Lisa, Reflectingly Wicked

As a bonus, there's this one done at the end of last year, before Lisa escaped the clutches of the university. I really spent waaaaay too much time on the hair (but I quite like it).

Violet

Both the drawing and Violet are a work in progress, but I get the feeling that what she is working on will be a whole lot better than anything I could ever do.

David & Jennifer, and Lisa

I have been spending too much time on the latest encaustic (with nothing to show for it yet), but here's a couple from this week....
David and Jennifer


Lisa

This one has some odd artifacts in it because I didn't plan the drawing too well, and had to extend the paper to the left and below.

Jennifer and David, Tangled

Not much to say, other than I love working with the visual rhythms David and Jennifer set up. And I could have spent a week on the hands alone....

A Couple of Couples

A couple of couples from the last little while.

Jenny and Eric


Jennifer and David:


I quite like both, but I think the second is quite special. I like the feeling of sheltering and sheltered created by David and Jennifer, and it would be be worth pushing forward into something more permanent. If, of course, David's back can take it (it's actually a difficult pose to hold). In return, I promise to put in his missing fingers.

Jenny and Shorty

At an ungodly hour of the morning - we got started at 8:30. The sacrifices on must make for art. And Shorty, as usual, was up and down off the couch, curling up at Jenny's feet and grumbling; getting up and moving to her lap, sulking on the floor, he finally gave up trying to be king of the couch and curled up in the other room under the piano. I think in his next life (which may come sooner than he expects) he'll be a diva in Hollywood....

Jenny's a whole lot more fun (and professional) to work with. But for the moment when he was actually settled in, it was rather cute. I think with a few tweaks it might be a usable composition.

Jenny and Eric

Jenny's friend Eric had some time to kill, so he came for our session on last Monday. (For someone who had never modeled before he did well.) I've just started to get back into drawing couples - the day before I had done Jennifer and David, but I'm still working on it (it's a delightful tangle of arms and legs and heavy perspective). Working with couples is very different than drawing a single model, partly because one has to draw a lot faster, and partly because two people set up a visual rhythm between them. And of course it gives me twice as many people to converse with.



That one took awhile, but we still had a bit of time left at the end for a "quick and dirty" sketch. Lots of drawing errors, but I still quite like it.

Lisa Still Wicked

Well not Lisa herself, just the book she is reading. As for me, I'm trying to push the perspective a bit, though it is hard in a small studio. We got two done - I prefer the second to the first.
Here's the first:



The second was rather fun to draw. Lisa took up a pose on the floor with her feet up against the couch, and I stood up on the couch. I wish I had planned the drawing better (or that I had larger paper), I would have liked to get more of her feet in!



As for wicked reading, I'm still engaged in Henry Miller, & am now on my third book in 10 days. Great stuff, though I really should have read it 40 years ago!. Thanks JR.

Lisa Recumbent

Today was something different with Lisa - I asked her to take the first pose, which is actually a fairly uncomfortable one. I also worked from above, rather than on the same level as the model. She did a good job holding it, and getting back into it after breaks (thanks Lisa!).


I also wished I had slightly wider paper, I would have liked to get the book she was reading into it, Gregory Maguire's Wicked. But it is definitely on my reading list now.

After a hard pose, an easier one, at least for the model. For this one I had my back to the window, and although the shades were drawn the sun (rare thing around here these days!) was streamed in and made it almost impossible to see the sanguine conte on the paper. One does what one must! The cutest part was that Shorty went and actually lay down near her feet - something he will almost ever do for anybody. I think it's because he gets two car rides when Lisa works here...

David Rocks It. (with Bach and Josquin)

Tuesday I worked with David; the warmup sketches were wretched as my hand and mind seem to be going in opposite directions, and even the ink was uncooperative david of course was poised as ever, bless him for his patience! So for the longer work we brought out the big guns - Bach, followed by Josquin's Missa Linga Pange, which David has been kind enough to lend me. He's also provided me with some interesting films - such as Modigliani - I will never complain about my life again! - and Glenn Gould, 32 Short Films - talented oddballs really are worth knowing! Anyway, the Bach and Josquin seemed to work, though I'm not too sure where the color came from :)



I came across a couple of sketches I had done of David back when the the weather was warmer - he's an interesting guy with interesting lanky poses -

Jennifer and David

Jennifer and David are a couple I've been working with for awhile - with Jennifer somewhat longer than with David - and I am dying to do a double portrait (or a family one), maybe in encaustic, or maybe in oil. The problem is that it can take me forever to actually "see" people, especially when they are lively and fascinating. So in the meantime, I work with them individually.

Jennifer:


David:


My initial ideas for a family portrait run to something like Schiele's:



but not so morose. But it is a classic sort of ordering, echoed in in things like this old milk ad Jennifer sent me:

Jenny

Though as usual I haven't posted much, it's been a busy month. Lots of drawings to - which I hope to catch up on with respect to posting - and back at etching. (And yes, I'm working on Sasha's portrait :) ).

I think this is my favourite picture (so far) of Jenny, who is a delight to work with. Unfortunately (as usual) I spent way too much time on the hair, so ran short on the feet. And someday I will get the details of those tattoos down.



There's a few more, not so good, where I made her look far older than she looks in real life. Interesting how that happens, but I thought I should put them in for completeness..


And of course, one in the red robe. I should start a special collection of these...

Jennifer

Last week, if I remember correctly, was wet outside from the rain the night before, while the studio was an even worse shambles than usual. So we started in the kitchen, shooting the breeze while I worked on quick sketches. This is partly to warm up, partly to test positions for a final, more formal drawing, and mostly to keep pushing me away from the can-of-beans approach to working with lively and interesting people...





At one point Shorty - who is almost always present, trying to edge into the picture in one way or another - caught Jennifer's eye, and that set the basis for the drawing. As usual, I got totally lost in Jennifer's hair - it's wonderful to draw, particularly when backlit.



This week, on the hand, we were back in the studio for more traditional work. I don't know how she holds a pose like this, it would be beyond me. And this time instead of getting lost in Jennifer's hair, I got lost in her hands. (Sorry Jennifer!)

Jennifer R., Reading Aura

Wednesday was much nicer than Tuesday - sunshine (most of the time) and temperatures in the mid 20's (mid 70's for the US). Way too nice for working inside. So Jennifer and I sat in shade in the backyard.

The book she's reading is Aura's Erato, which is a wonderful allegory of the act of creation in its different manifestations. And as Jennifer pointed out (and I quite agree), Aura's play with language is quite delightful.



There's a couple of others I did with Jennifer last week, but they aren't finished yet.

Lisa, Not Whistler's Mother

Tuesday was a wonderful day for reading - wet and cold (and not a whole lot warmer inside). As luck (or more likely, Lisa's foresight) would have it, Lisa had a couple of books wih her. So she settled into my old rocking chair to read by the window, and I to draw. The only thing really missing was a bit of sunshine coming in the window.

Another week goes by....

At least this time I have a good reason for not posting much, it's been a busy one for drawing! Probably the best way to catch up is just to put them up in the order they were done, all in one post. I try to schedule two to three sessions a week, but this week two new-to-me models became available (Jennifer R. and Aura King); both brought an interest in the arts as well as the history of modeling, so I got to learn a lot.

Monday was with Shawn. Unfortunately the session got cut short somewhat, since I wanted to go over to his place and meet Sasha (his dog). I would like to get to work on a painting including the two of them.



Tuesday was Lisa. If she's looking a little pained, well she was, with a bad crick in her neck. But she was kind enough to sit anyway, and I sort of regret not getting the icepack in. Or a bag of frozen peas....



Wednesday was the first of the new models, Jennifer R. Jennifer is an experienced photographer & model, but I had my usual trouble sorting out drawings with new people. As an added bonus, she lent me the book Alias Olympia, by Eunice Lipton. It's based around Lipton's search for who Victorine Meurent really was. She also provided a link to quite an amusing website for playing with digital photos, BigHugeLabs.



Aura E. King is a writer, dancer, and a well known model in Halifax (especially at NSCAD), who is currently working on a book on classical modeling. I got to pick her brain quite a bit on the history of classical modeling (I had no idea, for example, that for much of history since the Renaissance, modeling was generally the domain of families, much as any other craft..)



And finally on Friday, Jennifer. Maybe it's the fact that I had been drawing all week, or maybe it's the fact that Jenn's a country and western fan (like me), but somehow we managed to get two drawings done, both of which I like.

Elinor UberWench

If there was a top model category in Halifax, Elinor (T. Crosby) UberWench would probably occupy it. She's very popular with the local life drawing groups (I've run into her at DASL, Richard's, and Dr. Sketchy). Her popularity is understandable; she's graceful, gracious, and totally charming. Plus she's a belly dancer, and a dance instructor (click on the link above for more info).

So it was quite a pleasure to have her modeling for Richard's Saturday group at the Findlay Centre. Especially so in her dance clothing.

Lisa Not in Green

Friday, Lisa took a really lovely, but difficult, pose. Hard on her to hold (I don't think I could ever tuck into that position, let alone hold it for an hour), and hard to draw, particularly with the slight twist to the head and back. So for me it was good; for her, probably not so much. The result needs reworking (I don't do her or the pose justice), but I think I better wait a session or two before trying it again...



After that was a pose I totally blew (so you don't get to see it), and during a break she curled over to stretch out her back. Being somewhat of an opportunist, and because I love these serendipitous positions, I asked if she'd mind holding it for the position for the last twenty minutes or so. Alas, if there had only been more time!

Lisa in Green

I worked with Lisa on Tuesday. One of those typical Nova Scotia days that starts bright and sunny and then goes downhill. So we worked in the yard for a couple of hours, and then in the studio.
The morning started off warm enough just to work in light clothes; Lisa reading and drinking coffee, and me sketching and drinking coffee. Coffee is kind of a constant theme around here.


Unfortunately clouds and spitters and a drop in temperature; Lisa braved it out in a hoodie for a little while:


But, even for me, eventually enough is enough, so it was into the studio. I think like many representational artists, I'm a bit of a nut about fabric. Unfortunately, as a pretty traditionally brought up guy, I'm fabrically(?) challenged. So I have no idea what to call it, other than it was sort of a t-shirty material that hung really nicely, was a lovely light pthalo-green color, and a great complement to the wearer...



Standing poses, btw, are really hard, especially when they are slightly off the normal balance. So that one wass definitely above and beyond, and quite a reasonable justification for the last:



Not that the last pose is actually all that easy (try holding your arm up like that for awhile...)

Shawn, Unforgiven

The title doesn't have anything to do with Shawn directly, he's a great model to work with. Very relaxed and composed. But we did put that movie on during one session.....

It's been awhile since I posted anything (maybe I should be unforgiven for buggering off in nice weather, but I still can't get over an addiction to sunshine); Shawn and I have had two sessions in the interim.


Either of the first two I think could be a good basis for something more formal, probably an oil painting. I'd like to gt back to work in that direction, now that I can work with the windows open. But the prep is always a little daunting. And I do apologize to Shawn for that post-Thanksgiving tummy in the second...




I think on this one, however, the problems just came from getting distracted by the movie. But I do like the area around the left hand.