Summer Heat and Catching Up

My computer room/studio has no AC! Summer heat, we all know summer heat plus humidity!
What I don't get done in the morning when the room is relatively cool, just doesn't get done. Then I keep procrastinating.

July at the workshop is all about oils. Most paint with acrylics so for them it's their first taste of using oils. Some like it and some don't. We are getting very specific lessons, YAY, in the use of oils in the classic way. Think I wrote about this before. Anyway, first light charcoal sketches (real), working in sienna or raw umber in a tonal study, and then adding color. Learning to put down the masses/shapes and not get tied down in details.

Have also done some figure sketches with color.

Bacchus

Study in Oils

13.75 x 17 "

On Gessoed Paper

Study in Greens

Oils

19.75 x 13.75 "

Gessoed Paper

Figure after Mattisse Drawing

Charcoal + Caran D'ache Neocolor I Crayons + Oils

13.75 x 19.5

Gessoed Paper 

Reclining Woman

Charcoal + Caran D'ache Neocolor I Crayons + Oils

19.5 x 13.75 "

Gessoed Paper

Model from Croquis Cafe 

Uri on Boat Vietnam

Raw Umber Tonal Study

19.5 x 13.75 "

Gessoed Paper

Uri on Boat Vietnam

Caran D'ache Neocolor I Crayons  + Medium

19.5 x 13.75 "

Gessoed Paper

Lost and Found and Other News

Lily was lost! Or I should say taken and then dumped! Luckily there are "good" people around. One took her in and had a chip reader come and read her chip. She was quite far from our town on the other side of a very busy main road #461( Road to Tel Aviv) which she would NEVER cross on her own.

Finished the course and awaiting a new one end of August with Pauline. Didn't get much work done that last week. Combining background with the figure is tricky and not in my comfort zone. Have a few more figures in the process and may go back in this one.

WIP

Conte + Neocolor Crayons I

13.75 x 19.75 "

Gessoed Paper

Started this figure on cut canvas for the workshop but this month we are having structured lessons so working at home.  First 3 stages... going slow! Oils and cold wax + palette knife!

WIP I

20 x28 "

Cut Canvas Wrapped on cardboard

II

III

Have to lighten this!

It's All About the Figure

The third week we started on the full figure! Mainly in black and white, lots of sketches, sketches, and more sketches! The name of the game is PRACTICE! Like everything else, we like to do! First I want to share some good reference links. The first Croquis Cafe, an endless site for everything to do with figure drawing. The second Royal Academy Life Drawing Class.

We got five stills to do gesture sketches in ink and watercolor pencil. I am slowly getting over my fear of INK. It's still intimidating, but the more I practice the better I feel. These are timed 10 minute sketches to keep from "noodling"!

12.5 x 9.5"

Ink

9.75 x 13.75

Ink

12.5 x 9.5"

Ink

15.75 x  13"

Ink

9.75 x 13.5

Ink

Next, we did some upsidedown drawing. This is a great exercise because it helps to eliminate the left brain telling us what we are drawing.  She gave us two examples from Egon Schiele.  Worked with graphite wash pencil and added some crayons as well. Adding water gives a painterly look. Loved doing these!

9 x 11.75

Watercolor graphite + Neocolor I crayons

9 x 11.75

Watercolor graphite 

Did two of these turning the paper!

Here some links for references. Egon Schiele work on Instagram, and a figure drawing board of Pauline's on Pinterest.

Finally a pastel painting of a figure.

9.75 x  13.75"

Pastel Pencils + Pastels

Tinted Paper

9.75 x  13.75"

Pastel Pencils + Pastels

Tinted Paper

Tomorrow we start putting it all together!