Sketch of Kerri Looking Down - original charcoal drawing of a nude

This drawing's on Strathmore

drawing paper, 11 x 14".  Thanks for stopping by!

Jive Drawing - original oil pastel figurative drawing

Here's a just for fun thing I did with Sennelier oil pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper - just perfectly gritty - 12 x 9".  Thanks for looking!

Happy Jive - original figurative oil painting

It was gloomy all day, so the perfect thing to do was immerse myself in the film noir offered on Fridays in June on TCM.  Can never get enough of this genre.  My posting is sort of opposite the way I spent my day, though - happier and more colorful, for sure - this piece is on archival canvas board, 11 x 14".  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Tango in Blues and Greys - original watercolor pencil figurative drawing

More of my latest obsession - the lines and softness of watercolor pencil - this stuff doesn't behave, which is part of the fun.  My fixation will pass - but in the meantime, I'm loving it!  This one is also on Yupo, about 11 x 8".  Next time I use the pencils, I may use gessoed paper just to see how that works.  So many choices, so little time.  Thanks for looking! 

Dorie - original watercolor pencil portrait drawing

This model had the sweetest face - well, she still has it, but alas, I probably won't see her again.  I used an Inktense pencil from Derwent in black, along with pale blue Caran d'Ache and Daniel Smith watercolor sticks.  This was done on Yupo, about 9 x 7".  The casualness, or maybe I should say the accidental result, is what attracts me to the combination of watercolor pencils and Yupo paper.  Even though the drips from the watery colors don't generally go where I want them to, there's no stress because I don't feel the outcome has to be just so-so.  Maybe I should have done some work to make it more realistic - but I just didn't want to - that's the fun of it! Thanks for stopping by!

Close Dancing - original oil pastel figurative painting

Every bit as much fun as close dancing was drawing this 7 x 5" on Pastelbord.  Thanks for looking!

On My Easel - Sketch for The Cellist - original oil pastel portrait

Cellos are such beautiful instruments - both in appearance and sound.  So many people think they're just for accompaniment, but they are gorgeous for solos.  This sketch will definitely become an oil painting - not because I don't value oil pastel, because if you read my blog, you know how much I adore oil pastel, but oil is requested for this one.  I have many cello drawings and some will make appearances here.  This piece is drawn with Sennelier oil pastels on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper, 12 x 9".  Thanks for looking!

On My Easel - Livy - original oil portrait painting from life in progress

This painting is one that I'm doing from life - much fun to work in oil paint right from the model.  So often I use a drawing that I did earlier, so this is a real treat.  It's on 10 x 10" gessoed panel.  Thanks for stopping by!

On My Easel - Barrel Racer - original figurative oil painting in progress

Much more to do on this one, but I love trying to capture the power and speed of these beautiful animals as they race around the barrels.  At the moment, I'm working on several paintings - dancers, women, western, but haven't posted because I kept leaving the laptop that I can actually use for posting on my blog at the studio and didn't realize it 'til too late, so I have a few things to post in the coming days.  Am painting this on 8 x 10" archival canvas board.  Thanks for looking!

Another Seated Nude - original charcoal drawing of a nude

Here's another drawing from awhile back - I've been hung up on the Mad Men marathon, then the final episode (sob) and have done very little in the way of art.  Now I'll get back to work.  This drawing is about 11 x 14".   It has some lines in the background and a few on the figure itself that are kind of a mystery - a good bit of restating going on, I think.  I always like seeing the original intentions and then what finally happened.  Anyway, it looks like a drawing I enjoyed doing.  Thanks for stopping by!

Standing Charcoal Nude - original charcoal drawing of a nude

 I always love standing poses.  This one was done months ago at a drawing group and everything I'm working on at the moment is nowhere near being finished - can't even be a 'work in progress'.  It's very handy to have lots of drawings around for times like this.  This one is about 14 x 8" - thanks for looking!

Sketch of Satine - original oil pastel portrait sketch

A few Caran d'Ache oil pastels were all I had with me when this sketch opportunity came up, so I just did the best I could on this quick little drawing.  It's about 9 x 9" on Strathmore 403 pastel paper.  Thanks for looking!

Nude in Charcoal - original charcoal drawing of a nude

The essence of drawing for me is the nude - humans are beautiful and I never tire of drawing them.  This one is about 11 x 3 1/2".  Thanks for looking!

Flamenco in Charcoal Again - original charcoal figurative drawing

I bravely decided to challenge myself with a bit of foreshortening (her right arm).  This was drawn on 14 x 11" Strathmore drawing paper, but matted to about 13 x 9".  Thanks for visiting my blog!

Tiny Lia - original oil pastel portrait painting (ATC)

I am on an ACEO/ATC kick at the moment and have been using Caran d'Ache Neopastels instead of my usual Senneliers.  They are not as soft as the Senneliers and are easier to work with in such a small area without sharpening them.  See my post on my oil pastel blog.  I used a 3 1/2 x 2 1/2" piece of illustration board for this one - owing to my photography skills, it's a little warmer than in real life - will try tomorrow to get a photo in better light.  Thanks for looking!

Tango Delight - original figurative oil painting

They're still dancing  and having lots of sweet fun!  This one is on 7 x 5" gessoed panel.  Thank you for visiting my blog!

Tango Flourish - original figurative oil painting

They're still dancing the night away as I paint them.  This one is on 7 x 5" board.  Thanks for looking!

The Pitcher - original ink and charcoal figurative drawing

I was so lucky to see TWO Astros games last weekend - here's one of the sketches I did there.  It's ink except for touches of charcoal for a little shading.  I never ever tire of the drama of baseball and always marvel at the skill required to play it well.  This is drawn on 9 x 12" Borden and Riley Paris Paper for Pens.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tango Fire - original oil figurative painting

"Tango Fire" is painted on 6 x 6" gessoed hardboard and, as always, it was much fun to visit with my little tango dancers and see what they're up to.  Thanks for stopping by!

Flamenco in Charcoal - original charcoal figurative drawing

I adore working in charcoal and I love flamenco, thus, this drawing.  It's 12 x 8" on plate Bristol paper.  Thanks for looking!

Six Jivers - original acrylic figurative drawing

Every now and then I like to get out my size "0" or "1" bright (brush) and black acrylic paint to work from memory or terrorize those around me to 'hold that pose' - they don't even realize it's a pose - and draw quickly without regard to accuracy.  I was working on one pose when I discovered a beautiful ear on one of my 'models' - white ear against the black shapes behind it. Yum!  A tiny discovery, to be sure, but something I might not even notice unless I'd gotten busy with brush and acrylic - one of my favorite drawing methods. My post tonight is one that I did from memory and is on 14 x 17" paper.  Thanks for stopping by!  PS -  It's raining!  That's a big deal in central Texas!

Lindy's Curls - original charcoal portrait drawing

A compressed charcoal drawing on Yupo is probably the craziest thing, but that's all I had at the time, so I went with it.  This model's hair has a life of its own and I had to draw it right that minute! There's a lot of "texture" in the negative area that came from the charcoal that found its way there by accident and was impossible to erase, so I've learned to love it.  The compressed charcoal is very deliberate and once a mark was down, I could do little about it.  Yupo is forgiving with watercolor, but not too much with something like compressed charcoal - actually, the compressed kind of charcoal is hard to get rid of on any surface.  Anyway, I enjoyed doing the drawing and am pleased with how it turned out.  It's about 8 x 8".  Thanks for stopping by!

On My Easel - original oil figurative painting in progress

I am currently working on this painting - along with a couple of drawings and one other painting.  Hope to get this one finished tomorrow.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ink Jivers - original mixed media ink figurative drawing

They're back and seem to be enjoying themselves, as they always do.  Drawn quickly - I know you can tell - using an Itoya pen and Crayola, this little piece is on cold press watercolor paper, 5 1/2 x 7 1/2".  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Flamenco in Dark Blue - original figurative watermedia painting

Lots of swirly strokes, using mostly darkest blue watercolor sticks by Daniel Smith, Caran d'Ache and Winsor & Newton on Yupo.  Then I brushed over the lines with one of my waterpens - not exactly a real watercolorist, but it works okay for me.  This drawing is about 11 x 8".  Thanks so much for stopping by!  (I apologize for the pinkish tint - it's not the paper, which is white - it's my photography.)

Seated Model with Wineglass - original oil pastel figurative painting

Done on Judson's Guerilla Painter carton paper, this painting is 7 x 5" - I used mostly Senneliers with a few Caran d'Ache and Holbein.  It's so satisfying to work on this paper - it has many of the attributes of the carton paper of the Impressionists' day, but is touted as being more archival.  I love its warm color, as well.  Thanks so much for stopping by my blog - check out my latest posting on my oil pastel blog by clicking here.

Flamenco Frenzy - original charcoal figurative drawing

After watching a flamenco performance, I scribbled from memory some of the "poses" - I guess you'd  say.  I got on a roll with these, so you'll be seeing more of them.  Using one of those boxes of vine charcoal in which there are varied thicknesses, I completed - a version of completed, anyway - many 11 x 14" drawings.  Do you ever get started on a project and just not want to stop?  Well, it was like that with me and was so satisfying.  Lots of squiggly lines add up to time well spent for me.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

The Model Takes a Break - original oil pastel figurative painting

This little piece is one I did while the model was waiting 'til break time was over.  It's on 7 x 5" Pastelbord and is another one I think will become a larger piece.  My previous post (The Model in a Dark Robe) is one that I have been painting as a larger work and it is SO different from the original.  When the larger painting is finished, I'll post it - or maybe I shouldn't, since it's taken such a different turn that it may look as if someone else did it.  Hmmm - don't know how that happens - oh well, thanks for stopping by!

The Model in a Dark Robe - original oil pastel figurative painting

This sketchy piece has made me so happy because I feel I got her skin tones correct.  Lately, I've been working on skin tones and trying to pay a lot of attention to getting just the right hue, value, etc., and - yippee - I have a good feeling about this one!  Am hoping to turn this into an oil painting, but whenever I attempt such things, something is lost - will keep trying, though.  Am I alone in having the problem of losing the feeling of the original when trying to move it to another medium?  On Strathmore 403 oil pastel paper, about 11 x 8".  Thanks so much for stopping by.

Red Mug - original oil pastel portrait painting

This little 7 x 5" painting on Pastelbord began with a drawing of a young woman sitting in a café.  She was having a quiet moment before getting back in the fray.  I left this pretty loose and it's not really "finished", but that's my kind of thing.  Thanks so much for visiting!