Daily Figure 4-30-15

Daily Figure 4-30-15

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

25 Min.

Daily Figure 4-28-15

Daily Figure 4-28-15

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2015

I've been fairly verbose in describing many of my posts up to now, but I feel at this point that much of my working process has been described in fairly good detail. So much so, that I've had to look back through earlier posts to make sure I'm not repeating myself. Given this, I'm going to be much more to the point in describing the work I post unless there is some new information that is worthy of adding. Thanks for looking, and reading.

This 25 min. drawing was completed as part of a daily figure drawing routine. 

Untitled #270

Untitled #270

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2014

This 20 min. drawing was completed as part of a daily figure drawing routine. 

Earth Day Cowgirl

Earth Day Cowgirl

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2015

Cowgirl, my cat of 15 years, was kind enough to pose like a french girl for Earth Day. ; )

Untitled #36

Untitled #36

22" X 30"

Charcoal on Paper

2013

Male models are infrequent at many of the workshops I've been to, so this 1.5 Hr. drawing completed at Angels Gate was a nice change. The male form lends itself much more easily to the way I work in general. This made the process of form interpretation a much more straightforward effort. 

Untitled #247

Untitled #247

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2014

Another 20 min. Life Drawing completed at the dA Center for the Arts (the A is capped for dA) in Pomona, CA. It's fun to work on unconventional compositions like this where the image is tight on the subject. I feel as though when I work towards the edge of the frame it compliments the angular nature of how I work. It's as if the mutual language between the subject's definition and the frame becomes more pronounced. 

Untitled #238

Untitled #238

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2014

I completed this drawing from life at the Joshua Retreat Center in about 40 min. last year. It was nice to have the extra time to fill in some detail related to the model's surroundings. Although details of the setting can sometimes diminish the timeless quality that nude figure drawing can evoke. 

The inclusion of setting details tends to put a definitive time and place stamp on a work which I don't always find necessary or desired, but of course these can be fun sometimes. Granted, it's difficult to completely escape the clues of time and place in a work, but I think that implied timelessness is one of the most endearing aspects to working in this tradition. There are no changing fashions of clothing or styles of architecture present. Just the human body, as it has been, for hundreds of thousands of years (give or a take few tattoos on the model).  ; )

Herzog in Monochrome

Herzog in Monochrome

12" X 16"

Oil on Paper

2015

Another Werner Herzog study completed a couple of weeks ago. Herzog is a kind of enigmatic figure in the sense that many of his views and life choices are quite original. This makes him difficult to define in any kind of conventional way. On realizing this I decided that this work wasn't doing him complete justice. So ultimately this work is just a stepping stone to another attempt at representing him with convincing authenticity. 

Children's Portrait

Children's Portrait

22" X 30"

Charcoal on Paper

2014

This is a children's portrait completed last year on Stonehenge paper. I used the Pan Pastel sponge tools to apply charcoal and white chalk highlights for most of the work. 

Children's portraits are a unique challenge to my working approach as they display many round and soft qualities in their features, and these qualities fly in the face of straight edged definitions of form. So, using the sponge tools seemed a logical choice in mitigating some of the extremes that can result due to my method of shape interpretation. 

Daily Charcoal Figure Study

Daily Figure Study

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2015

This is a 20 min. daily figure study from this morning. Quick, fun, and straightforward. For some reason I always feel the need to include the ground plane in some form when displaying the full figure. Here it's just an uncomplicated straight line on the left. 

One thing I love about these quick studies is that even though they are short in terms of the time spent in completing them; there is a good solid two and a half decades worth of study and effort behind every decision. Even the mistakes. 

Untitled #242

Untitled #242

9" X 12"

Oil on Paper

2014

I used some larger brushes in the hair for this 1.5 hour study. I always find it aesthetically attractive to use the largest possible brush to describe a form. There is a kind of simple beauty and elegance to a well placed and accurate brush stroke. 

To break down the complexities of nature into simple statements and patterns is an attraction across many endeavors. From simple mathematical equations that describe the nearly infinite variability found in the Universe, to the age old wisdom of the Golden Rule; simple truths hardly ever lose their luster. 

Charcoal Figure Study

Charcoal Figure Study

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2015

This 15 min. sketch is part of a daily routine I have for drawing the figure at least once a day. These can sometimes be the most enjoyable thing I do all day as there are no stakes involved. It's a great way to experiment and create something just for the joy of it. 

Werner Herzog Sketch

Werner Herzog Sketch

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2015

I sketched this 40 min. portrait as part of a study for a planned painting of Werner Herzog. He is a truly remarkable director and individual, and he makes for a great subject. There is a kind of depth to his gaze which is difficult to deny. His visage seems well suited to be carved into a mountainside at a scale beyond heroic.

Monochrome Figure Study

Monochrome Figure Study

9" X 12"

Oil on Paper

2014

Working with a full figure composition on such a small scale can be a bit daunting as in this 2 Hr. study. It's almost more time consuming than working larger; which is a bit counter intuitive. The difficulty lies in the fact that very small nuances in how the strokes are arranged can make a big difference, so you have to work much more slowly and delicately.

Also, I tend to work with flat brushes with the paint laid down in single strokes, and at this scale it's very challenging to work this way. Which is why many small works are done with round brushes and not flats or brights. With rounds, very thin and wide strokes can be made with the same brush, but with flats or brights the smallest stroke possible is very much determined by the brush's width. Granted, it's possible to use the side of the brush for width variability with flats and brights. Although in my experience this tends to more quickly destroy the chisel edge and make the bristles blow out of shape.