Turning our backs on 2017

Here's hoping the coming year is a better one.  Less craziness, more sanity.

Lady B from my last session of the year

Really enjoyed working on this one, especially the lost edges and the area around the rib cage.  Just a lot of fun here.

Cowboy Jeff

A real old sketch of Jeff from a session that I can't remember the purpose of.  A painting I suppose.  Here's hoping everyone had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

Merry Christmas

See y'all on Wednesday.  Hope it's a wonderful holiday for everyone.

Fechin inspired sketch

I asked our model to take a pose similar to this classic Nicholai Fechin painting.  It was a joy to work on.

Delicate little head study

A couple pops of white conté help with this minimal study of Lady E's face. 

Takin' a load off

Another one from '15.  Great angle and movement in this piece.  Even the splayed arm keeps the composition flowing.

So much modeling

Lady D was a great model for us for a couple of years and this is one of the sketches where I really loved the "finished"product.  The mass and weight are really present here.

From '10

Really like the design of this.  Wish I could remember if I did this intentionally or not.

From '13

I am happy with the weight and mass that this drawing carries.  It's always fun to get a complete(ish) drawing done during a session.  This was fun to draw and ultimately a very satisfying sketch.

From '15

I'm in a Kent Williams frame of mind these days and this one always reminded me of an image KW might do.  I had so much fun with this and, truth be told, I am happy I ran out of time because I don't think there was much reason to do much more.  Maybe the right arm could have a few more marks but it really isn't necessary.

Back

Just a bit of back structure from 2016.  Gonna be scrounging for images for the next couple of weeks.  I really have trouble being away from life drawing for so long, I get a bit jittery.

Her right foot

Well, that draws attention to the terrible trouble I had rendering the foot.  The angle just didn't translate well for me.

That time of year...

I have to sacrifice my weekly drawing sessions for holiday related events.  Why Thursday evening seems to be the only night anyone wants to do something is beyond me but there you have it.  I'll post some things in the next few weeks that maybe I haven't posted (like the above image) or I may go back into the archives for some of my favorites.  Either way I'll keep the drawings coming.
I really like the techniques in this one even if the lack of a face and finished left foot bug me and make for a rather incomplete sketch.

Long and lean

Loved the shadows on this one.  Especially around her right knee.  This one really made my heart sing for whatever reason.  Sometimes things just reach out that you can't quite put your finger on.

Wrong chunk of charcoal

Such a nice pose ruined by a rather rough stick of heavy black charcoal.

Crunch

A simple pose, almost abstract.

Trying to get back into the flow of things.

Lady B isn't quite gone yet

The gestures of Lady B.  We thought she was gone but her schedule opened up and we were only too happy to have her return.  A nice turnout last night and a great way to start the charge towards the new year.