Nudes with Values

[Debra Norton]

Steven, that mini skirt is one of the things he pulled out of his suitcase when he came for his first sitting for the portrait. We were "hard put" to find something suitable in there that wouldn't make him look like the painting you just described. We finally decided on jeans, a white tank top, and a leather jacket - the clothes he came in.

I'll try to keep my nose clean so you won't have any stories to tell about me.

[Sharon Knettell]

OOh! I would have loved to paint that!

[Steven Sweeney]

I thought I could find a couple more drawings at my present location, but so far only this one. A very light pencil drawing and, so, extremely difficult to photograph. My apologies for not being able to supply a better image.

Though this was a quicker, single-session drawing (about 2 hours total drawing time) and isn

[Judson Eneas]

Your drawings are real good. I envy you.

[Steven Sweeney]

Thanks, Judson. I used to keep some of my early drawings around, just to amuse people. One of my first, of which I was pretty proud, was seen by a friend who laughed and said, "What happened to his head?!" She isn't laughing anymore, but I still don't hold her in the same regard I once did.

Anyway, just as a guide, these drawings came along after what I am conservatively estimating to be 1,000 hours of life drawing, with lots of different models, through many seasons of both weather and life. It wasn't until I reached the 1,000-hour "mark" that I began to be able to manage these. Perhaps I'm slow, but there was no short-cut.

[Michele Rushworth]

These are so nice, Steven. I guess I missed this thread before.