Dancing Tutus...365 Days of Drawing

I was bored out of mind with the drawing challenge last night and felt the need to step outside of my comfort zone and do something different. So I got a bottle of brown ink and a brush which I haven't used before and dashed out some gesture sketches. The ink came out thick and heavy. I really didn't care about perfection. The tutus were a must tho'.

The second image is from Saturday's drawing for the challenge. The START drawing of a commission. I decided to change the pose from an earlier sketch to a standing one, and I will use the head study from life, also posted, to remind me of a few details of the head as I work from the photos taken at shoot.

SWIRL...365 Days of Drawing

Back to a technique I love and have used throughout the challenge frequently, a combo of oil, charcoal and watercolor on paper.

I love red capes and own two of them, one hanging in my studio with a sumptuous satin lining just so I can look at it.

Anyone out there know of a coarse-textured cotton or linen canvas with large tooth that they like?

SWIRL

14 x 20

Mixed media

Through The Eyes of A Child...365 Days of Drawing

I was very taken with this angel of a little boy who came to visit my studio the other day. He was transfixed by me doing a drawing for the challenge and asked THE most intelligent questions about art as he looked around the studio. His great-grandfather was a famous artist who painted magnificent murals in churches and it is clear this young man is heading for a career in the arts.

The other pix I post are from the studio day yesterday. A portrait commission, meeting and painting a very lovely lady in a single three hour sitting. Boy, what a privilege it is to do this kind of work. I love meeting new people and getting to paint them. It just doesn't get any better for me.

Angels Flying...365 Days of Drawing

Never draw faster than your art angel can fly. I took my time on the drawing of this one yesterday, teaching class demo at CAI, almost as much time as spent on the actual painting. Total head sketch time, one and a half hours.

To be honest, I was not in the groove.

Better get it back today. Sitter arriving to be painted from life in studio for a portrait commission today.

Merry Go Round...365 Days of Drawing

A second attempt the next day to find what I was looking for...now I will decide which one to paint.

WIPE Out...365 Days of Drawing

Tough day at the drawing board. My first drawing of a figure I abandoned, something I have rarely done in this year's challenge. This was my second effort which I fear is a wipe out.

Who said drawing was easy? Or a daily challenge.

PUENTES-A-PLENTY...365 DAYS OF DRAWING

Sorolla's "puentes", tiny sketches, many made in his own studio garden, were among the best things I have ever seen when visiting his studio in Madrid recently. CATCH-IT- QUICK value/color notes made from his cigar-sized pochade box. I am no Sorolla but I do now paint from a very similar 6"x8"box which I LOVE.

On my recent trip, I was kinda thinking the 'puentes' way when I saw a garden fountain. I had less than an hour. Light was falling and dinner plans with company approaching FAST. After the initial sketch was done, which counted for the challenge, I told myself to put the paint down and LEAVE it alone.

The second day I decided to revisit the fountain in the morning before we headed out for the day and painted a close-up of the lion's head.

AS I said, I am no Sorolla. But I sure was thinking of him.