Open Figure Drawing

So the update from my open figure drawing session is interesting.  It was last Thursday (sorry for the delay) and I stayed in my car in the parking lot for a while just to check out the scene.  But the only people showing up were guys in their 40s and 50s.  So here I am thinking that its could be a bunch of perverts masking as artists to see a peep show.  And then my fears came true, my first time ever drawing a nude live model was a guy.  A guy in his 60s no less, but it was a learning experience and good practice.  Unfortunately out of the 20 people who showed up for it, only 1 person spoke to me other than the monitor.  And the monitor preceded to compare my drawing with the guy next to me... so much for constructive criticism.  Nonetheless, I'm happy with what came out of it, and pleased with my sketches.  The 2 minute gesture poses are awful so I won't show them, it was obvious that it was my first time, but I will post the two 5 minute poses, the 10 minute pose and the long pose which I think was an hour and fifteen minutes (with breaks).  Enjoy! Let me know what you think!

Adventuring more into figures

Most of the figure drawings I've done have been either in charcoal or so abstract in color that I didn't need to worry about getting flesh tone colors right.  So last night I tried doing flesh tones and they came out pretty well!!  Sorry about the poor quality, its a picture off of my phone.

I put some blue in the shadow and pink over some of the jaundice looking areas with my pastel pencils after this was taken.  I also changing the teal blanket and added more color and shading to it.

I'll be practicing some quick drawings of figures tonight because I'm going into my first ever open figure session tomorrow night at the Art League of New Britain and I'm nervous!!!  I've never done it before and I really don't want to fail in front of a bunch of people!! Okay, less talking and back to practicing! Wish me luck!

Old Pieces

Just some old pieces I've done that I figured I would throw on here.  All of them are chalk pastel.  The sizes are mostly 11x14 paper, with one 18x24 canvas.  Enjoy!

Blue Nude

New drawing... a female figure in blues with yellow/orange background.  Just experimenting.  I like it.  Never drawn a nude before so.... it is a learning experience.

Nupastels on Strathmore pastel paper.

New Pictures

So I have completed a few more pieces including the "Tuscan Light" piece that was partially finished in my last post.  Here she is!

Sorry for the carpet that snuck into the picture.
I also completed a "Glass Bottles" piece as well as "Orange Cat" so I'd like to show those as well.
The bottles are Nupastel on Strathmore pastel papter and the cat is Pastel Pencil on the same paper.  I am pretty pleased with how they came out.

Next on my list is to work on the human figure doing gesture drawing and such with Nupastel to practice before my open figure session that I plan on going to.  I also need to pick up some Nupastel colors that I don't have and find a different way to keep them.  The box that I have the other pastels in is just a plastic craft box with dividers but the Nupastels are starting to break whereas my soft and chalk pastels don't.  I need to find something that will be more cushioned for them or something.

The other thing I'm working on is taking pictures for my "proposed exhibition" for the art contest my coworker mentioned.  Hopefully if I can come up with a good enough proposal it will draw attention from my lack of a resume!  Wish me luck!

Pastel Pencils...Take 2

So I started working with the pastel pencils again tonight and its getting there.  Working on such a more detailed scale definitely takes longer.  I worked on a painting for 2 hours tonight and its getting there but its taking time and I'm sharpening the pencils by hand with a razor blade so that takes some time too.

I am obsessed with the Tuscan countryside right now.  I have always loved the historic and serene look of an Italian farmhouse basking in golden light.  Recreating that is hard!!  And doing it with the pastel pencils takes a while.  This is what I have so far...

So like I said, its getting there.  I'm taking my time and getting used to the pencils.

On another note, I've decided to register for this figure drawing marathon session in New Britain which goes from 9:30 to 8 p.m. on a Saturday.  I have never done figure drawing, never gone to a workshop, never spent 11 hours drawing, and haven't taken anything simulating an art class since freshman year of high school.  So we're looking at over 11 years since I had any instruction, and I don't even know if they're going to have instructors providing feedback.  I don't think I'm ready to use the pastel pencils for something like that because I don't know how long the models will pose for and am more comfortable using my Nupastels or chalk pastels.  But it should be exciting! :)

One of my coworkers gave me an entry form for a local exhibition geared toward emerging artists.  I've never tried to enter any contests or anything before so this will be interesting.  I think the hardest part of it is that they're asking for a resume and I don't have anything to write on a resume that has to do with art.  All I have is a commission piece I did in January, a drawing class I took as an elective my freshman year in high school, and most of my art in my middle school art classes was picked for display... the end.  What a sad resume!  But like I told my coworker, worst case scenario, they say "we don't want you, you suck!"  What's the harm?

Pastel Pencils

So I tried working with the Faber-Castell Pastel Pencils I got the other day.  I'll put up the picture when it's finished but wow! My wrist really hurts! Holding the pencils is completely different then holding pastel sticks.  That and the pastel pencils seem a little denser that pastel sticks.  This is good because they don't create quite as much dust and grit, and the pastel tip of the pencil doesn't break off easy.  But I think I'm going to have to work on building the muscles for these. :)

The tragedy of having art as a hobby...

So in my search for pastel pencils I wen to a well known craft store that will be referred to as M's.  The only pencils they had were this multi-pastel chalk based pencil.  Working a lot with chalk pastels I got them and decided to see what they were about since the package didn't describe them well.  I opened them up and they weren't pastel-like at all!!! They were way too compact like a colored pencil and I knew if I tried to use them, they'd just scrape off anything I had already put down.  So I paid $35 for crap.  Awesome.  I called M's to make sure I could return them and they told me that because I opened the package they wouldn't give me a refund.  I argued based on the fact that unless I open the package, I won't actually know that this isn't a pastel pencil and isn't what I'm looking for.  They wouldn't budge, so I called a different branch and the manager there said I could bring them back but because I couldn't find my receipt (of course) they'd have to take 20% off their current price for a refund.  So I brought them back and spoke to someone about what I was actually looking for, which they didn't have and couldn't order.

Today was one of those days that was just made for me!  I went to a store specifically for supplying art and it was like being a kid in a candy store!  I got a 36 pack of the pencils I was looking for, a color shaper, board for support, blending stumps, and a portfolio with sleeves for my work.  And I used a Mastercard gift card Christmas present ($100) and didn't end up paying anything of my own pocket! :) Then I stopped by M's (I don't tend to hold grudges) to look at easels so that I stop ruining my coffee table with pastel grit and its my lucky day! All easels are 50% off!! So I grabbed an aluminum floor easel for $99.99, got 50% off, used the return card from my fake pastel pencils and only paid $20 out of my pocket! Yay!  Not too bad for getting supplies for one of the most expensive hobbies out there!