One minute sketchs of Lady S

 We opted for only five last Thursday, so we could get to some longer drawings.  However, that last gesture pose would have been a marvelous figure study.

The first gestures of 2023

 Lady P started us off right with a number of nice poses.  A pretty full house made for a great way to start the new year.

Stretch

 El was propped up in a chair with pillows creating a kind of ramp, which gave me a weird perspective view.  Wish I had given her head a bit more time but I kind of knocked it in after the pose broke, trying to make corrections from memory.  Not the best idea with an angle like this.  Still, it was a lot of fun to draw.

From a couple of weeks ago

 Just a conté sketch with more lost edges than rendered shapes.

Take a stand

 Lady B gets a bit haughty with her hands on her hips, daring us to draw her.  Challenge accepted.

My other stuff

Couple of oils and a charcoal still life on grey with white accents.
 

The Man of Bronze

Pretty much done with this one.  I'll glaze the shirt when the paint is dry enough, add a couple of highlights and then varnish it.  This will be my companion piece to the George Rozen copy I did last month, "The Black Hush".  Happy enough with this and learned a lot of things, which was the point.  I'm moving on to copying a Nicolai Fechin piece next.  I'm hoping to learn a ton from that and then maybe combine some of what I've been doing into my own work.  We'll see.

Progression shots of my James Bama Doc Savage Man of Bronze homage

Still a looooong way to go to accomplish my goal of hyper(ish) detail.  After doing the George Rozen knockoff I wanted to try something that positively scared the heck outta me, copying such a detailed and highly recognizable image.  Sure, it ain't The Mona Lisa but what I can learn from this exercise is exciting.  So plug away I will, making adjustments and wondrous discoveries along the way.

Something different

I did this Jim Aparo swipe/knockoff/homage as a commission for a mother's son, a returning Vet.  Lot of fun to do.  I'd like to say I learned a lot but the brilliance of Aparo so far eludes me.  The ease with which he creates the dynamics of the pose and the simplification of the figure that looks so detailed is just AWESOME!  Wish I had one of my Windsor Newton brushes to ink with and if this had been on Bristol board and... well, you get the idea.  Overall I'm happy and I hope the recipient is happy.

Here's hoping I get to post some new stuff after tonight

Hey, hope springs eternal.  In the meantime here is a few real oldies.

Head Study #2

As promised, the other head study.

The usual Friday post... gestures

Love working with Lady D, even though I rarely do her justice.

Way back

This was done at least 9 years ago.  The paper is newsprint, the kind that I used to get for free from the docks at the Gazette... the end rolls.  Loved the smooth finish but it tends to yellow and, obviously, buckle and wrinkle. 
Happy Independence Day to everyone.

Buffalo Blanket

This will be in our gallery in time for ArtWalk.  Oil, 41x21.  Time to move on to something else.

Welcome, M

The gestures from last night's session, our introduction to our newest model, M.  She had never done this and knocked it out of the park.  Although it was a small group we sure got some great poses to sketch.

Careful yet incomplete

I've been trying (maybe too hard) to be more focused when I draw from the figure.  For a long time I have just been winging it and my style varies from pose to pose.  Not sure if this new mindset will take since I'm not sure I'm happy with the outcome.  I'm also trying to settle into a new paper and it is also forcing a far more careful approach.  I'll give it some time.

Smiles all around

Ah, she must be thinkin' that she's glad she won't have to model in the arctic cold this Thursday.

Artists sketching artists

David, Cecil & Sarah. 

Latest piece

This is part of a contribution to a benefit show.  I have the second part on my board at the moment.  Pardon the image quality, I didn't take the time to use a tripod.

Just finished

This is a reworking of an older piece.  Pretty happy with how this has finally come together.  I had a lot of fun with the buckskin dress and all of the ragged edges.  This will end up in my gallery among some new pieces from Pacific Green.  We're very excited to be debuting this line at our store and I'm glad I was able to finish this painting in time to accompany the grand unveiling.