Cute one from tonight

I wanted to do a different basketball pose.

Some from tonight

A demanding mother...

Okay, this mom and her son came over, and she's speaking in this thick, fast New England accent, "You any good? Will you make me look bad? You any good? The girl last night was awesome. You any good?" ... And I just say, "Most people like my drawings, and you probably will too." And I shrugged my shoulders. Pressure! ...So, anyway, I make her look good (Yes, Mike Duron, I stole your shoulder) and she loves it so, so much, in the end.... It was a happy experience. Funny. Nice, people. ...When leaving, she said, "Wow, you made it actually look like us. I've never seen that before." Nice.

My style is changing...

I liked this couple's drawing. My more simplified/stylized style is coming out here, I think, or something.

A Cute Little Boy...

This little boy was so cute with his stuffed doll, Bruce (from Finding Nemo, I think). He wanted me to include Bruce in the picture, so I drew him RIDING Bruce. He loved it. I didn't like the likeness, but the experience was so heartwarming, I simply HAD to post it.

Naturalism Still Life

Here's a slightly closer look at my apple (whose hues and values were distorted by my camera's flash; see previous post). I was consciously trying to imitate the Naturalism style of the 19th Century, which characteristically has lost edges mixed with clear edges, and a "painterly" appearance. When done well, it's quite lovely. One thing I noticed was the varying amounts of "sheen" in the dried paint. I think that's why one must use varnish at the end, after it's completely dry.

My Very First Oil Painting

I wasn't going to post this photo because the flash distorted the hues and values too much, but I figure there's no harm in showing it. Specifically, in the shadow area, the reflected blue light is actually MUCH darker, maybe a value 4 rather than the value 6 or so which it appears to be in the photograph. In fact, the entire composition is rather low key, and a good lamp must be used to bring out the light. ... And this IS my very first oil painting EVER. It's alla prima, starting with a direct sketch with raw umber and then low values with alizarin crimson, and then higher value hues. I watched a grainy video demonstration on YouTube and tried to copy it. It is somewhat successful. And, yes, that's the bathroom vent above the toilet. A good place for it, I think.... By the way, it's an apple. LOL.

Typical Football Caricature

Reminds me of an Esly drawing

I remember seeing Esly drawing a rollerblading girl being pulled by her dog, so I tried this one like that. The family spoke no English, but very much liked the picture. The girl was quite sullen the whole time, until she saw the picture, and I thought she was going to cry, and then I thought she was going to hug me, but anyway, she smiled and smiled and wanted me to take her picture. THAT is why I do this job.

Basketball

Typical basketball drawing.

Ball Hockey

Anyone ever heard of Ball Hockey? The guy explained it, and I attempted to draw it. I like my drawing of his head, anyway. Very nice family.

Hockey Player

I like creating new poses on-the-spot, and this one was a little different. ...and left handed.

A Little Princess

I drew a Keelan, et al

Boy, gosh, I've been struggling with my quality this year. I think I've been distracted by a number of things, but working with Brian (and now Mike D.) has been helped me. (Which is another example of why working with other, superior artists is so critical to improvement, despite the embarrassing costumes at AK.) Anyway, I took a few photos tonight, because it's a good way to document one's state. I'm still shy of photographying the actual models, lately, but I can say that some are nice likenesses, and some are lousy. The triple is particularly lousy, likeness-wise, but I still like some of the line quality and "style" of the drawings. The last boy was a Keelan!