Listening to Music

Drawn this morning, from life.

Pastel and charcoal on pastel card,  about 9" x 12".

Face in Blue

Drawn from life.

Pastel on sanded card, 9"x12".

This was sketched last year, during our record-breaking hot weather in Austin.

Seated Figure In Violet

Drawn yesterday morning, from life.

Pastel and charcoal on approximately 9"x12" pastel card.

Reclining Woman In Grey; Head of Reclining Woman; Woman In Leaf; Seated Figure

 Drawn yesterday morning, from life.

Reclining Woman In Grey and Woman In Leaf are pastel and charcoal on pastel card, approximately 9"x12".

Head of Reclining Woman is ink on 9"x12" Bristol.

Seated Figure is Tombow marker and ink, with water and brush, on approximately 9" square Bristol.

Yesterday was grey and drizzly all day, and these drawings show that influence.

Reclining In Lavender; Reclining In Blue; Artist And Model In December

The top two drawings were drawn this morning, from life.

They are pastels, on approximately 9"x12" card.

The model was in a single pose.  The figure in blue is a mirror image, from a different place, of the figure in lavender.

Do I even need to say I was late--almost an hour late?  In this case, it's because I forgot the time while painting earlier this morning on the canvas below.

Artist And Model In December is oil on 20"x24" canvas.  It was painted from life Monday morning.

Yes, I was late.  And all that was left was a "less desirable" profile view of the model, plus the mirrored image of another painter.  We were painting indoors because the weather was cold that morning.

I've been working on it intermittently at home since.

It's probably not complete, but it's far enough along that I'm willing to share.

Two Figures; Seated Woman

Drawn yesterday morning, from life.

These are pastel on pastel card, about 9"x12" each.

About these:

There was only one model yesterday.

Two Figures is yesterday's model, drawn on top of an earlier life drawing of a male model.

In the comments, we've been talking about influences, conscious and otherwise, in this drawing.

Check out the relevant bit of Botticelli's Venus here.

And the flattened and distorted face Picasso painted  here  (part of a discussion at Banjo's blog on December 8, 2010.)

And the stark palette of the German Expressionists, in a poster  here.

Seated Woman is actually my first drawing of the morning.  Very colorful, very classical in shape and pose.  Two Figures is, in part, my own reaction to this classicism and high color.

Seated Woman is also my first drawing after getting the thumb on my left hand splinted on Tuesday morning (thumb is sprained, we hope). It is awkward working with a splinted thumb, but much nicer than trying to work without the splint.

Woman Sleeping In Green; Woman Sleeping In Red; Woman Sleeping At Night; Woman Resting On Stool (Brown); Woman Resting On Stool (Gold)

Some of this morning's drawings, drawn from life.

These are more for the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project.

All about 5"x8", pastel on varied art paper, including some pastel card.

To see more from this series, go to imagekind.  (Blogger was not cooperating with the posting of more images.  Indeed, I had to struggle with the program to get any image posted.)

These are small, quick sketches.  The actual poses were long, about an hour in each pose, minus times for breaks.  So I was able to draw the same two poses repeatedly, with different colors on different papers.  Lots of fun for me, and excellent exercise.

Woman In Red Glasses, Reading; Woman In Red Glasses And Blue Scarf

Painted/drawn this morning, en plein air (outdoors), by the lakeside.

Woman In Red Glasses, Reading is oil pastel on 11"x14" canvas.

Woman In Red Glasses And Blue Scarf is oil pastel on approximately 12"x20" card.

The model, a dancer, was reading an art theory book, courtesy of one of the painters. Her glasses, highly decorative, are purely a fashion accessory.

In the background you can see a white swan and several black coots.  Coots are funny ducklike creatures with chicken feet and loud querulous voices.  Don't know if any of these coots are old.

I expect to paint the background and leave the foreground pretty much as is shown, here.


The drawing of the face will probably change a bit, as well.

Face In Blue 2

Drawn today from life.

Oil pastel on 9"x12" card.

This was the first time I tried using the oil pastel on card.  I really like the combination of materials and expect to do more of it.

Update:

I have started offering my work for sale as reproductions through imagekind.

See for yourself, by clicking the button on the left.

Questions or requests?  Just leave them here in the comments.

Woman With Tattoos; Woman In Red; Woman In Green And Lilac

 Drawn from life, this morning.

The first two are pastel and charcoal on approximately 12"x20" card.

The last is pastel on about 9"x12" card.

About these drawings:

This model has a classical air about her: proportions, hairstyle, demeanor.  Couple this with extensive, fanciful tattoos.  Makes her contemporary and also not.

The tattoo featured on her chest is one I was quite taken with.  In real life, it is not located on her chest, but I wanted to show it, so it got re-located.

Woman In Red And Yellow; Profile In Blue And Red; Crime Scene

 Drawn this morning, from life.

Woman In Red And Yellow is pastel and charcoal on 9"x12" card.

Profile In Blue And Red is oil pastel on oil painting on 11"x14" canvas.

Crime Scene is oil pastel on oil painting on 12"x12" canvas.

About these:

The model kept assuming poses that made her look recently deceased, with limbs and head dangling.  Finally, with the bottom portrait, I went with it.

Reclining Man In Red And Yellow; Portrait In Red And Yellow

Drawn this morning, from life.

Pastel and charcoal on 9"x12" card.

About these drawings:

Once, again, I arrived about 30 minutes late and ended up in a far corner.

But the room was less crowded because this drawing meetup operates with a reservation system, with strict limit on total number of people in the room.  And my drawing neighbors were kind, so I could get close enough to see the model well.

I wasn't able to stay for the whole session, but I did do these drawings.

I left because I had a bad headache.  I went straight to a nearby restaurant for a restorative bowl of chicken and asparagus soup and some coffee.

Artist And Model 3; Profile In Primary Colors; Back To Back In Orange And Blue

 Drawn from life, this morning.

Pastel and charcoal on 9"x12" card.

About these drawings:

I arrived very late, and once again the room was crowded.  So, I got another opportunity to explore the artist and model theme.  Lemonade from lemons.

After the artist packed up, I was able to move closer and play with the model's pose.  I'm especially happy with Back To Back.

Woman In Orange, Blue And Green; Woman Thinking In Pink And Orange; Woman Resting In Red And Pink; Woman Sleeping In Pink And Blue

Yesterday's drawings, from life.

Pastel and charcoal on 9"x12" card.

About these drawings:

The model is a dancer, just finishing up her MFA.  Her body-consciousness and expressiveness contributed significantly to these drawings.

I've arranged these drawings in the order they were drawn.  Woman In Orange, Blue And Green was drawn in about 10 minutes.  The remainder took about 15-30 minutes, each.

Woman Thinking In Pink And Red; Woman Standing In Primary Colors; Woman Resting In Blue And Yellow; Woman Reclining In Primary Colors

Today's sketches, from life.

Standing Woman was a five minute drawing; the rest were 30 minute drawings.

Pastel and charcoal on approximately 9"x12" Sennelier La Carte Pastel Card.

Thanks, Casey Klahn at the Colorist for recommending this support.  I like its finely sanded surface, and it's easy to make four 9x12s out of one large sheet.