Life Drawing: Male Model

As much as I'd love to master painting, I do love drawing the figure ... especially from life.

Today I pulled out a few pastels in the last hour of David Fox's life drawing class, and look what happened:)

'Friends Walking on Quogue Beach': Drawing

While cleaning my studio, I found this old drawing. I don't remember making it (colored pencils!?), but the subject is unmistakeable: my husband Steve, friend Roger, and Roger's dog Jake, on a summer day in Quogue.

Fast forward 10 years: Steve and Roger, still friends. Roger's beach house soon to be sold. Jake, his beloved tibetan terrier -- gone to the great beyond. The beach, of course, is timeless.

This drawing reminded me of something Andrew Lattimore said recently. Our drawings and paintings may not be great art. But in the future, someone will see it and say "Oh, this is what life was like back in 200x".

So we draw, we paint, we document the way things are. And we leave something behind that shows we were here. I like that.

Study: 'Maeve' (16" x 20" Oil Portrait)

Today's model was had striking red hair, fair skin and pale blue eyes. I didn't do her justice -- hope she returns, so I get to paint her again!

Contemporary Painting Workshop with David Fox

In David Fox's workshop at the WCC Center for the Arts in White Plains, we painted with house paint, on extra large sheets of cardboard. The figures are HUGE (4' x 6') ... so much fun!

Study: 'Kyle' (16" x 20" Oil Portrait)

At the Rye Art Center, instructor Ismael Checo walks around and immediately spots what needs work. "The ear should be a little higher", "make the shadow on the nose a little more angled", "add more values to show the different planes of the face" ...

Today, I actually got a pretty good likeness.

Life Drawings

Spent Sunday afternoon drawing from models in Melanie's studio. No better way to spend an afternoon!  Here are a few of the drawings.

The Conversation II (12" x 12" Oil Painting)

Two women waiting for a train in the Chappaqua, NY railroad station. There's alway's more detail you can add, but I tried to stop before going too far.  I like the way the figures are backlit, and how they relate to each other.

Study: Red-Haired Model (16" x 20" Oil)

Today my portrait painting class started up again. I never learned this model's name, but her coppery red hair and distinctive features were a joy to paint.

"Lindsay, At the Beach": 12 x 16 Oil Painting

Today, I worked from a photo taken of a friend's daughter, at the beach last summer.

My goal was to paint fresher and bolder. Unfortunately, by 'jumping right in', and without carefully placing her features, the proportions are off and so is the likeness:(

"Diana" - 24" x 30" OIl Portrait

Diana modeled for Andrew Lattimore's life painting class, and even with 5 weeks to paint her, I wasn't able to do her justice. I'd like another chance, so I hope she models for us again!

"Green Apples": 12" x 12" OIl Painting

I grabbed a few green apples on my way out the door to painting class -- ate one, and painted the remaining 3. Simple shapes, fun to paint -- a good exercise.

"Walkin' the Dogs" - 12" x 12" Oil

Today, instructor David Fox suggested I tone the canvas a BOLD color (orange), to create some color excitement, and unify the painting. He also suggested I use more paint, instead of being so careful in my application. Next time:)

Study: "Claire" (16" x 20" Oil)

Today, I achieved a fair likeness of our model, and felt good about the process.

Afterwards, instructor Ismael Checo offered some new advice: instead of starting with gray-er colors and intensifying them, start with bolder colors and mute as needed. Worth a try!

"Mannequins": Study in Oil

This study of window mannequins was fun to paint. But while I was attracted by the bright spring colors and simple shapes, I never anticipated my family's reaction!

Apparently they look like scary zombies from the apocolypse. Back to painting kittens and puppies ...

"NYC Subway": 16" x 20" Oil

My goal is to learn to paint fast, loose, and bold -- On that note, today, David Fox advised me to use bigger brushes, more paint, and 'just go for it'.

There's a lot of problems with this one -- proportions, values colors -- but it was good practice. Next week, I'll try again.

Study: "Mari": 16" x 20" Oil Portrait

Today's challenge: capture this lovely model in 2.5 hours. Re: composition, I wish that I placed her a little to the right, not dead center. I guess the key is to move things around early, when it's easy to make changes. But ultimately, the likeness was pretty good!

Two Day Drawing Marathon!

Here are a few drawings from David Fox's 2-day 'Drawing Marathon'.

Each day, we warmed up with 5-6 short poses, then did a series of exercises. The best part, for me, was working big and fast. It was a wonderful way to loosen up, and experiment.

Study: "Sandra, Two Ways" (16" x 20" Oil)

In Andrew Lattimore's life painting class, I got to paint our model Sandra twice.  I love her Mona Lisa smile:)

Over 4 weeks, I painted her portrait at right. In week 5,  I painted Sandra 'alla prima'. Here are both paintings, side by side.

3 Studies (16" x 20" Oil Portraits)

I'm in 2 different portrait classes, with very different approaches.

In one class, you have to work FAST ... one 2.5 hour session, and that's it! (examples above). I'm always rushing. In the other class, we have the same model pose for 5 weeks. That feels like too much time -- what I gain in accuracy, I lose in spontaneity!

Not too happy with these studies, but hopefully, with all this practice, eventually I'll improve.

"New York City After a Snowfall" - 12" x 12" Pastel

Here's a little scene I did, inspired by the winter weather, and my NYC friends posting online. There's something magical about NYC when it snows ... Even the slush is pretty (unless you have to walk to work in it!).

Oranges - 12" x 12" Pastel

I've talked about returning to daily practice for a while now. Today, I decided to just get going already.

I spent the first 2 hours looking for a subject!  Finally, out of desperation, I decided to paint oranges a la Carol Marine, because first -- I love her work -- and second, it's what I had handy in the kitchen!

After the painting was finished, I felt pretty good!

Study: Girl With A Red Scarf (16" x 20" Oil)

Back in Ismael Checo's class at the Rye Art Center, working in oils after a long holiday break. The devil, as they say, is in the skin tones!

Ismael rightly pointed out quite a bit of green in the cooler shadows. I really fight using green in skin, but damn, he's right ... there really is green in her skin tone!

Study: Seated Figure (16" x 20" Oil)

In my weekly oil painting class, we're encouraged to paint just the head. But today, I decided to paint the full pose. Instructor Ismael Checo warned me that 2 hours wasn't enough time ... but artists like Terry Miura (figurative work here ) paint the figure alla prima, so I went for it.

Turns out, that takes much more experience!

"Free Wifi": (9" x 12" Pastel)

This guy was waiting for a train the Graham Avenue subway station (the L subway line), in Brooklyn, NY.  Not so fond of the color palette, and clearly the hands and feet need work. Even though I'm not so happy with this one, it's all in the name of practice:)

In order to get better, it's essential to paint more frequently. These smaller studies can be done in 2-3 hours, so there's really no excuse!

"Monday Morning Hustle": (Pastel, 9" x 12")

After my recent frustration with oils, doing a quick small study using pastels -- where all of the colors are right there in front of you -- was lots of fun.  

My New Goal: Learning to Paint in Oils

I'm in the third week of a new portrait painting class, to learn oil painting. This has long been a goal of mine.

In weeks 1-2, instructor Ismael Checo had me use only 2 colors (burnt siena and ultramarine), plus white. Today, I got the OK to put out more color . Yikes! The model ended up looking like he has a bad sunburn:)

Figuring out proportions, mixing colors and using the brush is a huge challenge. Mega respect for artists who can paint in oils. Anyway, we'll see how it goes next time!

"Storm Coming" (Pastel, 12" x 16" )

This beach scene, with it's dark and dramatic sky, was a challenge. I actually painted it twice. Still not happy with it.

The first attempt didn't work, so I scraped it down and tried again. The second attempt wasn't much better. I may never frame it or hang this painting, but at least I didn't give up!

"Into the Woods" (Spring Landscape, Pastel on Sanded Paper)

After painting a few figures, I decided to work on a simple landscape. I cropped it digitally, since the original 18" x 24" landscape wasn't successful. That's the advantage of working on paper!

See below, to see another cropped image, and the original painting.

"Hold On Tight!" (12" x 12" Pastel): Westhampton Beach NY)

Working on this beach scene reminded me how much I love painting figures in the landscape. But photo references can be misleading. I guess that's why some artists paint en plein air. In real life, there's much more nuance.

About the scene: my friend Jill and grandson Max at the water's edge, on Westhampton beach, in the aftermath of a big storm. The waves were rough that day -- hold on tight, Max!

PS - My friend loves her new painting, which is the best feeling of all:)

Drawing From a Model

An unexpected opportunity to draw from life came my way.  

A wonderful artist -- Melanie Reim -- invited a group to draw from live models in her studio. Check out Melanie's work at http://sketchbookseduction.blogspot.com/  Her work is beautiful ... so full of life and energy. 

Some drawings were more successful than others. Hope to try this again soon!

"Walking the Dogs" - Brooklyn, NY (9" x 12" Pastel)

A quick sketch of a Brooklyn street. Downtown Williamsburg has certainly changed in 60 years, when my father-in-law had his store there. Brooklyn hipsters weren't a thing back then:)   

About the painting: I worked quickly, got the mood down, and Rae stopped me from overworking things. That's the value of a great teacher. Master pastelist Rae Smith makes a few precise suggestions, and stops me from going to far.  I'm so lucky to be in her class.

Happy with the looseness of it! Done:)

The "L Train" (15" x 18" Pastel)

Recently, I've been traveling by subway to Williamsburg, Brooklyn. That's the home of my daughter's accessory business, BOND Hardware.

Traveling by train, you can't beat the people-watching! You always see some interesting folks.

I always wonder if it's kosher to take pictures of people without their permission, to use as a subject. I do that all the time ... thoughts?

"Sam", the Rescue Dog: Pastel on Sanded Paper

Samantha is a 6 year old cocker spaniel/golden retriever mix we rescued a year ago. We have no idea what she was doing in a South Carolina shelter, but we got very lucky. She's incredibly sweet.

Anyway, Sam's portrait was today's project. I go to class each week with a very limited set, and it results in some odd color choices. And while she isn't this purple(!), I captured her essence and I'm happy with the result.

PS - If you know someone who'd love a pet portrait, I love doing them. Feel free to get in touch!

"Tempus Fugit (Scott)" - 18" x 24" Pastel Portrail

The last time I painted my son Scott, he was a lot younger. No mustache, with a dimpled smile that lit up a room.  Happily, he let me take his picture yesterday, and it became today's painting.

"Orange Flower": (20" x 24" Pastel)

She's back ...

After 8 years, 1 month and 5 days (and over 200 B2B business blog posts, but that's another story), I returned to the easel.  And to my great good fortune, master pastellist Rae Smith is still teaching at the Katonah Art Center.

I'm rusty, but art is a bit like riding a bike. You feel a bit wobbly, but the pleasure is just the same.