Throwback Thursday Portrait

 

18" x 24" Charcoal on Gray Paper

I don't often do "Throwback Thursday" posts, but here goes one. This sketch is probably from the 1990's. This was drawn back when Doyle Shaw had a studio at the old Peteetneet building in Payson. Doyle had an open session once a week where he would find people to sit for three hours (with breaks, of course!), and everyone attending the session would chip in five bucks to help pay the model.

I can't remember the model's name, but I really enjoyed drawing her. I believe her parents had come from India. A week or two later, her husband also sat for us in a session. I seem to remember his nickname was Taj. Unfortunately, I no longer have the drawing I made of him. He had been born in India, but, when he was a little child, was stolen and sold into the adoption market. He was adopted by an American couple who believed he was an orphan. Years later, as an adult, he traveled back to India to find his birth family. It would not do justice to his amazing story for me to try and wrest from my faded memory the details of the adventure he told us about, but if I find out more, I'll post it here. In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the drawing!

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

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".

Backlit Redhead

12" x 9" Pastel on Sanded Paper

This pastel is from last week's portrait session at Howard Lyon's studio. Howard had placed the lighting so that a cool light illuminated the model from the front, and a strong reddish light shone on her from the opposite side. I had gone into the session intending to only do a charcoal sketch, but when I saw how colorful the subject was, I had to get out the colors!

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

Three More from the Wednesday Night Portrait Sessions!

Three more little paintings from life done at the Wednesday sessions. They were painted alla prima at sessions within the last month or two.

All three were painted in oil on panel, and measure 8" x 6". They were painted with a limited palette of yellow, red, black, and white. For a little more about painting with a limited palette, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "limited palette".

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

A Brunette and a Redhead

8" x 6" Oil on Panel

Two more recent portrait sketches from live models. Both were painted alla prima in oil in two and a half to three hours each at the weekly portrait sessions. The first one was painted with my usual "Zorn (ish)" palette of yellow ochre, cadmium red, ivory black, and titanium white.

8" x 6" Oil on Panel

For the second painting, I did something very different, at least for me. I usually keep my oil color choices for portraits much simpler than when I work in pastel. This time the model wore a turquoise colored blouse, and I really didn't want to miss getting the color contrast between her orange hair and the blouse. So I put blue on my palette. Not only one, but two different blues. The palette for the second painting was cadmium yellow, cadmium red, sevres blue, ultramarine blue, ivory black and titanium white. Sevres blue is an unusual color for me, and I only have it in the particular pochade box I used that evening. There are other blues which also would have served the purpose, but this one worked fine. Who knows, I may become more adventurous on portrait night and start putting more colors on my palette!

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

One for April

12" x 9" Pastel on Sanded Paper

Here's one of the sketches I made in April at one of the weekly portrait sessions. I might have done it in oil paint, but went with pastel this time. Of course I'll use oils for sketching from life again, but a few weeks ago I went through my art supplies and remembered that I have rather large quantities of pastel sticks, pastel pencils and paper for pastels. So, I'll bring out the pastel supplies from time to time for the live drawing sessions. Maybe I'll even try a large finished piece or two in pastel. We'll see.

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".

Three More Color Studies

12" x 9" Pastel on Sanded Paper

I'm way behind on posting my portrait studies, so here's three at once! These are three more color portrait sketches from the weekly portrait sessions in March. The second one in this post was painted in oil, and the other two were done in pastel.

8" x 6" Oil on Panel

They're posted in reverse chronological order. The most recent one is at the top, while the oldest one is at the bottom of the post. I hope to post a few of the charcoal studies I did in March soon.

12" x 9" Pastel on Grey Paper

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

Man with Long Hair

10" x 8" Oil on Panel

When Casey Childs learned that a neighbor of his, a neighbor with particularly long hair, was going to get his hair cut, he hurried to have the long-haired neighbor sit for the weekly portrait session. He sat for us last Thursday, pre-haircut, and this is the oil paint portrait sketch I made of him. It was made with the usual "Zornish" selection of colors: titanium white, yellow ochre, cadmium red and ivory black.

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".

Merry Christmas 2018

10" x 8" Oil on Panel

As often as I can, I attend painting and drawing sessions at other artist's studios. A week or so ago, one of the studios had none other than ol' Kris Kringle himself sitting for us to paint! Of course, instead of using charcoal, I had to break out the oil paints. As usual for my portrait oils, I used only four colors, almost a pure "Zorn palette": titanium white, yellow ochre, cadmium red (instead of vermilion) and ivory black. My little oil study of Santa is shown above.

Saint Nick is a fun subject to paint, and far easier than painting an entire nativity scene on portrait night. Of course the real reason for Christmas is expressed in the following video:

Merry Christmas everybody!

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".