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.

more plagiarizing #4

This time from the great Nicholi Fechin. I got a very nice book from the Nucleus gallery bookstore that had some fantastic drawings. For some reason its really hard to find a good book of this masters work. Does anyone have the Balcomb book? Does is have good drawings in it? His paintings are interesting but its really the drawings I am interested in.

I was just drawing with my usual mechanical pencil but thinking to really get anything close to those nice lines you need to be working with the edge of a stick of charcoal. This one was done that way and got a lot closer.

I start all my head drawings with a light circle, you can see it coming across her lower cheek, I usually erase anything noticeable.

Leyendecker

Leyendecker was a genius.

Character

So I'm walking to my car yesterday with my latest drawing in tow thinking about how pleased I am with the results when a big gust of wind blows it right out of my hands and down the street into traffic and way too fast to chase. I followed a bit but had to give up because of an urgent appointment. Maybe 20 minutes later I decided to drive by just to see if I could see it. I drove 2-3 blocks and as I was ready to give up I see my drawing tumbling by my passenger window. I pulled over and it dutifully attached itself to a parking meter for me to pick up.
Just like a disobedient little dog that wants to run around but in the end is happy to go home. I'm glad I found it and I suppose the experience adds character to the piece.

On a side note: My favorite art in the entire world is Alphonse Mucha's Slav Epic. I searched for years for good large digital copy's and finally found some here, also more great links here.

sketch 40

Sorry for the lack of posts, work has been breaking me down for a while now. And after a sad sports night I had to get something positive so I got the sketchbook, this drawing turned out pretty good. That much black space is hard to cover with my little .3mm mechanical pencil.

If your in the mood for some great art visit this new sight by my favorite artist around Doug Fryer.

sketch 39

My friends kid, I want to do a full digital painting of this in the near future.

I actually was having a really hard time getting the likeness, my wife said I was close but I didn't believe her. So I tried twice then got out the tracing paper(no, not to trace the photo) to use my handy tracing paper method. I assume I was getting closer but the next day I couldn't tell which was the most recent drawing. Anyway, once I got in there and darkened the eyes, which I typically wait to do because it is hard to erase if you miss, it looked good. I think I wasn't feeling the likeness because this little girl has big pretty dark eyes and it didn't feel right until they were there.

Waterhouse

Peeking

sketchbook #37

I asked my wife if she thought people would be getting sick of non-stop pictures of my little girl. My wife said no because she is pretty. So once again here is another drawing of my pretty daughter. This one feels pretty good to me, I got away from the sketchbook for a while there and could see my drawings getting sloppy. So I've been back at it and there getting better, just got to get back on that bike.
A couple posts down the drawing was done for a painting so its messy, this is done to look finished.

Santa

A quick pic for the Avalanche blog "Speed Santa" topic, and for Christmas, although it may not entirely be in keeping with the spirit. The blog is showing signs of life (Death throes?)

Merry Christmas all the same.

study

A study for a painting(I hope). Kind of rough and choppy, but I am much more interested in correct proportions than a nice drawing.

By the way, Scott Waddell has some very nice drawing demonstrations that he has been posting to his blog, check them out for some good pointers.

figure drawing

Last weeks figure drawing done in my sketchbook. 9"x12" mechanical pencil on regular old sketch paper. When I am in my sketchbook I usually stay away from rendering the whole figure because it is a lot more difficult to shade large areas with a tiny point so i prefer to focus on the face.

sketchbook

probably about 8"x10" pencil on paper

fig. 43

I've got a newish technique I've been using in my figure drawings lately that seems to be working out. I am not very happy with how hi-key the drawings are but its been something I am not aware of as I am working, only later. So something to work on.

Oil painting practice

I am pretty sure coming up with good ideas is the hardest part of painting a picture. I'm stuck in an idea rut right now so decided just to do some master copies, this philosophy works well for drawing why not painting? Although I never get a nice finished piece, I am getting better and that's what I prefer.
So this is a Thomas Dewing work in my top 3 favorite paintings of all time and if you are a long time follower of the blog you may remember this copy done years ago in the digital medium. Don't pay too much attention to the drawing because it is off(though not as far off as that old digital version, ugh) but then that is not the intention. It's the painting that is the focus and I am very happy with how the brushwork turned out although the colors can also use some work. There is another practice copy going on at the bottom of the picture to show you how I just use it like a page in my sketchbook, drawing wherever I've got enough space. This makes me excited to get back to doing a painting of my own after this.

Treaty

Figure #42

Last weeks figure drawing. While this was done on my sketchbook 9"x12" with my trusty .3B mechanical pencil, I've really warmed up to a new technique with my large figure drawings and as soon as I get around to getting some pictures I'll describe it.

Bonus! if you look close you may be able to see the llama portrait I drew last night.