Portrait of 'Alde'

[Jimmie Arroyo]

David's charcoals inspired me to try it again, and this time, I'm actually very happy with the results. It didn't start too well, though; it was technically okay, but lifeless, boring, and blah (for lack of a better word). Then when I was thinking of trashing it, I figured I'd play with it for practice. As I was doing the 'hatching', I thought "Hey, this looks alright". I continued and figured it was worth saving. Near the end, I thought, "This actually looks pretty good". I'm glad I stuck with it and may have finally found my style with the charcoals, until the next one of course.

This was done on skyblue Canson 18" x 14". The brand of charcoal pencils were General and the white is a pastel pencil from Faber-Castell. Thanks for looking.

[Garth Herrick]

WOW! I love your desriptive crosshatching. How long do you spend on your drawings?

Garth

[Terri Ficenec]

Jimmy, This has a lot of life in it Love how you've handled the eyes, the lights in the eyes.

[Carl Toboika]

Way to go Jimmie

[Ngaire Winwood]

Jimmie looks like you are getting very comfortable with those pencils of yours. Can you post the photo so as a fledgling like myself can see how you structured it or is that not a good thing to ask?

[Jimmie Arroyo]

Thank you all very much.

How long do you spend on your drawings

I don't time myself, so this will be a guess-timate. The likeness came quicker than usual, I believe within the first half hour, I was ok with it, very little tweeking in the later stages. Likenesses normally take me a while, it's not like college where I was able to get them immediately. I did mostly smooth shading, using tortillions. This took several hours, because I was trying to be extra careful. When I finally decided to do the hatching, I had already spent maybe 10 hours. Once I got into the hatching flow, it was relatively quick, three hours top.

My other drawings, the graphite ones, usually take anywhere from 10-40 hours depending on size, color of paper, and of course how far I take the details.

Can you post the photo so as a fledgling like myself can see how you structured it or is that not a good thing to ask?

I'm sorry, but perhaps if it were a commissioned piece, I would post it. The two main reasons for not posting are that it's promised to the model that their privacy is kept, clothed or nude. Even if they gave me permission, my personal reason is that I don't want the reference used by someone else. I don't see anyone here using anyone else's ref pics for themselves, but we do get alot of visitors and I'd rather not take the chance.

A lesser reason would be that I don't try for a dead-on likeness. There are many points where my drawing are off, some intentional, we'd be here all day picking out differences.

Thanks again.

[David Draime]

Jimmie this is great. It looks like you've mastered a new medium for yourself - right off the bat! (I knew you would, of course). I first thought you achieved all those subtle tonal variations exclusively with hatching and cross-hatching - it seemed unbelievable. I'm glad you explained how you developed this drawing, so I now know you're not God. But you have hit on a VERY effective way of working. It's a stunning piece. The beautiful, careful rendering of the subject along with those distinct, loose lines of hatching - and it's all perfectly integrated. Amazing. I can't wait to see you what you come up with next as you exploit this new way of working.

[Jimmie Arroyo]

Thanks David, glad you like it.

I'm glad you explained how you developed this drawing, so I now know you're not God.

Not God, just his brother. I'm gonna try it again for my next piece, hopefully it wasn't just luck. It will be a nude, but will just post the face if ok, or post a link to it on my site. It should be done within the next two weeks.

[Jeff Fuchs]

Jimmie,

I notice you don't have prices on your web page. Are your drawings commissioned by the sitters, or are they figural works that you will sell?

Have you sold any through the web page, or are you saving them up for a big gallery show?

[Jimmie Arroyo]

Originally Posted by Jeff Fuchs

Jimmie,

I notice you don't have prices on your web page. Are your drawings commissioned by the sitters, or are they figural works that you will sell?

Have you sold any through the web page, or are you saving them up for a big gallery show?

I have intentions on submitting to galleries, so unless I was offered, I'm not selling from the website. I really want to do some color work before resubmitting to another gallery.

A couple of the models I've done originally wanted the picture to be a commission, but thought what I was asking was too high. They tell me this after spending $200-300 on tattoos that only take me 1-2 hours. So I offer to instead have them sit for me and I give them a 8x10 print of the final piece. They still get their pic, and I get a free model.