Something new on my easel

I just got started on a new project. I am only as far as the rough sketch and I haven't even made any final decisions about what medium I will use. He may be colored pencil, perhaps charcoal or graphite, or maybe even pastel. This is a basket vendor from Colonial Williamsburg. Our CWF interpretor is carrying at least 30 baskets of all different sizes and shapes. While it had to be a challenge for him to walk through town, it will be a huge challenge to render him and his wares. The origianl photograph shows wonderful shadow patterns. Watch for progress. This will be a project for the long winter months ahead.

Artist of the Month

I have the honor of having been selected as the Artist of the Month by the Franklin Fine Arts Council for the month of September. I have several colored pencil and graphite pieces hanging in the coffee shop downtown for the entire month. I am doing something new this month. I have asked for permission to go to the coffee shop two Thursday mornings during the month to demonstrate my work and be available to meet and talk to people. For some reason, no one has ever done this before.

Today was the first of my Meet the Artist visits. Several people did come over to see what I was doing and to talk a bit. It was a very nice morning.

I took graphite pencils with me and worked on a pelican. I am pretty pleased with the results of my work, especially since it was done in a dimly lit space. Next time I have to take a little work lamp with me.

A regal pose

Here is another pet portrait from my easel. Newton is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He is a beautiful boy and the graphite pencil makes a very formal portrait.

What's on my easel?

I have been working on a couple of graphite pieces. This one is a work in process at the moment. It is being created based on a photo we took in Colonial Williamsburg. This piece is approximately 4x6 ad is being done on Bristol Plate paper.

Peek-a-Boo

While I have been working on the drawing course, I have gotten interested in doing more work in graphite. This little guy was at my friend's backyard feeding station one night along with another young raccoon. She was able to get some wonderful pictures. She said they were afraid, but not so afraid that they ran away. They were more curious about her. She sent me a number of the pictures and gave me permission to use them. This piece is about 2.5 x 2.5 inches. It is done in graphite pencil on white Bristol Plate paper.

Peek-a-Boo

Drawing Course

I have just started working through Ann Kullberg's Draw What You See course. The first step is to do a pre-lesson drawing of a portrait from a photo that is provided in the kit. After you work through the lessons, the last lesson (number 6) is to repeat the same drawing using the tools and techniques you have learned in the course. The before drawing is to be done in under 2 hours, with little or no erasing, and using no "helpers" like rulers or grids. Here is my before. Stay tuned to see the progress.