Monday, November 2, 2026
Incomplete
This little ten minute sketch was a slow build up. Not sure why I could only get this far but it was definitely a precursor to the rest of the evening and the drawings I produced. This may have been the best I did. Hmmm.
Labels:
charcoal,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Friday, October 30, 2026
Gestures of Samm
After a vacation that could take her from our model stand, Samm returned. Until she decides that the lure of home is too much to resist, we'll be happy to have her grace us with her poses.
Labels:
charcoal,
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
gesture drawing,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Thursday, October 29, 2026
The long pose
I just had a ball working on this. Of course, this could have been a two or three hour pose (not sure Kay would have been happy with that, however). Still, pretty happy with the results as they stand (or sit, as the case may be.)
Labels:
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Wednesday, October 28, 2026
Fifteen minutes #1
A lot of this was done after the pose was done. I just couldn't get the head rendered the way I hoped to.
Labels:
charcoal,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Ten minutes #s 2 & 3
Okay, one of these is acceptable. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which one I'm underwhelmed by. And just to be clear, this is all on me, Kay nailed the poses.
Labels:
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Monday, October 26, 2026
Friday, October 23, 2026
Gestures of Kay
A new model graced our group last night. A complete novice that you would never know by watching her flow from pose to pose. These are the ten gesture sketches.
Labels:
charcoal,
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
gesture drawing,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Thursday, October 15, 2026
New paper...
This one was really fun to work on. Seth gifted me a sheet of Arches Text Wove paper and it was truly a joy to work on. It came across as more academic than I normally would draw, but the process was really satisfying. I'm even happy with the final study. Mostly.
Labels:
charcoal,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
The eyes have it
Oh, I was loving working on this. Decided to take my time with it and not get obsessed with finishing the rest of her face. If you drop by this blog you won't be surprised by incomplete studies and vignettes. Just my thing, I guess.
Labels:
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
head study,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
Monday, October 12, 2026
A ten and a fifteen
Conté and charcoal. Surprising that I got more done in 10 minutes than in 15? Not really. Sometimes I get lost in the lines.
Labels:
charcoal,
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Friday, October 9, 2026
10 one minute sketches of Samm
The title says the bare minimum. Samm just always gives us more than we expect. These gestures may not show it, but her effort really gets us warmed up for her longer poses. Super appreciate the effort and professionalism Samm gives us.
Labels:
charcoal,
female,
figurative drawing,
gesture drawing,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Thursday, October 8, 2026
45 minutes of drawing joy
Nothing more to say other than I had a blast working this one. Such rich tones and wonderful shapes. Fun, fun, fun...
Labels:
charcoal,
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Wednesday, October 7, 2026
The Thinker Reimagined
Aside from the vaguely familiar pose, I just fell in love with how her body revealed the various shapes and masses that show how her torso bends and folds. Just wonderful to draw.
Labels:
charcoal,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
All about the arm
This may have started out being a study of the waist and hip and then I got distracted with her arm. Just a lot of fun getting it to be more than a couple of tubes with a wrist. This was a great study.
Labels:
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Monday, October 5, 2026
Kinda cheeky
The great shapes and lines just spoke to me in this pose. A short 10 minutes so I didn't get as far as I wanted. This one was all about observation and deliberate mark making.
Labels:
charcoal,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Friday, October 2, 2026
Thursday, October 1, 2026
My favorite of the evening
Really love the gesture of this pose. I'm even happy with the rendering. I guess that means I'm happy with this sketch.
Labels:
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Wednesday, September 30, 2026
The customary 45 minute pose that lasted 50 minutes
And I still couldn't get an entire figure done. Gotta stop getting hung up on details so early on in the process...
Labels:
charcoal,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Tuesday, September 29, 2026
Sittin' purty
Just never enough time to really sink my artistic teeth into some of these drawings. This one has so much potential and yet I'll probably never get to finish it. I do, however, like what I've started.
Labels:
conté,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Monday, September 28, 2026
Almost Egon
The shapes and masses that Dylan presented Thursday evening brought out the Klimt/Schiele side of me. Not my usual manner but I kinda like it. A bit abstract.
Labels:
charcoal,
female,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Friday, September 25, 2026
Thursday, September 24, 2026
Really loved the shadows
I really wanted to have the figure "emerge" from the shadowy depths of the background. Not there yet.45 minutes.
Labels:
charcoal,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Wednesday, September 23, 2026
15 minute head study
I was really enjoying this drawing. Would love for this to have been the long pose just to spend more time with her bone structure. So many wonderful shapes to draw...
Labels:
charcoal,
figurative drawing,
head study,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Fourteen minutes
We gave Dylan a whole minute break as her feet were taking a beating in this pose. I only gave an indication to the aforementioned feet. More time, obviously, just wasn't going to work.
Labels:
charcoal,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Monday, September 21, 2026
Friday, September 18, 2026
Update.
Thank you to the gallery at Roots. They have sold these four pieces in the last month.
Silent Harmony
Eye See You
Branch Office
Monday, September 14, 2026
Friday, September 11, 2026
Last drawing from our most recent session
45 minutes and barely got started. I really wanted to play with the shapes moving in and out of the deep shadows. Fun one to draw.
Labels:
charcoal,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Again with the cool shadows!
The finish may not be as interesting as the process was. Given time, this would have rounded into a beautiful drawing.
Labels:
charcoal,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Monday, September 7, 2026
Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy
This would make a wonderful painting with great drapery and maybe some jewelry. She was holding a styrofoam ball rather than a skull, but we all know what it represented. Some wonderful shadows at play in this one.
Labels:
conté,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Thursday, September 3, 2026
Tuesday, September 1, 2026
Sorry for the delay...
Took a trip out of town so I didn't get these shot before last night. Here are the gesture drawings.
Samm has really become a fantastic figure model. She commits totally to giving the artists exactly what they want and has pushed her gestures to another level. We are lucky to have her.
Labels:
charcoal,
conté,
figurative drawing,
gesture drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Thursday, August 27, 2026
Twist
This is my favorite of the session and it was the first pose of the night (sans the gesture poses). In my eyes, it all went downhill for me from this point.
Labels:
conté,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Monday, August 24, 2026
45 minutes (or thereabouts)
This was a lost opportunity. I was having so much fun with manipulating the shadows that I didn't pay as close of attention to the basics.
Labels:
conté,
figurative drawing,
MSU-B,
nude,
the Black Hand Group
Friday, August 21, 2026
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