Pencil Portrait

I had to take a break from acrylic painting and drawing still life. I found a magazine and started drawing portrait for a change. I wanted to see how concepts like shadow rendering and negative space applies when drawing portraits. It was a pain to prepare the grid but it was something I had to do.

More adjustments were done as I started adding shadows. I tried to be more careful on adding values but I believe I need lots of practice on simpler subjects. I am satisfied with the result even if it's not yet finished. Again, the objective is not to create a "masterpiece" but more on applying what I've learned and at the same time exploring the possibilities.

This is still a work in progress.

Today is the first day of the plein air session but I wasn't able to go because my son had a doctor's appointment. The session in weekly so I still have a lot of chance to go to even one session. The closer to the office the better since I have an 8am-5pm job.

Acrylic Landscape

I had expected that not everyone will show up in our Acrylic class since it was Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night. But I didn’t expect that only 2 of us will show up (+ the teacher). I wasn’t overjoyed because that meant for time for the teacher to critic my work. Eventually, I was able to look at it as an opportunity to get an almost one-on-one session with a professional artist.

Below, needless to say a work in progress, was my painting for last night. I was happy how the rocks turned out as it at least looks solid .. more work needs to be done of course. I am glad I attended the class since that’s the only time I pick up my acrylics to paint. Whenever I have time, I prefer just to draw since there as much preparation needed compared to painting. Also, with kids running around, it’s always a challenge to keep them away from the paints.

One more session left and I am on my own. Have to set aside some time to do acrylics.

Ginger Drawing

I was very excited when we got back from the grocery store. We bought some fruits and vegetables and this means more subjects for me to draw. The ginger caught my attention because it has lots of textures and that means more details to draw and more shadows.

I tried to remember what I learned from my drawing class instead of the usual "just draw and wing it". I blocked the major shapes and focus on getting an overall image of the ginger instead of working on details right away.

I started with an HB pencil and defined the lights and darks. I have been patient doing this one since I really wanted to apply what I have learned. I used negative spaces to draw the contour of the ginger and from time to time did some measurements. I move on to using 4B and 8B slowly building the shadows.

I probably should have sharpened my pencils to get more defined lines. I'll remember to do that or just have a sandpaper to sharpen my pencils. Anyway, I was happy with the result as well as having time to just sit down, relax and draw.

I wonder what I can draw tomorrow. But I am hoping to work on my acrylic painting. Let's see what happens.

Charcoal Drawings

As expected, I was able to draw yesterday but tried more charcoal this time. Using newsprint paper helps since I’m not pressured to create something good compared to when I’m using a more expensive paper.

I drew the trees upside down as it’s easier to move the charcoal stick downwards. I was feeding my son while drawing the tree keeping in mind not to pickup his food using the hand full of charcoal.

I wanted to do something different so I grabbed my art books and look for something I could copy. Now I know why one needs an easel. Putting your paper, especially a big one, on the table affects how you view the drawing. It may look good while the drawing is laying flat on the table but you’ll see the wrong proportions once you paste the drawing on the wall. But then again, I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular. The important things is that I was able to draw and learned something new.

I had more time so I decided to draw another one. I have a Lee Hammond book, Drawing Realistic Pets, so I just chose a drawing to copy. This is my first time to draw a cat and I found drawing fur challenging. I probably should have done some exercises first on drawing fur first instead of drawing the cat right away. The important thing is that the drawing looks like a cat and I believe that I was able to give it some volume.

I’m looking forward to the Plein Air sessions our art society is having from June to September. Although the sessions are scheduled on mid-day Tuesdays, I was able to have an arrangement at work so I could draw with the group for at least 2 hours each week.

Last Drawing Session

Yesterday was the sixth and last session of the beginner's drawing class I attended. The classes were 1 and a half hour but I leave early due to a schedule conflict with my wife's guitar class. Fortunately, both classes are on the same building.

Anyway, we had a vase, two bokchoy (pechay) and an eggplant. We spent the first few minutes deciding on how to do the arrangement. Of course, each one has his own preference.

I was using a lead pencil but decided to bring out my charcoal pencil to create a background and highlight some shadows.

Hopefully, I will have more time after work to complete this drawing or at least spend some time drawing.

So what's next? There aren't any other drawing class offered as a continuation. Fortunately, the art society where I am a member of is having Plein Air painting every Tuesday (mid-day) starting next week. Since, I have a full-time job, I will have to make special arrangements to make myself available for these sessions.

Charcoal Drawing

I set aside my lead pencils in the meantime and continue playing with my new charcoal. I have both a pencil charcoal and soft charcoal stick. With charcoal, I can create shadows fast but it's a challenge to erase mistakes. Plus I need big paper whenever I use the charcoal sticks.

In the last few days, I have been jumping from one media to another. Charcoal and pastel last weekend, acrylic last Monday (class), pencil today (last session of drawing class). I have yet to use the watercolor I bought and the oil tubes I received from one of the art society members who was kind enough to give away her old oil paints.