Some five minute sketches

 We didn't want to throw her into the deep end right off the bat so we started with some shorter poses to let her get used to the game.

Gestures of Miss M, our newest model

It's always a toss-up when we have a model who has never posed before.  In this case it was a wonderful find and Miss M knocked it out of the park.  Enjoy the gestures from last night.
 

A failed experiment

 I bailed on my concept at the last minute and dropped in some shadows on the right arm and on the back.  I had spent the first 35 minutes or so intending the paper color substitute for some of the larger shadows, hence the hard lines across her back and right arm.  I should have stayed the course and now I'm left with wondering what could have been.  I may take them out (as best I can) and see what happens.

The third 15 minute sketch

 I decided to go back to charcoal for this one and I'm glad I did.  Lost edges and shadows are so very powerful in straight black and white.  I was really enjoying this one and would love to have had an additional 5-15 minutes to really work the shapes and create real mass.  Still, probably my favorite effort of the session.

The second 15 minute sketch

 This was rounding into an okay study of Samm's face.  As you can see, I grabbed the wrong conté to shade her cheek but that's how it goes when you're not paying complete attention.

The first 15 minute sketch

 Lost edges and cast shadows.  The story of my life.

Gestures of Samm

 You may not be able to tell from this mess but Samm really went all out with the gesture poses last evening.  If only she could hold a fully extended plank for 45 minutes...

The traditional long pose to end the night

 I got a late start on this one but I think it turned out okay.  There are things I'm pretty happy with and other things I'd like a do-over on.  Still, nothing I'm upset about so I'll take the win.

The third of three 15 minute sketches... sort of

 I say sort of because I only put in about two minutes on this.  We had an incident during the first half of class that knocked me off my game.  Nothing was going right with this "drawing" and I was a bit angry so I just stopped to deal with my issue.

The second of three 15 minute sketches

 This is probably my favorite sketch from the evening.  There are definitely things I'd like to work on with this but I have no problem where it landed.

The first of three 15 minute sketches

 I was really interested in this pose, mostly for the relationships the various forms created.  However I lost control over this one.  I'm really not sure what happened only that it did not work out how I intended.

Gestures from an inconsistent evening

 Inconsistent, you say?  Yep.  We had a bit of a distraction that threw me off my game.  I'll make note of which pose suffered.  

More lost edges

 Yeah, that's more like it.  Not the most polished drawing but I like the strong shadows and absence of linear structure.  Fun to do.  That's a bonus.

Now that's some lost edges

 Just a little knee study.  I don't do those often enough.

Long pose

 I like some of this but overall... I feel this failed.

Simply simple

 Not a lot to go on here.  Loved the shadows.  I should have gone with lost edges, as well.

Gestures plus one more for good measure

 

From last night.  Not the greatest start to the evening.  It got better.

Coming along nicely

 The long pose that still couldn't make it to the finish line.  However, where is landed makes me happy enough.  Great angles, mass and relationships between shapes.  Even the lost edges work with this piece.

Alright...

 ...this one is starting to come together.  I need to develop the belly area a bit more, but I kinda like how this one "sits".

Tattoo you

 I don't normally like to include the chest tattoo that Samm has, but I had a kneaded eraser mishap and smeared black charcoal right between the breasts.  It didn't clean up well enough so I added her ink art.  I'm upset as I think it could have been a pretty nice sketch otherwise.  C'est la vie.

Happy Labor Day...

 And I should have labored a bit more on this one.   When I try and shoehorn the head in at the last moment I usually have a proportion problem.  A couple of lines will fix this but, ultimately, the head is needed at all in this study.

Gestures plus one

The gestures and a five minute exercise in futility.  The above sketch was me trying to draw a horizontal pose in the vertical, making the adjustments in my head.  First, if I were to do that again (as it was a total failure) I would take more than five minutes to try and work it out.  Second, I'd probably not try it again.
 

Final sketch from the last session

 Long session.  This started to come together and I delved into some more of the in and out aspect of shadows being shared across the figure.  This is something I really want to explore more.

Okay, I can get behind this one

 This starts to feel more like me and what I see when I draw.  The lost edges, the shading and blending.  Yeah, I like this one.

Fail

 Yeah, uh, this just didn't work.  Again, 10 minutes really didn't come close to making this one even remotely successful.  I should have just concentrated on a section of the figure.

Better

 This one started to feel good and reminded me that 10 minutes just ain't enough to get the results I want.

Not a good one

 This one was frustrating and I only post it to make myself try harder.

5 minutes...

 and it shows.  Two weeks off takes a toll.  That and traveling around the country.

Gestures of Samm

 Just gestures.  You know, the poses you wish could be held for 20+ minutes.

45 minute sitting

 I decided to move my easel and it paid off.  I had a blast working on this one, especially the left forearm.  I really got lost in pushing the conté around and creating the soft texture.  Just fun.

15 minute sitting #3

 Yeah, I didn't get a lot of variation in the angle from my vantage point.  So I spent a lot of time rendering Samm's back.

15 minute sitting #2

 A little study Samm's foot coming out from under her left leg.  This was fun to do.

15 minute sitting #1

 Just some shapes to play with.

Some gestures

 Wotta messy page o' quick sketches.

45 minutes

 The long pose came out the best.  Often, but not always, the case it seems.  Another fun sketch that came together quite nicely.

 You can never go wrong with the larger shapes and good mass.  Add to that great shadows and you at least have a fun drawing to work with.

A better effort

 I enjoyed working on this one.  I didn't get that far but it was coming along better than some of the sketches.

Not my favorite

 

I really had a tough time getting into this drawing.  And yes, it shows.

Too much information for 10 minutes

 I'm gonna try and stretch these out since we don't meet for another couple of weeks.

Back with some gestures

Samm really gave us a couple of challenging gestures.  They may not be reflected in the pages but she shot for the moon.

 

Long and languid pose to end the evening

 Same old story (you know it by heart)  Not enough time (so this is incomplete art).

Forward leaning

 Oh man, so much going on in this pose.  I could have been happy if this were the last pose of the evening and I had 45 minutes (at least) to work on it.  Alas, about 15 is all I was given.  Beggars can't be choosers and all that...  but what a wasted opportunity!