My submission to the Brinton 101 small works show

My studio is a wreck since we just finished moving to a new home.  Covid has wreaked havoc on The Black Hand Group (as well as just about everything else on the planet) so I just haven't been posting much.  I hope to get the studio up and running this weekend assuming we can track down a water leak that is preventing me from getting set up.  In the meantime, here are the three "miniatures" that I sent down to Big Horn, Wyoming to the Brinton Museum for the annual 101 show. 
 

A new(ish) sketch

 

 "Through Red and Clouded Eyes"

A couple new sketches

A group spearheaded by my pal Russ Walks are posting some hero sketches from the Covid 19 crisis.  I chose Capt. Brett Crozier of the United States Navy.  His stand for his sailors and the manner in which he has stood up in the face of political posturing is inspiring.  Truly a "True Blue" leader and one that we need more of these days.

A small painting

My mother in law wanted an "ancestor" painting and dropped this frame on me.  So I filled it with an anonymous gentleman I named Nicolai, after my favorite fine artist Nicolai Fechin.  No, Fechin did not look like this.  Anyhow, I put The Shadow motion picture soundtrack on and finished this before the final note was played, about 45 minutes.  Fun exercise that I'd like to do more of.

Trying to spread out the posts during this time of crisis

Tayla decided to wear glasses.

Love them shadows

Tayla sure casts some nice, deep shadows to work with.  Nicest sketch of the night and it'll probably have to last for some time what with the current health situation hammering this planet.  Stay safe and healthy, folks.

Simple shadows

Big shapes with large and simple shadows.  Subtle is never a bad thing.

Tonight was supposed to be our long pose session, one we had discussed for some time and planned a while ago.  As Maxwell Smart would have put it... "Missed it by that much!"  That much being a week.  No one knows how long this crisis will last but as soon as we get the go ahead that it is safe to meet again we will fire right back up.  Until then let's be kind to our fellow humans and stay healthy.

Under construction

I was enjoying the linear work of this piece even if I kept making adjustments to the proportions of her back.  Hence not getting very far with the modeling of the form.  Still, the legs were fun.

Was a bit under the weather yesterday

I've cancelled our Black Hand session this week and probably for the next couple due to the Covid19 crisis.  Better safe than sorry.  I'll post what I have left and then probably recycle some of the ones that I consider "good".  Let's all be calm and safe and we'll get through this.

Tayla and the gestures

Had some fun with the drawings last night.  These are the gestures.  Usually don't get them all on one page.  Must have felt like drawing smaller.

She's got l...

... well, you know the lyrics.  I think the angle of the torso is what makes this a decent sketch.

A little exaggerated

The belly is a bit more prominent than the model truly has, but it was so much fun to draw so....

Half and half

Fun with that shoulder.  Just studies these days.  Never seem to get a finished drawing done.

More studies in shadow

Yep, more partial figures with defining shadows.  Kinda on a bent here, ain't I.

Gestures of Tayla

The usual Friday gesture post.  It seemed to take a bit too long for me to get into the swing of things last night.

Such drama

Not my favorite sketch of the night but definitely my favorite pose.  I wish this had been a long pose just to really get the flow of the shadows done completely.

More cool shadows

Lots of fun turning such a commonly recognized object (the human figure) into a kind of abstract mass of shapes.

Standing

Sometimes the simplest forms are some of the most difficult.  It would be so tempting to just render the buttocks as a couple of globes and shade them accordingly.  But the musculature really challenges the artist to get it right.

Figures and landscapes...

... sometimes they have more in common that we realize.

Gestures of Lady A

Small group to take advantage of Lady A's great poses.  She has a great energy and really gives us a lot to work with.

Sittin' half drawn

Another in the loooooooong line of time limited, unfinished sketches that lay in piles around my studio.

Lost edges

Tayla takes shape in this little sketch.  More time let me do a bit more.  Some fun things going on in this drawing.

Mores lines and shade...

...just a bit darker.  Fun, heavy lines with deep shadows.

Just some lines and shade

A kind of gentle technique for this five minute sketch.  Just trying to get a sense of the figure.

More gestures of Tayla

Such a fun model to work with.

This was coming along

Until it wasn't.  I really like the movement of the figure in this, just not crazy about her head or her right arm.  That's how it goes sometimes.  Although it seems to go that way a lot more often of late than back in the day.  Sigh...

Tayla in shadow & light

This should have been a much longer pose and thus the possibility of a much better drawing could have emerged.  The entire time we had should have been devoted just to the hand.  Alas, that is not the nature of our group.

Tayla in line

A basic line drawing.  This is a nice foundation to start with.

Quick studies

Just meandering through the figure and finding the essence of the pose, no care for finish or technique.

Gestures of Tayla

Tayla wanted to try more energentic (Power Ranger) poses and donned a sort of superhero outfit to do just that.  Certainly made the gesture drawings different.  Fun to shake things up every now and again.

Kinda messy

So much going on just to render out a leg.  Might be kind of fun to explore this one a bit.

A bit too academic

Got a bit too boringly technical with this.  I should have been using larger strokes and looser rendering, it would have added some movement to a static pose. 

Man I just loooove working with deep shadows

This has a very nearly abstract feel to it.  Sure, it's rough but the shadows are delicious.

Behind the times

 

Again with the simple shapes.  Lady A is just sittin' purty.

Simple

I like the simple planes and lines in this one.  A nice start to a more finished drawing is how I viewed this but I think I like it as is.

Lady A takes a rest

Nice shadows to work with.  Sort of abstract when one loses the head.  Large shapes stand out in this.  I had plenty of time but didn't get much further than exploring the lights and darks of the lower body.  I guess I'm in "learning" mode these days what with the painting I've been doing and just trying to be a better observer rather than trying for a finish with all of these drawings. 

A small version of "Ancestor"

This is a little 90 minute oil sketch that will be given as a gift this weekend.  Fun to do and it was fun to revisit this image.

Lady A ponders

Not the most flattering moment to capture but definitely fun to render.

My latest "homage"... Nicolai Fechin WIP

This has been taken a step further since these pics.  Having fun but truly wondering what possessed me to think I could make a reasonable stab at something that came from a genius.  Fechin was, no doubt, just that.  Still, I'm learning a ton and having fun and looking forward to the impasto finishes.