Life Drawing Class and Life

I'm still not feeling quite myself, but I went to life drawing class yesterday anyway. I only lasted about an hour before I had to leave. I did manage to get a couple of sketches done though.

I had some lovely comments/suggestions about watercolor work in progress and am planning to add some violet to the sky before deciding what else to add to the scene. Here is a photo from my sister Anne that I am planning to use as a reference for shape of clouds and placement in the sky.

I'm still feeling a bit wonky this morning - iffy stomach and soreness in my throat, but not enough to keep me down. I will be going to my fitness class this morning and am expecting the lovely Miss Z this afternoon. This time I am keeping her for two days in a row. I wish it wasn't so hot. I'd love to take her out to swing and lie in the hammock.

What do you have planned for today? Does it include time for your creativity? I can't wait to see what you've been working/playing with lately.

xoxo

Still Life, Life Drawing, Self Portrait In Progress

I was cleaning up my computer desktop last evening when I happened upon a photo of the still life setup of my table partner at the class I took a couple of weeks. She gave me permission to use it. It was the cutest, most unusual setup I'd ever seen and I had a lot of fun sketching it.

If you click on it, you will get a better look at it.

Earlier in the day, I had a bunch of art supplies in the living room trying a set up of my own using the hubsters bottle of wine and an apple. First I outlined it in pencil, then I tried to add color using the Caran d' Ache wax crayons, and finally added a layer of oil pastels. I like the intense colors, but am not overly happy with it otherwise. To top it off, I had all that "stuff" in the living room when Adam and Jena arrived with Miss Z. Talk about in my own world, when I first looked out and saw a vehicle in the driveway, I thought "meter reader".

While I was taking the photos of my art for this post, I also had to fiddle a bit with the self portrait sketch. I decided the jaw line needed some work, so I made some adjustments and here is what "I" look like now.

I think it is better. Now I have to work on the eyes.

I went to Ella Sharp in the morning yesterday for the life drawing class and was able to get one quick sketch

then tried another pose using some small, lovely watercolor thingies (I can't for the life of me remember what they were called or who made them, but maybe you can tell me. In the photo below, they are circled in red.) and definitely need more practice as it is a mess.

If you click this, you may be able to see them better.

Anyway, here is my sketch using them

This is sketched of Colourfix Suede paper.

And the final life drawing attempt in pencil on sketch paper

I am hearing some "talking" in the guest room where Miss Z spent the night and haven't had my second cup of coffee yet. I'd better run. I will definitely be around to see what you've been up to later.

xoxo

Fun with Neocolors, Self Portrait, Dutch (not German)

I am so impressed with the response to my faux pas about the origins of the book in which I am doing my nature sketches. The reason I couldn't get a translation from the text when choosing German to English was simply that the book isn't written in German - it is Dutch. This fact was paramount in my decision to make my next sketch "Dutchman's Breeches" or more formally "Dicentra Cucullaria". I used my Caran d'Ache Neocolor II wax crayons and while it was fun, they are rather blunt so the picture lacks a bit of clarity. But then, so do I some days.....

I was having such fun with the creaminess of the wax crayons that I decided to try a self portrait with them. It is quite messy and I think I went too fast and didn't do enough blending, but I'll share it anyway and I can't wait to try it again - hopefully with better results.

I was thinking about snacking and am trying really hard not to, so I decided to use the same reference photo of myself to try a pencil sketch. I don't think the drawing is too bad - it looks like a person, but I don't seem to have caught a likeness.

I did Zumba for the second time last night - the first time being on Monday of this week. I can't believe how much more smoothly it went this time. Wow! What a workout! I am so looking forward to the next time. When I got home around 8, the hubster was watching the baseball game and informed me that the steak that I had gotten out of the freezer was still frozen solid. I made a wonderful green salad with cherry tomatoes, fresh mushrooms, dried cherries, some exquisite prime crab meat, and topped it with just a little honey mustard dressing - nectar of the gods! I was so out of it from the exercise that I couldn't stay awake and was in bed before 10.

Today I am planning to get around and drive into town to the life drawing class. I am taking some Colourfix suede paper and trying to do my sketching with some small, round, water-soluble items that I got as surprise gifts at a colored pencil class I took with Kristy Kutch. I don't remember what they are, but they are cute as can be and I also got a plastic holder with them. Does anybody know what they are?

After my life drawing, I am going to go to the dollar store and buy some hair spray - being the queen of wash and wear all my life, I've never owned hair spray before - to use as a fixative in my pastel journal so I can go on to the next page without smooshing the two finished sketches together. Maybe while I am looking around there I will find just the right thing for the niche of my altered book so I can finally cut that dang thing and get playing in the front of it by making art and collage and just generally messing about.

Miss Z is coming this afternoon and is spending the night. I am looking forward to that. She is such a joy - busy, busy, but a lovely, loving 1 year old. For now I need to get this body in motion.

xoxo

Life Drawing and More Pears

I experienced my first life drawing class with an unclothed live model yesterday and I must admit I was a bit unsure how that was going to be. After all, I was raised a Catholic and even went to Catholic school in the late 50s and early 60s.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I wasn't the least bit uncomfortable - after all I wasn't the one without the protection of clothing. The model was very professional and held his poses quite well. We began with a couple of short poses - I think they were 5 minutes. I did my first two sketches standing with a table easel in front of me and holding the pencil by its very end. I didn't have much control that way, but I thought that was the best way to get rough, gesture sketches. At any rate, here is what I was able to get.

Hopefully you will forgive me for those when you see the 20 minute sketches. They too were first drawn roughly with the pencil held back from the lead, but not all the way back to the end. This allowed me to be loose without totally giving up control. When I was satisfied with the overall shape, I sat down and put on my glasses to refine the sketch. I am rather pleased with how they turned out and am looking forward to the next time.

I realize the angle of the folded leg is not right and the space between the knee of that leg and the foot of the other is not right, but overall, I think it isn't bad for now.

This is my second try and the model had taken a break for a moment before resuming the pose. In doing so he shifted his posture a bit to a move leaning position and changed the position of his right hand.

I didn't stay for the entire session as I had errands to do, but I found it to be a great experience and I am hoping to take other media next time - maybe my Neocolor IIs and/or some oil pastels. I'd like to try sketching in color.

When I returned home, I cleaned up my work room a bit and then attempted to add some dark color to the tiger lily. It was a disaster. I thought that maybe spraying it with a mist of water might have given it a more painterly look and made it okay that it didn't look real, but it appears that I didn't get my little spray bottle back from the still life workshop where I was sharing it. I am going to try to lift some color today and hope to share with you how it is going in the near future. I removed the masking fluid this morning and need to soften the edges of the stamens as well.

I will share my pears with you as I am quite happy with them. The one on the left was done with colored pencil and the one on the right with soft pastels.

I've never used soft pastels before and could definitely use some pointers. It seemed that with each subsequent layer, I removed much of the previous and when I tried using my finger to blend the same thing happened. Do you know where I can find out more about using this medium?

I've got to go get my first mug of coffee and get started on this day. I have the exercise class this morning and since I missed it on Wednesday, I am looking forward to it even more than usual. I think that afterwards, the hubster and I will be making a trip into town to Lowe's for some wood crafting related items and some softener salt. I may have to see if I can find a spray bottle and a clip-on lamp.

I surely hope that you are having a wonderful day, that your muse is hovering, and that you are finding time for your art. I've been having the hardest time leaving comments on blogs and it is not just Blogger; I am having fits with Wordpress as well. Let me just tell you that I can't believe all the wonderful art out there.

xoxo