Better, me thinks

This drawing was starting to come together and I had high hopes for it when, you guessed it, that dreaded timer dashed my hopes and dreams for this sketch.  At least this time I got the face in as well as most of the figure.  You may have noticed that often I leave the legs off or just indicate them.  I think this is a semi conscious decision based on time.  I began to work on the core shadows a bit late it seems but I wanted to get the feeling of weight into the piece.  With her head pulled back and the shoulders hunched and the arms resting on the bar, I find the top portion of the drawing the most interesting and it leads into the long gesture curve of the midsection ending in the pelvic area tipping back as a balance to the aforementioned shoulders.  All of this is complimented by the wonderful curve created by the latissimus and hip.  This all contributes to the reason I am sad that time ran out.  This could have turned out beautifully.

Eh...

Honestly, not sure what happened here.  Again, I got caught up in specifics and just, well, failed miserably.  I was trying to get her right lat correct and the way it flowed into the waist.  I had blocked in here head but found that it was not correct and went back in when the ding of the timer went off.  Sigh, time management is a problem.  Anyhow, I saved the better two for tomorrow and Thursday, so don't give up on me.  Seriously, I feel that failures, while embarrassing, are quite valuable.  

Huddled

I was thinking along the lines of the strong core shadows that Steve Huston described and proceeded from there.  Not enough time for me, again, so I focused on the head placement and the torso.  I would really love to have had more time for this pose as I feel it was coming along nicely.

Just being a lazy @$$

Thanks to my oldest and bestest pal, Russ (illustrator extraordinaire whom you've seen mentioned in these august virtual pages before) I found out that anyone can just mess with your online life and make things tremendously (and ridiculously) difficult.  Let's just say that the genius' that work for and run the domains must idolize Mr. Myxlplyx.  Enough said on that cryptic subject.  

I am not really pleased with the results of last weeks drawing session yet I will post them anyway.  Much of my dismay probably stems from the fact that I hate wasting a good model's poses with mediocre renderings.  I am blaming this on the fact that I missed a week while indulging in Las Vegas so I am a bit rusty (although that is truly stretching it).  Well, here is the second offering from the other night.  I'm not sure what was going through my head but the result was not what I was after.  I became enamored with the hand and I think I was trying too hard to simplify the shapes.  I guess I am going to have to return to the basics such as measuring since I seem to be rushing to the finish.  Back to the Steve Huston article to put my head right.  

Frustration...

can be so frustrating.  Of the ten gesture poses last night these are the only two that were worth a spit.  I believe I forgot how to draw the gesture for a few minutes.  Sheesh.  A week off, a trip to Vegas and everything spirals down the toilet.  Go figure.

Anyhow, I did settle down and found the essence and at least got two out of the deal.  As for the rest of the night, batting about the same.  I'll go into that as the week goes on.

Construction

I ran across this drawing of a former regular model of ours and thought that it shows what I really enjoy sometimes, the structure of the figure without trying for the "realistic" representation. Probably a nod to my comic book background. Thanks, Ben.

The heavy shadows, the weight of the breasts laying on the weight of the belly all supported by the hips and buttocks. The obvious strength of the shoulders and manner in which the head and neck slightly strain forward. The simplistic manner of rendering the face making sure the eye isn't distracted from the mass of the figure. Hmm... I guess I kinda like this one. Why I had it separated from the rest of the pieces is a mystery to me.

Another collage... sort of

This is another of those pages with multiple images that I always find so interesting. Just a series of small, insignificant drawings that serve only as a means to further my understanding of the model. This was done long ago at the former Nicholas Gallery here in Billings. Sigh, many of us really miss that gallery.

Pensive

This particular piece is several years old and is one of my favorite models, although she has been unavailable for some time now.

We occasionally use clothed models and this was one of those times. I enjoy the frantic line work to indicate the fabric folds and even the hair. Couple that with the broad strokes of the charcoal to accent and create simple darks makes an interesting drawing for me. There is a lot going on and yet it seems very simplistic with the absence of any extraneous detail to detract from the head, which is the focal point of the sketch. I actually like the black smear at the lower corner as an anchor to the darks of the head and left arm. Often I will leave much of that out, letting the white space become more of a design element.

Something old

A bad day.  Sorry for the late post.  This is a shot from the past.  Not sure when or who the model is but I like the head on this and the general feel of the drawing.  I'll try to be a little more introspective tomorrow.

One last look

Another Sunday, another day in the NFL.  Aahhh, it's all good.

Art?  Let me dig around and see what I have...  one last look at Jeff, appropriately with his back turned.  I wasn't all that thrilled with this piece when I finished it but there are some nice bits to it.  Well, time to sit down and cheer for Green Bay.  Go Pack Go!

Lessons from Steve

Huston, that is.  I recently picked up a copy of Artists Workshop and was reading the article on Steve Huston and gesture drawing.  More accurately, how to keep the gesture in the drawing.  This sketch is a product of that thought process.  I'm reasonably happy with how this was turning out and feel like I reacquainted myself with some of the basics that get lost at times when one is working in familiar territory.  

This is odd...

As a person of habits it's strange to sit down at the keyboard and not have a new batch of drawings to post on a Friday.  So I'll just finish up with the last batch and see where we go from here.

I started with the hand here and really didn't get much further.  This was one of those drawings where I was determined not to let the clock dictate what I put down, hence no head, no right side of the body (save a quick indication of the thigh) and no real work on the torso.  Yet I like this drawing and wish I could have done more.  Perhaps if I had I wouldn't like it as much.  Ever feel that you wish you had done things differently in life but immediately realize if you had you wouldn't be where you are now?  This drawing is like that.

Vegas, Baby

Been hangin' out in Vegas for the International Furniture Market at the World Market Center.  Lots of walking around and meetings and looking at cool (and not so cool) furniture and accessories such as lamps and throws and candlesticks and ... zzzzzzzzzzz.  Oh, you're still with me?  Okay, I was too cheap to pay for wifi in our room and found that I got free wifi at the airport.  Alright, on to another drawing.  Since I won't be at the Black Hand Group tonight I'll continue with last weeks images.  This was one I thought was successful in most aspects.  I hope y'all think so to.  

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL!

Ah, the crisp, cool mornings that greet us here in the West as football season descends from above like manna from heaven.  Oh sure,  college ball has been ramped up already as well as high school but that doesn't spark the excitement of the NFL for me.  Probably because I have no ties to a college program and, let's face it, high school was just that, high school.  So let the joy that is pro football work it's magic on us as we head full on into the most wonderful time of the year, autumn.

As for the image above... well, it was born out of the interesting twist to the neck and all of the lines and folds that it produced.  I probably got a little too caught up in that and left some of the fundamentals on the sidelines (did I mention it's football season?).  Go Pack Go!

Two fer One

I did the one on the right first and wasn't too pleased so I thought the next one would probably be in the same mode.  Now I wish I had put it on a new page and really gotten into it.  Oh, well.

The return of the Sculptor

Our model, Jeff, did a great job as always.  Let's start with gestures, shall we?  I just picked up a magazine with an article on Steve Huston and his take on gesture drawing.  With that in mind (I only skimmed the story so far but, big surprise, I looked at the pictures) I tried to look at gesture with a little more thought given to volume.  However, with only a minute per pose I think that it will take some time to implement Mr. Huston's lessons.

Profile

The only drawing I was mostly satisfied with.  I think the mood one is in really affects the quality of the work.  I know it shouldn't but...  Anyhoooo, I like the construction of this drawing and the spotting of darks as well as the handling of the vine charcoal.

A detour today

I'll get back to the final life drawing of the last session tomorrow. I just thought I'd show the latest drawings off of my board. Hopefully they'll be in the gallery (Gallery Interiors) soon.

By the way, today is my lovely wife's birthday. Happy Birthday, honey.

A little better, methinks

Again, the head shot saves my bacon.  I actually like the high(ish) definition of the head and the relative ambiguity of the figure here.  This is an example of what I wrote yesterday, finishing an area so that when time runs out you have what could be passed off as a finished drawing.  Hey, it works for me.

Uh...

Last drawing of the night.  Looking forward to having some beer with some friends.  Looks like I already had some beer with some friends.  Switched to vine charcoal and just kind of plowed through this one.  Not sure what I was thinking but it is one of the lesser efforts of the evening.  I left so much undone that it looks as though I couldn't make a decision.  I had a teacher tell me once that one should always finish an area before moving on so that when you run out of time it looks as though it could be a finished piece (or something close to that).  This is one of those times.  I guess I'm just disappointed that I didn't put more thought into this.  But this is why we examine our efforts and try to learn from them.

Happy Labor Day.

Another in the same vein

A similar drawing to the one yesterday.  Must have been in a mood.  I started with the right arm and built the image from there.  But for some reason I can't usually leave the head strictly linear.  Oh, well...

Hanging at the Manor

With the prominent mustache, thick eyebrows and heavy black hair, it's easy to overemphasize the head and face of this particular model, as you'll see in the coming posts.  I tried to concentrate on the various lines that make up the heavy muscle that lays across his frame.  After years of drawing him I've come to see him a little like Frank Miller's Bruce Wayne from the classic DC comics mini series "The Dark Knight Returns".  

The next session

I had to leave during the gesture phase of our session so this is as close as I got to the gesture page. I don't have much to say today, I'll try to be more informative as the week goes on.

Last of this session

Another profile.  Not much else left to say.  I think this one works well enough.  New session will post tomorrow.

Incomplete head shot

But that's the game, isn't it.  When Dave shouts out "Time" the pose ends and we move on.  Too bad, this one had potential.  Again, I was trying to channel Fechin but, alas, I only hear faint laughter at my attempts.  Okay, a little too poetic but you get the idea.  There are a few that I will always strive for and Nicolai Fechin pretty much tops the list.  

Tomorrow will be the last of this session as I will begin breaking down the next batch of drawings.  Thanks for tuning in.

profile

Another profile, this time of just the head.  I put a little more thought into this drawing and stayed with the style that I am comfortable with.  I used Jeremy Lipking's advice and began with the eye and worked my way out.  The broad strokes of charcoal blocked in the darks of the hair and the shadow across the face.  Line work delineated Sara's distinctive features.  I think that this is probably the most successful drawing of the night.  It's always satisfying when a drawing or painting or even just a sketch, comes together just right.