Local Sketch 06.28.11

There are good and bad things about working with a brush pen. The good is the easy strokes and less mess to clean up than traditional brush and ink. The bad is the brush getting heavy with ink sometimes or certain papers suck the ink more than you wish it to.

The Pentel brush pen is best when doing figure drawing but I need to master that ink flow.

Some areas of these drawings are little more heavy with ink than intended. I don't find these to be happy accidents. A challenge indeed.

Local Sketch 06.27.11

Local Sketch 06.25.11

The drawings today were me playing with characters so the model does not look the same in each picture. Only one picture I actually focused on what the model looked like. The others were variations. You don't learn if you don't play. Breaking my own rules on drawing faces had to be done.

Dr. Sketchy's Anti Art School (2 year Anniversary) 06.19.2011

more pictures are here ... click me

Local Sketch - 6.4.2011

If I knew who the model was going to be today, I would have brought my full set of pastels.

After dragging myself out of bed, I left early enough to get in some gesture drawings. This part seemed to finish quickly unfortunately. I may have to petition for one night of pure gesture drawing. The room was too full of artitsts, so I couldn't hop around the room too much for alternate angles.

I was able to sneak in an iCharcoal drawing with a borrowed iPad. Its definately a learning process using the fingers to draw and not the stylus.

Yesterday, I stocked up on unprimed wood panel that was on clearance for a store moving sale. An artist told me that I needed to prime it first with a clear primer. Great. The intent was to use it raw. I need to stop going to the art store because I have more than enough supplies at home. All except that damn clear primer....

Palette & Chisel - Memorial Day Model Marathon 05.30.11

Flickr : Palette & Chisel Sketches

It was in my head to go to Chicago for this model drawing marathon. After some car troubles prior to the trip, I was happy I got there in one piece and back. I had a nice 3 hour drive with sunshine and 90 degrees creeping up in the afternoon.

The kicker is I don't feel I left early enough for the marathon draw and reached Chicago in the late afternoon. After counting 3 deer bodies on the road, I was thinking I wanted to head out before dusk.

Going into it I felt good. However, the spot I picked felt uncomfortable. I chose an unusual drawing pad and my favorite brush pens barely had any ink left. I had plenty drawing materials with me, I just had a hard time "getting going". By the time I got into the swing, things got more complicated with 2 models posing.

I left feeling I didn't really do my best this go round. As I took my predicted wrong turn from the parking ramp sending me on chase for the nearest exit, I was waiting at a red light. A crowd of people were crossing the street, and I was just ready to go home. A striking short haired blonde with a big smile turned my way and back to her companion who was Kelsey Grammer. The doctor was in and that caught me off guard. Me thinks I got a little to close to the fourth wall there, so I continued to skidable up out of there.

The city refused to let me pass by, like it was preventing me from going home. Perhaps it was too soon to go. I fought it and finally got through. There was that feeling I insulted the city by leaving so quickly without accomplishing what I wanted. For some unexplainable reason, this is a repetitive feeling I have whenever I leave.

This 2am I'm so sleepy blogging. I confess I passed out a couple of times at the computer trying to edit the photos of the drawings. It may be time for me to get some real sleep and try to get some more drawing done tomorrow morning. I'm very tempted to go to Chicago again, but I probably need a little break to get the home front situated.

Local Sketch - 5.19.2011

I forgot it was a drawing night. Just got off the highway and drove past the building where we draw. I saw the guy with the iPad so I turned it back around and snuck in for gestures. I ran home quick, changed clothes, and came back to draw some more...the iPad felt like too much of a challenge for my tired soul tonight. There was a struggle with drawing the face tonight.