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.

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.

Torso with shadows

This pose was inspired by a Fechin drawing.  Yeah, I know, it ain't anywhere near a NF sketch but I always find inspiration from his work.

A Fechin pose

I asked the model if she could replicate a pose I found in one of my Nicolai Fechin books.  She nailed it and I had a blast doing this one.

Shawna's gesture poses

I could probably spend the whole two hour session just drawing her in gesture poses.

A little drawing last night

This piece (in progress) is a donation for a local charity.  I put it off for quite some time but after viewing the Fechin exhibit at the Frye Museum in Seattle last Friday I felt inspired to try this with some of the sensibilities I saw in a few of his gorgeous drawings.  Something to aspire to.  Hope you like this one. I'll post the finish later.

Next up...

a little head study.  I was influenced by a Nicolai Fechin drawing that was hanging in the Yellowstone Art Museum that night.  I looked at the manner in which he found the shapes of the eyes, the lips, the tip of the nose but ignoring the bridge.  Granted, the drawing was of his daughter as a child and I was drawing a grown woman but I still looked for the flowing shapes that her face had to offer.  No, I don't think it looks anything like a Fechin but I hope I put myself in a better frame of mind to draw by looking at that beautiful piece of art.  Taking the time to explore rather than trying to finish is far more interesting if not always as satisfying.