Bridge Drawing at Central Park New York City

I am now attending the New York Academy of Art. My concentration is painting. I've been busy, excited and motivated!

On weekends, I visit Central Park. I take my lawn chair, a handful of sharp Ebony pencils and 14x17 80lb Strathmore Recycled Drawing Paper. I enjoy drawing at Central Park. The park is big and the weather has been perfect. I go early to avoid the crowds. I sit in the shade and draw the bridges.
This bridge is behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art called Graywacke Arch. I like how the bridges have a really dark shadow underneath, and that small window to the other side. This bridge had a violinist playing underneath, a perfect spot because there was a lot of people traffic.

it's not just the bridge that catches my attention. I have to also include its surroundings: the big tree, the benches, the shrubs, and people. It just wouldn't be a bridge without those elements.

Violinist Portrait Drawing & Brooklyn, New York

Here’s my last drawing in Toledo, Ohio. This is Virgil who plays for the Toledo Symphony. Virgil modeled one day for the Toledo Portrait Artists. He did an excellent job holding the pose.

I was feeling good at this session. I created two nice drawings within two hours, I was hoping to draw more but including his hand and violin in my drawing slowed me down.  Usually I just sketch the portrait but I wanted to sketch that hand and violin. Here’s when I had a great time working on this piece. I like when models wear glasses or hats or when they are holding something, so drawing the hands and top part of the violin was awesome! It adds more to the drawing, and makes it a bigger challenge. For me this is three drawings in one, the portrait, the hand and the violin, all three needed special attention.

I wish I had bigger paper for this drawing. I really wanted to keep drawing the bottom part of the violin and the other hand holding the bow. I could have sketched smaller but when I do that it loses detail and I like drawing bold and sitting up close.

I stayed focused on these drawings because we only had one 2-hr session with model. When I felt finished with the drawing, I quickly tried to sketch a profile drawing in 30 minutes. Virgil played for us at the end of class: Meditation by Thais. It was beautiful, a real treat for the artist.  Thank you, Virgil.

So I’m now living in Brooklyn, New York. I’ve got a nice place to stay, and I'm now attending classes at the New York Academy of Art! I’ll be posting my school work.

Goodbye Toledo, I will miss you, and hello New York, I’m ready for a new adventure.