self portrait II

Yesterday we did another self portrait (No, I didn't get a haircut. My hair was up in a clip).

This time we used the reductive process. Using an x-acto knife or scissors, we scraped charcoal onto the surface of the paper and spread it around with a cloth. Then, we used an eraser to create the highlighted areas of our face and went back in with charcoal for the shadows and white conte crayon to add back the brightest highlights. It's harder to get as much detail this way, but I really enjoyed the process.

The bottom right grayish area is what the charcoal first looks like when you spread it on. I really like the eraser marks all around the outline of my head. It looks like an etching. Well, I guess it is etching in a way.

self portrait

No, this is definitely not the skeleton picture I was supposed to post Friday. That crappy cell phone picture really came out bad, so you'll just have to look at my crappy cell phone picture of a self portrait for now.

Those of you that don't know me will just have to trust me when I say that everyone in class said it looks just like me. And it's probably pretty fitting for Halloween right now with that scary look on my face. ;)

Skeletal

Here is my attempt at drawing a Skeleton. It was not fun at all. Too complicated trying to get every bone in the right place. But then, I bet if I didn't try so hard, it wouldn't even matter. Would it?

No Bones About It

We had to draw this young lady last night. I will post my feeble attempt later tonight.

If anyone noticed, I haven't posted a drawing in a while. The last few classes were all about 1 point and 2 point perspective, vanishing points, horizon lines, etc. Pretty cool stuff that I remember from 20 years ago. It is relatively easy stuff. Then, Tuesday night we had to draw several boxes on a table. Of course, you can't use the perspective you learned, because your vanishing points would be way off the page, so you basically have to wing it. Who knew drawing boxes would be so difficult? You draw a bottle and no one really notices right away if it's off a little, but with a box, it's instantly apparent when something's not right. It was a frustrating night.  At least it was for me. So far that was my least favorite day in class.

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Foo's random curiosities: Why is it that we call it Northern Virginia and they call it Upstate New York? Upstate Virginia? Northern New York? Doesn't sound right, does it?

Back To School: Charcoal Still Life

Today's drawing:

pencil on drawing paper (click on image for larger view)

Class Critique

Back for more Drawing class.

I really would like to take a picture of everyone's individual work. I love the point in class, after about 2 hours of drawing, that we put them all together for a critique.  It's pretty amazing to see things from everyone elses perspective.

Teacher said my objects are slightly leaning to one side. Also, she said the draping was really nice on the lower left and then she said, "As I walk up to it, I lose it." Meaning, everything falls apart? It stinks? Who knows. I figure I'm more impressionistic in my attack. Meaning, it's a mess up close, but if you stand back? Not too bad. And if you take a cell phone picture? Even better. I have no idea why my coffee cup is so much taller than the real one, though. hm. Teacher didn't even mention that.

charcoal/white conte crayon on drawing paper

*click on pictures for larger views

More Drapery

We were "drawing the drapes" again last night. (No Mom, this is not a t-shirt.)

I was not feeling it this time either, but I try not to think about it too much anymore and just jump right in and get busy. I must say, it actually looks pretty good in a cell phone picture. It's a nice little mess in real life, though. There is one young lady in my class who's style I love and she is so hard on herself; the sign of a great talent if you ask me. It's usually the ones that think they are good, who in reality suck. ha.

charcoal/white conte crayon on drawing paper

It's Swing Time

I had to post about my evening with Mom & Dad. Great weather and great music (Mom & Dad's era).

Yes, I was sans camera but did have my cell phone.

Riverwalk at Yorktown, Virginia

Glen Boswick Sounds of Swing Orchestra were fantastic.

Mom & Dad gettin' their groove on. (Center couple, white shirt & coral shirt)

Um. Is it bad that I really love this last cell phone picture? I don't think I could have done much better with a real camera. I love the moody water color effect.

While I was watching my parents and all the other "golden" couples dancing their jitter bugs and cha cha's to the music of their era, I just had to wonder about something...

What kind of dances are couples of my generation (80's child) going to do when we are in our golden years? Bump and grind? Head banging? Moshing? Well, that would all look pretty silly, wouldn't it? Plus, we'd put our backs out at the first pelvic thrust, get dizzy and fall over trying to head bang, and think of the broken hips from moshing!

We sure didn't learn any dances that we could carry over with us into our twilight years. It really seems that true partner dancing flew out the window in the late 80's/early 90's. You either gyrated (I would say "hump" but my parents read my blog. Hi Mom & Dad!) all up and down your partner, thrashed about in your own little bubble or tried your best to knock everyone else to the ground and make them bleed.

The couple was nevermore.

Where are the steps you have to learn? Where is the (RIP Patrick Swayze) "Lock your frame"? Makes me wish I grew up back in the days of swing dancing. Shoot, I'd even take disco!

Ah well, I'll just have to find myself a man who is willing to put on his dancing shoes and cut a rug with me.

Draw the drapes Amelia Bedilia!

For those that need an Amelia Bedelia refresher, she's the "literal-minded housekeeper".

I was not feeling this assignment when we began tonight, but once I stepped back from the drawing (2 solid hours later), it actually looked pretty good. This drawing was with pencil. We get to draw it with charcoal next class. Man that stuff is messy. One girl in my class said she wraps her charcoal up with a piece of cloth. No way I could do that. But then, she has a light touch...unlike me.

Feels good to be creative.

I'm a student again. This time it's for real. I've taken a course here and there in the past couple of years after receiving an associates degree in Commercial Art in ninetee-{cough,mumble,cough}-inety three, but now it's with the intention of boosting my not so great GPA. I have hopes of (dreams of) going to a university. What do I want to take there? My mind goes from one subject to the next. Film, fine arts, theatre, computer arts. I can't decide. I'm just going to take classes that I love (and those that I need, i.e. the speech class) and have faith that one thing will lead to another and a path will open up before me. 

I'd like to share what I'm learning (and loving) in Drawing class. It feels really good to be creative again and to realize how much more fun it is to draw now than the first time around. Now, I am not so uptight about the fact that I'm not perfect at it. I'm just doing my best, which, I must say, is better than I thought I was capable.

What I've been doing

a little joy every Tues and Thurs night.

update: Here is the drawing with more detail to see the cross hatching.