Lost focus

I got so caught up in the great shadows that I lost the likeness in a big way.  Unfortunate, but it happens.  Luckily this is only a practice sketch.

Sara strikes some poses

The usual start to end the week... gestures.  Sara really put some thought into these for us.  There were only four of us for the third straight week.  As such we decided to change it up and go for some longer poses, bypassing the 5s and 10s and get 3 12-15 minute sketches in and finished with a 45 minute reclining pose.  Made for a more relaxing evening.

Stretched out

Last sketch from session last week.  Poor planning as far as getting this all on the paper, but it was never meant as anything more than practice so...

And she rests her head

I really enjoyed the angle I took for this sketch.  It was fun to draw even if it never came close to being finished.

Abastract(ish) play of light and dark

Had fun with the play between the strong shadows and bright light.  A little overboard from a finished drawing standpoint but a great exercise and a fun way to look at the figure.

Head study

Big strokes with a bit of time to actually enjoy the process.

Gestures of Sara

Small group last night so we did longer poses which meant fewer drawings.  I hope it means the sketches are better, though.  Here are the usual gestures from the start of the session.

More of that outline

I sometimes wonder where my head is when I'm drawing.  I know I loved the position of her hand but the rest just looks... squidgy.

Simple sketch

I like the movement in this one.  The finish?  Not so much. 

From a few weeks ago

I think I started focusing on her knee and ended up trying to get her face done.  All over the map with this one.  No real focus on my part.

Let's keep showing stuff from last week

A double model snafu.  The first one bailed and the second one was napping.  Just had to cancel the session.  2018 is really turning out to be a bust for The Black Hand Group. 

Concerned

She looks so very serious, doesn't she.  Loved the shadows cast on her face and had a lot of fun drawing them.

Her left foot

Was getting into this when time ran out.  At least I got a decent start on her face.

Still being influenced

I keep falling back on the Steve Huston influence every so often.  The long lines and the thick and thin application of a charcoal outline.  Large shapes versus little details. 

A study of Sarah

Just trying to get my bearings with the session.  This wouldn't be a problem if I did this more than once a week.

Gestures of Sarah

A more normal sized group braved the Spring snow and we had the return of a long time model, Sarah, to help us out last night.  It was a fun session and here are the gestures.

Graphic head study

Probably the most solid sketch of the evening.  I really enjoy the angle of this pose and the simple linework employed.

Just working it out

Unfortunately the model moved multiple times and what caught my attention was so far out of position that I had to move on.  As I started on other aspects of the figure the pose would change enough to just throw everything out of whack.  So this is basically a compilation of at least 4 and maybe as many as 6 pretty distinct poses.

Why so serious?

I was really enjoying this one and didn't mind some of the exaggerations I drew into it.  Some of that happened because the model's head kept shifting.  Alas, I still like this.

Tilt

A classic pose that I probably would have done better had it been presented later in the session.  Still, I'm kind of fond of it.