Wednsday encore

One of my class related works is a huge nude Sal.
Sal is a great model and my class was lucky to have him two classes in a row.

acrylics on 4.5" x 5" canvas, 2oo9.

It was the first time I worked on a nude that size.
My favorite part is his head as I really got the likeness. You should click on it to see it better.

There are a bunch of things that could have been worked on (hands, chest, right leg...) but for the time given I did pretty well.

Friday three

I have been continuing with my hand sketches.
Three more:

All graphite on paper, 2oo9

Saturday Sal

I have always thought that drawing was my thing, it comes relatively easily. However I realized that it is not, painting comes easier, and drawing has been a pain lately.

A couple of weeks ago we had a model in out painting class. I was terrified as I hate acrylics and it would be the first time I would attempt to paint the body. I was more than pleasantly surprised!

acrylic on 7"x8" Bristol, 15 minutes.

Friday anatomy

I am continuing my practices. Before doing more complex hand placements I am practicing some anatomical drawings. I am also putting a little more time in it so that they are not just sketches.

graphite on 9"x12" paper

Tuesday learning

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I kept my promise and I am still doing my hands. At this point I have 17 done and 83 to go. I hope finishing them before university starts as I bet I will have more than enough things to do during the school year!

All the three are

graphite on 9"x12" paper

Saturday fives

They say that if you draw something 1oo times you master it. So I got Burne Hogarth's book and started copying hands. Here are the ones I've done so far.

graphite on paper, 2oo9

Graphite on paper, 2oo9


Graphite on paper, 2oo9

There are two more that are waiting to be photographed and that way I have 93 others to go!
I was pretty skeptical about it, but now I feel that my hand is starting to learn the proportions and the plaines pretty well.

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Wednesday sketches

I while ago I when to Dr. Sketchy Montreal.
We hand a wonderful model, she had the cutest glasses and the poutiest red lips as well as some funky hair.

two 10 minutes sketches,
graphite on paper

20 minutes sketch,
3-in-1 colour pencil on paper

She was a great model, creative and fun. During the two hours we listen to some great music like Frank Sinatra and a couple of tracks by Marylin Monroe.
I will try to go to a nude atelier next time as it has been almost a year since i got to draw nudes. I really miss it.

Wednsday learning

My last speed painting up to now. I don't have enough canvas boards at this point, and I also don't have any subjects (Yes we ate all the food).

oil on 8"x8" canvas board, 2oo9

I am quite proud of this one. I think that I learned a lot and especially achieved a number of desired effects. It is also the one I struggled and hated the most during the making process.
Sadly I could not, even with Photoshop, get the exact colours. The onion is much more purple and has more light edges in real life.

I definitely feel like I am starting to learn a few things, and that as I am choosing subjects that I feel uncertain about I am getting the needed experience.

Monday falling red

This is a painting that surprised me. I found a number of things coming to me intuitively and a number of other that for some reason I disregarded completely.

oil on 7"x9" canvas board, 2oo9

What I learned is that you have to let go of a painting, especially if it is a quick one. The night I finished it I hated it, everything seemed so flat so shapeless, but the next day I realized that somehow I ended up creating 3D wedges. The last touches of white and the seeds made sense of all of those red spots.
I also now know that composition does not always come naturally (and this one in particular is so unstable I want to cut a piece of canvas off!). You must draw your subject or at least the important lines first in order to get something where your eyes flow smoothly from one point to another.

Overall I am very happy with the learning and I finally feel like I can create shadows that make sens.

Saturday fruits

I will be posting a couple of my previously shown paintings during the next few days. Sadly I am using my sister's camera and I am not familiar enough with it to be able to get accurate colours, therefore I need to spend some time tweaking them in Photoshop. I'll be probably doing one a day as I do need time for other things.

oil on 5"x7" canvas board, 2oo9

My favorite is the lonely blackberry, in real life it has more colour subtleties that the other two and also there is a higher contrast that I like much more.

I learned an important thing with that painting. In order to get something realistic with looser strokes you have to pay attention to generalise shapes but always add a few details that are accurate in order to make it look real.