the new me

My previous avatar has lost favor in my eyes (not that I had any particular favor for him other then his interesting face). So I have decided to move on. This time I chose someone I actually like, Mr. Milton Friedman who also has a cool face. Unfortunately it doesn't size down too well and looks noisy in its small form.*shrug* I have had questions in the past assuming I am an older gentleman which I am not, yet. But my face is not nearly as interesting.
I was thinking about how I would like to do a more complete picture instead of a simple portrait so I may build a story around this face. Stay tuned.

Bonus:
I had enough saved out files that I put together this handy animated gif for your viewing pleasure. You will notice that a lot of the drawing is done at the painting stage. I try to get as close as possible with the drawing and nail the general parameters but I really kind of sculpt it at the painting stages.

portrait

My pretty little neighbor. I just needed to get some painting in and this was the available reference.

Sketchbook #49

From the sketchbook.

Coca Cola

A oil painting I did for a Coca Cola related event in Atlanta. If you are in that neighborhood you should be able to see it at the Mason Murer gallery this month.

fig. 53

I reference a good line/shading balance in the previous post. Though it felt good at the time after a little time to look at this I think its got to much line and has a cartoony look to it. The proportions are close but it doesn't feel very realistic to me now.

*fig. 52

I got a bit of push back last time I said this but think that in my opinion this is my best figure drawing to date. That is not to say it is the one you would want to hang on the wall but to me it is the furthest along the path to where I want to get with my figure drawings. I think the proportions are accurate and a good range of shading but also an appropriate line vs. chiaroscuro balance.

This was a 2 hour drawing which unfortunately ended about 10 minutes earlier then I was pacing myself toward. So the lower legs aren't as polished as I would have liked. Again using Nu pastel and Conte but I got myself a medium gray shade of Nu pastel instead of the Bottle green or Cordovan I typically use. It is less workable, harder to erase but I like the look the Conte/Pastel transition is also smoother.

reading

A sketchbook drawing, I toned it and added highlights in Photoshop.

these hands

A digital painting, for your enjoyment.


I did the drawing in a meeting. It is pretty typical of the style that comes out of my mind when I am bored with nothing other than a pencil and paper to entertain me.

fig. 51

I've had a pretty good run with figure drawings working out here for a few weeks. One thing I'm starting to get frustrated about is the generally stiff feeling I often get. I think a lot of it is the model who's sitting there for nearly 2 hours.

Pay no attention to that dead fish hand on his stomach, it is accurate.

Carry on

Another for The Weekly Standard a few weeks back.

Figure drawing steps

Finally got a few step-by-step pictures from a drawing session. Please excuse the awful quality, I love my little phone but its been scratched up, shaken, soaked, etc for a few years now.

Step #1-
Blocking in of the general shapes along with working out the spacing on the page and composition. Done with a Nu-pastel which is soft and easy to erase. I keep it light so mistakes are easy to fix. Measuring is important at this point. Get something on the paper that you can judge.

Step #2-
Still with the Nu-pastel I refine my shapes and work out the edges.

Step #3-
Once I feel like I'm close I go through and outline with Conte. Outline all the features and any hard edged shadows. I like this because the Conte is much harder and hard to erase so I can put in some heavy values and wipe with a paper towel and the line work will stay. Be very careful with small details like the eyes because like I said it is hard to erase if you are wrong, make sure you are right before you use the Conte.

Step #4-
So I've got the drawing lines, I go back to the Nu-pastel and color in all the shadows and the dark areas then wipe it down, go a little overboard with this. Next I come back with a kneaded eraser and start pulling out the light areas with a pink eraser available for the sharp clean edges. Then I return to adding darker values but more limited way and brighten the highlights as they get toned down.

Step #5-
Details. I've got a sharpened Conte piece that I use for the sharp tiny lines and places I really want to give strong darks.

.5 machine

Done for the Avalanche blog topic "Cyborg".

Slayerette

I've been poking around with Adam Hughes painting style which is interesting and I think I like it. Most of the value is added in the drawing stage then areas are colored in photoshop. I wanted to draw something up real quick and practice with it and it turned into a very nice finished piece I think. I leaned into his area of pretty comic book heroins a bit and I rarely draw monsters. For reference here is the original drawing:

sketchbook #47

fish in a barrel

Did this last weekend for the Weekly Standard magazine. I wanted something a little more cartoony because of the subject matter but it was such a quick turnaround(about 17 hours minus a good night sleep) your kind of bound to the drawing that you can get. This is almost realistic once you readjust the over sized head, feet, etc.

figure #50

Another drawing that turned out well. I thought last weeks was good but the more I see it on the blog the less I like it, even though when I see the hard copy I still like it. I'm pretty sure I like this one better but who know how I'll feel in a couple days. The face turned out nice and I am happy with the range of values I've achieved which is not typically my strong suit.

fig.49

I am really happy with how this turned out. 18"x24" NuPastel on paper.

Unfortunately, I was all ready to get some step by steps but forgot my camera. It's hard to figure out why it works out some days, this came after a string of disasters. One thing I've found helps is to do some related drawing the evening before a figure drawing session.

Flower in oil

And now back to that other kid..

11"x14" Oil on board
You may remember this drawing from a couple months back. At the time I had another painting of her I was working on but it was fast turning into an epic failure, my friend Lash LeRoux suggested the drawing would work as a painting. So I gave up on the other and began again on a better foundation. I really pushed the colors and gave it more of an illustrative feel and I think it turned out very nicely. I've been searching for a way to use the feeling I get in my drawings across in oil with the majority of the rendering and detail in the face then letting it trail off in the less important bits. I like the background here, rough enough to see the board but subtle and complimentary IMO.

Schools out

Please forgive the absence, I've been out welcoming a new little boy to the fam. He's a little shy, doesn't talk much and sleeps a lot.

This is a cover I did for the Friend magazine. I've had bad experiences in the past trying to pull off complicated multi figure scenes and was worried enough to try a different simpler style for this, more dependent on the drawing and less rendered. I would say some of the figures are too rushed and the style had tricky problem of looking unfinished. There are things I like about it though and I think it will be a style I will probably play with in the future.

farmer

Just a digital painting, I had to redo the background several times to find a scheme I liked.

Mucha kick

I have been on a huge Mucha kick for a while now, thanks to Valentino who got me my latest fix with maybe the best book I've ever owned. Alphonse Mucha is available for $40 on amazon and has a whole section on the amazing Slav Epic including some gorgeous close ups. I highly recommend it obviously.

This is a drawing done from one of Mucha's photographs as is the drapery post.

robot

A recent illustration for the New Era magazine. I got a lot of freedom with it which was cool. I am pretty happy with the concept and the composition, but the rendering isn't all the way there, I probably should have had a better plan going into it but alas.

Also big thanks to Kevin Keele who helped with the ribbon drawing which is why the hair looks so good.

fig. 48

I've been away from the figure drawing for a bit but this was done a couple months back. If you put your hand over the head I love it, with it it is just okay. The body has a nice clean simpleness that I like but the head I think it got overworked and generally does not feel right.


I committed to posting a step by step but haven't been able to get one together yet it will happen eventually though. Sorry.

drapery

Room with a view

A painting I did since I found a bit of time for it. I put a little more time and planning into this and I think it turned out. As always, the background is a stretch for some sort of subtle vehicle for the painting of the figure that I really enjoy.

below is the detail:

Flower

This one turned out nice, its a drawing of a flower with a little girl attached to it.

Alphonse Mucha is my favorite artist ever, I thought this channeled his style a little.

figure 47

This ones a couple months old and not as smooth as the more recent drawings using my new method but I think it turned out nice. I understand many of these figure drawings are less popular because, lets face it, this guys not particularly beautiful, but for me it is a more accurate drawing with a good natural look to it. A natural feeling to a person is key for me and is missing from much of the artwork that I find around these days.
I read somewhere that practice with a focus on what you are learning as opposed to the results is a more effective method to improve. I think I have always been naturally inclined to work in this way which has left me with stacks of sketchbooks full of half finished drawings. It also has a downside as I look over my work now and find very few really good finished work to show for all my time. Oh well, I am typically happy just to create art.

figure #46

I really like how the arm turned out on this one. I really feel like the figured drawings are coming around lately(until I crash and burn on the next one).

Poker

An illustration done for the Weekly Standard magazine. I like a lot of things about it but it was less then one day turn around which doesn't allow for much polish, you got to get it right the first time.

Dorthy

I've come to terms with drawing my little girl all the time. a) I've decided I put so much money into this little girl I better get it out in model fees. b) she is the greatest little person ever, bar none.

We've got a little boy coming in a couple months I hope he knows what is in for, high expectations, long hours, low pay.