Quick Charcoals
 

Hello all,

Recently a small Art Center sprang up near my home. They started offering studio sessions with professional models for a nominal fee, so I decided to start attending. I've been practicing Lon Haverly's drawing techniques for awhile, but it's been difficult for me to corral "victims", so I thought these studio sessions would be a good opportunity to get in some practice.

The models pose nude, and all the other attendees are mostly interested in figure studies. Not wanting to appear to be the odd man out, I go with the flow, but when the model gives a suitable pose, I'll rough out the figure and go for a portrait, or just do a head and shoulder sketch for a short pose. The lighting for these sessions has been from six halogen spots located in a circle directly above the model: not the best setup for portraiture, but it really brings out the shoulder blades and some of the other anatomical features. For portraits it results in double shadows under the nose and other undesirable (to me at least) problems, but I try to work around it.

The following drawings are all done with 1/4" and 1/8" willow charcoal. The drawings of the first model are done on Seth Cole #35 charcoal paper. The drawings of model #2 are done on Jack Richeson's 80 lb. drawing paper. No spray fixative is allowed at the sessions, so these may be a little "smudgier" than they once were. The sizes vary here, but all heads are between 5" (12.7 cm.) and 7" (17.8 cm.) high. I want to get some feedback on these from the forum, the folks you can trust! Hey Lon, you out there?

Model #1 - A 10 minute pose:

Same model as above, another ten minute pose:

Same model again, a 20 minute pose. This model was very muscular and my previous sketches may have softened her neck more than they should have. Also, she had so many piercings that I couldn't get them all in.This sketch shows more of the effects of pumping iron. There is also a lot of figure work in this one that doesn't show.

Model #2 from last week.
 

A ten minute standing pose drawn from a somewhat low angle. This model was "Reubenesque" with beautiful red hair.

A twenty minute pose of model number 2. This was a seated on the ground pose, a higher angle than the first. It gives a better view of the prominent epicanthic folds in her eyelids.

Hey, John, nice work

Steven,

I like the way you think, buddy! Yeah, I can see it now: Alcatraz disappears in a finger of mist as John adds a couple more double sawbucks to the fat roll in his money clip. The wind picks up a few knots and the foghorns on the Golden Gate Bridge start to blast. The crowd

Can you still see Sausalito through that finger of mist? I hope I get to see it again.

I like your sketches. Careful, you'll be heading to Palm Springs like Lon.

Mike,

No, the finger of mist would obscure Sausalito from where I believe Steven placed me. But I see it all the time, so I know it

Sorry, John, I didn't realize you were one of those offshore offload citizens. Maybe you could put your easel on a floating dock shaded with a castoff parasail, which would be sufficiently provocative to get clients to row out in your "Portraits in Ten" dinghy.

I have the shirt from Sausalito (yacht harbor, actually -- I'm one of those who messes around in boats, but Customs does permit me to make landfall, or at least daisy up with others on a hook not far from shore), but what I remember most is the incredible art galleries (though from what you've heard, they may all be Kinkade galleries now). Whatever. Out of my league but fun to wander through.

By the way, regarding smudging as opposed to hatchmarks, you might think of keeping a couple of kneaded erasers handy, one molded to a point and the other to a ridge, so that you can "lift out" a bit from the smudges to create variation in the value shapes, kind of negative hatchmarking. I often put in the hatchmarks and then smudge them together for the effects I want, sort of an opposite tack that leads to the same mark.

One of the most stunning sights I have ever witnessed was flying into San Francisco on a clear night. I have been to Sausalito twice, although it's been quite a while since the last.

And yes, I did have one heck of an experience in Sausalito. Because others memories have probably faded (even if my own will not) I believe both land and sea options would now be available to me.

Yo Ho Ho And A Bottle Of Rum
 

Steven, I do use kneaded erasers exactly as you described. They're also handy for cleaning up the fingerprints all over the rest of the paper.

Sausalito. I was just having some fun with you guys by being deliberately opaque. I haven't actually set foot in the place in about ten years. It's one of those towns that's changed into something completely different than what it was forty years ago, when I first arrived in the area. You know the scenario: picturesque waterfront town with a large population of houseboaters and other assorted flotsam and jetsam, artists, assorted neurotics and general purpose screw-ups. It wasn't exactly a low rent place, but there was a huge niche for "local color". Then property values started to skyrocket and folks carrying jumbo mortgages decided the place could stand a little cleaning up. That fit right in with the plans of a raft of new regulatory agenctes, and I guess you can fill in the rest of the story. The last time I walked the streets there were a lot of galleries, but they were mostly devoted to Erte, Maxfield Parrish, or the doings of various marine mammals that are either very large or have bristly whiskers. There may be a Kincade gallery, I don't know. I'm not necessarily knocking these developments; it seems to be part of the life cycle of communities like Sausalito. But you've piqued my curiosity. If there's one thing in the art world that's even more ephemeral than artists, it's galleries. I'll have to check it out, there may be some wiggle room there for some version of the portrait trade. I'll report back with my findings.

Like Steven, I'm one of those boat afflicted types. Some time ago I realized I wasn't terribly fond of blue-water cruising, but I'm nuts about canals and rivers and semi-protected waterways. I've owned a 36' powerboat for the last 20 years. We haven't done much with it in the last few years, partly because we've been pretty much everywhere there is to go in these parts that's within range of liquid wind. We've done some canal cruising in Europe on a friend's boat, and one of my ambitions has been to truck our boat to Lake Michigan and do the Great Lakes, Trent-Severn and Rideau canals in Ontario, St. Lawrence to Richelieu, down to Champlain, NYS Barge Canal to Finger Lakes, back to Hudson River, down to N.Y., Jersey coast to Intracoastal Waterway, Chesapeake Bay (Crab Cakes!), Florida, West Coast FLA., Tennessee-Tombigbee to Tenn. River, to Ohio Riv., to Big Muddy, to Illinois Riv. and back into Lake Michigan. Naturally, all of this will be financed by peddling 10 min. charcoal portraits along the way! Sound like a plan?

In the meantime, I think we can get Mike in and out of Sausalito in a manner that befits a portrait artist of his stature.

Here's the rig. Tragic Magic, 36' Stephens, all mahogany on oak frames, built in 1955, powered by twin GMC 350's.

Avast me Harleys
 

John, my present stature would afford me a back seat ticket on the following, with this young lady at the helm.

Rats, now I have to own up in this boys' toys thread. After a youth full of dirt bikes, all of which I destroyed, this is how I got around Taipei (a good way to get killed in Taipei, by the way). My only ego consolation was that, because of trade barriers, most everything else (10 MILLION scooters in Taiwan) was even smaller. I could shock-cord a French easel on the back, though. (I mention that for context, so that this could be admitted to the Forum.)

Mike, I was referring to your stature on the West Coast. As you know, no man is honored in his own country. Your reputation here is growing daily. On the other hand, riding pillion on a Harley does convey a certain status, doesn't it?

Steven, are you implying that we may have strayed off topic? But I have to ask. That vehicle: what is it?

"Scooter", in the vernacular. Yamaha 125. (Trade barriers barred anything over 150.) It was "just" enough to take me, my son (208 lbs as I type this, though he's a freshman [now Texan] football player), his guitar, sometimes an amp, and several bags of groceries, up a mountain road to the house. So I guess it was okay.

Now I'll have to do a pencil sketch of it, to keep the thread on track.

So that's a scooter! The neighbors say that we'll all be riding them here after California self-destructs, which, as you must be aware, is imminent. But there's an outside chance The Big One may hit before that happens, so nobody will notice the other problem. Scooter, huh? Looks interesting.

Wait to see. I suspect your neighbors are thinking "Vespa", which is a smaller species.

As for self-destructing, we Minnesotans got through a term with Jesse the Body -- and we only got about a $400 million deficit to show for his "independent" largesse in paying out surplus refunds -- so maybe you should see what Arnold can do. (What CAN he do, other than "Be Back"? Maybe he can keep the lights on -- but how?)

BTW, don't answer that. Politics are off limits. Motorcycles, scooters, motoryachts -- close, very close -- but no politics.

By the way, Mike, I'm not ignoring your Harley pic, I'm just so envious I can't type and now won't be able to sleep. Thanks a lot. Ditto John, your yacht. (Watch out for the Cuban Coast Guard!!)

Sometimes (portrait) she lets me (portrait) hold my arm out left or right (portrait) to show that we no longer (portrait) intend to go straight.

Oh, now I can't help myself.

This is a picture of me on my second boat, "Saint Somewhere". If any of you are Parrotheads, you'll understand the name.

After my hip replacement surgery a few years ago, I finally could get around well enough to have some fun outdoors. So, at the age of 40, I took up my first sport, sailing.

Between sailing and my monster house restoration project, I have made little time for art in past years. I'm now trying to achieve a balance of all three (along with other things). Total elimination of television has really helped :).

You know, I

Monet had a studio boat. Now that's a great merger of my two favorite pastimes!

Am, but I'll e-mail you my story sometime. I don't suppose that suggesting that I drew any portraits in Key West would keep the thread on topic. I didn't, anyway, but I do have the shirt. (I actually stayed in Buffett's house, believe it or not, though of course he was long gone, but his gold records and a painted pick-up tailgate still decorate the walls, along with some pretty big but old fish. As you might imagine, there was also other curious but fun decor.)

Wasted away again in Margaritaville, and so on...

BTW, all the "sand" in Key West was trucked in. Don't go there for the beaches . . . but I'll bet there are some fantastic portrait-sketch opportunities. Not to mention the Hemingway House. The six-toed cats are still there.

Outta here now.

Cheers

Since we're way off topic, (portrait) and talking about Parrotheads (portrait), I was once involved in a sword fight on Mallory Pier in Key West a long time ago ... If I meet up with any of you at a workshop somewhere I'll regale you with the tale over a tall cold one after class sometime.

We do our best, though, pencil-thin moustaches and all. A lot of pirates-turned-50 around here, perhaps.

By the way, keep up the work on those portraits, folks.

Hi gang,

I was very pumped up Wednesday going into this drawing session,.but events conspired against me. The whole thing was very frustrating. This is the last pose that we got. Twenty minutes, plenty of time. The rest of the session was a bunch of poses from the rear, from the side with face obscured, poses with hands in front of the face. Almost all of the poses were reclining, after twenty one-and-two-minute-warm-up poses. One of the other artists suggested "one where we can see your face" for the last pose. This was it. I worked on this and figured I had it pretty much down, when her timer beeped and she said "five minutes". I thought " I'll clean it up and fix a few things". I should have quit while I was ahead. In the last five minutes I blew a lot of the line work and wound up with what you see here. Good lesson in a way!

It's fun seeing all you shellbacks popping up on the forum. I've had lots of experience sailing, and I'm fond of sailboats as well. Nice boat, Jeff! Looks like she'll take you pretty much anywhere you'd want to go. I figure that our departure from Sausalito with Mike safely aboard might require a little bit of haste, though. We'll want to get out of bottle throwing and buckshot range within about 30 sec., and that's gonna take some horsepower if there's a flood tide coming into Richardson Bay. Quickie portraits at Sturgis! That's brilliant, Steven! You're right, somebody's going to steal that idea.

Nice work, John! Charcoal is such great fun. I love it. I did nothing but charcoal sketches for ten years, all day, every day. It is fast, forgiving, expressive, and deep. But lately, I mostly paint. I lost my lease at the mall, and moved to a new fancy new Courtyard in the yuppy side of town. We will see how it goes.

Got approved for my TV show on Oregon Public Broadcasting, John! Airs in about 6 months.

Way to go Lon!
 

Do you think there is any way us Wisconsinites will get to see it?

Jean

Well, I have the go ahead. I need to get the thing in the can. Its chances of going PBS (nationwide) are very good, I have been told.

Congratulations, Lon! Keep us informed so we can watch it when it's ready to be aired.

Hey, Lon!

Great to hear from you again! Wonderful news about the T.V. series. I watch the Bob Ross, Helen Van Wyk, and Jerry Yarnell shows early Saturdays when I can. But I think I've seen them all. It's definitely time for the Lon Haverly show! I"ve never seen any series that covers drawing like yours. It should be a big hit. I really hope it works out.

Thanks for the comments about the drawings. I posted that last one as an example of what you've warned about in a number of places: sometimes working it longer hurts rather than helps. Maybe she wasn't the greatest model, but she didn't deserve what I did to her.

My drawing sessions were cancelled last Wednesday because there weren't enough of us showing up to cover the cost of the models. I've been going nuts trying to find another one that I can fit in.

In the meantime, I went to a "Drawing Marathon" last Sunday, put on by the Bay Area Models Guild. Seven hours of drawing action. It was a fantastic experience. I wasn't going to post anything about it here, but you've inspired me again. I'll start a new thread for it.

(The Apostle) John ;)

High-on, John! You are enthused! You needn't worry about a failure if it teaches you something. The lesson learned is valuable. Charcoal is forgiving to a point, then it is lost, and there is nothing you can do about it. It requires a light hand. You have to keep a sharp point so you can be in control of the line. For me, it is really a one shot medium. I have to get it right the first time to keep it fresh. That is the challenge, and that is what makes it fun. Some really like to rub it into the ground. But I like a light touch.

I miss the high volume of the mall, but we will see what the future holds.

Thank you, Michele, you are so supportive.