Sweet Jive - original charcoal figurative drawing of dancers

This drawing is set to become a painting (oil on canvas or panel).  I don't always do this, but the painting usually goes a little quicker when I have a plan of sorts.  Plus, I just love using my vine charcoal - this time, it's Coates brand - to squiggle my dancers into being.  (They're always there, of course, but I give them a little nudge.)   Drawn on Strathmore Drawing paper, it's about 10 1/2 x 8 1/2".  Thanks for looking!

Lindyhop Lovers - original oil figurative painting

I was pretty happy with this one - of course, there are always things to fool with and I might do that here and there, but overall, I'll mostly leave it alone.  I do love visiting with my little dancers - we're never apart for long.  It's 7 x 5" on Gessobord.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Dance Party - original charcoal figurative drawing

Happy 2013 everybody!!!  Hope this is your best year ever!  Right now I'm waiting for my plane to Italy, so if I don't post for awhile, you'll know I'm busy sightseeing and drinking in the art.  Have a great time tonight and the rest of 2013!  Oh and also, this drawing was done with vine charcoal on Strathmore drawing paper - it's about 14 x 16".  Thanks for stopping by!

Crazy Little Boogie Woogie - original oil figurative painting

 

Here's a version of last night's charcoal drawing, done with oil sticks  - not oil pastels.  They're  unavailable in oil pastel sizes, so it's really difficult to be exact unless you sharpen them.  R&F sticks are soft, so that would be difficult.  They're not only soft - they're luscious beyond belief and a real pleasure to use.  I also use Winsor & Newton and Sennelier, but my faves are the R&F; I've been meaning to try Shiva, too, but just haven't gotten around to it.  Oil sticks harden just like oil paint because they really are oil paint in stick form.
Since the sticks are pretty big (and these are the small sizes) I simply aimed for the general vicinity of the place I wanted to make a mark and let whatever happened, just happen.   If, like me, you love to draw, give the oil sticks a try.  I am such a drawing enthusiast that I try to use all kinds of different drawing media and right now, I'm big on oil sticks!
The painting is on 6 x 6" Gessobord.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tiny Jive - original figurative small format oil painting

Here's a little 4 x 4" painting on Gessobord.  Much fun to paint.  Thanks for looking! Sold

Jivin' All Over Again - original oil figurative painting

Been busy for awhile, but am turning my attention back to art. Here is today's 6 x 6" painting on Gessobord of my jivers. I was listening to a little of Matthew Pearl's The Last Dickens while I did this one - I love his work! Hope you're all having a nice early spring - thanks so much for stopping by! PS. This painting is based on my drawing from a few posts ago, Jivemania Again.

Jumpin' - original mixed media figurative drawing by Connie Chadwell

This drawing began with a Prismacolor marker, then moved to Caran d'Ache Neoart Aquarelle, then finished up with oil pastel.  I worked furiously and when it was done, I had about as much color on me as on the drawing.  It's on Strathmore 300 6 x 6" Bristol board.  There's a lot left unsaid here, but I wanted to do it quickly before I got bogged down in too much detail.  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog!  Sold
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Rockin' - original oil figurative painting by Connie Chadwell

This loosey goosey painting was done from gesture drawings of dancers and I thoroughly enjoyed painting it.  The drawings look kind of like scribbles - I think I've posted some of them before - but I can 'read' them.  You'd probably look at my gesture drawings and ask "Hunh?" and wonder how on earth I came up with the final product.  Gesture drawings are a kind of shorthand that you can build upon right on top of the drawing.  That's not what I did here, but building on top of the gesture is one of my favorite things to do.  Once you have the gesture, you can stop any time and have a finished product.

"Rockin'" is 6 x 6" on Gessobord.  Thanks for stopping by! Sold

More Little Jivedoodles - original ink figurative drawing by Connie Chadwell

Here's another of the little jitterbug drawings that I love to do. This was done on a Strathmore sketch pad, 5 x 12" and it's done in ink! Very daring, since it can't be erased and so what you see is what you get. I think drawing with ink is one of the best drawing improvers ever, because if you make a mistake, you're stuck with it, so you're motivated to improve. Also, I used a calligraphy pen on this one, which is fun!
Thanks so much for stopping by! SOLD

Jivemania - oil figure painting

This is a quick little gesture that I painted today. I mainly used blues and oranges, but I am never totally happy unless there's a little green somewhere, so there are a few dots of viridian. It's 6 x 6" on Gessobord. Thanks for looking!SOLD