Pre-pandemic Portrait Sketches

12" x 9" Pastel on Sanded Paper

These two portrait sketches are from a few weeks before when just about everything - including live drawing sessions - was shut down on account of current worldwide viral and governmental circumstances. I'm certainly looking forward to when the disease is brought under control, vaccines and better treatments are developed, and I can start going to drawing sessions again. 

14" x 11" Charcoal on Grey Paper

In the mean time, there are other things to do. I miss the benefits of going to live drawing sessions every week, but it's probably not worth the risks right now, especially to anyone who could become seriously ill, or worse. Besides, drawing a model who's wearing a face mask might not be very helpful. Also, I doubt hand sanitizer would make a very good solvent or medium for any kind of painting!

Drawing a Singer

14" x 11" Charcoal on Grey Paper

Another drawing from another portrait session a couple of weeks ago. The model we had for that session is an up and coming singer named Ludovica. You can see her You Tube channel Here:

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

Backlit Blonde

14" x 11" Charcoal on Paper

Here's a quick post about my sketch from last Wednesday's portrait session. I try to arrive early enough to the session to have my choice of where to set up. Lately, however, someone new has been showing up earlier and taking "my spot", so I have to move to another spot in the studio. This drawing was made from someplace other than "my spot." Maybe I should try different spots more often.

Drawing made with charcoal pencils and "white charcoal" on grey paper. Total time: three hours, including breaks.

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

Woman with Mickey Mouse Hair Buns

14" x 11" Charcoal on Toned Paper.

I don't know if the post's title correctly names that hairstyle or not. It's just how the model had her hair at last Wednesday's portrait session. Regardless, it was a nice change from the usual single hair-bun that models often wear for these sessions. Subject of hairstyle aside, I really enjoyed drawing that face!

For this portrait, I got out a sketchbook of gray paper and used charcoal pencils and a "charcoal white" pencil. Total time: three hours, including breaks.

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

First Sketch of 2020

14" x 11" Charcoal on Grey Paper

Long time, no post anything...

Been busy with the holidays and slowed down by the winter doldrums, but Hopefully, things will begin to pick up for me. The sketch shown above is from a portrait session in Orem last Thursday. The model was great, and there was a lot of good artwork from other painters there. I enjoyed not only practicing for myself, but also, as always, seeing what others were doing and learning from it.

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

Three Women - More Sketches from March

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

Here's some charcoal sketches made at portrait sessions in March. The first one is from a session at Howard Lyons studio. Materials used for these sketches were "extra soft" charcoal pencils, "charcoal white" pencil, kneaded eraser, and of course, ever useful sketchbooks.

10" x 8" Charcoal on Paper

The second drawing is from a session at Casey Childs studio. The last one is from a session at either Casey's studio or Howard's studio, but It's been a while and I can't remember which one now.

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

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

The Second Week of 2019

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

Here's two more charcoal portraits drawn from life at the weekly portrait sessions. The first one was drawn at Casey Child's studio, and the second one at Howard Lyon's studio.

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

January is not one of my favorite months. The cold, grey, dreary winter days that beset this time of year don't provide much encouragement for painting outdoors. Especially when low clouds, rain, snow, haze and fog severely limit what you can see outdoors, anyway. The leaden grayness of these days could provide opportunity to use the "Torrit Grey" oil paint I was given a few years ago, but I certainly haven't wanted to, yet. 

So I find the drab winter months an excellent time to practice drawing and painting people from life at the open portrait sessions. That's important to honing one's skills and staying sharp. It's also something I immensely enjoy doing.

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

Starting Out the New Year Drawing

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

Last Wednesday and Thursday I made certain to attend the first portrait sessions of the new year. The portrait shown above was made at Howard Lyon's Studio, and the one shown below was drawn at Casey Child's Studio. It's a good way to start the year! I'm looking forward to new adventures and many good things happening in the next several months. Stay tuned to see what the muse might bring!

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

It's incidental that I set up at exactly the same angle to two different models in two different studios on consecutive days. I must have been in a three-quarter-view-right-side-of-face kind of mood that week.

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

Man Reading a book

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

Last Wednesday the model for the portrait session at Howard Lyon's studio brought along a book to read as we drew or painted him. You'd think that would make it easier to draw the subject, but even something as small as the model moving his eyes from one page to the next changes his appearance. That creates a challenge, but you learn to deal with it. The picture above is how I dealt with it.

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

Portrait Session Drawing

12" x 9" Charcoal Pencil on Gray Paper

This drawing is from last week's portrait session at Howard Lyon's studio. Once again, I relied on one of my favorite mediums, charcoal pencil and toned paper. 

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

Back to the Portrait Sessions II

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

It's about time I started regularly attending weekly portrait sessions again. Last week at Casey Child's studio we had a male model. The drawing I made of him is shown above. I plan on getting back to using oil paints at these sessions, but for now It's charcoal on paper and focusing on drawing. Honestly, I might love drawing even more than I love painting!

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

Lady Grey

9" x 12" Charcoal on Grey Paper

My drawing from last Wednesday's live portrait session. This portrait was drawn using charcoal and "charcoal white" pencils. It's fun working on grey paper.

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

Back to the Portrait Sessions!

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

It's probably been since February that I haven't been to the weekly portrait sessions. It's about time I got back to them, so this week I went to both Howard Lyon's class and Casey Child's class. Shown above is the sketch I did at Casey's studio on Thursday, and below is the sketch I made Wednesday at Howard's studio. Both sketches were made with charcoal pencils and "white charcoal" pencil on grey paper.

12" x 9" Charcoal on Grey Paper

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

Last Day of February 2018

12" x 9" Charcoal on Paper

I'm looking forward to getting outdoors and painting plein air again, but in the mean time, here's my sketch from last Wednesday's portrait session. 

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

A Couple More Charcoal Sketches from February

12" x 9" Charcoal on Paper

I decided to stick to sketching with charcoal at the live portrait sessions this week. The first sketch is from last Wednesday's portrait session at Howard Lyon's studio. The second one is from a session at Casey Child's studio on Thursday.

12" x 9" Charcoal on Paper

No, that is not a drawing of Howard Lyon. It sort of looks like him, but it's not. Thursday evening's model could be Howard's doppelganger, though. The beard, bald head and classes are mighty close, but his height and general demeanor were a little different. He certainly was a fun person to draw!

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

Yesterday's Charcoal Sketch

12" x 9" Charcoal on Paper

This is the sketch I made at last night's portrait session. I'll still be working in oil at these sessions from time to time, but this week, at least, charcoal is my medium of choice.

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

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".

Throwback Thursday

Colored Pencil on Paper

This painting goes way back to before I started using oil paints. Probably even before I made any paintings with pastels. It's a studio piece that brings together various experiences I've had on night hikes in the wild. The moon was done using a sketch of a lunar eclipse I made from my back porch in Pennsylvania (back porches can be wilder than you might imagine.) The cliff is based on one I came across in the Wasatch Mountains. The bighorns are based on ones I saw while passing through the Colorado Rockies, and alludes to the many times I've been aware of wildlife not far from me on walks in dark forests and canyons.

Here's some thumbnail sketches I did while working out the composition for this picture:

I wish I had gotten a better photo of it before it was gone. The painting was sold at a gallery that closed years ago. The picture at the top of this post is a digital image of a bad 35mm film photo, heavily edited to try and bring it up to the quality I think I remember in the original piece. It's the best editing I can do, but still falls rather short of the original. Nonetheless I hope there's yet something in the image the reader can find to enjoy. 

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Girl with Ponytail, Also a New Show Opens Tonight!

12" x 9" Charcoal on Paper

A little break from landscape paintings this week. This is a charcoal sketch of a woman who modeled at Howard Lyon's studio last Wednesday. It would have been good to get out the paints and do an oil sketch of her, but after a day full of driving halfway across the state and running errands (including delivering new paintings to a gallery and buying new picture frames), by the time I got to the portrait session I had only enough energy for a simple charcoal sketch. Of course, that's much better than not doing anything at all, and I'm glad I made it there.

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

Also, there is a new art exhibit opening tonight! Logan Fine Art Gallery's "Fall Salon" begins tonight and runs through October, I believe. I've had a preview of the show and can tell you there's a lot of really good paintings and other pieces of art in the exhibit. One of my plein air landscapes is in the show. For more information about the gallery, click here.