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".

Wasatch Canyon Hike

Prints of Boots, Snowshoes and Skis.

A week and a half ago I grabbed my day pack and a water bottle and headed up a canyon not far from my home. Most of the hike was over snow, some of it pretty deep, but you could hardly call it a winter hike. Temperatures were rather mild. I packed an extra coat with me just in case, but never needed to put it on.

A Snow Covered Avalanche Tongue?

A few people had hiked up before me, the most prepared ones on snowshoes or skis. My own snowshoes were left at home. My plan was to hike up as far as the snow allowed me, then turn around and hike back. For the most part, the snow's surface was firm enough for me to walk over.

A little more than two miles up canyon I began post holing. The snow had softened to the point where It would no longer support me. It can be challenging trying to pull your leg out from deep snow when the rest of you is still up on top of the snow. Time to return.

It's so good to be outdoors, walking in the mountains! The return hike was made during the golden hour, when the low sun paints the landscape in warm tones. All in all, a very pleasant hike.

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".

A Winter Walk

It's cold outside. There's snow on the ground. There's the threat of avalanches in the mountains and the freeze-thaw effect causing occasional rockfalls. But it's a beautiful, sunny day outside. Time to go for a walk in one of my favorite Wasatch Mountain canyons!

Of course I'll hike carefully. The walk will likely be less than two miles up the canyon, and then back. This hike won't go near the avalanche-prone higher slopes, and I'll stay alert for anything the cliffs and slopes might toss down at me.

My hike started in the afternoon, after finishing a few tasks in town. The snow sparkled wherever the low winter sun's rays could reach the bottom of the canyon. The sky was so blue. The high mountain ridges and cliffs were, as usual, spectacular.

Not all, however, on this trip was pleasant and enjoyable. There's a little trail which cuts off from the main trail and goes for a quarter mile or so before rejoining the main trail. It's a narrow trail, and not much used, but nicer than the section of main trail it bypasses. I always take this trail on my way up the canyon. On this particular day on that trail I saw only one set of boot prints other than mine in the snow. About halfway up the trail, though, I came across an unexpected and unpleasant obstacle. There was a dead moose right on the trail. Not only was the moose dead, it had been heavily scavenged, and subsequently spread over more of the narrow trail. The snow around the moose corpse was packed down with paw prints of coyotes and/or foxes. Traces of blood were still visible on the snow. This part of the trail is a little steep, and passes through thick oak brush. That made getting around the massive carrion a little challenging, but soon enough I was able to continue up canyon.

No other unpleasant surprises awaited me that day. The rest of the hike was simply a walk in the Wasatch mountains on a glorious winter's day. Small birds, such as black-capped chickadees foraged among bare twigs and branches of Gambel oak and rocky mountain maple trees. High up among towering cliffs two eagles soared. I had no goals on this hike; no peaks to bag, no circuit to complete, no particular spot to arrive at. I had no interest on this hike other than to just be out in the wild, and that I was.

I walked the canyon for the rest of the afternoon, often pausing to look, listen, and generally absorb the experience as much as I could. Early evening I returned back down the canyon. On the way to the trailhead, I got to enjoy a nice end-of-day treat. There were enough clouds far to the west for the setting sun to shine and reflect through. It made for a small, but enjoyable sunset.

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!