of smoke. The image is unfinished. When the soldiers are mostly finished, I'll obscure part of them with the smoke. 30x48.

Bridal Portrait

It's wedding season! I've planned for years to do a sample bridal portrait and just never got around to it. Well, I've done it. I would think there might be a good market for that something extra that some folks might be looking for. What a gift, a painting of the bride on her most beautiful day! Something like this could even be done after the fact, even years later...of course, there'd be nothing like having it displayed at the reception. This painting is a 24x30, 3/4 but a full view would be larger, up to full size.

Crouching Tiger

Loved this pose...it had a great "shape" to it. Difficult to hold but dance model Emily T stuck with it for close to 15 minutes. I think the actual drawing was around 12 minutes. Conte and pastel.

Tutu Funk

Ashleigh posing for tonight's drawing class in a tutu inspired outfit. Loved this pose but not sure the left leg reads. What do you think? It's turned out...away from the viewer...a bit hard to pull off without showing the thigh. 15 minute, conte and pastel.

Cloud Shadow

Another in a series of paintings of scenes in and around Alcott, SC. This one a quick study, 11x14, oil on panel. $425.

Do Zombie Artists Draw Flies?

It was Zombie Night at the drawing class last night! No model was harmed in the creation of this blog. Akom T was in zombie mode while Ashleigh F was his victim. Make up by artist/filmmaker James Sizemore. James is currently working on an independent film full of demons, monsters and zombies. Last night was a fund raiser to help with his costs. See links below for more info. Drawings shown are conte/pastel...15-30 minutes. Drawing two models is a challenge but it's really good to give it a try once in a while.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/louprah/the-demons-rook

http://www.plainjames.com/