When you don't know what to do...

This one just wasn't coming out like I'd hoped, so I threw in the towel after a bit and decided to channel Gerhard Richter…

Random

Colours!

Here are my efforts using the Rembrandt coloured pastels and Derwent tinted charcoal pencils.

I couldn't resist playing around with the tints on iPhoto.  So here's a blue version! Look out Picasso!

I really liked working on coloured paper because you just mainly have to think about the highlights across the bones and hair etc.  However, I didn't love the texture of the paper. I used the Canson brand.  Any pastel paper has to have a good tooth to it to grip the chalk. But I just didn't love the honeycomb texture… 

But I did love doing the hair! Eyes have always been my thing, but I had a surprising about of fun working up the hair here.

Daphne Groeneveld

Sometimes I just have to draw someone because there is something really intriguing about her/his face. I expect that is the case for most people who draw.  That's what happened when I saw some black and white photos of Dutch model Daphne Groeneveld. She's got those pouty, sulky lips and a really unusual nose. That doesn't sound like a good combo, but she is actually a very attractive girl. It's like that old idea of gestalt - the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts.
Anyway, here are a couple of pics.  Charcoal on paper (not the cheap kind this time round).

The second pic is a bit out of focus, but I kept it in because I like how soft it looks.   No paper warping this time, since the paper was good and thick.

Charcoal sketches

Just regular charcoal on plain (cheap) photocopy paper. Can't use fancy paper all the time!  Here's one of Arizona Muse cuz she's a pretty girl, and I was contemplating bob haircuts that weeks. I did end up cutting my hair - myself!  Yes, I got skills. And no, it didn't turn out as cute as hers. Luckily, hair has remarkable regenerative powers, so I continue to go at it with the scissors.

Another of one. I was attempting to draw this one kind of loosely, to capture the way John Singer Sargent's sketches are (see here). Not as good as his I'm afraid. I really love the delicacy of his charcoal drawings, and I'm definitely not there yet.  Will keep practicing!

You can see how the paper warped after I sprayed it with SpectraFix. I don't really have much experience with pastel fixatives. I chose SpectraFix because it's non-toxic. I like it well enough. The paper warped because it is quite thin and is meant to be used for photocopies not art.  I think the warpage looks pretty interesting though!

New beginnings

I like art, really, really like it. There was a time when I would paint or draw every day (ah youth!). But then I got older and lots of things kept getting in the way of my art activities. I still made the time to read art books and go to museums, but I just wasn't creating very much of my own. 

But for the past few months I've felt what I can only describe as something germinating slowly in my mind - a feeling that I really should begin making some art again. So, I have been.  And I would have posted images sooner, but I had my heart set on getting a fancy scanner. The scanner has yet to materialize, so I fiddled about with my camera this morning.  And the results weren't too bad.  So here goes!