Seated Nude #45 - original charcoal figurative drawing

More loose and fun for me than usual.   About 6 x 5" on toned gray Strathmore paper.  I'm working on some 4 x 4" paintings and other   

pieces that if they work out okay, I'll post in a couple of days.  Drawings are my thing, though, and I'm really enjoying doing these.  And there are life drawing groups online that I've been "attending".  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Seated Nude on Cream Paper - original charcoal life drawing

This drawing was done on a 9 x 12" cream colored paper that was in a stack of my acid-free papers.  I never tire of drawing nudes - that's where I started my formal art journey and I think that's the best way to understand the figure.  It was really hard during the shutdown, so a lot of my drawings are sort of "elderly".  But now life drawing is back and so am I! Thanks for stopping by!

Valentines - original charcoal and pastel drawing of tango dancers

I know it's kind of an odd name for such an intense drawing, but I actually meant to post this on Valentine's Day and got sidetracked.  I drew this one with charcoal, graphite and soft pastel. It's been awhile since I posted at all - have been busy with a landscape painting course as well as getting my garden going.  Am soaking Hyacinth Bean seeds for my new arbor, planting another couple of tomatoes today, as well as some squash, corn and beans.  Roses are looking wonderful - but it's spring.  We'll have temps in the 90's and above 100 one day this week so my lovelies will be suffering soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

            
 

Katie Looking Down - original charcoal and compressed pastel stick portrait drawing

 This paper, a Strathmore 400 cool gray mixed media sheet, is one of my favorites.  It is 100% recycled and contains kraft and bark fibers, which is perfect for my tree drawings, but I just wanted to use it for a portrait - crazy as it sounds.  Art is about experimentation, right?  You should really try this surface if you haven't already - got mine at Hobby Lobby - it takes all kinds of media and all kinds of punishment😄.  I matted this down to about 11 x 12".  After I finished the charcoal part of the drawing, I used some General Pencil Co. compressed pastel sticks for a little tint to her face.  These sticks are so useful and can be used for portrait drawings all by themselves.  They come in just about all the colors necessary for portraits.  Thanks for looking and happy drawing!

Drawings from My Sketchbook - original charcoal drawings

I was experimenting mostly with different figures and portraits - and decided the drawing of the Aphrodite and the loose, informal charcoal lines was something I would repeat.  I think the contrast of the smooth sculpture with the sort of random vertical lines works.  Might be especially effective in, say, a drypoint etching.  All of the subjects are from some of my earlier drawings, except for the Praxiteles sculpture.  I used General charcoal pencils and white charcoal pencil.  I splurged and purchased a David Kassan Limited Edition Signature Drawing Kit from General Pencil and I love it!  All the drawing equipment I need in a sturdy wood box.  I've always liked kits and I really really like this one!  The paper here is Canson smooth side - I bought some discontinued tablets of the paper at Michael's for a nice price - I think it's just the store discontinuing and they are still being manufactured.  Hope so, anyway. Thanks for stopping by!

 

A Little Sketch of the Model - original charcoal portrait drawing

I absolutely love to work in black and white, especially when drawing from life. I did this drawing using a General's Peel and Sketch with a 'hard' rating which I rarely use, but am actually really pleased with this little sketch.  The paper is Strathmore Mixed Media, 8.5 x 5.5".  Some of the lines are restated, which I left (obviously) because otherwise, it's easy to keep making the same mistake, plus leaving the lines lends movement and also tells the viewer the path the artist took in making the piece.  Thanks for stopping by!
 

Sketch of Mei as a Maiko - original charcoal and white drawing

A several month old sketch of Mei, who has posed before as a geisha/maiko, drawn with charcoal and white pencil on Mi-Teintes paper.  I've always loved using the textured side since I think it keeps me from overworking, but for this drawing I used the smooth.  Not sure if this is my best depiction of Mei - and I have a lot of drawings of her - but I am happy with how it turned out.  Thanks for looking!

Ballerina Sketch - original figurative charcoal drawing

I love dancers - whether ballet, tango, country - they are my favorites to draw and paint!  This pensive little dancer was a dream to draw on one of my favorite papers, Colourfix smooth, using my true love of a medium - vine charcoal.  Also used my trusty kneaded eraser a lot.  I just went with the looseness, especially in the body and kept it kind of flat, only modeling the face.  A lack of time makes one choose from the available options.😊
  Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch of the Seated Model - original oil pastel and charcoal figurative

I have made and destroyed so many drawings and paintings over the last several weeks - probably in my continuing quest for ways to combine color and line - and this drawing proved so satisfying - all of you artists out there know that feeling! 😊  Plus I was so happy to have a really great model.  Also I was trying out Pastel Premier 9 x 12" sanded paper and am delighted to report that I'm crazy about it!  It's made in the USA - Yay! The combination of General Pencil's Peel n Sketch charcoal pencil and mostly Sennelier and a couple of Caran d'Ache oil pastels on the Pastel Premier pastel paper was heavenly for me.  Hope everyone's doing great and can get back to work soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

The Student - original charcoal portrait drawing

Here's a 14 x 11" drawing of a young woman done on Strathmore toned paper, using General Pencil Company's EuroBlend charcoal pencils and vine charcoal. Hope y'all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Seated Nude - charcoal drawing of a nude model

My most fun art thing - drawing from the model.  I love the emotion that shows in the posture of every person, whether they are posing in the studio, or maybe visiting with friends or reading a book, whatever - it keeps me on my artistic toes.
In this case, I found the dignity in the pose so beautiful. And, of course, my usual complaint -  there's never enough time to do everything in a timed drawing, so I went for some lost and found lines in this piece. It's about 9 x 9" - on Strathmore toned paper, using the ever wonderful vine charcoal.  Thanks for looking!

It Begins with a Gesture - original charcoal figurative gesture drawing on toned paper

Well, at least for me, it always starts with a gesture.  I think gesture drawings are almost as individual as fingerprints and I love seeing how other artists approach their drawings and often, ultimately, their paintings.
Some artists draw from the inside of the figure (or subject) and sort of "feel" their way to the outside of the figure, but others do the exact opposite, working from the outside in.  I have even seen a few artists who put down a single line with few or no 'searching' ones.  Whatever works for the artist is the perfect approach to drawing gestures!
Those starting lines can be so beautiful and I think it's important not to erase the lines with which the drawing is begun - those 'exploring' lines give a bit of life to the drawing.   When I forget that, and  erase a line I think isn't working, I'll often accidentally put it back in the same place, and then it can be too dark and the paper may be roughed up, so I usually try to keep the eraser far from my reach! 
Gestures are such a stream-of-consciousness endeavor.   Some days I think I will just do gesture drawings only from now on - and yesterday was one of those days.  Great things can come from gestures, but even if nothing fantastic develops, we still have an interesting record of what we were seeing at that moment in time!
This drawing is done on Strathmore 8 x 6" toned Mixed Media paper.  Thanks so much for looking!

Exhausted - original charcoal figurative drawing of a young woman

This young woman was clearly so tired as she waited for the bus.  I asked her if I could snap a picture for a drawing - and she was agreeable.  It's always great when someone agrees to pose or lets me take a photo.  This piece is on toned paper, using vine charcoal - and although the support looks tan, it's really grey - surely my photo skills aren't that lacking!  It's gotta be the camera.  I used some scribbles of white for the background and for highlights.  This drawing is 12 x 9" and I loved making it - thanks for stopping by!

Soulful Bridgette - original charcoal portrait drawing

An all-time favorite of mine - drawing from the posed model. And she is a great model, too! Some things I could change, but not going to because it was my reaction to her that I want to save.
 This drawing is on pale blue Stonehenge paper, which I absolutely love (it doesn't really look blue in the photo, but that's my fault), using soft vine charcoal. Stonehenge is fabulous for charcoal drawings, as well as oil pastel and several other media.  I guess I'm talking about Stonehenge because there were many comments in the drawing group about this lovely paper, which I have used for years, and I just thought it deserved mention. Although I use all of the Stonehenge colors, this pale blue is beautiful.  You can visit Legion paper - the company that produces Stonehenge here.   And it's made  in America!👍
Thanks for stopping by!

Kitty's White Sundress - charcoal and white pencil figurative drawing

I'm loving this 12 x 9" Strathmore blue toned paper.  It's heavy and beautiful - a dream to work on.  Also, I used General Pencil Company's Primo euroblend charcoal pencil set - three charcoal pencils and a white one.  They are smooth as silk - my favorites - and if you like to draw, you will love them, too.  This company makes the best pencils IMHO - there are the regular charcoal pencils, as well as the handy Peel 'n' Sketch.  All winners!  Thanks for stopping by!

Dancers 3 - loose black and white charcoal figurative drawing of dancers

I came across this one the other day - it's from about four months ago.  These dancers will show up again somewhere in other drawings - really happy with loose unfinished pieces.  It's about 9 x 12".  Thanks for looking!

Salsa Gal in Black and White - original charcoal figurative Latin dancer

I drew this from another earlier drawing and plan to make a painting from it, but of course, need to add a guy, so have been looking through all my drawings of male dancers.  It's kind of a trip down memory lane to see all these old drawings - many of which I did years and years ago.

Although it's a pretty loose, I did concentrate on her hands and head, which will help me when I do the painting because that won't be so loose.  My challenge with the painting will be the placement of the male dancer.  What fun I'll have with this one!

Am listening to Don Winslow's Dawn Patrol while I work on drawings yesterday and today.  I used to hear about multi-tasking being good for you, but now am reading that it's bad for one's brain.  What?!!  It's always something!  Thanks for stopping by Hackberry Street Studio.

Charcoal Portrait of a Young Woman - original black and white artwork

I am always SO happy to have someone to draw, especially when I can use charcoal.  It's wonderfully forgiving and oh the values that can be achieved!  But I do caution that it should be sprayed with fixative upon completion.  True story:  I had drawn a figure and a portrait in charcoal at the life drawing group a few weeks ago and I was really pleased with the outcome.  As I was putting them in the trunk of my car (not sprayed with fixative, yet), I dropped them both in the street and they were so smeared when I picked them up, they were just essentially not there any longer.  My fault, entirely, but this could have been avoided if I had just sprayed them before I put them in the car.

Repeat after me:  Never ever wait to spray your charcoal drawings!  Always do it ASAP!

And back to this drawing - well I've only sprayed it with workable fixative, which is certainly better than nothing.  It's about 10 x 8".  Thanks for stopping by!

Braids - charcoal portrait drawing of the model

The braids were a real challenge, but in the end, I was pleased.  I used vine charcoal on some really old Grumbacher drawing paper that I found in the back of the closet.  Grumbacher hasn't made drawing paper in years, so this paper is definitely vintage, but because it's acid-free, still wonderful to work on.  17 x 14".  Thanks for looking!

A Quick Life Drawing - original charcoal life drawing

I came across this drawing today from several months ago - it illustrates my favorite art thing to do which is drawing quickly without thinking - just reacting to the model.  This kind of approach often produces something unexpected, but always interesting and full of life.  In this drawing, I'm most pleased with her hair and the tilt of her head because it's done with economy plus it has a bit of an Oriental feel to it.  And I was also happy that I didn't overwork her hand.  Charcoal on paper.  Thanks for looking!