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.

Skirt of Many Colors

Katie T in a cool skirt and cowgirl boots. Nice colors and pattern in the dress were fun to work with. My drawings were nothing to write home about...or blog about...but I see some potential in doing something later with the outfit. 15 minute conte and pastel.

Alas, poor Katie, I knew her well...*

Model Katie, studied Shakespeare while we drew her. Most of our models are school age and we meet on school nights so it happens on occasion that they'll need to study while posing. Drawing shown is 12-15 minutes, conte and pastel. *I should add that nothing has happened to Katie...just needed a clever little Shakespeare quote for my title!

Homecoming Final

Finished with "Homecoming"...unless I decide later I'm not! Full image shown here. 24x30. Katie T.

Homecoming

New painting underway of Katie T and those aforementioned pleats! Detail of a 24x30 oil.

They call me Mr. Pleats

Finished with the painting previously posted. Added details and depth in hands..and a better photo since last look. Still not a perfect copy....I'm seeing some glare in lower right corner. Also a little more work on the baseboard and chair. Model, Katie T.
24x36.

The Sitting Corner

I've been within an hour of finishing this painting since early December. It's been tacked to a board waiting for me to get a small break from commissions. Shown is a detail, still unfinished but close. I'll post a final later when it's stretched. Model is Katie T in a dress overflowing with pleats. Intimidating color and details but it's been fun to paint...we should always challenge ourselves. 24X36.

Fur Hats, Pink Floyd and Doughnuts

A class member suggested we do a "Dr. Zhivago" night. We did. Katie T came in a fur hat and heavy coat to give the look we were after. Drawing shown is 15 minutes conte and pastel. I forgot my "stumps" that I use to blend the conte so I used a napkin...interesting look.

Monday Night Life Drawing

15 minute reclining pose from last nights class. Katie T was the model.

Get Up Stand Up

No, that wasn't directions for tonight's model, that was Bob Marley on the DVD. Katie T here in a reclining pose. The colorful top was fun...I tried to suggest the essence without a careful copy of every flower petal. 15 minute conte and pastel. $225.

The Mermaid's Garden

The painting of Katie T as a pseudo-mermaid is finished. I ended up treating the floor as a dark reflective wood and really like the way it turned out. The fish with all their detail took longer than I thought but add a nice element to the scene. 30X40

More progess

I've decided to darken the background by several values. I felt it was distracting from the figure and the fish. I'm liking it better this way. I've started adding some detail to one of the "Rock Beauty" fishies in order to see how it looks against the background.

Mermaid's Garden

Early stages of a new painting. Model is Katie T. Her beautiful dress reminded me of a mermaid so I decided to paint her in a room with tropical fish swimming about. I'll show progress on this one as I go so check back. The dress currently shows three stages of development....the lower area is a washy underpainting, the torso area is nearing full form and contrast and the upper area shows the beginnings of the beadwork detail. 30X40

Monday Night life drawing

15 minute drawing of tonight's model, Katie. I'm also showing a photo of the actual pose for comparison. Conte and pastel.