nekked.

graphite and watercolor

charcoal on gesso'd paper 

 

graphite-10minute study at Mars Cafe

 

graphite-10minute study at Mars Cafe
(she did have clothes on, just used to models not)

 

acrylic and graphite

(I reveresed the thought process, painted the areas of light

and left the shadows white)

 

 

 

These are studys from my recent classes at the Des Moines Art Center and Des Moines Art Beacon event at Mars Cafe. Most nights it seems like it is a hit or miss with my abilities; need to practice more. Stressing a bit more, when I can actually relax to draw/paint it really helps.

Recent life events:

Added country number 16 to my list - went to Cancun, Mexico for Spring Break

Reading "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg - hoping it guides me in some way to make changes in my life/routine that are necessary to live happier

fire-breathing cows

I must confess, I drew another cow.

'holy' cow

charcoal // 2012

The drawing that I just finished up was sort of a pain at first. My professor dictated that the subject matter had to be of a loved one with a fire-breathing reptile. These are two main things that students always want to draw, at least the ones at Simpson. Everyone wants to draw a loved one - it is not recommended because the personal relationship tends to skew the artist's focus on minute details that only they perceive are important. Like how many moles a person has, the common viewer is not going to notice or care if the person is missing one on their right cheek (I am not trying to call out a certain someone, it was just a great example). And then comes the fire-breathing reptile. It is just a fantasy subject matter that "professional" drawings typically do not contain. As some college art professors say it is "high school art;" this is a hard concept to explain with out direct example so I won't waste your time but if you are an artist I think you'll somewhat understand that concept. (Again, not trying to call anyone out, just trying to explain why these two elements are a pain in my art professor's rear. A dear friend of mine did paint a fire-breathing snake fighting ninjas and I must say it is quite BA) Anyways, I think my art professor wanted us to get this out of our systems - not that it was ever in mine - and so I drew my niece and nephew. I incorporated the fire-breathing reptile through my nephew's shirt, it is Reptar from Rugrats with a little ball of fire.

Untitled

graphite // 2012

I must say, I knocked the socks off my professor. My only critque on it is to make the dark areas darker (it has been a while since I worked in graphite and forgot how much of a pain it is to make dark areas with it).