Showing posts with label portrait drawing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label portrait drawing. Show all posts

Thursday, February 01, 2024

"Sketch of Marilee"

portrait of woman, pastel pencils, loose drawing


Here's a 7 x 5" Pastelbord sketch of the model Marilee that I did using Caran d'Ache pastel pencils.  I do love this medium  - the only problem for me with soft pastels is the framing.  And I really really love to work with the pencil version!  We didn't have as much time as I would have liked, but that's always my complaint and I think "not having enough time" pushes us to work faster, which is good practice.  Anyway, it was fun drawing her and I appreciate your stopping by my blog!
 

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

"Monday's Model" - charcoal drawing from life

Lately I've been indulging in life drawing sessions on Zoom and am loving it!  This drawing was done  with General Pencil Co. Peel 'n' Sketch charcoal and Primo charcoal - both SO wonderful - on Strathmore toned paper.

It's kind of a different experience using Zoom since I can connect with a life drawing group anywhere.  In this case, instead of my studio, I was in my kitchen, of all places.  And although this was a 40-minute pose, there seemed to be a few distractions that cut into my drawing time (possibly due to my usual disorganization😉),  but it's still a great way to get life drawing time in without having to drive.  I highly recommend it!  Thanks for stopping by!


 

Sunday, May 28, 2023

"Sketch of Alexis" - mixed media portrait sketch

mixed media, portrait, figurative, sketch, drawing, woman, quick, loose
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!
 

Sunday, April 30, 2023

"Maiko #5 "- original oil pastel portrait

Japanese geisha make colorful oil pastel painting
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!
 

Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Today's Drawing - figurative charcoal drawing

Young Woman playing guitar black and white drawing

This drawing of a guitar player - still in progress I want to emphasize - is an idea for a larger and more finished drawing, probably using a combination of graphite and General Pencil's Primo Euro Blend charcoal pencils, which are so easy to work with.  This one was done mainly with vine charcoal - 17 x 14".  Thanks for looking!  
 

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Julie - original pastel portrait drawing


pastel drawing young woman profile looking down
Every now and then I get the urge to get out my pastel pencils and do some drawing.  I love them, especially my Caran d'Ache pencils, used in this case on the smooth side of Mi-Teintes.  Framing something so delicate is a problem for me, since I always do it myself.  I usually make a gutter for the loose pastel to fall into with acid-free foam core or use spacers that attach to the glass.  Either method stresses me no end, which is probably why I don't do soft pastel any more than I do, because I really really love to work in this incredible medium. And then the requirement in so many shows that plexiglass must be used.  I've heard that the anti-static spray works great for awhile, but must be reapplied.  How does one do that without unframing the artwork?  Bound to be solutions but I haven't come across any yet.😟 Thanks for stopping by and I would love to know if you have any answers!

 

Monday, May 31, 2021

Hmmm - original oil pastel portrait painting

woman w/hand to face narrowed eyes looking to side

 This 8 x 10" drawing on Canson mixed media board is a mostly fun thing for me - I drew it from an old drawing of a model, but then added the dark blue-green next to the orange glints in her hair just because I wanted to - artist's choice, right? - then added a grey and white version of my favorite wallpaper.  

More on the wallpaper - I have been looking for that paper for ages for my entrance hall - the background is a medium green and it's probably from the 30s or 40s - good luck with finding any of that!  Plus it would definitely not be strippable, so I'm actually toying with the idea of just painting the wall instead.  Making those stripes will get pretty tedious, though.

Back to "Hmmm" - when I originally drew the model, she had briefly been looking at something going on to her right in the drawing group.  It's been so long now that I don't remember what it was, but I was lucky to capture her while she was looking toward the "activity".   That has happened a lot in my drawing adventures.  My teacher, Priscilla Treacy, taught her students to get it down in three minutes - I don't mean every pore or detail, but the gist of the drawing.  So, there have been many times when the model hasn't completely settled into her pose (and maybe gotten a little sleepy),  that I've been able to grab that very first expression. Thank you Priscilla! In this drawing, I felt that the model was thinking critically about the conversation to her right, hence the title "Hmmm".  

Thursday, November 05, 2020

A Little Sketch of the Model - original charcoal portrait drawing




black and white art, drawing, woman, profile, Connie Chadwell

I absolutely love to work in black and white, especially when drawing from life. I did this drawing using a General's Peel and Sketch with a 'hard' rating which I rarely use, but am actually really pleased with this little sketch.  The paper is Strathmore Mixed Media, 8.5 x 5.5".  Some of the lines are restated, which I left (obviously) because otherwise, it's easy to keep making the same mistake, plus leaving the lines lends movement and also tells the viewer the path the artist took in making the piece.  Thanks for stopping by!
 

Sunday, October 04, 2020

Ready for Night - original pastel pencil portrait drawing



 
pastel pencil drawing of a red-headed woman
Here's a pastel pencil drawing that I did some time ago, using a very limited palette of Caran d'Ache pencils.  At that time, I only had a few of this brand that I was trying out and since they - unlike most pastels, even in pencil form - didn't make me sneeze, get in my eyes and just generally make me feel itchy, I've acquired a nice collection of Caran d'Ache.  Most likely, how I use pastels is the problem, but since I'm mainly an oil pastelist, problem solved!  This was a pretty quick drawing - don't remember how long - but I was mainly interested in the satiny strap over her shoulder.  It's on toned paper, 12 x 9".  Thanks for visiting!

Friday, October 02, 2020

Guitar Practice - original graphite portrait drawing


 Although I hardly ever use graphite, I had a great time doing this one on Strathmore marker paper that I had to buy for a landscape course.  Maybe y'all have used this paper before, but I never had and was surprised to find it such a delight to draw on.  Even though there's a slick finish - it's great for graphite!  Drawing is my first art language - not painting, really - and I will be doing many more pencil drawings  (used HB, 2 and 4B) on this paper - a great find for me!  Plus, even though the weight is only 50.5 lb, the paper feels much more sturdy. This drawing is 7 x 12".  Thanks so much for stopping by!

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Lilia Looking Back - original oil pastel portrait

Not a pose she (or anyone) could hold for the usual 20 minutes at a time, but little by little we got it done.  For this one, I used Pastel Premier sanded pastel, 12 x 9" which is such a wonderful surface for oil pastel.  Also used mostly Sennelier, with a few Caran d'Ache and Craypas Specialists.  I tried with this one to make it more 'finished' and smoother - not so sketchy.  Anyway, much fun to do this painting and Lilia liked it which is always the seal of approval!  Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, August 11, 2020

Sketch of Mei as a Maiko - original charcoal and white drawing

A several month old sketch of Mei, who has posed before as a geisha/maiko, drawn with charcoal and white pencil on Mi-Teintes paper.  I've always loved using the textured side since I think it keeps me from overworking, but for this drawing I used the smooth.  Not sure if this is my best depiction of Mei - and I have a lot of drawings of her - but I am happy with how it turned out.  Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, July 28, 2020

Drawing of the Model on Black Paper - original oil pastel portrait

It seems like forever since I've posted but I've been working on lots of art - have even done some printmaking with a few monotypes and a drypoint to show for it.   Here's an oldish drawing done on Strathmore black mixed media paper, 12 x 9", using mostly Sennelier and a couple of Caran d'Ache Neopastels and Sakura Specialists.  The black paper is great to work on and I just bought another pad of it to take to the next drawing group I attend.  This was a quick study - my favorite - and while I didn't have a lot of time (to kill it with overworking), I was pretty happy with the results.  Hope you're all staying well and thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Sketch of the Seated Model - original oil pastel and charcoal figurative

I have made and destroyed so many drawings and paintings over the last several weeks - probably in my continuing quest for ways to combine color and line - and this drawing proved so satisfying - all of you artists out there know that feeling! 😊  Plus I was so happy to have a really great model.  Also I was trying out Pastel Premier 9 x 12" sanded paper and am delighted to report that I'm crazy about it!  It's made in the USA - Yay! The combination of General Pencil's Peel n Sketch charcoal pencil and mostly Sennelier and a couple of Caran d'Ache oil pastels on the Pastel Premier pastel paper was heavenly for me.  Hope everyone's doing great and can get back to work soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Sarah with Red Hair - original oil pastel portrait

portrait of woman with bright red hair against green background and wearing black
Loved doing this one - made the background "chartreusy", even though in real life it was grey.  There's just something about greens and aquas - yum!  Plus, with the red, red hair, I couldn't help myself.  Anyway, this little drawing is 7 x 5" on Pastelbord - will probably put it on a small easel.  That's another of the things I love about Pastelbord - I can display my work either on an easel or framed using spacers.  Makes art life easy!😃

Thursday, October 10, 2019

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!

Monday, February 18, 2019

Soulful Bridgette - original charcoal portrait drawing

Female model looking down drawn in charcoal on pale blue paper
An all-time favorite of mine - drawing from the posed model. And she is a great model, too! Some things I could change, but not going to because it was my reaction to her that I want to save.
 This drawing is on pale blue Stonehenge paper, which I absolutely love (it doesn't really look blue in the photo, but that's my fault), using soft vine charcoal. Stonehenge is fabulous for charcoal drawings, as well as oil pastel and several other media.  I guess I'm talking about Stonehenge because there were many comments in the drawing group about this lovely paper, which I have used for years, and I just thought it deserved mention. Although I use all of the Stonehenge colors, this pale blue is beautiful.  You can visit Legion paper - the company that produces Stonehenge here.   And it's made  in America!👍
Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, September 04, 2018

Charcoal Portrait of a Young Woman - original black and white artwork

I am always SO happy to have someone to draw, especially when I can use charcoal.  It's wonderfully forgiving and oh the values that can be achieved!  But I do caution that it should be sprayed with fixative upon completion.  True story:  I had drawn a figure and a portrait in charcoal at the life drawing group a few weeks ago and I was really pleased with the outcome.  As I was putting them in the trunk of my car (not sprayed with fixative, yet), I dropped them both in the street and they were so smeared when I picked them up, they were just essentially not there any longer.  My fault, entirely, but this could have been avoided if I had just sprayed them before I put them in the car.

Repeat after me:  Never ever wait to spray your charcoal drawings!  Always do it ASAP!

And back to this drawing - well I've only sprayed it with workable fixative, which is certainly better than nothing.  It's about 10 x 8".  Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, May 14, 2018

The Believer - original oil pastel portrait

This piece is on gritty pastel paper, using Sennelier oil pastels and is 10 x 8".  May use this pose further - don't know yet.  Thanks so much for looking!

Tuesday, May 01, 2018

Trying out some chalks - drawing of woman looking into light

I did this one on grey toned paper - Strathmore -working with some General's compressed pastels - black, white, sanguine, sepia - that I found while going through my supplies. (Oh, the stuff I haven't even uncovered yet!)   I really enjoyed sketching with them.  They will work beautifully on a more finished drawing, too, but I love leaving things a little raw.  Thanks for looking!