Portrait drawing of Michelle

I attended the Al Hyter Portrait Group last Saturday morning. It was our model’s last day. The models pose four to five weekends in a row so you get to know the model. Michelle did an excellent job holding the pose still and was fun to talk to during breaks.

As always I got up as close as possible to the model to get as much detail as I can. There’s one thing that drove me nuts on this pose and that was the hand. Drawing hands is tough; getting them right is even harder. I feel I got it right on the larger image above. I might have sketched it too big, but I think it works well on the model when drawing from this angle.

I had a good time producing these two pieces. Plus Bruce, the coordinator, played some good tunes, and I had some good laughs with the other whimsical artists. I will miss this group when I go to NY.

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African American Woman Portrait Drawing

 

 I created some nice drawings at the Sunday morning Al Hyter portrait group. They have a new model. She's wearing a beautiful dress from Nigeria Africa.

A lot of artists attended so space was limited. I started my warmup with a side profile drawing. Then I was able to squeeze in front to draw a 3/4 profile. As always, I sat as close as possible to the model to see all the details of eye, nose, lips, ears.

I treated these drawings a little differently. Recently I finished updating my online illustration portfolio on theispot.com and noticed subtle changes in my drawing style. My older drawings seem to have more emphasis on technique: clean sketch lines, and more contrast between lights and darks.

So at this session I spent 40 minutes per drawing instead of 20 minutes. I slowed down to focus on my technique, and I kept using  sharp pencils to get nice clean dark lines in the details. I'm happy with the results. I'm looking forward to next week's session.

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Figure Drawing Reclining Nude

Last Wednesday I attended Paul Geigers figure drawing session. I created a lot of nice drawings. I wish I could share them all. I picked these two. They were the most challenging and I believe I learned a few lessons from these two.

The challenge for the top drawing was drawing the figure to fit the length of the page while her arm was in vertical position.

The foreshortening is off on the bottom drawing. I made the torso too long. She was reclining back more.

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Kitchen Table Fruit & Wine Still Life

Here's a recent still life drawing I created in my kitchen. Often the kitchen table is full of fruit and other kitchen stuff, so I grab my chair and look for a composition that I like and I start drawing. I might move a couple items but not too much because I want that random everyday living or everyday kitchen table feeling.

I have fun creating these drawings, they are challenging because there are so many shapes and the drawing page gets full. Hopefully my drawing can communicate clearly what I see.

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The Beatles Abby Road & Charcoal

Okay, there's nothing better then figure drawing to Beatles album Abbey Road! What a combo!!

I just returned from Paul Gieger's figure drawing session and had a great time, every drawing was a winner. They started with short 5 minute poses. This time I used vine charcoal to warm up. I haven't used vine charcoal in a long time. It felt good: it's soft, easy to apply, and has a rich black color. I got nice results and it inspired me to buy some charcoal pencils.

I used to draw a lot in charcoal then switched to graphite because it was easier, inexpensive, and not messy. Maybe it's time to make a switch back to charcoal plus if I'm planning on going to grad school, charcoal will be the medium of choice for drawing.

Bianca, our model, did a great job with her poses. I want to scan all my drawings and share them with you. Here are a few from tonight's session.

Thanks again, Paul, for the awesome music and wine/snacks at break time.

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Young Woman and Guitar, Art School

 

Here's a portrait drawing from the Saturday morning portrait group I attend. They have a new model; she's dressed 60s theme. I like the pose because she's wearing glasses, head scarf, fluffy coat and has her hand on a cool little guitar. It's great for drawing.

Drawing the portrait is fun but it's more fun and challenging when the model wears interesting clothing and items. I'm looking forward to next Saturday's session. I'll try from a different angle to get more of the guitar in the pose.

This past week I visited New York City and Philadelphia. I was accepted at the schools I applied to, so now I have to make a decision. It's not easy.  I visited the New York Academy of Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and Studio Incamminati.  Incredibly impressive art schools. I was hoping to return home with an easy decision but not the case, hopefully soon one will feel right.

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Figure Drawing on 18x24

Where does the time go! Last night I attended Paul Giegers 3-hr figure drawing session and the time just flew by, I was in the zone. I created some nice drawings. We had an excellent model, nice bone and muscle structure, and his portrait was interesting to draw, eyebrows, nose and beard. Plus Paul played good tunes, starting with classical music and ending with Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

I showed up at this session with a bigger drawing pad, 18"x 24" it's been a long time since I've sketched on this size. I've been using smaller sizes 14x17 and 11x14 because they cost less. I can complete drawings fast and the smaller size fits better on my scanner. So I was a little concerned last night showing up with bigger paper. I did use a lot of sharp pencils but didn't tire out and was able to maintain my concentration and patience.

It was nice drawing bigger. I focus more on drawing details larger on hands, face and feet. Drawing the figure's proportions was challenging too. I think I drew the head too big on the second long pose drawing. I got carried away working on the portrait details. It kinda looks like one of Rodin's sculptors.

• Large sample 25minutes pose
• Small sample (big head) 60minute pose 

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Fresh Fruit Still Life Drawing on Paper

How I love to draw fruit! If you want get better at drawing I believe drawing fruit offers the fundamental shapes for building good sketching skills. Especially if you're drawing bananas, they are the most difficult to draw. They look so simple but tough to draw when trying to capture their likeness.

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Saturday morning portrait artist: The Al Hyter Group

Last Saturday morning, we had a new model at the Al Hyter portrait group.  Her name is Meti and she's from Ethiopia, Africa. Nice person, I enjoyed drawing her portrait.  Meti has beautiful bold eyes, nose, lips, great for portrait drawing.  We especially liked the way Meti draped a yellow shawl over her head, it adds more depth, visual texture.

I created this slide show so you can see the artists that attend the portrait sessions. They are a great bunch! Notice the intense concentration.  I think this is one of the reasons why we attend, it helps us produce good work.

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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