Merry Happy Everything Year!

Greetings!  Well, with the HOLI-DAZE and all, I'm gonna be takin' a bit of a hiatus with the blog for the next 2-3 weeks.  I may change things up a bit after the new year... we'll see.

'Til then, Happy Bruce Year!  (Not the best pun in the world, but it will just have to do.)  :-)

This picture of Bruce Lee  was done from a picture in a magazine, was done in about 2 hours and is black-and-white acrylic on a 9" x 12" gessoed hardboard.  How accurate it turned out, I'll leave to you.  :-)

Happy Merry New ChristmaHannaKwanza Year!

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Figure Drawing for December 23, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Here's another daily figure drawing...  Once again, pastels on black paper look kinda cool and have a neon-kind of look to them.  However, they never quite shoot right with the camera.  Oh, well...

This was done with pastel on 8-1/2" x 11" black cardstock.

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Figure Drawing for December 22, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Here's another figure drawing for the day...

This was done with compressed charcoal and white chalk on 12" x 18" Strathmore 500 pastel paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 21, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Another figure drawing.  Well, figure painting, I suppose...

This was done with watercolor on 11" x 15" Stonehenge (#110) paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 20, 2009

40 Minute Pose

Here's yet another figure drawing... Color pastels on black paper give that neat-o Velvet Elvis effect and makes the colors seems a lot brighter.

This was done with pastel on 12" x 18" Strathmore 500 black charcoal paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 19, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Here is yet another figure drawing...

This was done with watercolor on 10" x 15" Canson Montval (#110) rough watercolor paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 18, 2009

40 Minute Pose

Here is another figure drawing...

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on 12" x 18" Strathmore 500 charcoal paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 17, 2009

15 Minute Pose

Something mildly amusing to me...

It sometimes seems that I get the same amount of work done no matter how long the session goes--and now I have PROOF!.  In this series--all from the same model session--each pose seems to have gotten the same amount of work done on the page, despite the length of the pose time.  Heck, the shortest pose (on top) seems to have gotten the most done on the page.  Now, granted, I was trying to work hard on getting the face right on each of them so I had to shift focus a bit on the first pose, and the face was at an odd angle for the bottom one, so I had to go back and correct my drawing quite a few times as it progressed.

But, as I reviewed the work for the evening, it made me think of Xeno's Paradox: No matter how much I completed, there was still halfway to go.  Sigh...

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, carbon stick, and white chalk on 12" x 18" gray bogus paper.

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20 Minute Pose

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, carbon stick, and white chalk on 12" x 18" gray bogus paper.

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30 Minute Pose

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, carbon stick, and white chalk on 12" x 18" gray bogus paper.

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45 Minute Pose

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, carbon stick, and white chalk on 12" x 18" gray bogus paper.  (The odd bit in the middle of the chest was where I was intending to draw her hand, but ran out of time.  Sigh.)

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Figure Drawing for December 16, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Here's yet another figure drawing.  Ballpoint pen and watercolor may seem like an unlikely pair, but they work together pretty well from time-to-time.

This was done with a ballpoint pen and watercolor on 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock.

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Figure Drawing for December 15, 2009

15 Minute Pose

Here is another figure drawing... I sort of like the vague, abstracted quality of the picture.

This was done with watercolor on 11" x 15" Stonehenge (#110) paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 14, 2009

15 Minute Pose

Here are two figure drawings from the same session.

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on 12" x 18" gray bogus paper.

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20 Minute Pose

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on 18" x 24" gray bogus paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 13, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Here's today's figure drawing.  The model was lit with a red light on the left-side, and a blue light on the right-side.  The picture shot a little dark and adjusting the levels made the image a little gritty.  Oh, well.

I like the effect of color pastel on black paper--it makes it the colors seem almost fluorescent... and, since people are used to seeing dark lines on light paper, seeing it all reversed makes the picture stand out.

This was done with pastel on 9" x 12" black, Strathmore Artagain paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 12, 2009

15 Minute Pose

Yet another figure painting...

This was done with ballpoint pen and watercolor on cream-colored, 8-1/2" x 11" card stock.

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Figure Drawing for December 11, 2009

15 Minute Pose

Here is today's figure drawing:

This was done with ball-point pen and watercolor on 8-1/2" x 11" card stock.

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Figure Drawing for December 11, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Here's another figure painting.  I kinda like the effect of the muted colors, which I think makes the contrast of the model's face stand out even more.

This was done with watercolor on 11" x 15" Hot-Press Waterford (#110) watercolor paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 10, 2009

40 Minute Pose

This is from a drawing session a few weeks back in La Crosse, WI.  And, once again, it is done on toned paper, which I think always makes the black-and-white drawings "pop" a lot more and makes the highlights stand out.  Also, the model had a tattoo on her side of two interlocking fish which, she was quick to point out, was **NOT** intended to be a Pieces symbol. 

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white chalk on 9" x 12" Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 9, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Here's another figure drawing....

This was done with ball-point pen, charcoal, carbon pencil, white chalk, and watercolor on 18" x 12" brown bogus paper (it's like a brown paper bag paper).

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Figure Drawing for December 8, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Here's another figure painting...

This was done with black and white acrylic paint on gessoed illustration board measuring about 10" x 7".

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Figure Drawing for December 7, 2009

40 Minute Pose

Here is yet another figure painting...

This was done with watercolor on 11" x 14" Stonehenge (#140) paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 6, 2009

40 Minute Pose

This is another drawing from the same session/model as the previous post.

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on 12" x 18" Strathmore 500 charcoal paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 5, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Here's another figure drawin'.  I sorta like the sketchy nature of this picture...

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on 8" x 18" Strathmore 500 charcoal paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 4, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Here is another figure drawing...

This was done charcoal and white chalk done on toned 18" x 24" Strathmore 500 paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 3, 2009

45 Minute Pose

This was one of my first drawings done in a figure drawing session about 4 years ago.  I've been going regularly ever since, both here in Winona, MN (which is sadly defunct), and in La Crosse, WI (to present).

During the first few sessions, I remember being very self-conscious about where to rest my eyes while drawing.  I didn't want to feel like I was staring--which is almost impossible **NOT** to do while drawing the model.  It was difficult to not feel like some sort of creepy guy, starin' at a naked person on a platform.  After a couple years of regular figure drawing, I still can't help but still feel a little weird about the whole situation.

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on 18" x 24" Strathmore 500 charcoal paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 2, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Here is another figure drawing done on toned paper, which I prefer to use.  It has a nice effect and makes me look more competent than I really am.

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on 12" x 18" Strathmore 500 charcoal paper.

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Figure Drawing for December 1, 2009

5 Minute Pose

For this picture, the model was wearing costume angel wings.  I liked the fantasy element it gave the session, given that I am a huge fan of fantasy painting.  The model liked the sketch so much she asked if she could keep it.  Being as she was such a good model, I didn't have a problem with that at all.

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on gray 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock.

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Figure Drawing for November 30, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Holy crap!  It's the last day of November already?  Sigh...  Tempus Fuggheddaboutit.

Well, yet another figure painting...

This was done with watercolor on 14" x 20" Jack Richeson (#110) watercolor paper.

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Figure Drawing for November 29, 2009

40 Minute Pose

Well, I guess it's technically the next day.  So, without further ado... Hey, some color!  It's been a while since I had some of that on this Arty-Farty blog...

This was done with watercolor on 12" x 18" white Stonehenge (#140) paper.

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Figure Drawing for November 28, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Yet another figure drawing...

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on 12" x 18" Strathmore 500 Charcoal paper.

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Figure Drawing for November 27, 2009

40 Minute Pose

Here's yet another figure drawing...

I always like working on toned paper.  It's like cheating: you get three values for the price of two.  :-)

This was done with charcoal and white chalk on colored, 12" x 12" Strathmore 500 pastel paper.

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Figure Drawing for November 26, 2009

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is a portrait I painted of my boss, the Wife, from a photograph.  It's probably one of the best paintings I've done so far (the picture seems a little dark and doesn't really capture all the shading, etc.).  And I don't think I did too badly on the the Boss part, either--I married WAAAYYYYYY above my station.  :-)

As mushy as it all sounds, I am very thankful for my wife, two daughters, the rest of my extended family, friends, and almost everything else.  Huzzah!  :-)

The painting took about 3 hours and is approximately 7" x 14".  It is black-and-white, water-miscible oil paint on gessoed hard board.

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Figure Drawing for November 25, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Well, time for another figure drawing for the day...

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white chalk on 8-1/2" x 11" toned card stock.

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Figure Drawing for November 24, 2009

5 Minute Pose

Here is another figure drawing for the day...

This was a 5 minute warm-up, done with charcoal and carbon pencil on 8-1/2" x 11" card stock.

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Figure Drawing for November 23, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Here's another figure drawing...

This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil on 11" x 14" Strathmore paper.

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Figure Drawing for November 22, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Here's another figure drawin'...

This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil on 11" x 14" Strathmore drawing paper.

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Figure Drawing for November 21, 2009

30 Minute Pose

This one didn't turn out quite right.  There was some extreme foreshortening, which I botched up but good.  From the pelvis up, I think it looks OK, and the pelvis down looks OK, but together it is just all wrong, methinks.  I guess they can't all be winners.

Oh, well.  Live and learn.  Well, live, anyways.

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white charcoal, on 12" x 18" gray bogus paper.  (See?  No "Bogus, man!" comment this time.  I'm getting marginally better.)

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Figure Drawing for November 30, 2009

20 Minute Pose

Here are a series of drawings from the same drawing session.

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white charcoal on 12" x 18" gray bogus (Bogus, man!!!) paper.

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30 Minute Pose

This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil, as well as white charcoal on 12" x 18" gray bogus (Bogus, man!) paper.  Sigh, I really have to stop typing that EVERY time...

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20 Minute Pose

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white charcoal on gray, 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock.

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Figure Drawing for November 19, 2009

15 Minute Pose

Here are two figure drawings from the same drawing session.

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white charcoal on gray bogus (Bogus, man!) paper.  It measures about 12" x 12".

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30 Minute Pose

The following pose was rather contorted and drawn from a slightly odd angle, hence it looks a little... weird and abstracted.

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white charcoal on 12" x 18" gray bogus (Bogus, man!--and, yes, I'll pro'lly do that joke almost EVERY time I mention bogus paper).

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Figure Drawing for November 18, 2009

15 Minute Pose

Another figure drawing...

This was done with charcoal, carbon pencil, and white charcoal on 8-1/2" x 11" gray cardstock.

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Figure Drawing for November 17, 2009

2 Minute Pose

Well, here are more postings of more drawings...  These were all done in the same drawing session and are pretty much just sketches this time around.

This was done with a carbon pencil on white 8-1/2" x 11" cardstock.

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2 Minute Pose

Pretty much the same as above.  This one was also done with charcoal and carbon pencil on 8-1/2" x 11" gray card stock.

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10 Minute Pose

This was done with charcoal and carbon pencil on 8-1/2" x 11" gray cardstock.

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Figure Drawing for November 16, 2009

20 Minute Pose

And here is another figure drawing...

Done with charcoal and carbon pencil on 8-1/2" x 11" gray card stock.

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Figure Drawing for November 15, 2009

30 Minute Pose

Here is another picture from the same Figure Drawing Session as the previous one.

This was done with charcoal on Stonehenge (#140) paper, measuring about 15" x 11".

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