Pink Tutu - oiginal oil pastel figurative painting

I had the pleasure of sitting and watching some young ballerinas - a real drawing opportunity.  This one kept fiddling with her new tutu - I think she just loved touching it and feeling like a real ballerina.  The painting is done on 7 x 5" carton from Judson's Art Outfitters - can also be purchased from Amazon.  I love the cardboard color, since I'm a fan of drawing on cardboard - even though that's a no-no in the conservation department.  The carton is archival and good for oil, acrylic and soft pastel, as well.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ink Dance - original ink figurative drawing

I had planned to use oil pastel on this drawing, but was happy with just the lines - I really have a crush on line drawings, right now.  Drawn on Paris paper for pens, it's 12 x 9".   Thanks for visiting!

Seated Dancer - original ink figurative drawing

Line is my favorite drawing method and I had a really good time with this little drawing - squiggle, squiggle.  It's done with an Itoya Doubleheader and touches from my Niji Waterbrush on Borden & Riley Paris paper, 12 x 9".  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Woman at a Restaurant - original ink figurative drawing

Another line drawing - just fooling around with ink, 12 x 9" on Borden and Riley Paris paper for pens.  Today I participated in a photogravure printmaking class sponsored by the McNay Art Museum in conjunction with their photogravure exhibit.  We went to Hare and Hound Press for instruction - I will never master the intricacies of printmaking, but today was interesting and fun. 

Here's my print - maybe a little over wiped, but not too bad, I think.

Thanks for stopping by!

Brenda - original oil pastel portrait drawing

I wish I'd had more time for this drawing, but  anyway, I loved working on this gray-blue Strathmore 403 oil pastel paper. I know - it looks tan, but that is just my pathetic photography.  My palette was very limited. It's about 9 x 9".  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Two Nudes - original charcoal nude drawing

Here are two more nudes from the latest drawing session.  Done on Strathmore drawing paper, about 14 x 9".  I drew while listening to "music" that sounded like pots and pans banging around.  I am not kidding - but it was a mostly youngish group and since I was the newcomer, I couldn't say anything.  Thanks for stopping by!

JiveHappy - original ink figurative drawing

My little jivers are back with a vengeance - well, actually, they are never far away.  I think all my little characters know I love them!  I've been doing lots of sketches that may or may not end up as paintings.  I'm a firm believer in drawing just for the sake of drawing - so whether they become paintings doesn't really matter to me.  This one is ink on 6 x 6" Bristol board.  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Summer Reader - original oil pastel figurative sketch

Here's a little sketch I did of a girl engrossed in her book - not the required reading during school terms.  The joy of summer - I remember it well!  This is oil pastel on 9 x 12" Strathmore 403 paper.  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.

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

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

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!

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?

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

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!

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!

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

Flamenco Practice - original mixed media figurative painting

I vacillate between 'this is interesting' and 'this is crazy'.  Right now, 'this is interesting' has the upper hand.    I was fooling around with a piece of Yupo and some watercolor crayons, watercolor, ink, graphite, and finally, some oil pastel.  It's about 10 x 7".  Thanks for stopping by!

Nude in Greys - original watersoluble pencil drawing with touches of ink

Copying from a charcoal life drawing that I did several months ago, I compared my Derwent Inktense pencil to my go-to Stabilo Aquarellable.   They came out fairly even - at least on the Yupo that I used here.  Couldn't resist using a little ink, though.  I love the pens that are permanent ink, but until they dry, a little water can make some nice values.  This drawing was done on 12 x 9" Yupo.  If you have a minute, please check out my oil pastel blog.  Thanks so much for stopping by!