Red, White and Blue Jive - original mixed media figurative drawing

Just a fun drawing using a little of this, a little of that - specifically, ink, watercolor, colored pencil, oil pastel. Quick and a pleasure to do - no looking back. I loved her position, looking back at him, who seems to be in another world.  It's on 6 x 8" mixed media paper.  Thanks for stopping by!

Bronc Rider #2 - original figurative oil painting

This rider did really well at the pro rodeo here in Junction, Texas, last weekend.  I don't know how on earth they stay on - well they don't always - but they very often do.  Gorgeous horses and brave cowboys - a really great combination!  This painting is on 10 x 10" canvas.  Thanks for looking!

The Godmother - original oil pastel figurative painting

We hear a lot about godfathers, but not so much about godmothers, of whom I am one.  It's an awesome responsibility.  I loved the tender way this woman held her little godson as they were waiting to go into the church.  You can tell it was early in the spring, because not even a tiny baby would need a blanket in the triple digits we've been having this summer.
I was looking today at the forecast for the next couple of weeks.  It looks like it might cool down to 93,  which is pretty good when you're used to 102 degrees! 
This piece is on 7 x 5" Pastelbord.  Thanks for looking!

A Nude for Sunday - original oil painting of a nude model

This painting is on 6 x 6" Gessobord.  Thanks for stopping by!

Nudes on Aqua Paper - original charcoal sketches of nudes

The paper doesn't look aqua here, but it really is - Fabriano azure.  I love all the fabulous papers available and am always haunting art stores for colored papers for drawings.  This one is about 9 x 12".  Thanks for stopping by! SOLD

Songbird - original charcoal portrait sketch

I finished this sketch in the allotted time - I think it was 15 minutes - I should have gotten much farther along, but oh well.  If I noodle with it now, it will be ruined, for sure.  The model did a little singing for us and she was really good.  I like knowing more about the models and am so happy when they tell us what they do in their daily lives.  Helps make more of a connection between artist and model.  This charcoal drawing is on Strathmore 12 x 9" pastel 403 paper.  Thanks for looking!

Country Love - original oil figurative painting

Nothing like a little two-step romance on a Friday evening at the local dance hall.  I've had folks  from the Washington D.C. area, where I used to live, tell me how romantic the two-step looked to them.  Having grown up with that kind of dancing, I never thought about it, just took it for granted, but now I realize it is pretty sweet.  Who'd have thought a bunch of Texas cowboys could be tamed by songs like "Crazy Arms" or "Faded Love", but the music and the two-step work their magic every time.  This painting is on 8 x 8" Gessobord.  Thanks for looking!
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The Exit - original oil pastel figurative

I saw this woman coming out of a train station last winter and did a quick sketch that I must have added to my stack of drawings.  I came across it yesterday during my clean-a-thon.  In going through and throwing away old sketches and things that will never work, I've found a treasure trove of sketches than I absolutely can use.  Amazing how something that is so intense in the moment can just be forgotten.  That's why studio organization is such a good thing (I tell myself).  This piece is on 7 x 5" Pastelbord.  Thanks for looking!

Lilia on the Bed - original figurative oil painting

 I love painting these little 6 x 6" panels and have a few on my easel to finish in the next few days.  Thanks for looking! 

Summer - original miniature oil portrait painting

I love doing these quick 4 x 4" paintings - and it's good that they're quick, because it's tough to get young people to hold a pose for long.  Sometimes, I have to rely on my memory a LOT!  Good training, though.  I did this one today, so it's still very wet and pretty shiny, but needed something to post.  Thanks so much for stopping by!
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On My Easel - Wanna Dance - original charcoal figurative sketch

With this drawing, I was searching for the right casual approach by the woman.  Since I photographed this sketch, though, I have decided to do the painting with only her hand on his shoulder.  Will post the painting when I'm through.  It's fun to go through all the possibilities and work out the right approach.  This drawing is on 12 x 9" pastel paper.  Thanks for looking!

A Few Minutes with Steffi - original oil pastel portrait drawing

This quick drawing of Steffi was fun to do - of course, I always wish for more time.   It seems to work better, though, when I have to scramble to get the drawing done in a few minutes.  I did this on 9 x 12" oil pastel paper with Sennelier oil pastels.  Thanks for stopping by!

On My Easel - Another Torch Singer - original oil pastel figurative painting in progress

This painting is pretty well sketched in - now I want to bring it to a more "finished" state.  Figurative work attracts me so much because, I think, of the emotional content.  Of course, the technical aspects are first, but that special moment, that fleeting expression, always draws me in and I'm always watching for it.  This painting is on 12 x 9" Pastelbord.  Hoping to finish it tomorrow, but maybe not 'til later in the week - will post when it's done.  Thanks so much for looking!

Girl with Tablet - original oil pastel portrait

I just colored over the notan I did in the previous post and realized, too, that I had not included some shadows in the original.  Oh well, a learning process and a really great guide for further work.  Years ago, I took a portrait class in pastel in which we did something similar - the underpainting wasn't black and white, but color values instead.  This coming week, I'll be concentrating on that way of working.  Thanks for stopping by!

Dark and Light - original water-soluble pencil notan sketch

A little notan sketch - I guess it qualifies as notan - just trying to simplify and then maybe work in color.  It's drawn on 9 x 12" Yupo.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch for "Formal" - original charcoal figurative drawing

I came across a formal dress that might work in my figure drawings and decided to sketch the model in it.  Maybe this drawing is one that will end up as a painting - we'll see.  I'll post it if the painting works out.  My Able Assistant, Roger, is recovering from eyelid surgery and he isn't able to assist as much as usual, so I've been a little slow in getting new drawings/paintings done.  Amazing how one relies on one's helpers!  This drawing is about 16 x 14" - thanks for looking!

Shelly Reading - original oil figurative painting

Every now and then, I like to go really small like this 4 x 4" oil - can't noodle with it too much and can't have much detail.  Painted with a pretty big brush, it's on Ampersand Gessobord.  Thanks for looking!

Rapt Attention - original charcoal figurative drawing

I've done a few sketches lately of groups of people and this woman particularly interested me, so I singled her out for a drawing.  She was so interested in what the other two people at the gathering were saying that it was perfect for me.  She (unintentionally) held the pose for a long time and I was able to do a little sketch to work from when I got home.  She likes the drawing, too - always a good sign!  I used a Peel n Sketch charcoal pencil by General Pencil - one of my favorite drawing implements - on Strathmore sketch paper and is about 13 x 12.  Thanks for stopping by!

Nude Looking Down - original oil pastel nude

I did this one over an oil painting that just didn't make me happy - which is why this one is on Gessobord, instead of Pastelbord.  Done quickly - on autopilot - it's 7 x 5" - thanks for stopping by!

Nudes Over Nudes - original mixed media drawings of nudes

As I was taking the photo for this post, I laid the oil pastel drawing on top of the ink drawing and realized - hey I like this! - and since I'm always looking for a way to have my line drawings along with paintings, I think I've found it!  One of life's little happy accidents.  The bottom drawing is brown Sharpie ultra fine on 9 x 12" watercolor paper and the top is oil pastel on 8 x 6" mixed media paper.  Can't wait to combine this technique on one canvas.  Do y'all love making discoveries in your art unintentionally like this?  I'll bet it's a pretty usual art experience for artists.  Thanks for looking!

Country Evening - original figurative oil painting

Another evening of dancing Texas' favorite dance - the two step.   I paint endless images of this dance, and never tire of it.  And I love to play country music while I work.  Today I listened to Bob Wills, the great country musician who is remembered for his western swing music.  Waylon Jennings' song "Bob Wills Is Still The King" is absolutely right!  (I don't think the Bob Wills site has music, but it can be found many places on the internet.)   I used stretched portrait canvas for this - very smooth and so easy to work on.   It's 10 x 8" - thanks for stopping by!

More Hot Tango - original oil figurative painting

This 8 x 8" painting was done on Gessobord.  It's the middle of the day and somehow, I'm not as loquacious (guess that applies to the written word, too) as I am when it's much later in the day.  Much, much later.  Night owl stuff, actually.  That's the long way of saying this will be a short post.
Thanks for stopping by!

The Print Dress - original ink portrait drawing

This afternoon I was watching what I guess one would call a 'costume drama', but this 'costume' was definitely not in the movie.  Somehow, though, I just had the urge to draw a print dress and here it is - a little sketch, but very pleasing to do.  Ink is so tricky - this was actually a very thin marker - but you never know until you actually make a mark whether it'll work or not and then it's too late.  Great for drawing training, but still, sometimes best to leave things out, which is what I did here.  Usually, I just go for it and then regret it.  Maybe after all this time, I'm learning that less really is more.  Who knows?  Anyway, it's 8 1/2 x 6" on cold press watercolor paper.  Thanks for stopping by.

Special Moment - original oil pastel portrait drawing

I used Sennelier oil pastels on 10 x 8" Pastelbord.  Thanks for stopping by! SOLD

Lavender Nudes - original ink and water soluble crayon drawing

I held a Penstix ink marker pen at the end next to me, so that I couldn't control the pen very well, plus the cold press watercolor paper with all those hills and valleys also makes the job a little more iffy.  SO much fun to do  - I can get a looser line and somehow it's just so satisfying to my soul.  Don't know what it says about me that I don't like to be in control - just an artist for ya, I guess.  It's about  9 x 10 1/2".  Thanks for stopping by!

On My Easel - Rita - oil pastel portrait painting in progress

This one started from life, but now I'm at the photo stage and trying to finish it.  Great model - sultry, but dignified - hope she poses again.  I was interested in the negative space, as well.  On 14 x 11" Pastelbord - thanks so much for looking!

Saturday Night Scribbles - original charcoal sketches

Always a fan of using the TV when there's no model nearby, tonight presented some opportunities for sketching.  When the scene changes, or the subject moves, I just concentrate on another "model".  This is one of the great drawing improvers, I think - right up there with drawing in ink.  I feel my drawings got better as I went along - the right-hand side is just looser and more confident.  It's also brighter, since I laid a lot of charcoal on the upper left of the first page.  Still, it's interesting to see how one improves after warming up. My Able Assistant, Roger, was curled up next to me as I drew.  He's recovering from surgery on his paw - but my sweet boy wagged approval with his little stub of a tail when I showed him what I had done.  You just can't keep an Able Assistant down!  Drawn on 14 x 11" pages of mixed media paper.  Thanks for looking!

Sketch for Barrel Racer - original charcoal figurative drawing

I do love barrel racing - here's another sketch from the past summer's rodeo.  It was ready last night, but my internet connection was almost nonexistent, probably because of the storm we had here with all the welcome rain.  This drawing is on 12 x 9" Strathmore Mixed Media paper.  Thanks for stopping by! SOLD

The Pitch - original charcoal figurative drawing

I've been obsessed with this left-handed pitcher thing - I suppose you can tell - and I'm getting closer to what I'm looking for - such joy when that happens!  This drawing is on 11 x 14" Strathmore paper. It is ridiculously late, but really couldn't sleep without getting this to a certain point.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sketches for Lefty - original charcoal figurative drawing

My favorite season - baseball!  Did a few charcoal sketches of the left-hander on the mound, and where I thought a little more info was needed, filled in later by referring to my iPhone.  I used a teeny piece, barely there, of vine charcoal on mixed media paper.  Fun to draw, too, on phone or using Evernote.  This one is on 9 x 12" paper.  There are more of these - may post some over the next few weeks.  Maybe by then I'll have some drawings of batters worth posting.  Thanks for stopping by.