Pittsburgh Figure Drawing Meetup Open Studio with Emily

 
We had a wonderful open studio session on Sunday afternoon with model Emily.  She held lovely poses and was a delight to draw.  I had fun with colored pencils!

You can see more drawing from the event here: https://www.meetup.com/Pittsburgh-Figure-Drawing/photos/31320874/495301533/

Figure Drawing with Model Red

 

We had a great Osher class session with new model Red.  Our project this week was to study foreshortening, so we began with wrapped line gesture drawings, imagining that our charcoal was charting the path of an ant traveling over the contours of Red's form.

I find that this approach frees us up to really study the model, and explore the landscape of the human form.

We began adding a touch of shading on the wrapped line gestures to give some dimension. 

This practice set us up for a study of foreshortening, sketching Red's arm as he moved it incrementally inwards towards the camera.

We finished up with a long seated pose for the final hour of the session.  Inspiring!

Sketching Trees

Lately, I've been enjoying the warming weather, the sunshine and the songs of bluebirds out in my local state park.  I've found that studying the structure of trees is easiest right now while they are still bare of leaves, and I can really get into bark texture and other details.  

I began the painting above with this sketch in my nature journal.

And, I came back to the same field the next day, and painted this young oak tree, still clinging to her leaves.

Canopy branches can feel confusing and hard to follow at this level of detail. I find that focusing in on the part of the scene that intrigues me yields the best results.  In this case, the main trunk and lower branches:

One thing that painting these scenes has taught me is to simplify my painting, and focus on the larger forms & values in the landscape.  Simplifying the color scheme to just a few colored pencils or pans of paint also helps to create more unity.  As Thoreau said, "Simplify, simplify ..."

 

Osher Figure Drawing with Kathryn

I taught my first class of the Spring semester yesterday, and model Kathryn Zapalo joined us in the studio. It was fabulous to work in person with a model again, and to have Kathryn's bright energy to inspire us all.  My students created beautiful works!  You can see their drawings on the Osher class page of my blog here.

To warm up, we started with simple mass gestures, drawing with the side of our charcoals.

Then we switched gears and created abstract, 5-Line gesture drawings.

And, we finished up with a 15-minute pose, and a 40-minute pose.  

What an uplifting way to spend a Friday morning!

 

Art for Self-Care: Art Journaling

 
I recently began following The Unexpected Gypsy on YouTube and Patreon.  Her willingness to share her art process and to speak authentically about her life & emotions has inspired me, taught me new techniques, and encouraged me to trust my own creative process. As a result, I have created an art journal.  I relish my time listening to music, sipping tea, and playing with colors in my journal.

For the longest time I resisted art journaling, thinking, "I have a nature journal, a gratitude journal, a writing journal, and lots of materials for art-making, why should I add one more journal?"

Here's why: I am free to create anything I want in my art journal.  I don't have to share any of it, and because it is dedicated specifically to uncovering my own true self -- my creativity, my ideas, my dreams, my struggles, and the images my soul needs to express -- new types of art pop out. 

Sometimes it's just quotes that speak to me and give me a starting place to play with designs & materials.  But often, I find that I start with colors and shapes, like this liquid watercolor painting on gesso.

And then other ideas rise up -- here I added white acrylic paint and white gel pen. Each added layer uncovers more within me. I'm learning to trust my intuition as I create.  

Playing is vital to creative development in any art, and this new art journal has become my playground.  

I recommend finding a blank journal or sketch book to turn into your own art journal and creative playground!

Figure Drawing Friday Night with Lady Poser

Model Kathryn Zapalo introduced me to a Toronto, Canada model who works under the name Lady Poser & holds Zoom Open Studio sessions.  I attended her Friday, March 5th session and was impressed with her professionalism, creativity and pose diversity.  

You can see Lady Poser's Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/mynudefigure/   

We began with quick gestures of 1,2, & 3 minutes.  I drew those with a Sharpie on brown craft paper.

I switched to drawing with Conte crayon for the 4-,5-, & 6-minute poses and beyond.

About halfway through, LP changed outfits into a flowy, floral dress and hat.

She finished up with a portrait pose.

I wished I could have been there in person to draw her.  The laptop camera she used didn't capture tonal values very well, and fine detail was limited.  

Aside from the technical limitations, she really put her heart into her work and brought the inspiration!  My thanks to Lady Poser.

Art for Self-Care: Upcycled Fabric Bags

 

I love creating items I can use in my daily life or give away. I had an old zippered bag in my purse that I used to carry first aid items in.  That little bag had worn down to a bedraggled state.  Time to refresh and replace it!  

I dug out some small fabric scraps that had been given to me, and found a vintage thrifted zipper to create the pouch below.  

When I've snipped the last thread end on a small project like this, I feel such a joyful lift to my spirits. "I made that!" I say to myself, and immediately put it to use.  

One of my self-care secrets is to prop my creations where I see them as I walk by, so I can celebrate myself and my creativity.  Every time I reach into my purse now for my lip balm or car keys, I see this gorgeous little zippered bag, and I smile.  

"I made this!" echoes in my head. 

Imagine if we all had these cheering thoughts throughout the day -- that would lift our hearts like springtime sunshine.

The zipper on my old bedraggled bag was still sturdy, so I carefully picked out the stitches and removed it.  I used it to create the pink and yellow bag above, and gave that one away to my oldest kid.  Another smile to think of them putting it to use and feeling loved.

The tiny, purple bag now holds palo santo incense sticks, and will also be given away. I like to have these sorts of little gifts on hand to share. 

I now look at every cast-off piece of clothing in my rag bag with an eye to designing more little bags, wondering, "Where can I steal a zipper from?"

I hope you find time to sew some fabric scraps together to create joy in your life!