Homage - Portrait Sketch

As I have no access to a live model at present, I thought I would get the juices going with a homage to one of my favourite artists, Annigoni.  This was inspired by one of his drawings.  The paper should have been smoother to capture the half-tones I was trying to emulate and the photography isn't that wonderful either.  Another very important realisation is that to truly explore and reveal the gradual, although dramatic, gradations between values, a much larger sized of paper is required.   Next time, maybe.

"Homage"

Graphite on Watercolour Paper - 9" x 6.5"

2020 - First Sketches

These are the first three sketches of 2020.

They were done quickly without much fuss as all I wanted to experience was the use of these new tools for drawing; water soluble chalks which are just superb and lots of fun.  I am not posting these because I like them, although there are some interesting marks in each work. I am posting them because I want to get back into the discipline of recording what I draw and sketch throughout the year without being strategic about posting my best work.  It's all going to be out there in 2020; good, bad and wholly indifferent.

"Close-up"

Quick Pencil Drawing II

This was done very quickly last night while watching television. I just had the urge to sketch something, anything. The problems in doing portrait sketches from photographs are many, but the light in the room was pretty poor, but the end result is passable enough to post here. At least something got down on paper.  I see many mistakes, but I'm not fixing them.  No point really.

"Portrait in front of the television"

Pencil on Cartridge Paper - 11.5" x 7.5"

Another quick drawing this time with gouache.

Another quick drawing/sketch this afternoon. Same subject, different photo. I cannot replicate the sitter's face as I am so out of practice. Again the lighting for the photography defeated me. I do see some improvement over the last effort though, so that's something.

"Inspired by Anna (2)"

 Pencil, Watercolour & Gouache on Cartridge Paper - A5

Quick Pencil Drawing

This didn't go exactly as planned, but certain aspects of it surprised me. I haven't done representational work like this for years and years and it was quite liberating.  If the photography was better, the sitter's clothes would be much darker.  I honestly have to find a way to photograph pencil and charcoal works.

"Inspired by Anna" 

Pencil on Cartridge Paper

A Sketch and a Drawing

I felt like putting up some drawings on the blog today, and found these two. I haven't shown the complete work in either case.  The first is a section of a full life drawing and the other, a close-up of a charcoal portrait of no particular distinction.  In the latter, I rather liked the transformation of the original drawing by getting up close and personal and in the end, the close up can almost not be recognised as fragment of the original. That's photography for you. More drawings to come in the next few days I hope.

Close-Up - Life Drawing - Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Close-Up - Portrait - Charcoal on Cartridge Paper

Life Drawing Class...second time around

Last night's second attempt at life drawing was inhibiting as we had a male model whose form was very difficult to depict and standing there in the squashed drawing room, I thought "what a strange way to spend an evening!". Yes, it was strange. My irritation subsided after acknowledging that I wasn't in the mood for stiff challenges, but I carried on and did some acceptable work. The 'head only' was the best but I had some additional problems because I thought the gouache tint I had painted on beforehand would be slightly more sturdy and permanent but all eraser marks wiped off a little of the colour which makes the finished work slightly untidy.  Two more classes and then a Summer break.  I am so out of practice.

 

Head in Profile

Graphite sanguine on gouache tinted paper - 30 x 21 cm

 

Head in Profile - Close up

Graphite and sanguine on gouache tinted paper - 30 x 21 cm

 

 

(Also posted on Drawing Vault)

Portrait Sketch of Lara

I decided to get some portrait drawing done this afternoon and not having done any sketching or drawing for ages, I expected to do badly. This one didn't turn out all that bad, but again, the lack of professional lighting and a small camera doesn't show the drawing up very well. I wanted to shade the background in pencil but it looked like a long haul, so I decided to compromise with a few quick brushes of black gouache and it certainly added a bit of dynamism, even though it slightly overshadows the drawing.  It certainly was a whole lot more freeing than the fix-up job of my last post where I changed the colours of a painting after four years!!

Graphite and Gouache on Cartridge Paper 10.5" x 8.5" 

 

Graphite on Cartridge Paper 10.5" x 8.5"

Sunday Sketches

I've often wondered how those brilliant (mostly American) illustrators were able to convey form and expression on a face with just cross-hatching so I tried it here. It does obviously convey more detail than charcoal ever could with a similar technique, but lots more practice is needed. Again, the photographs just don't show these small works properly. Maybe I should get a digital camera that can take good black and white shots. The paper is a creamy white in both sketches, but I just couldn't adjust them to look like the originals.  Not a problem really.

Portrait Sketch Pencil on Cartridge Paper - 9.5" x 7.5" (Approx.) 

Portrait Sketch Pencil on Cartridge Paper - 7" x 7.5" (Approx.)

Not Worth A Title

After not having sunshine in London for six months I dropped all plans for much needed housework today, opened my paints and let rip with whatever came to mind. This is the result. Nothing at all special but feeling tired of not enjoying my gouache as the watercolour paper is just too thick. I also wanted to refine the architectural details of the cathedral dome with brown ink but couldn't find either the ink or the pens. I can't even remember whether I threw them away some time ago. The 'portrait' is a face from my imagination sketched out just to use some old black paint left on my watercolour palette. I feel better having splashed my way through these mediocre works, but the constant awareness of just how much practice I need before I produce good work and the knowledge that I just don't have this time is slowly angering me. Never mind - something's gotta give.

"Quick Gouache - St Pauls Cathedral"

"Quick Gouache Sketch"

Peony - Sketch

This started out as a sketch for a bigger work but ended up being a bit more detailed than planned. I just couldn't help it for some reason. The colour of the peony was such a violent pink and very difficult to paint and photograph, but it was luscious and I just couldn't stop. I learned a quite a bit in this tiny work, one being that the surface of the watercolour paper I was using was a bit too rough, but overall, it's not a real issue. Learning a bit each day, these days.

"Shocking Peony"

Gouache, Watercolour on Watercolour Paper

6.5" x 5" (Approx.)

History of Art Challenge Blog - March

This is my first submission to Sherry Massey's "History of Art Challenge" blog. The challenge was to portray, in any medium, a chosen image from Ancient Greece. I chose a very famous statue currently housed in the Louvre, Paris: "Nike of Samothrace", a marble statue from c. 220 - 190 BC, which depicts the winged goddess of victory in full flight. I am woefully untutored in the art history of this time even though I studied it at university. It was an interesting exercise for me as I was enchanted by the pose; the huge triumphant gesture and those delicious folds of drapery. However, to capture those in detail would require a larger sized paper and possible rendering in graphite pencil. Big congratulations to Sherry Massey for starting a challenge blog with an academic angle. I look forward to watching it grow from strength to strength.

"Homage to Nike of Samothrace"
Charcoal & Carbon Pencil on Paper - 16" x 12"

Value Sketches for Portrait II - Redux

Last night I sprayed fixative on this sketch to seal the charcoal hoping to add another layer today to darken it to the point where the values of the photograph are at least matched. I thought I had succeeded but knew something was detracting from the strong contrasts and the sketch was 'off'. I noticed that I had outlined the side of her face nearest the light which was incorrect; the edge of her face almost merges with the light filled background. I couldn't eliminate the fixed charcoal line so I painted over it with white gouache and, even though this is obvious, it got the sketch as close to the photograph as possible. These little things make all the difference. I've also nearly completed my second Boston painting for The Virtual Paintout, but it's been another dark day with leaden skies, so colour photography is totally out of the question.

"FINAL Value Sketch for Melancholy Portrait Series"
Charcoal & Gouache on Cartridge Paper - 12" x 9" (Approx.)

"Value Sketch for Melancholy Portrait Series"
Charcoal on Cartridge Paper - 12"x 8" (Approx.)

(Adapted from a photograph by Margrethe Mather p.96 "Portraits" published by Thames and Hudson 1982, 1983)

Value Sketches for Portrait II

I have just ended a week of annual leave. Nice, but I had hoped to get some really good work under my belt and didn't due to mountains of personal 'admin' getting in the way. I completed most of my chores but feel a bit down not having been at the easel all week - in fact for two weeks bar a mawkish attempt at another Boston gouache for The Virtual Paintout. I had also planned to get a new work complete to send for submission to a show overseas, but the work I produced was just good enough for a 'sketch', so I ditched that project. I really needed more time to produce the quality of work I had in mind.

So tonight, I thought "anything" just anything to get the creative juices going, so I started on another charcoal sketch for a project of mine based on "Melancholy". Goodness knows what will emerge but I have faces in mind and beautiful photographs to work from but I have to overcome my impatience and get to grips with doing preparatory sketches on values. I don't often get them right, so I decided to do the work below to try and get accurate contrasts between the darks and the lights. It's nearly there, but the photograph is not good. I just don't have the right lens or lighting for caputuring charcoal work accurately. I chose the 'sepia' one (accidentally captured) to post here as it shows the darks with more depth. I might post a better photograph if the sun appears in London tomorrow, which is unlikely. The Winters are getting darker and colder here. A move southwards?

"Value Sketch for Melancholy Portrait Series"
Charcoal on Cartridge Paper - 12"x 8" (Approx.)

(Adapted from a photograph by Margrethe Mather p.96 "Portraits" published by Thames and Hudson 1982, 1983)

Value Sketches for Portrait

I have been busy today. After posting the sketch for the Nocturne painting earlier I was determined to move some creative energy. I have two small canvases with a turquoise ground which I want to use for small portraits. I found two beautiful photographs in a glossy monograph on portraits and my works will be based on these. The format of the canvas is tiny - 5" x 5" - and, in prepration, I decided to do some value sketches in exactly the same size. It's been a day of values hasn't it? Many lessons in this session. Firstly, the tiny size cramped any possible rendering of the subtle gradations in the half-tones, and secondly, it was going to be more complicated than I first thought. I thought I would post these sketches here so I can get used to them. I also processed the sketch with a blue tint just to see how the values translate against colour. The light I was drawing in wasn't so good, nor was the photography, but I don't have the correct lighting or camera for drawings. I hope to start on the painting tomorrow.

Preliminary Portrait Sketch
5" x 5" - Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Preliminary Portrait Sketch - Blue Tint
5" x 5" - Pencil on Cartridge Paper

Quick Sketch.

I really needed to scribble this morning. I was hoping to get much more done in the way of sketching but in the middle of all of this, I felt I could only relax if I got through some domestic stuff and left this until I was more relaxed and focused. I have hopes of doing a self portrait for a blog challenge this month, and as I haven't painted or sketched faces for ages, I thought a warm up was essential. This is an understatement. I need major practice runs before I can pull of a reasonable portrait let alone a self portrait. I am putting this up because it makes me feel better. I'm very good at kidding myself this is work. This was done from a photograph.

Pencil on Cartridge Paper

8" x 8" (Approx)

Guess Who? Work in Progress.

I've stopped posting works in progress, because I felt they made my blog look untidy, but I just felt like posting a detail of this charcoal drawing I was working on tonight. It is going fairly well, but after sitting back and looking at it for a few minutes I can see exactly what the mistakes are. So I am back to work on it tomorrow after the fixative dries. Charcoal is magic stuff when you get the hang of it. I had been doing some sketching in the past few weeks and they were all complete trash and that is where they ended up. I am just hoping I can 'hold steady' and keep this one from ending up in the bin. More tomorrow hopefully, and hopefully this one is clickable.

"Portrait in Progress" (Detail)
Charcoal on Cartridge Paper

Determined to Draw

I am determined to draw a little, or a lot, each night this week. So determined was I when I arrived home tonight that I took out most of my charcoal and chalks, erasers, knives, and drawing pads and put them on the table so I would not be able to ignore them. This is a trick I have to play on myself. Although it is untidy and impractical to have all that material lying around, it makes life easier not having to unpack the material each night from my trusty toolbox.

I've decided for my next submission to the current Following the Masters challenge, I am not going to do a painting, I am going to do a charcoal sketch of the artist whose work we are paying homage to - Robert Henri. I have found a good photograph on the internet, so I'll work from that. I just don't know his work at all, and nor do I know the work of the Ashcan School. This makes me realise just how Eurocentric my art knowledge is at present, and even our libraries don't seem to have any decent monographs on his work or of his followers. I love to work from a good reproduction, but this time they are not available, so I'm going to use this challenge to practice my drawing. Not inventive, but totally practical. Some more clarity.

Off we go...

Charcoal Portrait

At the beginning of my annual leave, I decided I would do some sketching as well as painting. This is the first sketch, a warm-up so to speak, and even though there are many things I would like to correct, I am quite pleased with it, especially the likeness to the 'model' which surprised me as I wasn't too concerned with that at first. It was sketched from a rather dramatic photograph taken in artificial light. I just loved the way the folds of the scarf emerged from the pitch black background and this was a delight to represent in the sketch. I had forgotten the range of options available with charcoal, and I unfortunately started this out on paper that was slightly too rough for the effect I was trying to achieve. I thought I had finished it last night with only a few minor corrections to make this morning, but when I got close to it in the cold light of day, I saw there was so much more I could do to bring it closer to the actual photograph. The first layer of charcoal on the background wasn't intense enough to convey the stark chiaroscuro of the photograph, so I was glad I had sprayed fixative over the whole sketch last night. This gave the surface a 'tooth' this morning and I was able to darken the work quite considerably. This was a good learning excercise for me and I had forgotten how quickly one can finish a drawing compared to an oil painting, with the added benefit of it being suitable for night time work when it's easier to work with black and white knowing there will be no colour mistakes in the morning.

Portrait

Charcoal on Cartridge Paper - 11.5" x 11.5"