conroy hudlow-figures and things

Swim Meet----a Series???

2012-01-31T16:44:00.000-08:00

Two more paintings in my new/old mode. I feel pretty good about these. I wabt to simplify and maybe flaten the negative spaces which I think happened in the last one. blah blah blah Well I had to say something.

Swim Meet 1--Free Style 42 x 38 oil on canvas

Swim Meet 2-Backstroke (with implants) 42 x 40 oil on canvas

A Recidivist Painter of Nudes

2011-12-28T19:55:00.000-08:00

Beautiful pose. Beautiful model. Sometimes you just have to back off the abstract stuff and paint a figure. This one was done from a drawing from the Saturday morning figure group that is now held in the drawing studio at the Springhill College Art Dept. The colors, particularly the reds, toned down a bit when loaded onto the blog.

A. A. 32 x 28 inches Oil on Canvas

There are a couple of unusual shows coming up next year called "Nude Night" that actually last 3 nights. One is in Orlando and the other in Tampa. I've been thinking of entering this painting and another one in the Tampa show. These shows are kinda along the lines of Blue Velvet Studio's "Nudes in November" only much larger and more rebald Haven't decided whether to go to the expense or not. nude night in Orlando is a video they're putting out to promote the shows. see what I mean. Not sure about the art but Orlando IS where Micky lives.

Sailing, Sailing over the Bounding Main or whatever.

2011-12-28T18:43:00.000-08:00

Apparently there is a traveling show of maritime art coming the the Mobile Museum of Art early in 2012. To get everyone in the mood they decided to have a juried exhibition of 'maritime' paintings by local artists. Ben Shamback, a very good, kinda super realistic painter of still life who is a professor at USA art dept was lined up to be the juror. Now rest assured I am not a maritime painter but last spring I'd done 3 smallish paintings based on rainbows, an old visual element of mine. 2 of them sorta evolved toward a water scene so I ended up sticking a sail shape in them and then since it was water an unrealistic reflection. Tah dah, 2 maritime paintings. The third one was dry land. So even though I would not have done paintings to conform to this theme to enter the show surprise, surprise, I had 2 perfectly good maritime paintings just sitting there. The entry fee was cool, $0.00. So I entered.

The blue painting below was awarded 2nd "prize". I would have given Best in Show to someone else, NOT ME. I really dislike the idea of 1st 2nd 3rd place etc. It is ridiculous to try to rate paintings that way. My thoughts are to give a number of merit awards, equal if there's money involved.

There I've ridden my white charger once again.

Rainbow #2 22 x 22 inches Oil on Canvas

Passing Storm (got to call it something) ca. 34 x 36 inches Oil on Canvas

Actually I like the other one at the top better

It Ain't Always Good (till the next time)

2011-11-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

Big Vic............Vibrator 36 x 38 oil on canvas

Finished this painting and posted it once but it just didn't look right. Hopefully it looks more right now,

New Drawings From A New Place

2011-11-17T11:14:00.000-08:00

A.A. #1

A.A.#2

Nan

For about the last 3 years, first on Wednesday nights then on Friday and Saturday mornings we've had some kind of figure drawing group at Space 301. I have been handling the Saturday morning group since January 2010. Cindy Phillips who was the education co-ordinator was helpful and tried to accomdate the group as much as possibile. Life Was Good. or a reasonable facsimili.

After a nationwide search a new director was found for CLA. Attitudes changed. We felt that there was little interest in having our group there. So we moved to the Springhill College Art Dept. They were glad to have us. Wanda Sullivan has been most helpful. The facility is good and we're happy to be there.

So as far as I know the only open figure drawing opportunity in Mobile is our group. (Ben Shamback has a group for USA students, faculty and alumni)

So a couple of drawings of A.A. (no drinking involved) and one of Nan who has moved away and is missed.

Scumbling, Scumbling, hope you're scumbling, too.

2011-10-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

I'm getting into this thing of painting/drawing something and then partially obscuring with a transluscent film. Oh mystery.

Just finished this one. I'm going to send a CD of this and several similar ones to a gallery in Atlanta. Might as well get rejection. It has no title yet.

No Title 44 x 48 Oil on Canvas

the V. Virgin series continues

2011-09-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

V. Virgin Not................Unless 44 x 44 Oil

I've given up on trying to put text above the picture. used to be able to drag the picture but that doesn't seem to work. and can't get the colors 100% on the screen. complain, complain, etc.

"V" for Big Vic remembered

2011-09-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

"Big Vic- Vibrator" 36 x 38 oil on canvas

Once upon a time there was a chain of exercise salons called Vic Tanny. They often had leotard clad women in the window using one of their machines. They really didn't need it. This particular one was a vibrating belt.

Vestal Virgins Rock

2011-08-22T08:58:00.001-07:00

V. V. Resting 36 x 36 oil on canvas

I just finished this thing, the purple is still wet, so it may occur to me to change something in the future. But I think not. Sometimes you just have to think 'how I did dat?'.

I add my share of BS

2011-08-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

Actually there's a whole painting under this one that just didn't pan out. There's nothing of it showing but some textured paint build up.

Vestal Virgins Floating Away 44 x 44 Oil

There's often a lot said about art being about causes, political, social, whatever. Much of this turns out bad or in the end has nothing relative to the "cause". Case in point the current exhibit at Space 301. It's supposed to relate to hurricane Katrina and the Flooding of New Orleans. There are a few good pieces in the show. Enough said. Just make art for the sake of making art. Off the soap box.
I'm not one for a lot of theory in doing art. Whether the figure comes through in the things I'm doing now really isn't important. One thing I want to try out is the idea of selective focus (remember Rembrandt and the other old guys) but in the abstract. Maybe it'll mean something, maybe not.

For the record the windmill references weren't really about global warming but I do believe AlGore is a fat fraud.

Back to the Future

2011-08-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a while since I posted anything and I've noticed that a few of my friends are just as remiss.

"Old Fart Getting Older" 22 x 16" WC/Pastel

I felt I was getting boxed in with the figure paintings I was doing so decided to go back a little and do some fun stuff. Paint is the subject and you can do as you want with space and color. there a figurative references more and less.

The Windmill Will Save Us" 38 x 36 oil

"When in Danger or in Doubt Run in Circles, Scream and Shout:

The Windmill Will Save Us." 46 x 42 oil

"Windmills and Huddled Masses" 32 x 30 oil

The above have something to do with AlGore in a perverse sort of way.

"Woman Again" 44 x 46 acrylic

A throwback to the 60s. Acrylics don't look exactly like oil. Both have their good points.

drawing on saturday

2011-01-25T05:56:00.001-08:00

3 little drawings, a couple of them could work in small paintings. We'll see.
All 14 x 17 in graphite.

I have a new live in model (not the one below) but she won't be still. Keeps wagging her tail. She doesn't understand the concept of not being patted and petted all the time either. Hard to work in the studio but hopefully she'll figure it out.

1/1/11

2011-01-01T07:27:00.000-08:00

2 figures

Many moons ago the concept of being alive in 2011 was an abstract one. I had hoped to celebrate the new year by finishing everything I was working on but I have fallen short. The larger paintings just needed more layers of paint than I could do in the time constraints.

However, I did finish 8 small paintings, miniatures to me. They are 8 x 8 or 8 x 9 inches. The square ones are 8 x 8 and the ones that aren't square are 8 x 9. Ha! 4 figures and 4 portraits in what I hope is a traditional style. 7 of them are oil on masonite panels, 1 is on stretched canvas. I've mounted them on a slightly larger piece of masonite painted black so that when framed the rabbit won't cover the edge of the painting and give a black reveal around the picture. This isn't an original way.

I went to the trouble of setting the white balance on the camera but should have left it on auto. I just couldn't do it all over. whine!

So I have 20 or so blank formats of all size plus the 3 leftovers to start the year. we'll see how that goes.

So here they are with a progress foto at the end.

Happy New Year.

conroy

coastal figure

figure

Janet

Kimberly

Lydia drinking

Lydia eating

Puff # ?

The end

Drawing Once Again

2010-10-28T10:14:00.001-07:00

I had actually gotten a little burned out on drawing. Last Saturday we had a new model that I found interesting. If you get one good drawing out of a session that's good. We have another new model in the morning. hope that one works out as well.

September at the MAC.

2010-10-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Decided to put up some of the paintings from the September show that haven't been posted before.

Me on opening night

Director's Chairs

Crack in the Wall

A Cup of Coffe and.................................

A.K.A. Alice

Looking Through the Door By the Bad Assed Bird............

Foots

and this one wasn't in the show.

Oh Sh*t

Fantastic Exhibit at MAC

2010-09-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

well, it's been a while since I hung a bunch of stuff on a wall and said come look at it

Not totally happy with the way this is hung but we just couldn't find a way that fixed everything. It certainly looks better than the way I'd originally laid it out. Of course it has 6 less pieces. I'd taken 24 things not knowing what it would take to fill the room. One of the paintings that was cut,"Charlie My Boy" is a sad loss. It's shown at the bottom of this post.

It's hard to photograph pencil drawings under glass so they are visable.

All said and done, I think the show looks fine and I hope that those that come will find it interesting.

And here's "Charlie My Boy" left out in the cold. Well, heat actually.

More Figure Drawings

2010-04-08T08:58:00.001-07:00

Haven't posted anything from the figure drawing groups lately so thought I'd catch up. I have got to find a better light setup to photograph graphite drawings or start working in a different media.

A new, first time model last night, a friend of Joni, one of our regular models on Saturdays. She did very well. All in all it was such a good session that I'm posting almost all of the drawings that I did. One that isn't posted went to the model. As I understand it the story goes; she reluctantly told her mother she was thinking about modeling for an art class but didn't know if she should. Her mom told her she "had to", that she'd done it "back in the day". So I gave her a drawing to show her mom. Forgot to mention to her that if her mom wants to come out of "retirement" ..............

The first 3 show 1 minute more or less gesture drawings.

The next 3 are 5 minute incompletes.

This one would be 10 minutes

The next 2 are twenty minutes each.

The one below is almost a ringer for a painting I'm doing now. Seated contraposto.

Three drawings of Sharon from a couple of weeks ago. This is the best I've done with her in a long time.

And finally one of Enya from sometime in the past that I don't think has been on previously.

Not getting much art done this week. I'm in the middle of building a studio that if there are no disasters should be finished by late next week. I can hardly wait.

Starting March

2010-03-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

"Fly Away on a Magic Beach Towel" acrylic 42 x 38

I guess this is the obligatory beach scene. Doesn't seem much changed from the last post but it really is. This one may be good for re-using the stretcher strips. I've got 4 little paintings underway that need to be finished in some way. I'm ready for a shift in what I'm doing. This picky stuff is getting boring. I like the bird.

It wasn't a great drawing week. A couple of things from Saturday of Joni. With her they should all be good.

Joni's foots

A little "up the nose" experiment

Update on the seagull

2010-03-02T08:54:00.000-08:00

I'd intended to post the progress on this painting each time I worked on it but just haven't done so. This painting is making me wish that I was working in oils. I've been working in acrylics so long but am missing the flexibility of oil paint.

Have no idea where this painting is going. I like the bird though.

Figure Drawing 2/24/10

2010-02-25T13:35:00.001-08:00

Our model last night had laryngitis like symptoms and couldn't talk. Sign language with a Russian accent is even more difficult.

Before the session started was talking to a friend and they reminded me of the principles of an English painter that I like involving planar break down of the forms of the figure. So I decided that would be my direction for the night. I don't think it turned out all bad. This would be better in ink washes or even charcoal but I'm lazy so I stuck to graphite.

Things went quickly and a couple of times a was able to do a second take on a pose.

I'm going to try to do a few of these as small acrylic studies. Got to do something useful with all these drawings.

Space 301 2/10/10

2010-02-14T07:20:00.000-08:00

A new model at figure group. She did very well for her first time. I'm curious about how she ended up in LA from Russia. (LA being south Alabama.)

Saturday Morning at Space 301 2/6

2010-02-07T10:30:00.000-08:00

We stated early. Managed to miss the parade, a real plus. I haven't been to a parade in at least 20 years. We had a good group, 11 people I think. Some went to lunch after where the company was great, the food good but too plentiful.

Joni was our model; great as usual. I managed
to get several right profiles to start off. I brought
painting gear but never got to it.

A New Painting-the fun part

2010-02-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

I got up this morning meaning to finish a little painting that's been hanging around for a while-----------but there was a blank canvas on the wall, there was a sketch I'd been meaning to use for a while and I'd just found a perfect seagull picture. So I thought it might be fun to track the development. This canvas is 42 x38 inches. One thing that I like for a painting to do is make the canvas appear bigger. It's hard to tell on the computer but so far this one does that.

Day 1, 7:00 AM

Day 1, 1:00 PM

Too much beach towel. Going for more sand. The colors

are off but for now it doesn't matter.

Space 301-the male figger 2/3

2010-02-05T06:50:00.000-08:00

I'm not particularly interested in drawing male models but this young man did a good job. Really didn't think much of what I'd done but reviewing it the next day they weren't so bad.

This is a rather heroic pose.

This drawing really just re-enforces my resolve to get

away from pencil and get to a broader stroke medium.

Too much hatching.

The little quickie at the bottom of this drawing may

be the best thing all night. Hard to get on a photo. I

scanned it below. May be a little better view.

Lucifer Hummer-Acrylic-30x28

2010-02-03T05:21:00.001-08:00

I posted this little painting once before and took it down. Since I've redone much of it several times. The paint is getting thick and it's time to quit. Upward and onward.

The Beat Goes On at 301

2010-02-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hannah modeled for us at Space 301 on the 23rd. At some point her friend who had driven her over asked if they could pose together. Of course. Believe it or don't, it was the first time I'd ever tried to draw 2 models. 25 minutes wasn't enough.

The light during the day in the Clerestory Studio is great.

Sharon modeled for us on the 20th. These little 2 minute sketches started off the evening. I liked the one in the upper right so much I gave it a star.

I always tend to add a few pounds to Sharon. Hope that's OK.

Hannah at the Eastern Shore Art Center-1/16/10

2010-01-17T10:32:00.000-08:00

I've tried several physical approaches to drawing lately; standing at an easel, sitting at an easel. a table easel and just can't get comfortable. These are on a 14 x 17 sketch book propped on the edge of a table. This isn't deep artistic discussion but it worked pretty well for this time at least.

A good session this time. Last Wednesday at 301 we had a male model who, through no fault of his, I don't like to draw so that was a bummer. I should have gone home.

E.S.A.C. had some interesting stuff on exhibit. First an primative installation of work by Tres Taylor that was written up on the Mobile "Living Arts" section this morning. It was interesting to a degree but grew awfully repetitious rather quickly. This is a self taught "artist". Reading the techniques that he used in this morning's paper was disturbing. Apparently the work was done on "tar paper" which I believe is actually roofing felt, plywood, house paint, acrylics and gold leaf. I wonder if it's actually gold leaf considering the craft required to use gold leaf, and considering the other materials used. I've always felt that an artist had a responsibility to know his craft and practice it as best they could if they're going to hang it on a wall with a price on it.

Oh well, someone told me how happy Tres is so I guess if he's happy, I'm happy. Yeah!

A really interesting exhibit was wooden objects and sculpture. These people knew their craft and used it well. Really good stuff.

While I'm on a tear; parts of the currant exhibition at Space 301 disturb me, just a little. That part being polaroid pictures, a bunch of them, stuck on the wall. The premise seems to be that written on each picture(of a person) is what they want to do before they die. Frankly, dear readers, I don't give a rats ass what these people want to do before they die. There are other arrangements of photos but I didn't bother figuring out the schtick for them. This is one of the nicest galleries around and they ought to show art.

There is some 3-D work in the gallery that I don't believe is connected to the above stuff.

Have a nice day.

In With The New

2010-01-10T12:53:00.000-08:00

Our first Saturday drawing session at Space 301. Joni is a wonderful model.

First painting finished in '10 although started in '09. The Lucifer Hummer is an evil looking little dude. As usual the photography is just a bit off.

TAKEN DOWN FOR RENOVATION "Lucifer Hummer" 32 x 30

Starting off figure drawing for the year. Sharon on Wed. night. I wish that I knew whether I've made any progress.

New model in Fair hope. We've had some extreme poses there lately.

I need to wax poetic and come up with some exotic titles for these things.

"Contemplating her Muse"

More Fun in Fairhope 12/19

2009-12-21T06:39:00.001-08:00

Interesting new model this session. I hope she can stick with us for a while. This does it for drawing in 2009. Time to get a new portfolio and label it 2010. Looking back over what I've done this year I can feel some progress.

Good Day at Fairhope- Nov 21

2009-11-22T09:39:00.001-08:00

Ron Thomson did a great job setting up for this week's drawing group. We didn't get to use everything but with Joni modeling it was a good day. Most of these are in the 20-25 minute time frame. A little more time might be good. She's got a wonderful face and I just can't seem to get to it. May try to turn one of these into a painting.

I Thought I Saw A Puddy Cat.....I Did, I Did, Acrylic 32 x 30

2009-11-11T06:45:00.000-08:00

I sure spent too much time on the cats and I'm a dog person. Takes me forever to get to a stopping point on these things. I do know I've got to get a better lighting setup for photographing. Things are just a smidge off.

MEOW!

Recent Figure Drawings

2009-11-06T13:29:00.000-08:00

GROUP 301 11/5

This was a brand new model and she did very well. All these were 20 minute drawings. We've decided to put aside the warm-up quickies for the time being. May have to think about that. It might be good for the model.

These are all charcoal. It may not be my best medium or maybe I need more time. So fragments.

FAIRHOPE 10/31

Same model we've had there the 3 times I've been. Good model.

The last 2 were about 25 minutes. Maybe graphite isn't my best medium.
What's left?

Painting Produce #3-Red Delicious,Acrylic on canvas 42 x 38

2009-10-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Can't get the color perfect on this one. Actually I added the apples to make this a produce painting. May take them out. These were numbered in the starting order and #1 hasn't showed up yet. Maybe the tomatoes will turn up one day.

More Figger Drawing in Fairhope

2009-10-12T11:50:00.000-07:00

Not as bad as I thought on Saturday. The drawing group the is a wonderful except for getting there. Ron Thomson who's in charge does a great job, the model for the times I've been there is good, works hard, holds the pose and has a personality. Hope we can set up a group that functions this well on our side of the bay.

Walked through a couple of galleries afterward. Lo and behold, Ron Thomson's work was the best I saw. There was some work from Ocean Springs at the ESAC that I found pretty spotty quality-wise.

Painting Produce #5, Corn-O-Copia USA, 20" x 20", Acrylic/Faux copper on Canvas

2009-09-28T07:45:00.000-07:00

The Devil made me do it. I've still got one more produce painting that's almost finished. That may be the end.

Figure Drawing at 301- 9/24

2009-09-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

Last night was the first night of the Space 301 figure drawing group and it went very well. Sharon who modeled this summer for Ben Shamback's class was the model and moderator. Multi-tasking. She will continue to monitor the group and will model one more time this quarter. For information call Space 301.

A few examples:

I've really got to get serious about hands and particularly feets.

Drawing Figures in Fairhope

2009-09-20T08:53:00.000-07:00

Even though I was very tired this was a good day. Professionally run. Model didn't take long breaks. Monitored by a man named Ron Thomson who does a very good job. This group is tentatively scheduled for twice a month through Dec. I recommend it.

Nothing new about any of this. I've really got to start dealing with hands and feet.

Painting Produce #4, 30 x 28, Acrylic

2009-09-10T06:08:00.000-07:00

Another effort in immortalizing groceries. Next will probably be red delicious apples.

Last night was the first session of the Downtown Figure Drawing Group meeting back at the Temple. I wasn't in the group in the past when they regularly met there. It's unfortunate but I don't think I can deal with that space. Guess it will be Space 301 only. I was going to do both.

Painting Produce #2, Bell Pepper, 18 x 18, Oil

2009-08-23T05:42:00.001-07:00

I had started to paint this Alla Prima as most of the Painting A Day paintings are done but the colors seem to become muddy that way and the translucent colors of the red bell pepper were lost. So there were glazes over opaque and vise versa and it took a long time even using alkyd medium. I really like working better in acrylic but there are things you can get with oil that don't look quite the same in acrylic.

There are more produce paintings nearing completion.

An artist friend sent the below photos when she heard I was painting produce. They are called Peter Peppers. Enough said.

I understand that seeds are available from: Totally Tomatoes, P.O. Box1626, Augusta, Ga 30903-1926

Hummers 2, 18 x 18, Acrylic

2009-08-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

I nearly dumped this little painting and still may do. It certainly isn't up to the first Hummer painting. Guess which one's the female.

Figure Drawinhg Class 7/23

2009-07-24T09:40:00.000-07:00

Last night of the class. For me, working on a drawing for 3 hours is way more than a gracious plenty.

Figure Group 7/22

2009-07-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

Same model for the second week in a row. This women just started model last spring I think. She's turned into a good one. Just don't seem to get finished even with a longer pose. Gettin' slow.

I learned on this one that BK Rives paper is not good for charcoal.

I was consoled on this one when someone told me the foot was good, it had 5 toes.

The prospect for next week ain't good.

Figure Group 7/15

2009-07-16T06:39:00.000-07:00

Not much shakin last night. 2 minutes is either too long or too short so a few fragments.

So since it was raining someone had an umbrella.

Hopefully things will level out with this group in the fall.

Figure Drawing Class 7/9

2009-07-13T05:29:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we worked on breaking the parts of the figure into planes, basically 3 planes per form as I understood it. Good exercise but in my opinion you have to use it with discretion when not doing an exercise.

Wiped out most of this one. What's left is OK.

The British artist, Euan Uglow, who was used as an example was very interesting. Really liked his work. He apparently was into measuring and proportions, etc but we found several of his figures that were like 9 or 10 heads, mainly elongated from the hips down.

Figure Drawing 7/2

2009-07-03T07:37:00.000-07:00

After a couple of frustrating weeks in both the Figure Drawing Group and figure drawing class last night produced insight into seeing, analizing and rendering light and shade. These drawings go from begining to end of the class. This drawing is my first try with the fat charcoal.

In my opinion this drawing represents my best effort dealing with technique that Ben Shamback was getting us to try for rendering light and shade. This was about 20 minutes and obviously could use a lot more time.

The last was a longer pose, about 25 0r 30 minutes. An awkward pose from my angle and should have had been darker on the back in the core shadows.

Maybe it won't be so long to the next post.

Figure Group 6/17 Plus

2009-06-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

Very good model this session. She knew how to pose and held the pose like a statue.

Messed up the figure on this one but an OK study of her head. She was a great portrait study.

Finally, the plus. When I left Indianapolis for NYC I gave a piece of sculpture to the Herron Museum, now the Indianapolis Museum. Recently I learned that they had deaccessioned it. Since this was my only sculpture I'm trying to get it back. I started another but never cast it. This is in fiberglas by the way.

I called the concept "Barbie Dolls for Big People". It's life size. Not sure what to do with it if I get it back but don't want it to get away.

The red bird should be up on the arm of the chair.

LITTLE HUMMERS- a near Mike Angelo moment 30x30 acrylic

2009-06-09T07:16:00.000-07:00

A little different. Maybe a baby step toward painting grogeries.

FIGURE GROUP 4/20

2009-05-21T06:33:00.000-07:00

Things started out slow for me last night but a couple of things that aren't too bad.

One for "realism".

MARI MY FRIEND-NOW AND THEN charcoal, acrylic and WC 41 x 28

2009-05-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Nothing of note from the Figure Group from me last night. This is a drawing of an old friend,

also a member of the Atlanta School of Art Class of '62. She's done and is still doing very well as an artist.

LITTLE HUMMERS

2009-05-04T06:30:00.000-07:00

A friend forwarded an email with great pictures of humming birds. Beautiful little creatures.

CHARLIE MY BOY acrylic 30" x 38"

2009-05-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

Charlie was an old friend who left us a couple of years ago at age 13. I painted him as I remembered him with out some of the problems he had later in life. I have no idea how that nekkid woman got in the picture. I've had that problem before when immortalizing one of my dogs. More on that at a later time.

Had intended to enter this in the "Shared Expressions" exhibit but decided against it.

THE END OF APRIL

2009-05-01T04:44:00.000-07:00

The figure drawing group had the same model for the last 2 sessions in April. Some say she's a Sarah Palin look-a-like but I think her saying she'd gone out on Halloween as Sarah may have re-enforced that. I think she's a dead ringer for Monica Lewinsky but that was long ago.

Prone poses have some difficult viewpoints. I picked this one because it offered an exercise in foreshortening. Only one more difficult angle, the opposite end. Devlin had that one. Not a good drawing but does address the situation.

The angle is not quite as challenging on this one.

'Nuff said about this kind of thing. We've had this lady 3 times and for some reason I find her difficult to draw.

The longest pose for anything posted so far is about 25 minutes, the shortest 2 minutes.

START AT THE BOTTOM

2009-04-28T14:40:00.000-07:00

I just realized that since I'm just starting this blog that the begining is now at the bottom of the page so go no further here skip to the bottom to "INTRODUCTION".

This is the closest thing to a finished drawing I've done since joining the group. Maybe things will get better.

THERE'S A GESTURE UNDER THERE SOMEWHERE

2009-04-28T14:32:00.000-07:00

These are longer poses on a wonderful bench that you can see as a gesture of a thing under the model in the second drawing. Somehow I seem to get the back more often than not. Maybe there are less shapes to deal with, i.e. less is more.

GESTURE AND BEYOND

2009-04-28T14:21:00.000-07:00

These are a little more descriptive but still reflect the feeling of what the figure is doing. Slightly longer poses.

The Figure Drawing Group is very diverse. People are drawing in all kinds of media. Some are painting in oils and water color which is fine for them. For me dragging all that stuff along is too much but more power to them.

INTRODUCTION

2009-04-18T14:05:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus I started doing painting again a couple of years ago. I'm basically a figurative artist and drawing is absolutely basic to my work and by extension to painting in general.

At the Atlanta School of Art there was a wonderful teacher named Joel Reeves. He taught drawing and painting in such a way that I never felt any disconnect between the two. Drawing was from the figure and was based on a method found in a book; The Natural Way To Draw" by Nicoliades. Later in graduate school at Tulane University we had to take a non-credit drawing course based on the same. I taught figure drawing for several years at various institutions and again used the same principles.

It's all about learning to see. Seeing what a figure, or other object, is doing and what it is.

What "it's doing" falls to gesture drawing where you move quickly through the figure trying to express the movement, thrust of the figure. What it "is" falls to contour drawings, modeled drawings and other exercises that define the shape and form of the figure.

I was pleased to find the Downtown Figure Drawing Group at Space 301 this year. In an effort to get the rust off, the first 3 or 4 weeks were pretty bad but things came around somewhat and the last couple of sessions there have been a few good things. The setup there is condusive to gesture drawings but not real contours or maybe my eyes are just getting old.

Gesture Drawings from the winter session

This gesture really shows what the figure is doing. The little sketch to the left just happened because the pose ran a little long.

These are just basic gesture drawings.

It's taken some time to figure out this process but J.B., a very nice person, was a great help. I think putting the pictures in first from now on will be smart.