Marlin from last night was really well defined and fun to draw! I had a bit of an eye opening about model distance from last week and this - i.e., I need to be closer! Going to post a bit about that in another topic.

This drawing went well. A pretty dead on likeness that showed after the first 20 minute session.

Dealing with irregular features...

Meera, our model last night had a turned nose - it turned slightly to the right side of her face. It really perplexed me until the first break when I looked at her head on and realized what the situation was. I had a position that seemed to really emphasize the turn - below and to her right. I am, however, fairly happy with this drawing and the challenge it presented to me!

Amanda - 7/15. New Canson Mi-Teintes paper on this piece. It is nice paper! Amanda was up on a platform and I was slightly below her. When I translated the length of the neck to the paper, it looked really long, and it does now too. I checked it and rechecked it. She had a long neck and the angle I think made it look even moreso.

I am pleased with this drawing none the less. The likeness is coming faster and faster for me these days.

7/21 - Yvette

Yvette is a great model and an extremely talented artist in her own right. Last night she treated us with a North African outfit replete with facial tattoos and an extended hair bun. Again, likeness is coming quicker for me these days and I had a bit of a chance on really focusing on making an attractive drawing out of the piece with areas finished and areas loose and sketchy. Much fun!

Marlin - 07/28/09

Marlin is a great model, full of character and an interesting person to boot! :) Got a special treat with this one as the pose included his hand - challenging to do in just 3 hours, but I am pretty pleased with this one.

Meera - 08/25/09
 

We artists have such a hard life - having to sit there and look at and draw this young lady for three hours... :P

09/22 - Tarena

New location for our open studio and a model with unique features - Tarena in a Spanish dancer's outfit. I am not entirely happy with this one, but hey they can't all be winners...

11/03 - Tara

Been a few weeks since I have attended open studio, and I was excited to get to go last night. My efforts below. :)

11/11 - Amanda
 

Struggled on the angle of the mouth on this piece, and also making her hair feel the roundness of the skull below, but I am mostly pleased with this drawing.

Nathan - 12/01

Pretty happy with this one. One thing I fight constantly is over-expressing values. This one felt better as I "brought it up" in the value scale. I also made it sketchy and less fussy and thus I like the overall effect.

This is Meera again. Not a bad angle on this model. Makes the drawing easy and fun!

Tarena was our model last night. I find her very hard to draw as her features are not regular - eyes are really big, nose prominent, face very narrow and heart shaped, lips almost puckered into a kiss in their natural state.

All these "irregular" features combine into a very beautiful and exotic looking woman - so nothing wrong with -her-...but it makes drawing her harder as all of my drawings end up looking like they are somehow "off" in feature and form.

I think this drawing is the closest I have come to capturing her.

I switched to painting a bit over the past two months and had this last night to show for my efforts. For 2.5 hours, I am fairly pleased with it. :)