About Face Studio Classes

Tonight I attended the About Face studio classes that are held at the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. The space is really huge and I felt really at home immediately. Our model was great too. He had a really angular face...a bit Rubenesque (is that a word?) and was a great challenge to draw. He had a long chin so it was fun working on the proportions. I worked primarily in charcoal. Other artists there were working in a wide variety of medium from pencil to oil paints. I attended both the portrait class (6-7:45) and the figure drawing class (7:45-8:15). The classes are longer respectively however you can attend either. Here are the fruits of my labor:


The first drawing of the night...my warm up.


My second drawing of the night. Some of the folks seemed surprise that I was doing them so quickly. If it's not a commission I find it difficult to stay on a live subject for too long without moving around or doing multiple drawings.


I got a little restless from doing just the face so I did a quick body sketch. I wasn't able to scan the entire drawing however I managed to get the gist of it.


This is my final portrait drawing of the night. I wanted to concentrate more on the strong lighting moreso than anything else as well as his angular face (most interesting!) A full frontal (I was bored with the side view) really gets the starkness of his features and that wonderfully elongated chin...lots of room for experimentation there. The figure class had begun during my time drawing so I ventured over there. I only managed to get a few gestures and a 15 minute drawing on a 25 minute pose done before I called it a night. These I won't post here and in the future I'll probably stick with the portrait class. This was all in all a lot of fun and "good practice." I'm not as rusty as I thought I was...Well until next Tuesday :-).

Tiger Eye Drawing

I was playing with my Staedtler Mars Lumograph pencils today. I abhor anything remotely related to blending or smearing outside of the pencil itself so watercolor paper is my preferred paper. Well not today. I had some bristol board laying around here for over a year that hasn't gotten any love, mainly because of the smooth texture. I decided to give it a whirl. The result is this tiger eye. Hair is a lot easier on watercolor for me versus bristol because I have to make the texture on it using alternative means such as my exacto knife to get something workable. It's ok I guess...more practice (and back to domestic cats!).

Drawings for today...

I've been on a roll lately. Today I decided to try my hand at a flower close up using those gold acrylics. It didn't take too long to do and I really liked how the gold came out in the background and on the dark part of the flower.





I finally got somewhat of a break away from the kids today. Somehow managed to get all four down for a nap at the same time (W-O-W!) so I went outside and sat on the porch in the cool fall afternoon. Saw a oak leaf sitting on the step and decided to draw it. Waved to a few neighbors...kicked around a few acorns. It was nice. It's so rare I get those by myself I can finally relax type of moments. Then the phone rang. *sigh*

I decided to try something different. I'm still relatively new to the watercolor medium. It's been a lot of fun, however I wanted to get a little technical and do some layering so I drew this little kitty (I call it Puss in Boot :-D). I mostly wanted to do the boot (couldn't you tell) and I was happy how it turned out. I just layered yellow ochre, cadmium yellow and burnt sienna with a purple (made from ultramarine and vermilion) and got some beautiful ranges of color. Not bad for a first try...I will definitely employ this technique in the future but mostly moreso for humans and objects.

Looking back to my first watercolors just a few weeks ago to now I would definitely say I have grown considerably in my understanding of the medium...I'll be sticking to this for awhile.

New Halloween Illustration

Who says Halloween is just for black cats? This fluffy tabby with his raven friends and graveyard scarecrow gets in on the fun in this piece entitled, "Halloween Pals." I was only planning on doing two Halloween themed drawings however this is so much fun I'm probably going to do more.

Two new illustrations.

I am still trying to come up with a name for this one...he (or she) is beyond hilarious and was a lot of fun to draw and paint. It will be up for auction probably next week.





This drawing was an experiment of mine. I had this gold paint just lying around and thought I would put it to good use as this young lady's garments. This piece is entitled, "The Comforter." It doesn't scan very well...I suppose due to the reflective nature of the gold paint. Two different types were used (acrylic) with watercolor and micron ink. I may never sell it as it is very beautiful and would make an interesting show piece. Or maybe I will...if I could ever get a good reproduction. In the scan it makes it look as though her garment and the background are the same color and tone, when in actuality the background is far lighter on the painting. It's one of those "gotta see it" type things. I was hoping the close up would add some clarity to it however I guess seeing the original is the best way to view this piece.

Two new illustrations

This is homage to the first ACEOs I began selling on ebay back in 2005. They were part of the Watching Kitty series I had going on. Those drawings (the digital scannings) were unfortunately lost due to a computer crash (always...ALWAYS make back ups!).



This is one of two Halloween drawings I am going to sell on ebay this year with the possibility of prints (maybe).

New Illustrations for Ebay

I have three new illustrations up on ebay, listed today. I had been drawing however I hadn't had the opportunity to scan until today. This is some of what I had been doing this past week.


It Was THIS Big!




I didn't do it!




A Matter of Time



These were a lot of fun and I have plans to do more illustrations as well as some realistic pieces. I still have to do that portrait for a friend of mine (although I have until November to get it completed). Once I begin on that I'll document the progress.

Kitty for Saturday September 7

This piece is called Wonderment. It was done in ballpoint ink and watercolor, an unlikely but interesting combination. I may sell prints of it in the future also. It came out beautifully and I am going to execute a few more drawings like it in the coming days.

Three new drawings!!

I haven't been able to do much this past week. Some changes at work and the holiday have really taken its toll. Some great news is on the horizon. I entered the PTA Logo contest for my son's elementary school and the design made it to the finals. It was voted on during the PTA meeting on Tuesday and we'll know the results next week. I was surprised because it was just a quick little sketch of a grinning bobcat (their mascot is the wildcat) and it seemed to be a hit with the kiddies. There is a fellow artist on my street. We just moved here in June and I hadn't had too much of an opportunity to get to know the neighbors. I passed by her house and she was painting in the yard. She also had some paintings drying on her porch and they were fantastic! I will definitely drop by one day...when I get the time. My schedule's pretty hectic these days.

Ok now to the drawings. I'm still playing with the ink and watercolors and created these three little ACEO illustrations.

Word Cat

Catterfly At Play

Don't Ask


I completed these over the past few days. I'm aiming for more amusing type illustrations. I'm going to go back to graphite for awhile also. These will be up for auction later today.

Illustrations completed

Act of Faith

No Cats Allowed


Completed finally! Due to the holiday, I haven't been able to do any new drawings or sketches however I have been able to complete these. They are up for auction today.