Overdid It

One figure is hard enough to draw, but I went nuts and tried four at once. Three and a half if you are counting full figures. This is based on a photo at a news site, and I wanted to see if I could capture the movement of the figures. Close enough.

To make things more complicated, I decided to use my Niji waterbrush and burnt umber watercolor for a wash. I have only fiddled with the waterbrush before, and I have done only a few single-color washes. Close enough.

Pastel #22

Always a glutton for punishment, I have done another Pastel Strokes Challenge from Wetcanvas. We were given a selection of black-and-white photos from which to choose. The color choices are mine. Next time I will choose something with less detail.

8"x10", Canson Mi-Tientes.

People Practice 14

This one is so small that I barely had room for facial features. Just as well since it is from a small photo. Getting the body proportions correct kept me busy.

The motorcycle was fully loaded with tons of goodies attached everywhere. It was almost a car. I was the assistant photographer at a motorcycle meet, and the loaded motorcycles were amazing, though they were stripped for the various challenges.

From my photo album.

People Practice 13

I have been delinquent in practicing drawing. Maybe I'll keep it up for awhile; then wander away again.

This one is very similar to the original photo.

From my photo album

People Practice 12

This one is difficult because of the angle, the flash, and my drawing skills. One day I will get it right.

From my photo album.

People Practice 11

Gotta' practice drawing more! If I spend too much time on one drawing, I need to remember to break away and draw something faster so I can practice more.

From my photo album. (He's reading.)

People Practice 10

Time to get back to drawing. Since I pulled out my oils, I've been reading and reading about painting with oils. No practice. I had done this before, but I never got to the point of remembering the color names much less remembering how to mix colors, though the process made sense. Doing watercolors since then has made a huge difference in my color knowledge.

I've also been sidetracked by reading about and comparing pochade boxes. They are interesting, though I have no use for one. After years of lugging around two, heavy camera bags loaded with two Hasselblad cameras and various, hefty lenses, my days of lugging are over. A sketchbook, tiny watercolor paint box, and a Niji waterbrush seem perfect for me.

My Sad History with Learning Oil Painting

Near the end of 2006 I learned about water-soluble oil paints and decided to give them a try. I quickly discovered how little I knew about paints and mixing the colors. Numerous times I had to find my notes on mixing browns and greys. How hard can that be?!!



Above is my first try with oils. It's unfinished because after all my work with the browns and greys, I realized I didn't have a clue about doing the kittens' fur properly and mixing good whites and creams. I gave up.

Near the end of my attempt with the kittens, I cleverly decided to try a portrait.



This is as far as I went. My first realization was that I had forgotten how to draw eyes and that painting them would be even worse.

So, off I went to work on drawing. Watercolors were also part of my education only because I had tried them once before and I had a stash of old watercolors, brushes, and paper.

With the watercolors I became familiar with the color names, attributes, and mixing. Huge learning curve! There's so much more to learn, and my watercolor skills need a lot of work.

Although I'm still working on drawing and watercolors, I decided to pull out the water-soluble oils again.


I know this is bad, but the paint is on the canvas (canvas paper! *lol* the others are on stretched canvases), and it has a bunch of mixed colors that I could not have done before. No pre-planning for this one -- I drew an apple and everything else just happened. Now I'm comfortable enough with colors to pull out the oils occasionally for a bit of practice.

The photo of the apple is not sharp, but after 15 shots I gave up. The auto-focus did not like the fresh oil, and my eyes are not good enough for manually focusing a digital camera.

EDM #153 - Draw Something in a Plastic Wrapper

Ever curious about how long you could breathe with a plastic bag over your head? This guy was. He sat back in his chair and enjoyed the view through his office window as he tested his bag.

To his dismay and later everyone's glee, the company chairman stopped by to discuss a client project. Wonderful timing!

People Practice 09

The eyes are wrong. Maybe I'll get her right next time.

From my photo album.

EDM #151 - Free Choice

Choice: which balloon? I read a study years ago that stated most children are attracted to red over other colors.

My hand was unsteady while doing the faces. I need to do larger faces so the unsteady lines are not so obvious.

EDM #149 - Draw a Broom

Ever suddenly feel the urge to dance? No partner? Use a broom!

People Practice 08

Looks very much like the original photograph. I knew when I started the inked shading for the cheek bone that it was a bad move, but it's part of learning. I am encouraged with getting such close similarities with some of the faces, and everything else will come with practice.

From my photo album.

People Practice 07

Since my attention span can be measured in seconds, mixing flesh colors is a problem. This is the first time to use cadmiums instead of transparent colors for flesh colors. The exercise was nonsense in a way since it's on cream-colored paper that I do not like. At least it's practice.

The sketch is similar but not close enough to the original photograph that is a low-key, black-and-white photo of a young woman with strong, beautiful features. From my photo album.

People Practice 06

Hmmm ... there is just a tad of a similarity to the original photo, though the expression is very close. I might be able to get it right if I ever try it again.

The wavy shadows on the left are from scanning my "people practice" sketchbook that I've already stated that I don't like. It's a Hand-Book, and I know many people like the sketchbook, but I don't. It's fine in size for practicing people sketches, but I don't care for the paper, and the pages seldom open flat (reason for wavy shadows). The good thing is that it's nice to have a sketchbook just for practicing sketching people. Once I'm satisfied with my results, I can move on to nicer paper. *lol*

From my photo album.

People Practice 05

Bingo! Another one that looks similar to the original.

This little girl was apprehensive about the stranger taking her picture, so I only took one. Her mother and I then told her how wonderful she was to do the pose as I backed away and her mother held her.

From my photo album.

People Practice 04

This one will be tried again. It's actually similar to the original photo, but work needs to be done on the correct head tilt. At least I'm getting better about making faces long enough. I tend to compress faces vertically. Yeah. I know. Practice.

From my photo album.

Doodles 01 and 02

I haven't been able to focus lately, so I decided to see if I could make up simple body images and have them look reasonable in proportion and placement. By the second page, I gave up on reasonable.

People Practice 03

This is from a high-key, black and white photo, so some lines were lost to white on white. It is similar to the original, and I'm happy with that.

From my photo album.

People Practice 02

Three more. They look amazingly similar to the original photographs.

From my photo album.