more pen and ink

bit more pen and ink work.....
had enjoyable hour tearing up drawings
that were littering my workspace-
not to do collage with but just to lighten
the atmosphere a bit - chose to keep some
so it was not all out carnage!!!!!

doodle

a doodle in ink in a sketchbook -

amusing how a few seconds can produce

something so much more interesting

than earnest work that has taken

so much longer .........

one of my past gallery owners always

said he would rather pay for twenty

seconds of inspiration than 20 hours

of drudgery

a yonderley torso

begun in gouache then finished in acrylic

have been using more strong light with my

model and this is one in that series....

have a half finished charcoal of a strongly

lit torso - it will either be finished in next
few days or burnt - if finished I will post

it , if burnt I might capture the bonfire

on video and apply for a grant from

Scottish Arts for future similar "events"

working while ill

have to admit to feeling grotty for a while -

and it is amazing how hard it is do anything

decent when unwell....

the detail above is from a picture that has

been annoying me for several days -

it began life as a gouache and I finally

sealed it with an acrylic binder and added

some brush work with acrylics and I think

it might have been saved from the bin....

I was reading "The Writing on the Wall" (in

translation) from the Norwegian writer

Gunnar Staalesen and he used the wonderful

word YONDERLY to explain how one feels when ill

and by heavens I have had a bit of yonderly !

a new small gouache

I think this might be working ok....

an image nicked from a French film and

I have forgotten the title - I tend to watch a lot

of films and I spend a lot of time "watching"

faces and expressions

American Artist Drawing magazine

The top image is a gouache that I posted the

other day pushed a touch further....

quite tense to put a watercolour wash

over an almost finished gouache -

knowing that if you are sluggish the gouache

will dissolve in the watercolour and blur...

and the lower image a sketch I did using

a goose quill pen which features in the current

American Artsts Drawing Magazine...

part of an excellent article by John A Parks

about quill drawing ancient and modern....

now I have not seen this magazine before

and as a draughtsman I find it exciting -

so I shall soon be on their website and

taking out a subscription!

the oils in the shed are calling....

the lower image is in gouache - the upper was and then

I finished it with acrylic .... am still trying to find out

if gouache will do what I want....

am about to start a set of small figure/face pics

and I think I might have to send a search party

out to find the garden shed where the oils are,

but must try to get around the bad reaction

my hands have when I work in oils.......

gouache head

this is the first gouache done with the model -

bit awkward reflecting that I have not got

the procedure "comfortable" and the model

was tired and a bit restless -yes you were! :-)

but still good to work with!!!

second gouache study

a second small gouache study - just wondering

how to keep freshness as it is developed further?

gouache

when my acrylic stuff gets into a "claggy mess",

which is often, I wonder quietly about gouache

as a medium -

I like its vulnerability and its lovely dull surface...

I did this quick study last night while having

such thoughts..... with a little conte hard

pastel to provide some lines.....

on a grey flecky Canson paper

after all the snow etc my main model

is mobile again so I might try gouache

when she turns up tomorrow....

a good place to visit!

http://www.beautifuldrawings.com/league.htm

wet charcoal finished (?)

this is probably done -

as usual earlier stages probably look better!

unfinished wet snow- unfinished wet charcoal

in between trying to dig the drive clear of snow

- at least it is warmer and a thaw is on

I am messing around with wet charcoal

using as a reference some shots I took

of the brilliant Basil when I saw her last

I would hope to finish this tomorrow

after more work on the snow chain gang

wet charcoal

after wetting pastels I wondered about charcoal -

I know a few artists begin their charcoals wet

with a brush ....

this one began wet with powdered charcoal

and my spray of Granulating medium...

then dried and drawn into...

on white Clairefontaine Pastelmat

another pastel dowsed in water

another older pastel wet , brushed and redefined.

distractions and snow

another foot or so overnight and it is supposed to

be freezing for at least 7 days.....

two snow scenes taken on my morning walk

and the top image what I have been doing

to distract my self....

mainly pastel, acrylic and some watercolour
- wondering how far I can push acrylic for

a "real" look......

if anyone is strong enough to come and dig

two feet of snow off my drive please do!

and as for the three feet in my back yard - yuck

can any of my models ski?

this morning!

bottom image our house

middle image the end of our drive

and top taken on this mornings walk...

don't usually bother with personal stuff

like this but none of my models can ski

and for two weeks the snow has made

life (or life drawing) difficult AND

I do not like snow......
and it is meant to go one for ages!!!

revamped pastel

still stuck without my model because of

snow and poor road conditions - but it is

giving me time to try one or two ideas out...

the top (unfinished) image is the lovely Caitlin

and is slowly progressing on it way...

mainly watercolour and acrylic....

the lower image is a pastel I posted a short

while back of the athletic Basil...

but I dowsed it with water this morning,

used a brush on it the re-defined it a touch.

I am interested in this process because it

reminds me how vulnerable pastel is, has a

gouach/oil feel and because Degas used it so well!

bit more fiddling

Bit more messing with a more mixed

media approach - if I ever get to see my

model again live, weather permitting

I will try to work direct in this manner-

mainly pen, watercolour and acrylic