TMC #8

The flowers were picked from the flower bed outside my door.  I think they are crysanthemums.  I get so tickled because the first thing I zoom in on are things I would change, such as the water line.  It is a little lopsided.  I wonder what would happen if I took the time to sketch the bowl first? 

What do I like about this?  I like the freshness  and the variety of yellows in the flowers.  I didn't take the time to paint or shape the petals so they look like any flower rather than crysanthemums.  I have to admit that this is the way I enjoy painting flowers, so that is what I learned today. 

TMC #7

 

I painted the pipe and the Prince Albert tobacco pouch because they remind me of my step-father and brought back lots of pleasant memories.  I had a late start painting today's TMC and I didn't plan it or paint it very well. 

The peroxide bottle is almost kissing the edge of the Prince Albert and the shadows are all over the place.  Need a few lights on the Prince Albert pouch and pipe plus the edges need to be sharpened on the bottle.  I may have to paint this one again  sometime down the road.  So now you know what I learned from this. .  .  plan better and don't put darks against darks or near values. 

TMC (Twenty Minute Challenge) #6

This morning's sketch is of a sweatshirt jacket with the wrong side facing out, hanging on a closet door.  Again, on 5" x 7" watercolor paper using a water soluble graphite pencil.

Last night, I practiced figure drawing a bit without measuring.  I'm determined to show the good and the bad and believe me, these two are way out of proportion.  I used a reference photo from drawing-tutorials-online.com.  I am a member and read and try to practice a lot of what is being taught.  I know these sketches/drawings don't do his teaching justice but someday!  There are small areas in each one that I like though.  These were drawn with watersoluble graphite on computer paper. Each of these are 20 minute drawings.

Daily 20 Minute Challenge #5

 

I decided to paint these grapes before they were eaten for the 5th 20 minute challenge.  Again, I used a bit of ink.  I was just working on the tabletop shadows when the buzzer rang, so I had to stop.    I took time to dry the paper too.  Next time though, I won't do that because I could have used that time to define the clusters a bit more and lighten and softened some of the cast shadows.  

Daily 20 Minute Challenge #4 & Foreshortening

 

These 20 minute challenges are quite fun and interesting.  I am painting these on 5" x 7" watercolor paper and dating them so I can see what progress was made through the length of the challenge.   This morning's painting is from a set up of a package of crackers placed on round ceramic palette.  I was concentrating on the angles of the packaging and the subtle color shining through the paper.  I wanted to be sure that the tiny pin holes in the crackers came through because they help define the object.  I'm learning to look at the objects as a flat color and shape against a white background.  That can give one a better idea of the angles and curves of the overall setup pattern.  Next I was trying to be more aware of the darker areas as that sets the objects firmly on the ground surface and gives contrast to the lighter areas, which helps to create form.

Last night after finishing the 20 minute painting of the palettes and brushes, I watched a tutorial on foreshortening at drawing-tutorials-online.com.  Below are squiggles done as I tried to absorb the information from the tutorial.  I used a Ritmo charcoal 3B pencil on newsprint to sketch these.  I really like that pencil and will have to get more.  It doesn't have the dust that regular charcoal pencils have.  Maybe it has a wax base??

Daily 20 Minute Challenge #3

I had to make myself paint the 20 minute challenge as I'm tired after a busy day.  I wasn't sure what to paint then decided to paint a plastic watercolor palette and some of the round ceramic dishes filled with watercolors because they were so cheerful and colorful, along with a few brushes . 

I laid in the watercolor then put on the ink.  Everything is out of round and out of perspective.  The question at the end of the challenge is always, "what did I learn from this?"  I learned that I have a tendency to scribble, going over and over a line.  The other thing is I need to know more about painting wet in wet because there isn't time for the paint to dry. 

Daily 20 Minute Challenge

This morning's warm up is a 3 1/2" x 4" watercolor.  I set up in front of the East window, a small glass bowl with water and a paint brush sitting on a Viva paper towel. 

Same Figure, Conte Pencil

I'm still trying to come to grips with drawing the figure using the same pose from Wet Canvas Figure Forum Workshop 4.  I'm trying to find which way works best for me in getting the measurements/proportions correct. This time I more or less used the head length to measure the width and length of the body segments, as well as just eyeballing it.  The thoughts running through my head . . . hmm that doesn't look quite right so if I lift that or fill in this. . .   You get the picture lol.  The hands are terrible in this sketch, especially the left one and the forearm doesn't have any volume to it.  Amazing what one sees once the photo is posted.  

Foliage, Twenty Minute Challenge

 Foliage

5" x 6"

Watercolor

I have decided to join the Twenty Minute Challenge hosted by Katharine Cartwright.   I feel the 20 minutes devoted to this challenge is a good way to warm up.  Not only that, it will help me to learn to paint the essentials instead of focusing on details. 


Using a photo imaging program, I decreased the reds and increased the greens.  I think this more accurately reflects the watercolor.  

In this small warm-up, my concentration was on the colors I saw in the hillside as I looked out my East window.  I wanted to express the essence of what I was seeing.  The yellows are muted but light and lively.   I also omitted the houses as my focus was on nature and not man-made objects. Next time, I will put in some of the houses.

Measuring Practice

Just doing the measuring, erasing, and reapplying charcoal took me 135 minutes.  Am I slow or what ha ha.  I will start over and do this again.  Practice, using angles, areas that line up, such as the nose with the back of the right heel, using head length to measure portions of the body, and the envelope (the lines enclosing the figure) all contribute to being able to see better the proportions of the figure or any subject, for that matter.  By using the envelope one can check positioning and negative spaces. 

The reference photo used is from the Wet Canvas Figure Workshop 4.   The goal is to get a fairly accurate line drawing then do the modeling of the figure - all within an hour or so.  I have lots and lots of practice to do before I can do this within an hour.  The great thing is I get so lost in the effort that time just flies by.

Charooal Sketch

18" x 24" charcoal on newsprint.

I've spent the afternoon playing with charcoal using a reference photo from Wet Canvas Figure Forum Workshop 4. My measurements are way off but doing sketches like this does help to become more familiar with the figure in the photo. The goal is to do an hour timed drawing using charcoal, trying to get correct measurements and tonal quality. Nervous about doing it right?? You bet, but I am thoroughly enjoying myself.

Carol Update, Comparison Photos

I worked on Carol's drawing before she took it with her this morning. As you can see I deepened the shadows which slenderized her face more, moved in the hair line just a bit on each side and added more height to her hair at the top. I think the hair line around the face is reading better, don't you. Now this looks like Carol. Thanks for looking!

Next, Lawrence's wife requested I darkened his hair on his drawing just a bit. Will get that done so it can be delivered tomorrow. Here is a photo of Lawrence holding his drawing. It isn't the best photo but it certainly captured his pleasure with his present.

Carol, Graphite Portrait

Carol
9" x 11 1/4"
Graphite
Bristol Board Smooth

Last Friday was Carol's birthday. I worked all day Friday on a drawing only to have it turn out not resembling her at all. So this morning I started this second portrait. This one does look like her but I will set it aside until tomorrow so I can look at it with a fresh eye to see if there needs to be more changes. Luckily I have until late tomorrow afternoon to make any corrections.

Lawrence Portrait Update

I wasn't really happy with the portrait so I posted it in the Wet Canvas Portrait Forum and Ken Tiessen gave an excellent critique and showed, by photos, where I was off with the drawing. So last night I worked on the portrait until 1 a.m. and it looks much, much more like Lawrence.

As can be seen in the comparison, I widened the width of his jaw and neck just a bit and narrowed the shape of his forehead. Also narrowed his eyes and raised the right eye just a little. I still need to raise his left nostril just a tad but overall I am pleased with the resemblance.

I know Lawrence will definitely recognize himself and think he will be pleased with his present.

Lawrence

I went back into the drawing this afternoon and made a few changes which can be seen in the top photo. By scrolling up and down between the two photos a comparison can be made and the changes are fairly obvious, I think .

Lawrence

7" x 9"
Graphite
Bristol Smooth

Graphite Portrait, WIP

I'm doing a drawing as a belated birthday present for one of my brothers. So far I have used a 2H pencil, working on a smooth, white Bristol Board surface. I'm using a hard pencil because I want the initial lay in to be fairly light so corrections can be more easily made.

In the photo above, most of the placement is correct. There are still corrections to be made on the left ear and the neck area has been giving me fits. I also want to check the shape of the mouth as I think it is a bit off. The reference photo I am using was taken outside so has good contrasts.

As seen in the photo below, I began the drawing with the eyes, then using those to measure against the length of the nose and placement of the mouth. That is probably backwards from what is normal. I like to think of it as drawing from the inside out.

Southern Utah Rock Formation, Watercolor

Thanks to Susan from Painting Friends for the photo. 7" x 9" watercolor on Fabriano Aristico watercolor paper.

Sketching Features Practice

Yesterday did a few practice sketches in between cleaning and sorting this room. It is hard for me to paint or draw when everything is in chaos. I watched the excellent tutorials at drawingtutorialsonline.com. These are rough sketches as I try to embed in my brain the shapes of each feature. One of the most difficult for me to draw are both eyes, keeping them level with the iris the same size. Then there is the nose, looking at each plane, what turns under, which plane is catching the light, etc.