The Folksinger - original charcoal figurative drawing

Nothing like a musician to get the charcoal working.  Really good performance by this guy and I feel I really captured him.  This drawing is on mixed media paper, about 10 x 7".  Thanks for looking!

Rockabilly - original figurative water-soluble pencil drawing

Looking out the window of the restaurant, I saw this fellow as he listened to a friend.  I was ready with my sketchbook, water-soluble pencil and a brush with the water reservoir.  It's so quickly done, but I loved the gesture and his concentration.  This one is about 11 x 5".  Thanks for visiting!

A Little Experiment - original mixed media portrait

I was experimenting with this new - to me - thing.  Heavily gessoed a piece of canvas, then covered a rectangle with a thick layer of watercolor.  Drew her face with colored pencils.None of this is expertly done, you may have noticed, but it was such fun that I'll do it again.  I need to figure out how to make some things more solid looking, but then again, maybe not.  I'm also trying for a sort of imperfect, unfinished and worn look - sort of wabi sabi.  It's about 5 1/2 x 7 1/2" - thanks for stopping by!

Standing Nude - original colored pencil nude drawing

I used grey colored pencils on this drawing and I find them pleasant to use.  They're not as easy to work with as charcoals, but that's probably just because I'm not used to them.  It seems to take a long time to build up values and since I had the time (and no model), I worked from an old drawing that was not in the best shape any longer - this is the updated version.  This piece is about 11 x 5".  Thanks for stopping by!

Carrie - original oil portrait painting

This 7 x 5" on panel was done when I was sort of cleaning my palette.  That's always the most fun for me.  The model is almost through and just waiting for her time to be up - I'm not concentrating, just goofing off and thinking of nothing much.  Best time of the session, I think.  Thanks for dropping by!

Sketch for A Little Waltz - original charcoal figurative drawing

I had models (my wonderful family) over Thanksgiving, and am planning to paint from some of the drawings.  This piece is one that I'm hoping (fingers and toes crossed) to make into a painting that's less detailed than usual.  It's on 12 x 9" mixed media paper, and drawn with vine charcoal.  Thanks for looking!

On My Easel - oil pastel nude in progress

Somehow I always get the back view - most people would compare it to always getting in the wrong line - so I guess it's a good thing I like back views.  More to do on this one, but will put it away for a few days to see where to go from here.  Never a great idea to work after the model's gone, but I can't help myself.  This one is on 10 x 8" Pastelbord.  Thanks for looking!

Jivin' In Black and White - original figurative ink drawing

Meant to post this last night, but I got bogged down on Ancestry.com.  A never-ending mystery - at least my family is!
I did this on 6 x 6" Bristol board paper using a black ink drawing pen.  It's one of those with a narrow tip at one end and the other end is wider - in this case, a Prismacolor. This kind of pen is great for drawing - just so expressive.  Why, that pen helped this little couple dance to Jerry Lee Lewis, so I know they agree with me!
Thanks for looking!

On My Easel - Cowboy Saturday Night figurative oil painting

My current project is this country dance hall - needs more work and glazing - especially glazing on the band, I think, then I'll be finished with this one.  Somehow, I seem to have a lot of country dance scenes that I'm working on at the moment.  This one is 12 x 9" - thanks for visiting!

Jivebabies - original figurative oil painting

This little painting on 6 x 6" Gessobord was done from my post from last night - the dancers in the lower left of the picture.  It's done a little looser than usual and it was so much fun to do.  And easy, too, with the drawing already done.  I find that takes off a lot of time, although drawing with my brush is great, as well - now that I think about it, I don't know which works the best. Setting my timer is a great help - no noodling when that thing ticks away!  Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

Four Futures - original charcoal figurative sketches

Hope you can make out these quick charcoal sketches on 6 x 6" Gessobord that I will begin to paint tomorrow.  The top two are tango dancers and the bottom two are already jiving away.  Can hardly wait to bring them to life and I think just for fun, maybe they'll be a little more abstract than usual.  But that remains to be seen.  These little dancers usually get their way. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Portrait Sketch of a Young Woman - oil pastel portrait drawing

This was not the model, but a participant in the drawing group.  Sometimes the other people there make for some of the best drawings!  She was listening intently to her drawing neighbor, so I had a few minutes for the sketch.  It's on 12 x 9" Strathmore 403 paper, which, despite their claims, is no longer a paper for oil pastel.  I have a lot of it, though, so I'm using it.
It seems I've been spending SO much time preparing panels for painting!  I thought this would be a money-saver, but I don't think so, plus the time involved is crazy!  I hear a lot of artists talk about applying gesso, etc, on panels and I thought it would be such a good idea.  First there's the stuff that blocks support induced color changes, two coats, and then the gesso - three or so coats.  Any thoughts out there on this?  I'll probably just go back to buying panels that are already prepared for painting.  Oh my poor arm!  Thanks for stopping by!

Nude on a Kilim Rug - original oil pastel drawing of a nude

I just decided to leave the rug as a drawing (obviously) and probably won't "finish" it.  Artist's choice, you know.  This is drawn with Sennelier oil pastels on multi-media paper, about 9 x 7".  Thanks for looking!

Sketch of a Native American Girl - original oil pastel portrait sketch

I started this drawing on 12 x 9" paper, using Sennelier oil pastels, and have decided to leave it as a sketch, rather than "finishing" it.  Thanks for visiting!

Another Nude Facing Away - original oil pastel drawing of a nude model

I did this nude study on a piece of 7 x 5" hardboard that I gessoed with a bristle brush and never did sand it to make it smoother.  And I had fun with it - it's almost a canvas-looking surface.  There's just something that is so appealing - to me, at least, of a nude who is looking away from the viewer.  I guess that's why I do so many of them, but maybe this is the biggest reason:  Where I'm sitting in the room always seems to be sort of behind the model.  Works pretty well for me.  Thanks for stopping by!

Gina At The Bar - original graphite portrait drawing

I got busy with a graphite pencil, which I seldom do - I guess because charcoal is more forgiving - and drew from an old sketch on tan toned paper.  It's about 8 x 5 1/2".  The white accents are General's Primo white charcoal pencil.  Thanks for stopping by!

Sitting at the Table - original acrylic portrait painting

I was sort of looking down on the model as she sat at a table. Working as quickly as I could - since acrylics dry so fast - maybe I was a bit intimidated by this quality and was furiously brushing the background while the paint was still workable.  I did add a little water to the piles of paint, which helped a lot.  Acrylic is a medium I really want to get comfortable with and will keep working with it.  The support is 6 x 6" Strathmore acrylic paper.  Thanks for looking!

On My Easel - oil pastel portrait painting in progress

While I will probably do another painting of this pose, working out things I want to emphasize - maybe in oil - I just loved doing this one.  My ambition is to keep my enthusiasm while doing the second one, because I always seem to lose the motivation.  Am going to try very hard!  Actually, maybe trying hard isn't the best option - just relax I tell myself.  This is on Strathmore pastel paper - formerly for oil pastel and is about 9 x 9".  Thanks for stopping by!

Sketch of Shelley - original charcoal portrait drawing

I did this little sketch on 10 x 8" Strathmore 403 paper.  I'll consider it finished, especially since the model loved it and will probably buy it.  Although this was mostly vine charcoal, I had forgotten how nice it is to have nice sharp charcoal pencils - in this case General's Primo and the Ritmo brand pencil I used many years ago.  I wasn't able to find Ritmo for such a long time, but it's back and as good as ever.  But I think my favorite now is the Primo - really deep blacks and a smooth application - very nice charcoal pencil.  Thanks so much for visiting!

On My Easel - Glenda - oil pastel portrait in progress

There's a little left to do on this portrait, but decided to go ahead and post it.  This is Sennelier oil pastels on 12 x 9" Strathmore 403 paper.  Thanks for stopping by.

Newspaper Scribbles - original figurative ink and charcoal drawings

Here are a few of tonight's doodles I did while sitting in front of the TV.  When I find one that I want to keep, I just spray it with Make-It-Acid-Free, mount it to museum board and apply fixative.  What I like about doing these drawings, is that it just feels like practice - I can try things out, zoom around the paper and be very loose.  There are probably 15 out of about 40 that I found worth keeping tonight and I promise I didn't watch all that long - really just through one movie.  Not much of a TV watcher, really, but it does come in handy when looking for people to draw very quickly.  These were done with ink and charcoal.  The ink was the medium for the actual drawings, then I added charcoal for value.  Thanks for looking!

Another Woman with a Fan - original oil portrait painting

Here's another version of an earlier drawing that I did in charcoal - made some changes, but maybe I'm not through, I don't know.  The model looks sort of tired, maybe she's sick of being fussed over, so I'll just let her rest for awhile and see what I think in several days. In the drawing, I used a slightly different pose that I did quickly when she was resting her eyes while the monitor was talking.  But this was her actual pose.  It's 16 x 20".  Thanks for stopping by!

Cowboy Love - original figurative oil painting

I love doing this one because of the gesture - it's just the way I saw it.  If you get the gesture, you have the drawing.  Everything builds from that.  Well, I'm obviously counting my chicks - time will tell how it actually turns out.  Don't mean to sound so pessimistic, but I am always getting to this stage and then killing it.  Will see tomorrow or probably the next whether this turns out the way I want it to.  Thanks so much for stopping by!
Update:  Finished!

Three Nudes on Turquoise - original acrylic paintings of nudes

I started out thinking this would be easy.  But I just felt so rushed - which I actually love and makes one move the paintbrush around very quickly - so why am I complaining?  Must just be a bad habit I've fallen into.  It was a challenge, but a fun challenge!  I love some of the passages, which is always so rewarding for us artists.  Was involved in a conversation yesterday about passages we love when we paint and the very accomplished artist I was speaking with said that's why she keeps on painting.  I can identify with that!  The panel is 8 x 10".  Thanks for looking!

Two-Step Sweethearts - original acrylic figurative painting

I almost never use acrylic for a painting.  To me, it's mainly great to use in brush drawings, but using it today for this piece just reminds me of the good qualities of acrylic.  It dries really fast, which is enough to make me love it.  And I don't feel so constrained when I work with it - for instance, the fat over lean that's so crucial in oil painting.  I vow here and now to continue doing some of my stuff in acrylic.  (Fingers making "X" over heart.)  This painting is 7 x 5" - thanks for stopping by!

Nude on Chartreuse - original oil drawing of a nude

I really like working on the acrylic painted panel, especially on the chartreuse color.  The combination of black and chartreuse reminds me of a tap dance recital costume that I wore when I was a kid - the outfit was black satin trimmed with chartreuse feathers.  And I just love that color combination even today! This drawing is 10 x 8" - thanks for looking!

On My Easel - original oil pastel figurative in progress

I worked today on this drawing of the model on Strathmore 403 oil pastel paper - listed as pastel paper - but is originally for oil pastel and it is absolutely wonderful for this medium.  I love this model and the poses she takes.  It's 12 x 9" and the paper is a little more gray blue and darker, but if you read my blog, you know about my photographic limitations.  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Joanie - original charcoal portrait drawing

I was going to do this in oil paint, but when I realized I just wouldn't have time, it was charcoal to the rescue.  Could probably do a painting from this drawing, but am happy with the charcoal version.  I used vine charcoal and General's Peel n Sketch (I think I've called it Peel n Draw before) on Strathmore 400 Mixed Media paper.  This paper is really versatile - it's 140 lb. and has just the right amount of tooth, although maybe not as easy to erase as I'd like.  But then I'm pretty hard on paper and work and work it 'til it's worn out, so really, there's no paper for me - I should probably work on my technique!
I kind of dreaded doing the hands, especially when there's not much time, but think they worked out okay.  This drawing is about 11 x 8".  I hope to be able to do a painting of Joanie - maybe we can have her as a model again soon.  One can hope.
Thanks for stopping by!

Jive Scribble - original charcoal figurative drawing

Trying to capture the energy here - will probably end up with a little painting from this one.  I did the drawing on Strathmore 14 x 11" Mixed Media paper - actually more of a sketchbook, I think, and I really like using it.  Also used General's Peel n Sketch charcoal pencil.  Thanks for looking!

Doubting Sarah - original charcoal portrait drawing

She looked as if she didn't believe a word they were saying.  I could get busy and "finish" this piece, but I'm happy with it.  It captures her expression, which was one of amused doubt.  This drawing is about 8 x 6" on mixed media paper.  Thanks for looking!