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!

I Love Barrel Racing! - western figurative oil painting of horse and rider barrel racing

Here's a finished - and I hope - an improved version of the earlier post.   (Thank you Hilda!)  Barrel racing is a cross between grace and athleticism and - wow - the relationship between horse and rider is beautiful to behold!  There aren't ever enough participants at the rodeo, but I probably feel that way  because I could watch endlessly!  There will be more western paintings because I have sketches and photos from the rodeo and dances here (Junction, Texas) in August.  I painted this piece on 12 x 9" panel.  Thanks for looking!

On My Easel - figurative rodeo barrel racer painting in progress

Here's what I worked on this evening.  I love rodeos and barrel racing is right up there with my favorite events.  Could watch for hours!  A good bit of work to finish this one, but just posting to share my efforts and if I finish tomorrow, I will post it - any suggestions would be welcome - thanks for looking!

How I Rescued a Failure - original figurative pencil and oil pastel drawing

I bought the neatest daVinci set of pan watercolors and splurged on a new watercolor brush and some new watercolor instruction books - and have produced nothing but failures.  Arghhh - (rending of garments) - drives me crazy having to be so busy with the medium that I can't accomplish what I want.  So, I covered the part I didn't like with oil pastel and am well pleased with the result!  The rest of the piece is drawn with graphite pencil.  The conclusion here, I guess, is that things that don't work out can often be rescued and oil pastel is great at saving artworks gone wrong - I love it!  But I will still continue my journey into watercolor and maybe, just maybe, I'll find success.  This one is 12 x 9" on cold press watercolor paper.  Thanks for stopping by!
PS -  I really think I like this better with oil pastel anyway.  Maybe I'm just not choosing the right subjects to paint in watercolor.  Actually I did a couple of dancers in watercolor that really pleased me.  So I guess all isn't lost - but still watercolor is kind of tough.  If y'all have any suggestions, I would love to hear!!!

Cool Jive - original ink and crayon figurative drawing of jive dancers

I know, it looks kind of crazy, but sometimes my Itoya Doubleheader and my Sharpie get the best of me - and throw in a Crayola and who knows what can happen!  Well, here's the result - could have made it red, but thought that would have been too too, hence the "cool" in the title - lavender - one of my favorite cool colors instead.  Drawn on 5 x 17" Bristol.  Thanks for stopping by!

Jivin' Up a Storm - original figurative oil painting of jive dancers

The little jivers are back and still at it - they keep coming back to show me what they can do and I love it!  This one is painted on 8 x 8" cradled panel.  I was a little looser this time, especially with the background and had a lot of fun with it.  We're gearing up for the rodeo here - the yearly event where I get lots of sketches and photos that I use in my artwork.  And this time, it's not supposed to be so terribly hot and may actually rain (well, I'll believe it when I see it) which doesn't happen too much around here.  Thanks for looking!

PS.  Click here to check out my oil pastel blog,

More Strumming - original oil portrait sketch

I just love doing these quick little - in this case 12 x 9" on panel - studies.  Once I was attending a graduate class at Texas Tech and the professor said to me after we had completed some quick paintings from life that he would love to see what I could do with a week on the same pose.  I thought to myself 'I would completely kill the piece'.  Nothing like spending a little time on something and then moving on.  That's why I love drawing groups that feature short poses, but they're not easy to find.  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

What I'm Working on Today - bar scene figurative oil painting

Working from a bar scene I saw a few evenings ago, this 9 x 12" painting is coming along fairly well.  I have so many sketches from that evening, though, that I may just do a tiny bit more on this and begin another one.  Much more fun that way, so maybe that's a plan.  Thanks for stopping by!

The Model in a Green Flowered Dress - original watercolor portrait painting

Every now and then I come across my Yupo and decide to fool around with watercolor.  I didn't do this one from life, but from a photo I took at a drawing group.  I really think I'm going to get brave enough to take my w/c stuff to the next group and see what I come up with - haven't done that in ages.  Actually, the background is a little bit whiter than the photo shows - done on 9 x 12" Yupo.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ballerina Conversation - original oil pastel figurative sketch

A just for fun sketch that I loved doing - me and my gesture drawings - my favorite thing is to try and capture little moments, then work on them later back in my studio!  I would like to have known what these girls were talking about - maybe a tough practice?  I used 12 x 9" Colourfix paper.  Thanks for stopping by!

On My Easel Dancer Portrait - oil pastel portrait in progress

At first, I thought the model looked like a woman who wanted to be asked to dance - the tango, maybe.  Then I let myself be led by the drawing process to where I am now.  Not really sure where that is, but maybe she'll be a bit more assertive in the end - anyway, lots of work to do.   I'm working on 16 x 12" Colourfix paper in umber.   Thanks so much for looking!

Happy in a Green Dress - figurative oil painting

Made some changes to my previous sketch - "borrowed" a young friend to hold the pose for a few minutes and it became a
somewhat different thing because she lent her interpretation to the scene.  Went a little crazy with the viridian and manganese, but artist's prerogative, right?  I loved doing this painting and really appreciate seeing you here!

Model on a Sofa in Black and White - acrylic drawing of the model

A quick, kind of unconsidered drawing of the model - was looking for something I could use for a painting and think I've found it in this pose.  For this one, I used black acrylic on 9 x 12" cold press watercolor paper. (I had a couple of requests from readers to explain art terms, so cold press is kind of bumpy paper, not at all smooth.  Then there is hot press which is very smooth.  I love it, myself, but it's thought to be less forgiving.  And also there's a rough watercolor paper, which, you guessed it, is rough!)  Black lines on white paper.  Ahhhhh.  Thanks for looking!

Still Working - portrait painting work in progress

Every time I look, I see things that need correcting.  Didn't spend much time on it today - was busy outside - actually haven't spent much time at all on this little painting, but it's been fun to do.  Even though there really is a lot of cool blue in her hair, will remove some of it. Mostly, I just smoothed things and will probably leave it alone, except for something here and there.  Always so afraid of murdering my poor paintings. I hope this isn't too boring - thanks for stopping by - and I am totally open to critiques, ideas, tips, or anything else!

What I'm Working On - portrait painting in oil Work in Progress

Maybe a couple of days or so on this, possibly warming up the background and several other touches - I'm hoping to bring it to a grand closure (oh the pomposity) without killing it.  Maybe tomorrow I'll work on something else - don't know about y'all, but sometimes it just seems better to let it sit around for a day and then go back to work on it.  Hope you're not burning up where you are - it's in the 100s every day here, well, today was maybe 97 to 99, so not so bad.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

"Nude with Earrings" - original oil pastel painting of a nude

I've always loved back views because they are mysterious and actually very challenging.  I worked here to get the values correct.  And just to be completely true to myself, I didn't add color to her left leg.  Drawing - my true love!  Using Sennelier oil pastels, I painted this piece on 12 x 9" Colourfix paper.  Thanks so much for looking!

"Black Dress" - oil pastel drawing of the model

I loved drawing this model - there's nothing like drawing from life!  I used a sketchy scribbling with my oil pastel to (I hope) capture her pose and, yes, could have "finished" it more, but then it wouldn't have been as much fun.  About 9 x 9" on Colourfix paper.  Thanks for visiting Hackberry Street Studio!

"Eggplant Aloft" - original still life oil painting

Here's more from my painting workshop.  I was afraid the arrangement wouldn't be acceptable to our instructor,  Scott Conary, but it passed muster and I was on my way.  This workshop has opened up new painting ideas for me.  This one is on canvas board, 8 x 10".  Thanks for looking!

"Shelly's Red Locket" - watercolor portrait sketch

Another watercolor experiment.  This time I kept thinking 'what's wrong with this paper?'  The color would hardly stay on the paper and was about to drive me crazy.  Also, I was using a pan watercolor set made by Yarka.  I bought it probably 10 or so years ago, never used it, and I decided that either Strathmore, the paper maker, or Yarka paints must be defective.  Then I took a really close look at the paper.  I had, at some point, coated it with gesso to make it easier to lift the paint and totally forgotten.  So I was the culprit.  Anyway, I've since found my Yupo and I don't really need to gesso the paper.  This little portrait is 12 x 9".  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

"Left Behind" - original still life oil painting

Here's another of the still life paintings from the class.  Probably sounds silly, but I tried to imagine that the pears have emotions (and who knows?) and they're being pretty mean, excluding the poor green pear.  So I arranged them accordingly.  Fun to paint - I'm learning to love painting fruit and vegetables - something I never dreamed would happen.  This painting is 8 x 10".  Thanks for looking!

The Fortune Teller - original oil pastel portrait painting

Here is the mostly finished piece from an earlier post, click here to see the beginning.  Will do a bit more on this drawing/painting (never exactly sure what to call my things).  I love profiles!  Thanks for looking!

Quick Drawing of a Seated Woman - oil pastel portrait drawing

I got lucky with this one - not too many folks will sit still for a few minutes so I can attempt to capture them on my paper.  Got lucky here! Spent the most time on her face and was sketchy with everything else   Good practice.  12 x 9".  Thanks for stopping by!

Poblano Pepper - still life painting

Something completely different for me - still life!  I just finished taking an amazing workshop with Scott Conary at Atelier Dojo in Austin.  It sort of opened up a new art world for me.  This painting is on canvas board, 12 x 9".  Thanks for looking!

The Believer - original oil pastel portrait

This piece is on gritty pastel paper, using Sennelier oil pastels and is 10 x 8".  May use this pose further - don't know yet.  Thanks so much for looking!

Fixing Her Shoe - figurative drawing of a ballerina/ballet dancer

Getting ready to dance, this young ballet dancer readies her shoes - charcoal and oil pastel on Art Spectrum Colourfix paper, 12 x 9".  Thanks for visiting my blog!

Keeley's Self Confidence - oil pastel portrait sketch

I first laid down lots of yellow ochre acrylic paint, then drew and scribbled with oil pastel till I "found" Keeley.  This one is on about 10 x 9" acrylic paper.  Thanks for looking!

Trying out some chalks - drawing of woman looking into light

I did this one on grey toned paper - Strathmore -working with some General's compressed pastels - black, white, sanguine, sepia - that I found while going through my supplies. (Oh, the stuff I haven't even uncovered yet!)   I really enjoyed sketching with them.  They will work beautifully on a more finished drawing, too, but I love leaving things a little raw.  Thanks for looking!

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!

On My Easel - original oil pastel profile in progress

Much to do on this piece, and since I love drawing profiles, it'll be a pleasure,  It's on Colourfix paper, 16 x 20".  Thanks for looking!