Hmmmm, not sure what I was thinking here. But I am resolute to post my failures along with the ones I like. Bask in this tragedy of lost time, wasted paper and charcoal. sigh

Promising start

A longer version of one of her gesture poses. Another five minutes would have made me even happier.

Good to be back

Took a wee bit o' a break (been listening to Billy Connolly lately) but I'm back with some new stuff that I did last night. Here are the gestures.

Update

Prairie Child sold recently at the Bradford Brinton Biennial show.

Taking a break

Had to stay late at work so I missed our session last night. I'll start digging around for some old stuff to fill the gap.

More lost edges

I like how the line of the arm leads into the edge of the palm of her hand, creating the border that isn't quite there. A nice way to end the evening.

Bad Mood

Sorry, just a drawing today.

Lost edges

One of my favorite techniques is the use of lost edges. Many call this vignette but I always felt that meant a kind of "Vaseline on the lens" look of fuzzy edges to the background. I like the use of the paper as part of the drawing, not just what the drawing resides on. Even when I paint (which is nowhere near enough) I like to leave raw canvas or the gesso showing through.

Ah, Bach...

I absolutely loved this pose. It makes me sad and disappointed that I couldn't complete it. Not so much the face, I've gotten used to that, but the rest of the figure. The legs made for a compelling composition, at least to me. An opportunity lost. If we have Amber back in the future I think I shall ask for a similar if not exact sitting of this pose.

Profile

Boy did I have a hassle with this drawing. My proportions were way off to start with and I spend the whole time trying to adjust them. I would get the nose right and realize the jaw was much too short. Fix the jaw and realize that the lips didn't work now. Oops the eyes are set too far back... Tough drawing. It almost worked. Almost

First of the night

I thought the night started out with promise. Really do like this drawing. Her figure is all lines and connections, very interesting to draw.

The Return of Amber

Amber returned from Bozeman to help us out. She did her usual outstanding job and I want to thank her for going the extra mile (well, 140 extra miles) for us. So, Thank You, Amber. We appreciate it.

Continuation

And this is the "finish" of the pose started the week before. Could use a couple more sessions but it was a good exercise for the group and myself.

Contemplation

Fairly happy with this one. Lots of shadows in the face made me emphasize the folds in the neck where she had pulled her head down. Maybe not the most flattering way to portray a woman but certainly fun to draw.

Tue for Twosday

Solid little drawings that have as much to do with the familiarity of the model as it does with my current level of drawing capability. Again I have streamlined the facial features and done a bit of idealizing. I think it is even showing up in the figure. Perhaps this is the direction I'm moving. Not sure.

Monday's drawing

I think I've started stylizing Sara's face some. I'm getting into pinup mode and am trying to emulate Elvgren and Petty. Seeing the source material and then the finished illustrations I have begun thinking in terms of less faithful interpretation and more idealized rendering.

Head shots

Well, the title says it all.

Not so much

I really dropped the ball on this one. The head is completely wrong and I was really excited about the position Sara placed it in. Slight tilt with a bit of an upshot of the jaw. Too bad.

Sara redux

I never get tired of drawing Sara. She takes great poses and I seem to find new and interesting aspects of the figure when she models. Anyhow, here are the gestures from last night.

Extended pose

We finished the evening with this pose for 20 minutes and we will close tonight's session with the same pose, hopefully finishing this drawing. Something different...

Two for, uh...

Wednesday? That doesn't quite sound right. Oh well, here are a couple of okay drawings. Nothing to compare to yesterday's effort. I'm going to have to focus. Perhaps I should start looking at a style since my work seems to vary all over the place and be driven solely by the emotions I'm feeling. If the pose doesn't strike me then it shows in my style. Not good. Or perhaps it is. Who knows...

My favorite of the night

This just came together. Not much to say about it other than it strikes a cord in me. I wish I could just be this free with every effort.

Ah, yes...

back on track. I really enjoyed working the linear aspect of this particular drawing. The little indication of modeling the face with subtle shading really made me feel that I was getting into the routine again. I think I've been drawn to the face recently and I'm not sure why. But I do like the results.

A Sunday repose

Some serious proportion problems here. I think I get back on track later in the session.

Late post...

busy day. These were done on the same page so they are a bit smaller than my usual drawings. Just getting a feel for it since I was running seriously behind schedule last Thursday. Rush, rush, rush...

New gestures