Young Asian Woman Portrait Study

Last Saturday morning I attended Al Hyter's Portrait session. They have a new model for the next 3 weeks. Drawing this model will have its challenges: she is young and her face is smooth so how do I draw her portrait? Here's where less is more. I have to force myself to keep the details and tone light and simple. This is tough for me because I enjoy drawing and can overwork the drawing.

When I first started this portrait I was just going to sketch the head and neck but then decided to include the hands, arms and shoulders. You can see were I changed my mind, there's a large light quick sketch of the head on the right side. I did this because I liked the simple gesture of the hands and the fold from her blouse, plus it was more challenging.

I brought a friend with me to this session. She was a little nervous and claimed to be "a beginner". We are all beginners, I've been drawing for many years and I still have that quest/desire for becoming a better skilled draftsman. It was humbling watching my friend draw, her struggles of drawing from life were no different than mine. I gave her some tips for her drawing but the best advice was to simply draw, draw a lot, and enjoy the process.

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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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