Jason
 

On this one I tried to be a little looser in the first stages, then tightening up on the rendering of the face. It's an issue that has bedeviled me for a long time. I am often too enamored of details, even unimportant details, so a lot of my drawings have an "over-rendered" look. I think a successful drawing has to achieve a balance between fine rendering and more expressive, probing mark-making. It's hard to achieve, and I don't think I've gotten very far with this one, but it is a step in the right direction for me. In the past, I would have spent a week rendering Jason's plaid shirt. whereas this one took me about 30 minutes, and I'm sure it looks much better this way.

Charcoal/white pastel on toned paper. Approx. 17" X 22."

Hi David,

Great drawings, I liked this one and Michelle's very much.

David--

Another stunning drawing..."the hits just keep on coming."

I know what you mean about the over-rendering pitfall--I sometimes (often) fall prey to it myself. I try to remember that detail draws the eye, and as Mr. Kinstler reminds us, we're telling stories. So to construct the "hierarchy of detail," I try to answer two questions: "What do I want to communicate?" and "where do I want the viewer to look, and in what order?"

This one has it down perfectly.

Hope to see you in Reston.

--TE

Beautiful, David! You really have captured the essence of each individual. I love his eyes. The same things I said about the one of Michelle are true here.

You rock David!

This is a very nice drawing as well and it is nice to see more of your skilled work as you are getting faster to achieve those wonderful results.

I just hate to have to wait for months to see another one of your drawings!

Very nice, David. One really gets a sense of his personality too.
Is this one of your students? What fun! Makes me want to teach h.s. art instead of speech!

David,
it looks like you have fun with your bank of references !
This portrait and the one of michelle are beautiful, very well controled.

Thanks all!

Claudemir, thanks so much. Your feedback is much appreciated.

Tom, I've been thinking a lot about what you said - that what we're doing is really all about telling stories....my obsession with capturing everything is really a limiting factor and at odds with "telling stories." I've been doing "documentaries." I think a shift is happening in my work....finally. Thanks for the great insight! As for Reston - I'll be there.

Alex, thanks so much for your positive input. Coming from one whom I respect immensely, that means a lot.

Enzie, since you are in my neck of the woods, we need to get together - do a trip to the Getty - and I want to pick your brain about Marvin's workshops and what you learned.
- it has it's moments...

Marina, yes I now have quite a few photos in my "bank of references" - I love the way you put that! I have so many great photos of my students, I could be busy for months.

David

David, that sounds like fun. We need to track down Bouguerau"s cleaned painting though, so that I can show you what all the fuss is about. It might be back at Forest Lawn Mortuary, so if you are really serious about it, I will need to look into how we can view it. Better yet, get permission to paint it. Now how awesome would that be?!

Does the San Diego Museum have any Bouguerau paintings?

Which Bouguereau painting was cleaned, and what is the "fuss" that you're referring to? (other than the fact that just about every one of Bougureau's paintings are jaw-droppingly beautiful...) Whatever it is, I want to see it! So if you can track it down, I'm in!! And yes, the San Diego Museum of Art has B's The Young Shepherdess - it's awesome.