Drawing with My Fingertip IPhone Art - portrait drawing

Something to do while waiting - drawing on my iPhone - usually I just use it to remind me of a scene, but occasionally I get brave and post one to my blog.  It's just fun - never know how it'll turn out, but I guess that's the way with just about everything. 😊

Stella Doing the Twist - original charcoal figurative sketch

Play old-time rock 'n' roll music and get the model doing 'the twist' - much drawing fun!  (I recommend Chubby Checker's music.)  This all dates me, of course. 😃 I loved doing this drawing and would like to do a much longer piece of dancers twisting - it would probably have an athletic look - something to pursue - always looking for ways to depict the figure!  This one is on 14 x 11" Strathmore toned paper.  Thanks for stopping by!

Morning Watercolor Ivy - original watercolor sketch of ivy

More watercolor practice using the little jars of ivy in my kitchen window.  Not a watercolorist, of course, but fun to do and sort of gets me going early in the a.m.  Was so anxious not to overwork, that I left a few things really unfinished.  I'm wondering if anybody out there is as likely to overwork - in any medium - as I am.  It must be a personality thing.  I did this one on 9 x 6" cold press paper.  Thanks for visiting!

Nellie's Red Hat - original oil pastel figurative drawing

Totally love those flappers!  And the delight of not having enough time to make it an actual "finished painting" so it remains loose and more of a drawing.  Of course when is it a drawing and when is it a painting?  Some of my most successful drawings have been done with oils and you probably can say the same.  I was reading the other day about alternating between paintings, which I do, but always setting a timer for each one so there's a freshness for each piece.
I sometimes set a timer, but then get hung up on some little something and turn it off.  And then the overworking sets in.  Memo to me - obey the timer!  This drawing is on smooth Colourfix paper.  I bought two packages - one fresh grey and one black - great for lots of media - 12 x 9".  Thanks for looking!

Two-Stepper Sketch - original oil figurative sketch of dancers

Every summer I go to the rodeo dances here in Junction and draw and take photos, just like I do at the rodeo that precedes the dance.  I have tons of drawings and photos that I can draw upon (pun intended) through the winter months.  There's just nothing like the way people move, plus their expressions - endlessly fascinating, I think.  Like this guy and the way he was looking at his dance partner - I keep wondering. . . .  I'll be posting more two-steppers in the days ahead - have been looking for two-step instructional videos for those of you who are interested in learning, but most I've seen are so corny.  Will keep searching, though.  This one is 14 x 11" on stretched canvas.  Thanks for looking!

Portrait Sketch in Sanguine - original portrait drawing

I seldom use sanguine, but used it along with a few General's pastel sticks and had a good time with it.  Colors in the pack were perfect for redhead coloring and I used smooth 9 x 12"  Colourfix paper in Fresh Grey, which has a blue tint so the color couldn't have been better as a surface, I think.  Usually I'm not a fan of drawing teeth, but in this case, the model had such an engaging smile that I found it a pleasure.  I knew, though, that it would be difficult to hold, so I got the smile down right away because I loved the way it looked at the beginning.    Thanks for stopping by!

Blue Robe - original watercolor portrait painting

The cobalt blue robe was so pretty on the model and showed off her porcelain complexion perfectly - a joy to paint her.  Watercolor is always so iffy for me - tough to put the paint down and leave it alone, so maybe it's good I didn't feel there was enough time to get everything finished.  Putting the paint down on the paper and not noodling with it is foreign to me but I worked hard to do that here - just lifting the brush and not going back. Whew!  On about 7 x 6" watercolor paper.  Thanks for stopping by!

Floating Nude - original oil pastel nude

I loved the pose and painted it on 5 x 7" Pastelbord using Sennelier oil pastels.  This brand of oil pastels is like painting/drawing with a luscious lipstick, plus by not sharpening to a point, I feel it keeps my work from being too tight.  It seems that when I touch the surface with the blunt, unsharpened oil pastel, it's anybody's guess where it will land 😀 and that often works out well, I think!
When I looked at this piece later in the day, I realized I hadn't fully covered the bottom with the red rug and decided it looked like she was floating - sooo "Floating Nude" it was.  Thanks for stopping by!

Ivy - original watercolor with ink painting of ivy

I was looking out my window and decided to do this little jar of ivy in the window.  After doing the leaves, I decided they needed a few lines - I'm a line lover - so I took out my ballpoint and added lines here and there.  It was early morning when I did this one and it was fun to start my day with this little piece - about 8 1/2 x 5 1/2".  Thanks for stopping by!

Profile in Charcoal - original charcoal drawing of woman in kimono

Love these profiles - this is a quick one in charcoal on 12 x 9" smooth Colourfix paper.  Not a lot of grit to it (what did I expect when it says "smooth") and I like it a lot for pastel pencils, not so sure about using it when drawing with charcoal.  It'll be okay with oil pastel, but won't hold lots of layers, so I'd better work at getting it right the first time and not piling it on the way I ususally do.  Thanks for stopping by!

Leah in Green - original oil pastel portrait

Green is such a beautiful color and I'm always looking for ways to include it in portraits, so it was wonderful that Leah strolled in wearing a green top.  Generally I like to mix greens, but I had a dark green that worked well and I lightened it here and there with lighter values - not with greens, but warmer colors like peachy shades.  I used mostly Holbein oil pastels on 7 x 5" Ampersand Pastelbord.   I'm posting this while listening to the soundtrack from "Honeymoon in Vegas" - so great and a funny movie, too!  Until recently, multi-tasking was considered a good thing, but lately I've been hearing that it's not such a great thing for one's brain.  Gotta protect those cells, so stopping now to hear the rest of Vegas, then on to Johnny Rodriguez.  Thanks for stopping by!

Portrait Sketch in Oil - original drawing in oil

Trying out the Strathmore oil paper, which I love, with a quick little sketch.  This paper has a linen-like surface that isn't at all distracting and is also perfect for oil pastel.  Strathmore has introduced some papers lately that I really like, in addition to this one - their Printmaking as well as the Dark Blue toned paper.  They're both great additions to the Strathmore line.  Thanks for stopping by!

A Couple of Baseball sketches - charcoal drawings

I have pages of these, but kinda liked these two - seemed to have the fire.  Keep hoping for the O's but alas - maybe next year.  Thanks for looking.

Blue Sofa - original oil pastel figurative painting

  This little 5 x 7" piece is Holbein oil pastel on Pastelbord.  Thanks for stopping by! 

Sweet Jive - original oil pastel figurative

I love the looseness I can get with oil pastel and fairly gritty surfaces (in this case Ampersand Pastelbord).  Lines, scribbles and emotion always make me feel like I've done something with my day!  I used Holbein oil pastel on this 7 x 5" piece.  Thanks for looking!

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!

Three Nudes - ballpoint pen sketch

One of those drawings I like to do at drawing groups - putting three figures over each other.  I like that there's no time to fix things, but just record my response to the model.  When I do these kinds of drawings, I always leave with a sense of accomplishment - even more than when I've done a fairly successful painting.  Not sure what that says about me and am not going to try and analyze, but just go with it.  I matted this to about 10 x 7".  Thanks for looking!

On My Easel - Portrait of a Scholar WIP - oil pastel

Definitely a work in progress with much more to do, but I'm beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.  It's too "warm" for me, so am doing a bit of cooling off - blue in the background and possibly more to come.  This is one I'll leave alone for a few days and see how it looks then.  I have lots more to do re drawings and paintings.  Will post again when it's finished - 16 x 12" on gritty paper.  Thanks for looking!
To see more about the oil pastels I'm using in painting this portrait, click here to visit my oil pastel blog.

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!

In a Mood - original charcoal portrait drawing

Maybe this is the last one - no promises - of my charcoal drawings on paper from the Mi-Teintes pad.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tango in Gold - original figurative charcoal drawing

Another charcoal drawing on the Mi-Teintes pastel pad I bought this past weekend.   I just love line drawings, so had lots of fun drawing on the textured side of the paper - added a bit of white here and there.  I guess I just have to get this Mi-Teintes thing out of my system.  Thanks for looking! 

My Reluctant Model - original charcoal portrait sketch

I can be so persuasive sometimes - or maybe overbearing - when getting someone to pose for me, however briefly.  When their patience runs out, I turn to the camera.  This young woman held the pose as long as she could stand it, for which I was totally grateful!

I loved her hesitant manner, as if she might not have thought this was such a good idea.  I'm just crazy about capturing people's emotions that they don't only display in their faces, but in their gestures, as well.  Was trying not to overwork, so purposely didn't spend much time on the drawing or go back and "fix" things.

There was a sale on paper at my store and I bought a couple of tablets of Mi-Teintes.  For some reason - and I seldom hear this from anyone - I love the textured side.  I appreciate the looseness the textured side produces and I can always stump the charcoal if I want some of the drawing to look smoother.  When I drag my vine charcoal across the paper, the textured side grabs only some of the charcoal so I don't have to soften a line - the paper just sort of does it for me.  There's some white hard pastel in this 12 x 9" drawing along with the charcoal.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Preparatory Sketch for a Portrait - original charcoal portrait sketch

I was going

through some old sketches and came across this study that I did for a small portrait painting years ago.  I used vine charcoal (my fave) on 12 x 9" toned paper.  It's a lot of fun to look back at artwork from the past.  Thanks for stopping by!

Lou as Cleopatra - original oil pastel portrait

It's great when models dress up in historical garb and sometimes they even take on the personality of their character.  Lou is this kind of model - she was very regal while she sat for us.  Well, Cleopatra, after all.  I used mostly Sennelier oil pastels, with a few Caran d'Ache on Colourfix 12 x 9" smooth pastel paper in Fresh Grey.  Thanks for stopping by!

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!

Sketch of an Actress - original charcoal portrait of a woman

This little drawing on Strathmore's toned paper is about 8 x 6" (actually on 12 x 9" paper, but I matted it smaller). 
The model is an actress and was in her stage makeup - complete with false lashes and eyeliner which gave her eyes a lot of impact - I loved it!  For this one I used the always wonderful and forgiving vine charcoal, with a few accents in white pencil.  As usual, I left some things undone, which I think lends feeling to a drawing done quickly.  Thanks for looking!

Tango in Orange - original acrylic figurative painting

I saw this "pose" once at a tango demo - it was a slight pause, then she spun away.  I thought it was such a sweet moment.  This painting was done on Strathmore acrylic paper - tough, heavy and great to work with and also good for oil pastel.  Although it's on 12 x 12" paper, I matted this piece to about 11 x 9". 
Currently, I'm trying to organize my art supplies  - and have come to the conclusion that I'm a "paperholic".  I really do love paper - have all kinds, watercolor, oil, oil pastel, charcoal, soft pastel, printmaking and even paper with inclusions in it - but I do wish I hadn't loved it quite as much as I have!
Really glad you stopped by😀

Studying the Situation - original ink figurative drawing

 

I drew this from a snapshot I took over the weekend.  The paper is cut from a Bee watercolor sheet and I really really like it.  Also, it's very versatile and can be used, for instance, with oil pastel.  I just splashed streaks of watercolor here and there and then drew using a Sharpie.  I matted it to about 7 x 4 1/2".  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Tiny Profile Painting of Janna - small oil portrait painting

Here's a 4 x 4" painting done kind of quickly, just lots of fun to paint - thanks so much for stopping by!

Painting from Memory Practice - plus what I'm working on

Every now and then I like to try my hand at painting a likeness of someone I observed, but not a person I actually drew or photographed - so here's a little acrylic painting done on a 5 x 4" canvas.  Am reasonably pleased with it.  And here's a quick little watercolor sketch that I'm using as a "pattern" for an 8 x 8" painting.  I did the first pass in not too realistic acrylic colors, but will probably finish the piece in oils.  It being spring, I'm so busy planting and enjoying the lovely weather - hope it's nice where you are!  Thanks for looking!