Black and White Variety - drawings from life

Here are some of my life drawing efforts - mostly quick pieces, which are my favorite.  I learn a lot from this kind of work even if I don't finish and there are mistakes because it sharpens my drawing skills.  I used Sharpies and charcoal on these fun pieces.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sketch of Janie - original oil pastel portrait drawing

 This loose drawing is one I copied from a more serious piece that I did in a life drawing group.  I was getting ready to send the first one to File 13, but gave it another life here.  I allowed myself maybe 10 minutes and went crazy.  Done on sanded pastel paper with mostly Sennelier and some Caran d'Ache and CrayPas Specialist oil pastels, it's about 7 x 10".  I never stop loving my oil pastels - more artists should try them - whether drawing or painting, they're up for anything!  Thanks for stopping by!

Chess Game - Original oil pastel portrait drawing

 Kind of intense game between these two and I had to make my move while I could.  I'm always so happy to have models even if that's not what they had in mind!  I scribbled this one on 16 x 20" Canson Mi-Teintes board with Sennelier oil pastels.  It was so rewarding to draw quickly without thinking - just one's reaction to the model(s) is really deeply satisfying.  Same way with the "Seated Nude #45"  that I posted a day or so ago.  Somehow looseness (is that a word?) in artwork is so gratifying for

me.  Thanks for visiting my blog!

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!

Drawing Practice - Original charcoal figurative drawings

 

Every day I draw something - here's from yesterday.  The day before that it was two or three landscapes.  I'm kind of hooked on the male torso from ancient times - someday, maybe, I'll do it perfectly.  Maybe.  The first of these is an improvement on a drawing I did in a drawing group.  The last is a copy from a book - and I admit it needs some work.😀 Thanks for stopping by and looking at my efforts!

More Jivers - Original Figurative Drawing

 This 11 x 14" charcoal and ink drawing on Bristol board was a challenge because of the woman's turn of her leg - always kind of tough to depict, but I'm happy with how it turned out.  Just put on the music and drew these two jivers - much fun! I teetered on overworking this piece but held off - thanks for stopping by!

"My Favorite Season" - original ink and watercolor figurative drawing

Quick drawing of this slugger - so much fun to draw from baseball games - was in Baltimore the other day to see  the Orioles play KC!  And Orioles won - Yay!  I even love the sounds of a baseball game.  I'm guessing the new rules are making it easier for people to watch now that games are a little shorter.  The length never bothered me though - there is so much drama going on that it's just great to watch - or listen - I also love baseball on the radio!  This little piece is 8.5 x 5.5" on cold press watercolor paper, using a Sharpie with a bit of watercolor.  Thanks for stopping by! 
 

"We Demand to be 'Just' a Drawing!" - ink and charcoal figurative line drawing

 Here's a drawing that I love but simply cannot paint.  Painting from this piece just eludes me.  This happens a lot - I guess because when I do the drawing, so often I'm actually looking at the dancers (in the dark, I just move the pencil or pen on the paper without looking) and the drawing actually captures what I'm seeing. Painting it later just doesn't seem to do it justice sometimes.  Too stiff, maybe?  You can see a few lines I drew later to see where to place on canvas.  Anyway, I love this couple because they're determined to be what they are and I support them in being a drawing and never feeling they must be represented in paint.  All of this said by a Lover of Drawings!!!!! It's about 10 x 10".  Thanks for stopping by!

"Sketch of Alexis" - mixed media portrait sketch

This drawing is one of those "catch them while you can" drawings.  Not often enough do I have a live model all to myself! Alexis is a model I've drawn from before, but this time it wasn't in a group setting. For this fun drawing, I used acrylic with touches of oil pastel and charcoal.  The acrylic did 95% of the work in this piece.   It's done on acrylic paper by Strathmore - a really tough support that I love - has a definite pattern to the paper that really works when using acrylic and I even like it for other media (obviously).  The size of the paper was originally 12 x 12" but I cut it down to about 11 x 6" and did something else with the rest of it.  One of the most fun things is using scrap pieces to do something experimental - and sometimes it actually works!  Thanks so much for stopping by!
 

"The Violinist" - original charcoal and oil pastel portrait drawing

Totally loved doing this drawing, beginning with vine charcoal
and then moving to Caran d'Ache oil pastel.  The (unsuspecting) model was in a quartet I was lucky to see and being close to the musicians, I zeroed in on this violinist. It's totally a memory drawing, but I think really pretty accurate.  I love drawing musicians as much as I love drawing dancers.  Gotta have music to dance, right?  The support for this piece is the carton board (carton is supposed to have an accent over the "o" but I don't know how to do it) from Guerrilla Painters.  I love this stuff.  It's great for oil pastel, charcoal, oil, acrylic and others, too, I'm sure.  If I use it for oil, I use clear gesso so I don't lose the beautiful color, which would happen if I used regular gesso.  With oil pastel, I just draw directly on the paper since OP contains a different type of oil that won't damage the support.  And the carton will then be bonded to museum board for extra strength.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

"Maiko #5 "- original oil pastel portrait

I did this painting with Caran d'Ache and Sennelier oil pastels on black mixed media 7 x 5" paper.  A maiko is a very young woman who is training to become a geisha. These young women have so much to learn of which every bit is fascinating to me.  I do get to draw from life a few Japanese models dressed as geishas and it is such a thrill!  I so enjoyed doing this one - thanks for stopping by!
 

"Zara in a Peasant Blouse" - original oil pastel figurative

More fun for me - a few minutes with this young woman and her colorful outfit.  The black lines that outline the figure are from a General Pencil Company Peel and Sketch charcoal pencil - I loosely filled in the drawing with Caran d'Ache and Sennelier oil pastels.  The paper is Stonehenge and is about 5 1/2 x 4 1/2".  This quick little drawing is a perfect illustration of why it's good to always have a few art supplies at hand.  You never know when something good will turn up!  I might not have used charcoal and oil pastel together in this case (although I have used this combination in other pieces) but it's what I had in my bag, so I just went with it.  I love spur-of-the-moment art!💖 Thanks for stopping by my blog!
 

"Just A Little Ink Sketch"- original ink life drawing of a nude

Not an easy pose to hold with the feet in that position and one arm over the other - just increases my respect for models!  I used a Sharpie pen to 'feel' the model and since the lines this left around the subject couldn't be erased, they're still there.  Actually I think it gives an interesting look of lightness to the drawing - resulting, I think, from using the Sharpie Ultra Fine Point - the lines are so fine that they are not a distraction from the drawing.  Drawn on Strathmore 90 lb Mixed Media paper, it's about 7 1/2 x 3 1/2".  Thanks for stopping by!  Click here for a bit of Sharpie history.
 

"40's Jive" - original ink and watercolor figurative drawing

 This drawing is totally loose and undirected with absolutely no thought to the end result.  Shouldn't admit it, but yeah, that's the truth.  I just put splashes of color here and there and basically had a great time.  Sometimes I think I'd like to make wire sculptures of dancers and this sort of has the same fun feel to it.  About 5 1/2 x 8" on Canson mixed media paper. Thanks so much for stopping by!

"Loree" - original graphite portrait drawing of a woman

Although I love to draw with charcoal, occasionally I will use a graphite pencil to do a portrait.  I used HB and 2B on this one -  the support was Canson mixed media paper.  The paper is white although with my great photography, you wouldn't know it😞.  I also trimmed it to 8 x 4 3/8".  Thanks for stopping by!
 

"Salsa!" - original oil pastel figurative

Salsa dancers are figures I don't draw much, but now and then, I do see a pose that appeals to me and here's one.   Some of my dancers go on to become larger oil paintings and this may be one of those that "graduates".   I painted it on 7 x 5" Ampersand Pastelbord with mostly Sennelier and some Caran d'Ache oil pastels as well. Thanks for stopping by - and Happy New Year!

 

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!

Although I absolutely prefer working from life, this piece was done from my photo of this model.  It's on 10 x 8" Ampersand Pastelbord with mostly Sennelier oil pastels from their portrait collection as well as some Caran d'Ache oil pastels.  Thanks for looking - and Happy Thanksgiving!

A Nude from Summer - original ink drawing

Here is a nude drawing done this summer - can't believe it's been so long since I posted!  I used a very thin dowel - so thin that it kept breaking until finally I was left with a piece about four inches long.  Must have been using a bit too much pressure - and then brushed with water.  It's loose without much thought and that's the way I like it, so I consider this one a success.  The paper is Canson Mixed Media, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2".  Thanks for stopping by!
 

"Lainie" - ACEO original oil pastel portrait

I love to do these tiny art pieces (3.5 in x 2.5 in) - and although they are so small, they really do take a good amount of work.  Lainie was a model at one of the life drawing groups and was so good at holding a pose.  Being a model is tough work - I know this because when the model doesn't show up, the attendees are usually pressed into service!

For this one, I used mostly Sennelier oil pastels plus some Caran d'Ache Neopastels on Strathmore illustration board - all completely archival.   Thank you for visiting my blog!

Portrait of Laura - original charcoal portrait

 I was so lucky to see the exhibition "Degas at the Opera" when it was in Paris and while my model perused the catalog from that fabulous exhibition, I did a sketch of her.  This drawing was done using vine charcoal on Canson Mix Media 12 x 9" paper, 138 lb, so a good weight.  Would liked to have had more time for this drawing but was glad to have even this much - thank you for stopping by!  

Clara's Hat - original oil pastel portrait

I used a rather casual approach to this little piece which always seems to be my best option. Loose and inexact makes me so happy - not just in what I do but in most all artwork.  Her pose was perfect as a design, I thought, so I kept her over on the side.   My tools were Sennelier oil pastels on 7 x 5" Ampersand Pastelbord.  Much fun.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

More Valentines - original oil pastel portrait

Another oil pastel done from one of my charcoal drawings.  I do love the beauty and emotion of dance - whether waltz, two-step or tango (or actually any other kind).  It was so apparent to me that these two were really happy to be together.  This one is on 8 x 10" Judson's Guerilla carton board - two of my favorite artists from the past, Vuillard and Toulouse-Lautrec used cardstock, but I could never find any that was archival, but now - thank you Judson's - comes this great surface which is so wonderful for oil pastel!  If you want to use oil paint and want a little extra protection for the surface from the damage that can be caused by oil (not the same as the oil in oil pastel, which is not a problem) clear gesso is a great option.  After it gets a little more dry, I will bond it to museum board.  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!

            
 

Silva's Attitude - original oil pastel portrait drawing

This young woman displayed lots of confidence and it was fun to try and get that attitude down on paper.  Good model - easy and pleasant to work with.  This was a quick drawing, with no "amendments" and although I did a larger one later, I felt this drawing captured her perfectly.  Drew
this on a Canson 6 x 8" mix media pad, which I love to carry around with me.  Fits in my purse - even a couple of my crossbody ones - and I can pull it out and draw anyplace, even with some water-soluble pencils, because it's pretty heavy paper.   Thanks for looking!
 

Drawing of a Young Girl - original oil pastel portrait

I did this on Judson's Guerilla Carton Board.  Carton needs an accent mark, but I will have to wait till later - it's late and I'm sleepy and don't remember how to do it on my laptop.  This surface is wonderful for oil pastel - it's really a love affair between the two.  If you use oil paint, it's good to apply Gamblin GAC before painting on it.   I usually bond the carton to painting panel or mat board.  I don't know if artists appreciate this lightweight board/paper, but it's wonderful!  It's archival and so lightweight - plus I just swoon over how wonderfully it works with oil pastel!  This drawing is on 10 x 8" carton.  Try this surface - it's really great! Thanks so much for stopping by!
 

Tangled - original oil pastel portrait

This piece is one that I did on Strathmore acrylic paper using black acrylic paint and drawing/painting over it with oil pastel.  This is so rewarding for me - it looks like the model yet not exactly - she is my creation and the drawing is loose, just the way I like it!  Do y'all get this wonderful feeling of accomplishment when you do something you love?  Yes of course you do - that's why we spend hours alone with dirty hands maybe listening to music or audiobooks and in the end maybe aren't crazy about what we just finished, but sometimes . . . .😊. Thanks for stopping by!

 

The Model Napping - original oil pastel portrait drawing

 Such a relaxing pose for the model - she couldn't help nodding off - especially since there had been a couple of hard poses before this one.  This drawing helps me to blend my love of line with a painted part of the piece - there's always a dilemma regarding exactly how much to describe with paint vs. line drawing  and I could have crossed the line (pun) 😀with painting more of the hair.  If I'd done any more, I might have needed to go ahead and paint the whole piece.  Just one of those things you never know until you've actually done it - so I stopped - maybe 'quitting while I'm ahead'?  I don't know, just did.  This one is on Canson pastel paper on the rough side, which I didn't realize - just had that urge to grab the paper and get started.  Actually, though, it's done with Caran d'Ache Neocolor 1- which I love - and then a bit of "touching" with Caran d'Ache oil pastel.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Sketching at the Bar - original figurative sketch

Much fun even for a teetotaler like me.  And folks there knew what I was up to and they didn't care.  They were having a good time ringing in the New Year - and Happy New Year BTW!🎉 This woman was gazing at someone farther down the bar and was having a good time watching what was going on.  I was involved in drawing her as quickly as I could and didn't see the object of her stare.  Anyway, I always find that folks at bars are having a good time and I love trying to capture those emotions. Well, mostly they're having fun, but sometimes, not so much😧.  I love emojis (can you tell?😀😀).  This sketch was drawn with Caran d'Ache NeoPastels on heavy gray paper - sometimes it separates from the tablet.  I could put an emoji here but I won't.  Oh well😁

 

 

The Model in a Flowered Dress

 

 Her pose was captivating to me - kind of nonchalant.  And oh the dress - the print dress.  I loved it!  The drawing started with the gesture from life,  then I had to be content with a photograph.  Being such a line person, I did have fun with the arms and legs - didn't add finish at all to the legs, using lots of line segments.  The late Alex Powers, whose drawings I loved - said you're either a line or shape person and I totally agree.  I'm all in for line, especially loose, weighted lines and continuous line drawings.  I got some new pens today and was also eyeing my reed pens and thinking about getting out the ink.  Much fun ahead!  Thanks for stopping by and happy drawing!  PS. oil pastel on blue toned Strathmore mixed media paper, 12 x 9".