Structure

Tyson has a great face to really delve into the structure of the human head. I really delved into the forms and relationships of the planes and shapes. I had a ball doing this. I tried to pull back enough so that it didn't resemble a Hogarth drawing.

Sorry for no post yesterday...

I was away tending to some family business. I now share two images for the low low price of one.

Happy Memorial Day

Remembering all those that have served and died to allow us the freedom we enjoy.

Keeping with the basics

Very fluid yet seeing the shapes more. I more or less stay with the theme for the rest of the drawings although they do tend to get better. Trust me...

Some gestures for y'all

Was in a mood to get back to basics. I saw things a lot more simply last night as you can see with these gestures.

Simple elegance

The lost edges make this sketch look so serene. Pretty pleased, if I do say so.

Little head study

Simple little sketch. Feels quiet.

Pensive mood

I'm very happy with this. 'nuff said.

A step back

Should've stuck with the previous style. This could have been really cool.

Better

This is more like it. Loose and impressionistic. I love the tightly rendered stuff but I also really enjoy this style. The shapes being defined by light and dark with minimal usage of linear rendering. When I do these type of studies my mind seems to open up a bit more and my eyes see things a little less as they are and more as they should be.

Rough start

I was really trying to get into Jeff Jones mode and completely lost control of how I draw. Hence the first sketch you see. I realized I'm not Jones and settled into my own drawing style.

RIP Jeffrey Catherine Jones

I copied this from J David Spurlock's post on Jones' Facebook page. I still haven't come to grips with this one.

"Legendary fantasy artist-illustrator JEFFREY CATHERINE JONES passed away today, Thursday May 19, 2011 at 4:00 am surrounded by family. Jeffrey suffered from severe emphysema and bronchitis as well as hardening of the arteries around the heart. Jeffrey's dear friend Robert Wiener reported that there was a no resuscitation order as Jeffrey was weak from being severely under weight and had no reserves with which to fight. In accord with Jeffrey's wishes Jeffrey will be cremated. We have yet to hear details for a memorial service. Jeffrey was one of the greatest talents and sweetest souls we have ever been blessed to know. Rest in Peace, dear friend."

Jeff Jones was one of the greatest, if not the greatest, inspiration in my artistic life. His drawings are exquisite and his paintings are brilliant. The above painting is probably my favorite of Jones' and one of my favorite pieces of art ever. I was lucky enough to have seen it in person along with many others at a show the Joe Kubert School hosted. I spent countless hours with his art while I had the chance and have revisited all of it through books and the internet in the 25 year since I met him at that show. It is still hard to believe that we have lost, in the space of just over a year, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson & now Jeffrey Jones. The world is just that much emptier without their talents among us.

Always good to be back at the drawing board

Gestures from last night.

Last of the unpublished...

for awhile. Back to work tonight.

Almost "back" to business

I really should rein in my puns. Even I cringe when I use titles like today's. However, this was the second drawing from a single long pose. I'm sure I'll post the full figure sketch at a later date. I like how loose this is and, of course, the lost edges.

Ah, one of my favorite poses

This pose reminds me of one of my absolute favorite paintings, "Nude" by Harvey T. Dunn in 1939. The arms are different but whenever I get a chance to draw a pose in the prone position I always channel the image from Dunn. I never come close to that masterpiece but that is fine, always have something to reach for.

Challenging Pose

It doesn't seem that this should present any problems, and truthfully it isn't the shapes that cause the "problem" but the way the figure moves in and out of the pose. With the back arching forward and the shoulders falling off of the pillows all forcing the neck and head straight up. Add to that the foreshortened right leg and the upright left leg and you have a pose that could have made for a very strange drawing. I'm pretty pleased with how this one turned out.

This is how I feel this weekend

Incomplete and really off. Rough couple of days, sorry for no post yesterday. This is another unused image that I've been backlogging for a rainy day. I believe this was the last drawing of the night and done in a very short time. Can you tell I was ready to head to the bar?

Blogger went down...

as I'm sure you know. However, it has come back up so I have replaced the earlier image with this one. I will be mixing older, unpublished images this week. Simple head shot with a bit of ennui thrown in for good measure. I kinda like the hand in this one. I have been trying to simplify the hands until I regain my understanding of the structure of the damned things. They are truly one of the most elegant creations in the world. So expressive. But when done poorly they just look awful.

A bit of foreshortening

So many things I like about this one but they don't pull together to make an image I like. I think that the foreshortening doesn't work accurately, the left shoulder isn't right although I checked and rechecked it as I was drawing. I like the face and the torso and legs. Simple is as simple does.

The Girl With the Faraway Eyes

The Flower

Sara always tries to add a little something extra and this time it was a fresh flower in her hair. Too bad we weren't painting, the red of the bloom was really set off by the deep black of her hair. Oh, and I really am happy with this drawing, especially the arms and lost edges. Even the workman like rendering of her face works for me.

Back to basics

Simple back study. Large shapes and basic shading made this a nice enough study. Sometimes you just have to go back to the proverbial drawing board and remember the foundations of your craft.

Happy Mother's Day

To all the Mom's that are and to all the Mom's soon to be, have a very happy and well deserved Mother's Day.

Great Pose...

Terrible execution. Sara took this pose in the gestures and I asked her if she could do a longer one. I should've waited 'til I was warmed up. A shame.

The last gestures for awhile

We won't be meeting next week so I'll be posting what I did last night and then some of the other images I hoarded from the previous three sessions. Kind of unusual for me to do such large gestures but here they are.

Kinda okay with this one

Skipped over one to get to this one simply because it's a stronger piece. The heavier line and the over abundance of shadow make this a fairly appealing sketch to me. I wish I had exercised more restraint and had more lost edges but that is the nature of drawing from life in the environment we have.

Lots of shape

I think this was the most fun for me to draw the other night. So many shapes and the relations between all of them made this very challenging yet surprisingly easy to draw. I wasn't, however, doing her face justice so I had to erase it a couple of times and by then the clock had run out. But that doesn't diminish the fun I had drawing this pose.

Shady Lady

Ugh, what a terrible title. Just couldn't help myself. I do, however, like this sketch. The heavy cast shadows are something that really appeal to me and I have been having fun with them recently. Too bad I didn't finish the face but that's not uncommon for me these days.

Okay, I think the buzz was starting to wear off

I think this one came together pretty well. Whew, started to think it was going to be a total loss of a night.

A bit Klimt-ish

Although not intentional this figure is elongated and a bit distorted, somewhat like some of Gustav Klimt's quick sketches. I've always been a fan of his work but never had the same vision so this was a little bit of a surprise for me. I can pretty much thank Street Fight Red for this one and this one also made me buckle down and get with the program for the evening.