Cautiously stepping into the new year

2017 is upon us and it is a blank canvas for us to make what we can of it.  Let's do our best.  Happy New Year, everyone.  See you next year.

Still with the old stuff

Two styles

Not sure what was going on in my head but I like this one.

Motion

The long lines are what make me like this sketch.  Simple finishes with nice movement to the pose.

Sittin' purty

One of the few sketches that actually got "finished".  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good end to 2016.

Still stuff already posted

Another pose that I love.  The elegance and the weight just make this one I am pretty happy with.

Heavy handed goodness

I love the pose and am surprised by how well the heavy lines work here.  I like.

More from the vault

Pretty pleased with this one.  Why can't I do this all of the time?

Something from earlier this year

This was one of my favorite poses of the entire year.  Lady B just knocked it outta the park and I think I was able to capture it pretty well.  Sometimes it all comes together.

More from the archive

Old stuff from the archive.  Gonna be the case for three weeks... at least.  I'll try and get creative in the meantime.

Just chillin'

Probably my favorite sketch of the session.

Long pose

Study of D

Another 5 minute warm-up.  Mr. D has a great noggin to draw.

Thoughtful

A little 5 minute warm-up.

Gestures of Mr. D

Thanks for stepping in, D.  A great job.

Shadows

Lovin' the light play in this, the last life drawing I did a few weeks ago.  Hope I'm not rusty tonight.

An incomplete head study

More of Lady B

Lady B... incomplete

May try and fake this one and finish it.  I like a lot of what is going on with this sketch.

Missed another session so...

I'll be using some old stuff and maybe some of my favorite stuff from waaaaaaayyyyy back.  This ain't one of my faves, however.

Reaching back

An older sketch.  Good start but not much else.  A familiar story.

Male back

A quick back study from a few months ago.

Lady L from a while back

Nice start... may try to finish her face somehow.

Just takin' a breather

Took some time away to enjoy the holiday.  I hope you did the same.  My model looks to be doing just that.

More Cast Shadows

Simple shapes with heavy shadows make for a solid image.  Sometimes leaving out detail makes all the difference.

Cast shadows

Title says it all.

Conté in situ

I can live with the state of finish on this one.  Sometimes I start channeling other artists and I have to pull myself back.

Hung up on the design element

I saw some great symmetry in this pose but failed to really get a good drawing out of it.

Gestures of Lady B

Good to be back at the easel again.  Lady B filled in late for us and turned in her usual stellar poses.

Simple

Was intrigued with the profile of her face.  Minimal and simple.

Archival Adrianna

Very fun pose and a wonderful exercise in drawing some extremes.  Adrianna has some great edges to work with and I hope we have her back in the future.

Unfinished hair

and feet.  I like the flow of the figure, especially the right hip and leg.  The strokes of the shading adding the the feel of muscle along the lower back and buttocks.  Fun little sketch.

This must be from March or early April

Hey, look, another right eye missing.  I wonder if this is because I'm right handed and start from that side of the page.  I have tried getting better about placing both eyes at least, whether I finish them or not.  It's interesting to me and frustrating.  Still, I like what I was able to get done on this and would like to finish it someday.

I missed last night so it's back to the archives

Just a sketch that would've been a nice finished piece.

Long braid

Whenever I get to draw braids I think of Wyeth's "Helga" series, which I love.  Makes it a bit more fun for me.

Just gettin' started

Didn't feel like rushing this one.  I was happy with the basic drawing that I didn't hurry through to a finish.  Would love to work out her right shoulder and just finish the upper back.

Core

A little study of Lady A's midsection. Some fun shadows in this sketch.

Lady A gives us some gestures

Lady A always comes through.  A great night.

Lady B takes a nap

A longer pose to end our session.  Some nice shadows in this one.  Would like more time for the face but I can't have everything, can I.

Sleepy head

Simple little head study.  Lady B has an almost Gibson Girl face and it sometimes influences what I actually see.

Knees

Would love to finish this one day.  Some cool relations going on with this one.

Study in red

Simple back study.  Kind of got into the abstract nature of the shadows.  Wish I hadn't rendered her head.

Gestures of Lady B

We had a large group last night causing a lot of cramped and creative easel positioning.  Lady B really gives us some fantastic gesture poses to get rolling.

Chillin' in conté

Love perspective with the figure.  Need to take more time with some of these type of poses to really take advantage of the angles and the challenges they present.

Deep shadows and lost edges

A little back study with a focus on the shadows.

Thoughtful

Little head study.  At least I got both eyes sketched in.