Happy New Year and Getting in the Habit

 

As I did last year, I am doing the #30faces30days pencil portrait drawing class/challenge offered by Sktchy . There are six artists who present an image of their muse, and you draw along with the lesson. It’s great because the anatomy, planes of the faces, how to show form, are all discussed and demonstrated for each class. Each instructor has a different approach, which I find very helpful. Here are my first four days..plus…I really like a challenge of drawing a face each day! Great purposeful way to start the new year.

January Challenge Complete!

This was such a fun way to spend January- I’ve posted a few in my last post- but here are all 30. 6 different instructors- some of the classes were almost 2 hours, the quickest was 22 minutes! I decided not to continue to work on them after the lesson had ended, so some have a higher degree of finish. Which doesn’t mean it’s any better! Thanks Sktchy for a great month of drawing some fascinating and fabulous muses!

 

Winter Doldrums are Banned

 I’ve seen this #30faces30days on social media the last few Januarys but this year I joined in on Sktchy- it’s a class with 6 instructors who provide their own muse, then a video of them drawing the portrait, which I’ve been following along with. They are all different- in technique, and time, so it’s been a good January project. I’ve been posting each day on IG. Some days it’s been hard to post and I missed the first two days since we were driving down to SC, but I’m mostly caught up now.

Drawing

 As much as I love to get away in the winter- I always have the dilemma of what my art will look like when we travel in our motorhome. What kind of consistent practice can I get excited about- and more importantly- stick with? I joined Sktchy and am taking a class called Drawing Faces with France Van Stone.I’m jumping around the lessons which is fun; sometimes we draw with Procreate (where I’m learning a lot), but mostly it’s graphite. This drawing was not from the class but a photo of my sister. I picked this one because she was smiling, and I wanted the challenge!

These eyes are from a lesson, but the ones on the bottom right are from a photo of me. Self portrait coming ….?!

What's to love about droopy?

I love spring and one thing that calls me to do as an artist- bring some flowers in to paint! I did some drawing first, hating then loving the droopiness of these pink tulips. Why aren't they standing up better- more like how I imagine and want them to be?

I looked more closely and found another connection.

Not unlike my own body, the perky, springy part is harder to access these days. Yet it is there- often rediscovered through loving kindness to myself and gratitude for all that this body has done for me. Today, free from disease, only hindered by minor aches and pains and my own attachment to them, I delight as another spring comes near. 

In a couple of days the clocks move forward and I'll be right there- celebrating the light and the new season.

Figure Drawing

When I found out there was an open life drawing session coming up at the Hilton Head Art League, I signed right up. It was wonderful to just relax and draw- no expectations. I used a pen for the drawing, then added some broader strokes with a Prismacolor Premier, 50% French Grey. I love this perfect triangle pose- and that hat was sure fun!

Drawing

Found a couple more from the week of intense drawing I did with Catherine Kehoe at MassArt last month.

This is done on cardboard, first drawn in graphite using the angles to block in the overall shape of the figure, moving from one point to the next with only straight lines.

Drawing

When I first learned to draw the figure, it was all about finding anatomical landmarks and measuring and comparing.

Last week I had the good fortune to attend a drawing workshop with Catherine Kehoe at MassArt. She taught a very different approach using straight line, a ruler and finding all the angles of the figure. 

This one is the drawing from the last day, so you can see all the lines used to find the form.

Studying Diebenkorn

Did a value study in graphite of a painting by Richard Diebenkorn.Plan to copy this work, 8x8 in oil, for a show at The Spring Bull Gallery in Newport: Fakes and Forgeries. Diebenkorn (1922-1993) abandoned his work in the style of the Abstract Expressionists in favor of more figurative work. He was associated with the Bay Area Figurative Movement and lived in San Francisco, one of my favorite cities.

A Last Look

As the year ends, I look back and feel so grateful for such an amazing year. Life IS beautiful. I keep my sense of humor with this post, seeing myself loosen up after copying Diebenkorns self- portrait, then doing another of myself. Blessings to all, thank you for your visits and comments this year!