Figure Drawing on Fire!

I was on fire last night at Paul Geiger's figure drawing session. We had a good model, good group and good music.

I used 18 x 24 news print paper with Vine charcoal and General's 2B Charcoal Pencils. I created some nice drawings!

The best part for me in this session was the deep dark lines. I got nice thin rich black lines with the sharp tips on the General's pencils. Perfect for drawing shapes and giving illusion of depth.

Below I included a picture Paul took of the figure drawing group. It's a perfect space for figure drawing. Thanks again Paul for the snacks at break and the good tunes. I especially liked the music by Tanita Tikaram.

Paul Geiger Studio - TholepinPress.com

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Figure Drawing at Paul Geigers Studio, Toledo, Ohio

This past Wednesday, I attended Paul Geiger's figure drawing session at his downtown studio. It was awesome! I had a great time drawing. I did feel rusty and a little "sloppy". It had been a year since I last went. The sessions started with short 5 minute poses which helped warm me up. Paul played nice classical music, and by the time we took our mid session break with 20 minute poses I was in the zone.

I forgot that Paul gives a good mid break to everyone. The artists walk away from their drawings to enjoy crackers with slice cheese, soft drinks, popcorn, and wine all provided by Paul.  It's a good moment for everyone: stretch, relax, socialize, talk art and have a couple good laughs together. I realized I take this break for granted, because it's also a great time to walk away from your drawing to refocus and then come back after a while relaxed. I believe lots of practice is key to becoming a skilled draftsman but I would also include camaraderie, happiness, good laughs, and perhaps a cup of wine to becoming a better artist. Thanks again Paul for providing a nice environment for all the artists.

For the 2nd half, Paul played music by Muddy Waters! Good combo for drawing. Here are two of many figure drawings I created Wednesday evening. Both 20 minute poses. The rustiness I felt was with my strokes, I felt heavy handed and a little sloppy which I think gave the drawing a nice rough, sketchy feel.  Also both drawings have a lot of structural lines to help me with the proportions and alignment of all the shape. These lines are part of my drawing tools, I'm constantly looking and aligning shapes.

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Two full Figure Female Portrait Drawings

The Saturday morning portrait drawing sessions that I attend has two new models for the next four weeks. One is a young ballerina seated and the other is a casually dressed young woman curled up on a chair. Both poses are nice and since the session is only two hours, I made sure to spend an hour drawing each model. I first created the drawing on the right, the model chose this pose and I like it because it fit my drawing page well. I was able to draw her bigger so it has a bold look to it. Plus the arms to the chair add depth. I like the way the arm chair wraps around her.

On the 2nd hour I sketched the ballerina, it's a nice pose. I ran into a challenge with drawing her, I couldn't get her ballerina shoes right, it drove me nuts. I don't know why, finally after several attempts I sketched a nice looking ballerina shoe, and I'm bummed I wasn't able to fit the tip of her right shoe.

As always there was a good crowed and the DJ played soundtrack to Wicked! Cool musical!

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I was a little sad at this portrait session because I knew I wouldn't be back to continue drawing these two models. Soon I'll be returning to my studio in Quebradillas, Puerto Rico. I am excited for my trip but also sad because I will miss my family, my friends, and the drawing groups. I will continue posting drawings I create in Puerto Rico. I will also be creating paintings and will post them as well. I believe I'll return to Toledo end of summer. Thank you Toledo, Ohio. I had a great winter here! :)

Traditional Graphite Drawing of Young Woman

I attended the weekly Wednesday evening figure drawing session and again I produced some nice drawings. I definitely believe the environment has a lot to do with my success in creating these drawings, the sessions are held on the top floor of an old four story brick warehouse near downtown Toledo. The adventure begins when climbing a long stairwell to the top floor that seams to always leave me out of breath. It's impressive to enter a real aged artist studio with weathered wooden floors, several large hand printing presses, high ceilings, artwork and posters on the walls, it just feels like it's been there a long time. The figure drawing space is large and sectioned off by large plastic walls to contain the warmth from the heaters and has more artist stuff: old art frames, easels, large schoolhouse chalkboard, old furniture, good lighting, a large model stand, a good sound system and a large chubby cat! This creative environment sets the tone for creating good art, and last night there was a cool crowd of artists, a nice model, and of course, good music.

Here are two drawings I chose to post, the sketch on the right is a 5 minute pose and the drawing on the left is a 30 minute pose, and the center drawing is a closeup portrait of the left side drawing. The model did a great job holding her poses, and the music was nice: old church hymns for the 1st half and Tom Petty's greatest hits for the 2nd half!

Female Figure Drawing

Hello everyone, I haven't posted a drawing in a long time. I was on a dry spell but now I'm back and motivated.

I'm right now in Toledo, Ohio with family and I've been attending figure drawing sessions. Here's a figure drawing from last night session that I'm proud of. I had a great time. I was definitely in the zone. The crowd was small, the drawing studio had a good vibe, and the model was focused. O ya, and they played Beatles music :).

This is a really low view, the model was on a tall pedestal, so it has the cool effect of viewing her from the ground up.

I created this figure drawing in graphite on Strathmore Premium drawing paper. It took me about 30 min. I did a lot of proportions measurements and sighting with my pencil for alignment. More to come.