Boy Portrait

...........24x30 full figure portrait of Brock. Background is an oil wash with limited greenery...wanted to keep the focus on the subject and his really cool cowboy boots.

Dancer Close Up

............Full painting and close up of model Christina K "at the barre". This painting has undergone several major changes since I started it. At one time she was next to a window...then a red curtain and finally at the ballet barre. The overall color has changed from warm grays and earth tones to a green cast. 24x30 oil.

Portrait Bust

............Recent bust portrait of a local girl. Background is the front of her home. Portrait size is 20x24 inches...a really nice size for this type of portrait. Bust portraits include head and shoulders, some upper torso and can include hands. Background can range from tonal colors to specific locations.

Portrait of a Boy

...........Recent 30x40 portrait of a local child. Setting is the front steps of his home with his favorite baseball glove.

Albert Heijn

...........Portrait detail of Dutch supermarket magnate Albert Heijn from a few years ago. His company owned Bi-Lo Foods at the time. I'm just finding out about his passing...from what I can tell,in 2011.

Foreshortened arm

..............Fun pose from model Robin S at last nights life drawing class. This one was 10-12 minutes...probably would have overworked it with more time. Conte and pastel.

A Good Book

.............My first attempt at this sketch failed so I started over...this is about 7-8 minutes. Conte and paste. Model- Erin

Red Shoes

...............Great to be back at some life drawing after a 4 or 5 week break. Laura H was our model. I could tell that I've been a slacker lately but I liked these two drawings. Both were approx 15 minutes. Conte and pastel on 18x24 paper.

Foreshortening challenges

............Two recent drawing showing the always dreaded foreshortening. The girl in teal shows foreshortening of most of the figure....not severely so, but enough to be challenging. The girl in red just has her left arm foreshortened but it was fairly severe. On both of these, I basically drew it as I saw it. On the girl in red, I exaggerated the hand a bit to make it appear that it was closer to the viewer...which it is by the way but I like the idea of just slightly exaggerating it. Both drawings approx 15 minutes, conte and pastel. Both available.

Good Night and Happy Trails, Dr. Laura

..............It's not a good night when you find out one of your best models is moving away. Laura was Batgirl, Thouroughly Modern Milley, a cat, Tinkerbell and a host of other characters to us. She has an awesome costume collection and always posed in character. She, and her costumes, will be missed and thought of often. We wish her well on her new adventures. She came tonight as herself...audiologist Laura. This was my favorite drawing of the night. 15 minutes, conte and pastel.

Black and White

...........My last post was model Meaghan N in a black tutu...tonight she posed in white. Both are around 15 minutes, conte and pastel. I had the opportunity to move on the top one with the severe foreshortening but I always tell students to avoid moving away from difficult angles. I'm glad I stayed with this one...might turn it into a painting one day. The second drawing is the first of more to come where I'm getting back into drawing on toned paper. There was a type of paper I used in art school that I really liked but have not been able to find it since then. This paper is similar in color but different in texture...still, I like it and plan to do more.

Black Tutu

.........Drawings of Meaghan N from Monday's class. Approx 15 min, conte and pastel. Nice poses and a great tutu...what more could we ask for!

The Other Side of the Camera

.............Our model tonight, Madison N, is a photographer. Her poses were great to draw. I have often found artists and photographers to be great models for a drawing class as they know what artists are looking for in a pose...emotion, drama etc. These two, 10-15 minute sketches, are conte and pastel.

Les Miz Kids

....................Fun, active, crazy night at the drawing class. Three models from the local high school play, Les Miz, posed for us. We did 17 minute poses, 2 per model. The models are young, 4-6 graders and play kids in the play. They were great. It's good practice to draw the proportions of children from time to time. Abby,Chad and Abbey.

Les Miz III

..............Continuing our series of Les Miz characters from the Newnan High School production. Tonight, Alie W posed. She plays "a lady of the evening" shall we say..along with other characters. Fun costume, great poses and intriguing hair to draw. Both of these were approx 15 minutes...conte and graphite.

The Thenardiers

.............The drawing class is having a series of models from our local high school's production of Les Miserables. Tonight, Nate T and Allie C, the Thenardiers, posed in wonderful costumes. Look for other characters/models later. A show of drawings and paintings from the class will hang at the back of the auditorium during the production in April. Most of these shown here are 15-20 minutes. Conte and pastel.

Portrait of Mary

.................This is an oil and pencil portrait study on bristol board. I started with a drawing, fixed it with spray fixative, painted the face fairly loosely and then went back into the piece with pencil...while the oil was still wet. Model, Mary N. Approximately 7"x11" art area.

Salty Hat

...............Brandi H posing in cowgirl attire and in one drawing shown, with a guitar. Liked both of these drawings from tonight's class. The one without color shows corrections that often occur in quick life drawings. I often just leave the errors in place...besides, conte does not erase well. Note corrections in her right shoulder placement and the more obvious one, her right foot. These were both around 15 minutes, conte and pastel. On 18x24 paper.

Cape Fear

...............We did not "fear" the cape tonight...nor did we fear the hat...we embraced them...actually, we just drew them but had a good time doing so. Great outfit, Erin J model. The cape and hat belonged to her grandmother..very stylish. Two drawings shown...both approx 15 minutes. Conte and pastel.

Shadows and Rust

..............11x14 oil on panel of a scene from Haralson, GA. This was just before Christmas...mid December.