Seated Model - original oil figurative painting

I finally got around to finishing this painting.  Not totally satisfied - always like the sketch better, but at least it's done.  It's almost as if I've been on vacation from my blog - and I have, sort of.  But always sketching and trying new things, such as some gorgeous aqua-colored paper, that was SUCH a disappointment to me; at least, a disappointment in the way I had intended to use it.  So, am exploring other ways to make it work.  This piece is on 14 x 11" Fredrix paint board.  Thanks for stopping by!

One Nude - original charcoal drawing of a nude

Here it is morning and I'm posting a drawing - usually it's late at night or in the wee hours that I post.  Actually, I think I like this better, but one probably can't change one's established ways.  This drawing was done from a seated position, so I was looking upward at the model - my favorite way to draw from life. Well, I don't mean that I like to draw sitting down, but there was no stand for her, so I sat down.  Standing is my favorite way to draw, but that only works for me if the model has a platform. This was a quick drawing, so there's a lot that could be 'corrected', but then I would probably lose a lot, too.  And every time - and I do mean every time - I do that, I ruin the drawing  This nude is one that I cut from a group of three.  There's some shading on the right from the nude that was there.  Just didn't like the others and I really loved this pose, too.  This was done on Borden and Riley Bristol Plate - and as much as I love Bristol, it's just a bit less forgiving for charcoal work.   This drawing is 14 x 5" - thanks for looking!

On My Easel - seated model oil figurative work in progress

I started the painting of my previous charcoal drawing on 14 x 11" Fredrix paint board - one of my very favorite surfaces.  My accompaniment today was the soundtrack, or at least, the music that was 'inspired by' - as they put it - Call the Midwife.  So many sweet songs are included - mostly from the late 50s, and maybe early 60s.  Will finish this tomorrow, working on my grays - they really need some oomph!  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Charcoal Sketch of a Seated Model - original figurative charcoal drawing

I was very fortunate to have some wonderful company for the past week or so and they just happened to be terrific models, so I have lots of drawings from which to make paintings.  Maybe my enthusiasm for the drawings will carry over into making the paintings.  For me, drawings are so immediate and don't even require me to think - just react to the model.  It's absolute heaven!  I did one painting from life, last week, that turned out really well, but the other one was a failure.  Except for the nose.  The nose was pretty good, so I wiped off everything but the nose.  This drawing was done with really soft vine charcoal on cream Strathmore drawing paper and is about 10 x 8".  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Seated Nude in Black and White - original charcoal drawing of a nude

This is a drawing I dug out from a few months ago.  It's about 12 x 8 1/2", done in vine charcoal on Bristol paper.  I love the way charcoal behaves on Bristol board - the way it copes with that slick surface.  Thanks for stopping by.

Nude on Blues - original oil pastel nude drawing

Here is a nude - I love back views - on gessoed carton paper.  It's really a pleasure to work on this paper which I get from Judson's - actually a site for plein air painters - but I buy from them and am always telling myself that any day now, I'll go out and paint the great outdoors.  This paper can be purchased from Amazon, as well.  Oil pastel just sings on it.  This drawing is 12 x 9" - thanks for stopping by!

Jumpin' Jive - original oil figurative painting

Well, I was trying to tone the bottom with a bluish-grayish color at the bottom - maybe I overdid it.  Ah the constant worry for artists - did I overdo? underdo? totally kill? - questions that zoom around in my head.  Oh well, there's always tomorrow.  This painting is on 8 x 8" Gessobord.  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!

Stock Market Jive - original ink and oil pastel figurative drawing

More goofiness, but fun for me.  Always loved this idea of painting on treated newspaper and am interested in working on different backgrounds, such as incorporating dry point backgrounds in my drawings.  This one is about 5 x 9 1/2".  Thanks for looking!

Daily News Jive - original mixed media figurative drawing

Just fooling around here, using the stock pages from the newspaper as a drawing support.  I've tried many different ways of using newspapers as a drawing background - maybe it's the straight lines of the printed paper and the sober stock market news reporting vs. the squiggly ink lines of figurative drawings that attracts me.  Often, I will spray with 'make it acid free' or use various acrylic mediums over it to make it longer lasting.  For this one, it will be bonded to mat board with Studio Tac after spraying with the acid free stuff.  I used ink with some Crayola and oil pastel - it's about 4 x 9 1/2".  Thanks so much for visiting my blog! Sold

Little Friday Jive - original oil figurative painting

My little jivers - always cuttin' a rug - this time, on 6 x 12" canvas.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ink Jivers - original ink figurative drawing

I LOVE fooling around with these little jivers.  Here's one I did on 9 x 12" Bristol paper.  It started with a really thin ink line, then I put in some touches of a bigger ink marker and added water, which caused a softening of some of the lines, then I blotted in places and ended up with areas of pink here and there.  You might say this drawing is just one big accident.  But fun to do.  Thanks so much for stopping by! Sold

Grace - original oil portait painting

This portrait was done on Arches paper for oil paints, which is just super!  I love the way it accepts the paint and is also wonderful for oil pastel.  It's about 14 x 14" - I started it from life, but the model had to leave, so I finished from a photo.  Although I'm a real fan of painting the live model, you do what you have to do.  Thanks so much for stopping by! Sold

On My Easel -Sketch for Tango Practice - original oil pastel drawing

Here is a sketch for another tango painting - oil pastel on Pastelbord.  After fooling around with this one, I think I will do the painting in oil, full length, with the models using their arms in positions opposite this one.  Just afraid of losing the emotion, though.  It's 9 x 12" - a size I love to work with - thanks so much for dropping by!

More Jivin' - original mixed media figurative drawing

Well, the jivers are still jiving and I'm still following them around!  Initially, I had planned to do something with Caran d'Ache watersoluble crayons, but all I could find at my studio were the wax crayons by the same maker, so the best laid plans etc. etc. - anyway, this quick little drawing was fun to do.  It's on 9 x 12" cold press watercolor paper.  I used ink, graphite and wax crayons.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

On My Easel - Listening to the Blues - original oil figurative work in progress

This painting that I'm working on is based on my drawing of a model holding a wineglass.  There's much work to be done, I know, but it's sort of taking on a bit of a life of its own, which can be good.  I hope it's going to be a success - right now, it's so wet I can't tell a lot about it and I really won't know 'til it's finished.  That's the thing, or one of the things about making art, you just don't know whether a painting is going to be good or not 'til it's done.  And there's all that time and effort and emotion - well, I could go on and on - but you probably know what I mean - and it's so discouraging if it's a flop.  In that case - and I have a lot of those cases - it's good if there's a lesson in there somewhere so that whatever went wrong doesn't do that again.  So next time something else can go wrong, instead!  Do I sound negative? sorry  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Country Evening - original oil figurative painting

Here's a group of western dancers two-stepping their way through a Saturday night - on canvas, 11 x 14".  Not a bad way to spend the evening, either.  Speaking of evenings, I was lucky to see Huey Lewis and the News on Sunday night - they're still just wonderful and their a cappella singing is lovely (if one can use the word "lovely" when referring to a rock band) - it was a great evening!  Thanks so much for stopping by - I'm always delighted to see you here!

Joyful Jive - original ink and watercolor figurative painting

My little jivers showed up today in ink (applied with a very thin dowel) and watercolor.  Done quickly in order not to overwork, it's on 9 x 12" cold press watercolor paper. I know, I know, I could go back and make lots of corrections, but I'm not going to because I love crazy lines and there are definitely lots of them here!  Currently, I'm listening to Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower on audible.com.  I can't decide whether it's better to listen to something or to draw in complete silence.   Do most artists like it to be quiet when they draw?  That would make an interesting survey.  Any thoughts on this?

Seated Pose - original oil pastel drawing of a nude

I did this oil pastel drawing on 12 x 9" carton paper coated with clear gesso. The clear gesso on the carton provides such a perfect surface for the oil pastel - kind of gritty.  I could finish this a bit more, but after the model leaves, it just doesn't work very well.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

On My Easel - Jive Practice - original oil figurative painting in progress

Much to do on this painting, but I sort of like this stage - not finished and sort of raw.  Maybe there should be shows for unfinished works - could be called "Beginnings".  My fear is that this painting will be killed, so I'll set my timer and do nothing to it after the buzzer goes off.  Absolutely nothing.  I promise myself.  The surface here is 12 x 12" stretched canvas.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tango Snuggle - original charcoal figurative drawing

I told myself at the first of the year that I was going to post three or four times a week and look how long it's been!  Well, family things came up and for me, it's family first, but maybe next week, I'll be better at getting things onto my blog.  I'm in Austin at the moment and ahhh - the art supplies!  You can't tell how I'm enjoying the art goodies since I've posted another charcoal drawing, but as y'all know, it's just wonderful to wander through the aisles of paints, papers, art implements of all kinds, and dream of all the masterpieces to come.  I naively think - and deep inside I know it's not true - that if I just had a new something or other, I could do great things.  Oh well, it's pleasant to think on, anyway.  This drawing, which I scribbled madly just because I didn't want it too exact and even thought about doing a sort of abstract drawing, is on 17 x 14" Borden and Riley Bristol (vellum).  Thanks so much for stopping by! SOLD

On My Easel - Sketch for Flamenco - original oil figurative sketch

I should probably call this 'can you figure out what this is?' - a sort of shorthand, I guess.  I know how it should end, and I'm very hopeful, but the best intentions don't always turn out as one would like.  So I'm fully prepared, knowing it may join lots of others I've thrown in the garbage this week.  I find it hard to get rid of things that I once liked or maybe even just liked one passage in the painting, and keep them well past their prime.  Gotta be tough, I keep telling myself.  Thanks for stopping by and listening to my little rant or maybe it was a pep talk to myself.

Whispers at the Bar - original oil figurative painting

It seems like months since I've posted.  I've been away, then much wonderful company for the week of spring break.  So now I'm back with another result of my spying at the bar.  This is about 9 x 9" on gessoed panel.  Although I didn't post for awhile, I was actually doing art - just not sharing, I guess.  This painting was originally 9 x 12", but I didn't like part of it, so just sawed it off.  I've done things like that before.  One time I was in an art show where I had originally planned to submit a complete figure, but I decided I only really liked the top part of the figure, so I just tore everything off from the arms down.  It worked - looked lots better than if I had included everything.  Plus, much cheaper to frame! This one, you can probably tell, I did in a hurry.  And meant to, so I couldn't kill it with my overworking thing.  I just sort have to force myself to let it go.  Sigh.  Art is hard sometimes.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Woman at a Table - original ink and watersoluble crayon figurative drawing

I am thinking of painting a woman seated at a table and did this little preparatory sketch.  I really do love interiors and cozy rooms, so this little 6 x 4" on a cold press watercolor paper postcard may eventually lead to a painting.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

A Modest Nude - original oil pastel painting of a nude

I came across an old life drawing and did a 7 x 5" painting on Pastelbord from it.  I'm always saying that I'm going to get rid of all those old drawings, but they do come in handy.  I'm not a hoarder by any means, but I do have a stack of them.  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Jive Kids - orginal ink and oil pastel drawing

Just scribbling in front of the TV, added some color and here is an 11 x 14" drawing on Strathmore's Mixed Media paper.  I haven't been posting for awhile, because I'm working on lots of things, but not one of them is fit to be seen, yet.  Thanks for stopping by! Sold

Her Blue Boots - original oil figurative painting

I just finished watching the Olympic ice dancing - SO gorgeous and they make it look so easy, which, as someone who can barely get around the rink, I know it can't possibly be!  Now back to art - this 5 x 5" painting is done on Gessobord.  I've seen some really beautiful turquoise blue boots lately - luscious, really - and just couldn't resist putting them in my painting.  Thanks for stopping by!

On My Easel - Looking Back - original oil pastel portrait in progress

This is an interesting pose to paint and definitely requires a model - no memory painting here.  It's a long way from being finished, but I look forward to working on it and seeing how it ends up.  Using Strathmore Mixed Media paper - my first experience with this heavy paper and I like it. Thanks so much for stopping by!

Two-Steppin' Romance - original oil figurative painting

 



Here are a couple of sweethearts on the dance floor. I had such a great time painting this - I guess it was feeling free with the brushwork or maybe the turquoise boots - I don't know exactly. Sometimes it just happens. Check out my oil pastel blog, too, if you have a minute, and thanks so much for stepping - uh, stopping - by!

Nude Study - original oil pastel painting of a nude

Here's a quick drawing of a nude - never totally finished - that I did back in October.  It's on Sennelier oil pastel paper about 11 x 9". This paper is white, 160 lb. and pebbly - I love it.  Thanks so much for looking!

Sketch of a Little Moment - original oil pastel figurative sketch

The resort where I spent Thanksgiving provided a wealth of subjects for drawing and here are two that I observed in a private moment.  Although they were wrapped up in each other, they were really in the middle of everything, so I felt it was okay to draw them. They held this "pose" long enough for me to get the bones of the sketch done, then filled in from memory, striving to keep the sketchiness that I intended without overworking.  I had just bought a new set of Caran d'Ache Neopastels, which are perfect for use on Judson's Guerilla Painter carton board.  Neopastels are a less oily form of oil pastel and not my usual go to brand, which is Sennelier, but Neopastels are great, too, and many oil pastelists prefer them.  This drawing is on 12 x 9" carton paper, but it's cropped here to about 11 x 7" - not really physically cropped, but just for blog posting.  Thanks so much for stopping by! SOLD