Another Charcoal Portrait Sketch

12" x 9" Charcoal on Paper

Last night at Howard Lyon's Studio the model for the session was a local actress done up in an 18th century French rococo outfit and makeup. It seemed as though she had enough flowers in her giant wig for the gardens at Versailles, and enough fabric in her dress to provide curtains for all the windows in the palace at Versailles! Here's a picture of her in a similar dress:

I don't know who the character on the left is, but I hope it's not Robespierre!

Three hours was certainly not enough time to draw that extravagant costume, so I settled for the portrait sketch shown at the top of this post. 

For more about portrait sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "portrait", "sketching" or "drawing".

Back to Charcoal Sketching for a Session

12" x 9" Charcoal on Paper

I found another place to attend live model drawing sessions. The Beaux-Arts Academy has an open session on Saturday mornings. There are so many places around this valley that have live model sessions (and affordable ones, too. $7 to $10 a session.) There's no excuse for anyone who wants to practice drawing or painting people from life to not find places where they can do that with other painters and drawers. The sketch at the top of this post is my effort from this morning's session at Beaux-Arts.

Sketching from life with charcoal is a bit like going for a walk in nature. It's simple, basic, and it feels good. Charcoal sketching enables me to focus on things I don't when sketching with oil paints, and in ways I hope will translate over to my oils. I'll continue to sketch in oils, too, but I plan to intersperse oil sessions with charcoal sessions.

For more about portrait sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "portrait", "sketching" or "drawing".