Victorian Pin-Up

Journal spread sketched from my Olivia De Berardinis book while watching 'The Victorians' on TV.

My Son, Harry (10), has finally updated his blog. He's posted some Simpson sketches he made and has more to come over the next few days.
You can check them out HERE

Prepared Surface Sketching

Harry and our whippet 'Scoby' - Lamy Safari filled with Noodlers 'Walnut' ink using a medium nib on watercolour and soft pastel.


Harry - Lamy Safari filled with red/black ink using an extra fine nib on watercolour


Harry and Jake - Lamy Safari filled with Noodlers 'Walnut' ink using a medium nib on gouache.

A few family sketches on prepared surfaces in my large Canson watercolour sketchbook.

I'd forgotten just how much prepared backgrounds add to a sketch and since I have had mixed media out on my desk recently for the 'Mixed Views' project I thought I'd dabble on a page....which soon turned into a few pages.
They look so much more interesting than just ink sketches and give instant 'meat' to a few minutes work.

Studio Visitors

'Unconditional' - Precious Moments Collection - Soft Pastel on Wallis

I had rather a busy day today, stocking up on groceries at the supermarket, taking my Son Harry along to his dental appointment and working on a commission this evening left little time to sketch. However, I did manage to take my sketchbook into the dental surgery and fill a page, you can view the results HERE in my Location Sketchbook blog.

Anyway, with nothing much new to fill today's posting with I thought show the two paintings I sold last week. Both sales took place in my studio, both clients just turned up on my doorstep and both sales felt like my first!
It's an amazing feeling knowing someone likes something you created enough to part with their hard earned wage so they can see it hanging on their wall everyday.



'With Love' - Acrylic on canvas

Life Class - Week 9

Inktense pencil on cream paper - 8 mins

I took my small, square Seawhite sketchbook along to life class with me today, I thought it's 6x6 inch size would present some challenges of it's own and it allowed me to fill a few more pages for my challenge.

I started with some lead-free sketches using my Lamy fountain pen and, keen as mustard, I even managed to capture a couple of 10 second sketches of the model in her gown talking with the organiser before she took pose. The remaining ink sketches range between 3-10 minutes.

After our last short pose The organiser set us the challenge of repeating the pose using a different media and creating a sketch without using an outline. I broke open a new tin of Derwent pastels for this challenge and really enjoyed the process.

Derwent pastels - 20 mins

Lastly, our wonderful model repeated the pose we finished with last week and I worked on my gouache painting, with the acrylic ink background, a little more.

After about 15 mins I lost interest and found myself itching to capture our dancer's beautiful eyes, so I packed up my gouache and grabbed some cream paper and an inktense pencil before moving a chair up close to produce the short sketch at the top of this post.

Week 8 - After 25 mins

Week 9 - After 40 mins total

Will I continue with the gouache painting above?...Probably not. I learned from it but my heart is no longer craving to play with it and unless that emotion changes by next week, I see no point.

I hope to use the pose for something entirely different next week.

Challenges

Conte crayons & charcoal on cream tinted paper - 30 mins

Another challenging self portrait sketch from life.
This time a quick rendering in Conte crayons. It has many imperfections but I do believe I was a little kinder to myself in this one so things are looking up!



Noodler's ink in sketchbook

Two more lead-free ink sketches from my sketchbook. Both were sketched very quickly, one worked and one went pear shaped. The first is supposed to be Billie Piper but I managed to give her 'the' worse nose job I've seen in a long time as well as other errors. I thought running the water brush over her may plump her up a little and soften her...I thought wrong!
The second is my Son and was sketched while he drew at the kitchen table a couple of minutes before we left for school. I'm a little happier with that one!


EDM challenge #124 - Draw something yellow
Gouache in sketchbook

Lastly, one of the EDM challenges, to sketch something yellow. I chose my yellow Lamy fountain pen that I have filled with Noodler's black/red ink, the same pen I used for the two sketches above.
I have a red Lamy too, that I keep filled with Noodler's Lexington Gray ink, they are wonderful pens.

Monoprinting

My good friend Diane did some monoprinting at our life class on Tuesday last week and they looked like fun. I've never tried monoprinting before, so when Diane visited me on Wednesday she left her Plexiglass, roller and watercolour ink here for me to play with.
Isn't it great having other artists as friends?

click images to enlarge

I worked really fast, using 'The Figure in Motion' by Thomas Easley and Mark Smith as a reference, along with a little imagination.

Once the ink was dry I experimented by adding Conte to a couple of the prints.

Of course, with all of my self portrait studies recently, I simply had to create a quick study of myself in monoprint, I used a mirror for this one, working from life.

Many Rivers To Cross

Conte - 20 mins

Another quick self portrait, this time in Conte.

Self portraits have to be the most demanding subject, especially from life!
While I realise it's only 20 minutes and it is recognisable as me, I see lots wrong and it is far from where I'd like it to be.

How does that make me feel?

Well perhaps it should dent my confidence, create a deep sigh from within, lure me back to my 'safe' zone working portraits from photographs or avoid this area completely...I mean there are heaps of subjects right? Perhaps I should hide my efforts from public eyes, show only my best, it may after all appear that I am reversing rather than plummeting full speed ahead.

No.

It makes me so excited!
I want to share this amazing time in my life, the good, the bad...and in this case...the ugly! There is no shame in learning, at any age, at any stage.

He who asks is a fool for five minutes, but he who does not ask remains a fool forever.

- Chinese Proverb.

No sooner I feel I have achieved another step in my journey...Up pops a river I have to find a way to cross. Art never becomes boring, always a challenge, always something to learn, something to push for. She hands out small rafts from time to time, enough to gently pull us around the river's bend, small acknowledgements for our dedication and then BAM, her current speeds up and we are neck high in white water, spinning, reeling, adrenalin pumping.
What a ride!

I think I may become my new studio challenge. Models are not cheap and, here in the Fens, they are hard to find ...I know...I've been looking for what feels like years!!!
I'm here, I'm free and I'm available when I need me...What more could I ask?

..A bigger mirror perhaps?

Yes, get ready for more of my ugly mug. Who knows, I may even learn to pose without frowning like a 90 year old!

Life Class - Week 5

25 mins - Acrylic on canvas board

Today was our last life session from a set of six as the organiser was unable to secure a nude model for next week, however, we will have a model albeit clothed!
I've wanted to try paint for a couple of weeks now, so today I took just two tubes of Finity acrylic (Burnt Umber and Titanium White). The pose I chose to use paint for was by far the most difficult of the day and most people had the sense to move around to the side of the model.
I decided to take a bash at the challenge presented before me and, if I'm honest, I am really pleased with more than one area of the result. I am delighted with the feet, they were at such an extraordinary angle and can be challenging at the best of times, I feel I caught them quite well while still remaining loose, working with shapes and tones rather than minute detailing.

I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed these classes, from the moment I get up on a Tuesday until class begins I can hardly contain my excitement and the two hours pass soooooo quickly.
I have the models contact details and plan to use them until the next six sessions begin in Autumn.
I have also been busy organising portrait and costume models for my studio and hope to start sessions soon.

The human figure, such a complex array of angles, tones and emotions, I gather when a subject interests and excites you as much as this you just have to acknowledge it and work with it...and I intend to do just that!

Various hues of Inktense pencils - Between 2-5 mins each

Faber Castell crayons - 25 mins

Pigment liner - 5 mins

Life Class - Week 4

A very productive week at life class this week, lots of quick poses and a couple of longer ones.
My personal challenge was to concentrate on values more during this session.


Soft Pastel - 3 mins


Inktense - 2 mins



Inktense - 2 mins


0.1 Pigment liner - 5 mins


0.1 Pigment liner - 5 mins


Inktense - 5 mins


Soft pastel - 20 mins


Inktense - 25 mins


Inktense & Pigment liner - 30 mins

Life Class - Week 2

30 mins - Faber Castell crayons on coloured paper

Tuesday afternoon I attended the second of my life sessions. The two hours went by so fast but we managed to get some very interesting and difficult angles into the five poses we sketched and I tried out a variety of media.

3 mins - Pigment liner - W&N sketchbook

5 mins - Ink - W&N sketchbook



10 mins - Charcoal pencil - W&N sketchbook

I'm quite happy with a number of things I have managed to accomplish during these two classes; my proportions, weight distribution, lack of fear and openness to experimentation, stepping out of the comfort zone.
I enjoyed all of the media I used in today's class but the sticks of Faber Castell crayons, much like willow charcoal, felt most comfortable to me. I enjoy a medium I can push and pull around and I believe the security of knowing I am able to do this allows me to approach the piece in a much looser, more confident fashion.

30 mins - Ink on watercolour paper