Author Archives: Jeff

Violin

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I think this is the first pastel painting that I am actually pretty happy with. There are certainly some things I could do better; but I am fairly satisfied. The image is from the photo reference library at wetcanvas.com.

I started this one a little different from my previous efforts: I did the initial drawing with black pastel and laid in the values, then went over the black & white rendering with an alcohol wash. This did a good job of keeping me focused on laying in the correct values and forced me lose an edge or two.

Soon-to-be Mimosa

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I’ve been struggling to get muted colors from my soft pastels.  I asked for advice over at wetcanvas.com and was told that I should try some harder pastels.  Good news that I got some NuPastels for Christmas, so I could try this out.

I’m fairly pleased with how easily these colors blend, but I have a long way to go figuring out what works best in each situation.

This piece is only 6×6 inches, and even with the harder pastels, it was still tricky to get a nice sharp edge on sanded paper.  More work to do there, too.

One last note: this painting was done from life (a departure from my earlier pastels which were done from photographs).  I built a shadow box this weekend from black foam core, and lit the setup with a small clip-on lamp and a daylight bulb.

 

Coffee Cup and Eggs

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This is what happens when you just start painting without doing the drawing first.  Kind of a mess.  But my point on this one was to see if I can create some muted colors with my pastels.  I didn’t do so well.

I’m a bit depressed about the intensity of the colors in my paintings. I really want to get some nice lively grays, but I am really struggling. I’m beginning to see why some pastel manufacturers sell nearly a thousand different colors. This might get expensive if I don’t get it figured out soon.  Either that, or I may have to find a new medium.

In the meantime, I’m going to go make some color swatches. Yuck.

 

Sunday Morning Pears

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Drawn from life on Canson Mi-Tientes, 12×16 in.

I’m still trying to get a handle on these soft pastels.  The tooth of the Mi-Tientes paper fills up fast, but a bit of SpectraFix fixative opens things up a bit.  Unfortunately, the pump spray bottle has a tendency to splatter a bit.

Grain Mill (attempt #2)

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I tried painting this last week with pastels, and it was a disaster. I could not get the shadows dark enough, so I put it away frustrated. This one (done in watercolor) is better, but I’m still not thrilled with it.  I just can’t seem to make darks that don’t turn out muddy and overworked.

Still Life – Crocks and Fruit

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Painted from a photo reference found on WetCanvas.com.  I’m really happy with the darks on this one.  Vandyke brown and Phthalo blue do a nice job of making something close to black.  I’m less happy with some of the shadow colors; they’re a bit intense and could probably stand a little toning-down.  I think this would also help the color of the fruit pop a little more.

This is my first painting on Ingres paper.  I was skeptical when I started, because it is similar in texture to Sennelier that was basically junk.  To my surprise, it took multiple layers of pastel fairly well and and even held up to an alcohol wash.

I’m still struggling with reds, but of all the problems I see with this painting (including a fairly fundamental flaw in perspective), the apples are the least of my concerns.

Autumn Fruit

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I have no idea what kind of fruit this is; just something my wife snapped while on a morning trip to Morton Arboretum last year.  I was looking for something with simple shapes so I could focus on mostly on my approach to color, and this seemed to fit the bill.

What I learned is, I have a lot to learn.

Specifically, I need to figure out how to get darker darks and lighter lights from my pastels.

Portland Headlight

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As most of you have figured out by now, I’ve been avoiding color work; at a certain point though, you have to face your fears.

While on vacation in Maine, I noticed a proliferation of pastel paintings.  I was inspired to buy a small set and give them a try. These things are amazing.  Dry media, that blends like and looks like oil paint.  They can even be erased with a plain old plastic eraser!  It took a few tries to find a decent paper to use with these, though.  I landed on something that resembles fine-grade sandpaper.

Anywho… This painting was really just to try out the pastels and see what they can do.  I wasn’t too concerned with getting the proportions just right or about making a realistic image.  Also note that the image above is a bit more red than the actual painting due to the fact that I shot the pic with my phone under the dining room lights.

 

You Say You Want a Revolution

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Last year at the Holland Tulip Festival in Holland, MI, one of the larger windmill attractions recreated a revolutionary war camp.  This is a recreation of a photo taken of one of the recreators.  He came over a hill looking exhausted — though it was probably from posing for hundreds of pictures rather than fighting hoards of redcoats.

I drew this in charcoal on 18×24 paper as part of a one hour (or so) demonstration to my nephew who has an interest in art (Skype is a wonderful thing!).  Lots and lots of problems with it, but I’m not terribly upset with it considering the speed with which it was drawn.

 

Tiny Dancer

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I’m not happy about the amount of time I’ve spent in 2010 doing everything except making “art”.  I went to the art institute today looking for a little inspiration.  Amazing how quickly you can lose a few hours in a place like that.  This is a sketch of a small sculpture I saw while I was there.  I didn’t get her name (apologies to the original artist), but I liked the way she looked.

Self Portrait

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My first attempt at a portrait.  Made my nose too long, and didn’t capture the look of the bandanna correctly.  It’s been about 3 weeks since my last serious attempt at drawing anything, so I’ll cut myself a little slack for not remembering to check my measurements against more than one reference point.

Figure Drawing Class

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I haven’t posted here in a long while.  But that doesn’t mean I’ve stopped drawing (although I have not been drawing as much as I would like).  I’ve been taking a figure drawing class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

I’ve been hesitant to post these drawings.   I have a number of nieces and nephews whose parents might object to them seeing drawings containing nudity.  I also have several colleagues who have been known to check out my drawings while at work; where viewing pictures of nekkid people is usually frowned-upon.

So rather than my normal posting policy of one post per drawing, I am including several drawings in this one post.

Before you click the link to read the entire post, be warned: The following images contain artistic nudity.  If you are offended by depictions the unclothed human body, do not click the link.  If you are under the age of 18, get your parents’ permission before clicking the link.  If you are at work and there is even the remotest chance that someone in your office will accuse you being a pervert, wait until you get home to click the link.

You have been warned.

OK.  Now that we’ve gotten THAT out of the way, here are the rest of my drawings from class so far:

Donovan McNabb

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Another athlete courtesy of Sports Illustrated.  In this case, Donovan McNabb doing what he does best: scramble out of trouble.

This sketch started out as just a study of his arm and hand, but I thought I needed to give the disembodied arm a little bit of context; so I sketched out the rest of his body.  Maybe if I do enough drawings of individual parts, I’ll be able to put them together into a cohesive whole someday.  This method was good enough for students during The Renaissance; it should work for me.  Right?

Roger Federer

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federerIn keeping with my goal to draw more people, I decided to draw this pic of Roger Federer from a recent Sports Illustrated.  This was my 2nd sketch, and the one I am happiest with.

This is what the rest of the page looks like:

federer-sketches

Pouring Water Into A Glass

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glass-sketchSketched from a photo on Stock.xchange.  The drawing is out of proportion and crooked, which I attribute to the couple of glasses of wine I drank before pulling out my sketchbook; but if you squint and look away quickly, it might fool your eye just a little.

Oh well, learn from your mistakes and move on, right?

Goodbye, 2009

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trainJust a quickie sketch of the train under our Christmas tree.  In another couple of days it’ll be gone until next year.

My preliminary goals for 2010 are:

  1. Draw more.  In 2009, I only managed to draw a couple times per week — maybe not even that if you average it out.  I firmly believe that getting better at drawing and painting is largely a matter of practice; so if I want to get better, there is no way around this.
  2. Draw more people.  I have steadfastly avoided drawing people as much as I could.  At some point, though, you realize that drawing people well is something you need to learn to do.  2010 is the year I start down that road.
  3. Rely less on line, and more on areas of tone/color.  I have a tendency to outline everything, then fill in the areas like a coloring book.  Sometimes, this is a nice effect; but I rely on it too often.  Time to change my approach.
  4. Do some finished pieces.  So far, my portfolio is almost entirely comprised of drawings and paintings in my sketchbooks.  Time to do something worthy of hanging on the wall (or at least, on the fridge).

Well, goodbye 2009.  You were a good year (artistically speaking).  I feel like I did get a little bit better, and I had a heck of a good time.  I can’t wait to see what your baby brother brings.