Live Sketching...Before Christmas Eve

The day was spent doing nothing. I forced myself to just sit and do nothing. I have to be honest, it was a most difficult task for me. By 5PM I was going stir crazy and thoughts of sketching people filled my brain. By 6PM I was preparing my little sketching knapsack for adventure. By 7PM I was out the door and headed out to sketch. I put a call out hoping my cousins or friends might be hanging at some bars. I would have dropped by because I need a new place to sketch, but it is a very busy time of year and no one really responded so just the knapsack and I headed for the casino and to the old standby Tommyboy's Bar and Grill.

I had a bit of a breakthrough drawing wise last night. I was able to draw men easier. I don't know why it was so, but it was and I ran with it. I normally shy away from drawing men because women just come easier. Perhaps its because I can relate to the body structure of a woman better and it just comes natural. I don't know all I know is I loved that so many men were sporting facial hair. It was really fun to capture on paper with the Prismacolor pencil.

Here are the best drawings from last night.

Twenty Some Odd Days

Lynn Fraley Draft stallion
being painted a bay roan.

It's been twenty some odd days since I updated the blog. Most of this time has been spent on commissions and on turning parts of the new home I've been ignoring into a "house". A place where we can feel warm and cozy and where brand new memories can really and truly take hold. Up until this point I was just unpacking.

The town of Nanticoke, PA.
Sept 2011 flood.

The town of Nanticoke, PA.
Sept 2011 flood.

This urning to make my home truly warm and inviting came about after our valley got flooded. The flooding made National news. Seeing parts the town slowly getting enveloped in water was strange. Walking to the edge of the water and seeing people's belongings already ruined by flood waters that, in low lying areas already reached the tip of the ceilings on the first floor by the second day of flooding, made me thankful for living on a hill and thankful for all that I have received. It was time to stop procrastinating and complaining about all the work I had to do in the house because thankfully I didn't have to muck out and rebuild my home. I just had to paint it.

Such work though does take time and the time slot it ripped into was blogging time. But commissions come in, commissions go out. Many commission requests this time around have been for the color roan. Bay roan and blue roan have been the most popular colors requested and thankfully I love painting them. Laying hair down one spec at a time is rather meditative. Of course, after a month of roan work I am now craving to paint a plain ol' chestnut/sorrel. So if you have that color in mind for a stablemate sized piece let me know. You've got a spot on the commission books!

Well, the roans are calling me!

A desk full of roans and
a dappled rose grey in the mix.

SM sized mare
dappled rose grey
Will be a sales item soon.

"Winter" plate from the
"Four Seasons" illustration project.

More Bar Sketching

Last night proved to be another successful live sketching night at Tommyboy's Bar & Grill. Perhaps it was the company of my very best friend Abbigail whom I've known since my first week of college that made drawing so easy. Perhaps it was the wings? I have been craving them for several weeks now. Perhaps it was the creative vibe that permeated through the room from Three Imaginary Boys...Abbi and her husband John's nephews. They played their hearts out and their drive was infectious.

I stayed out much later than I ever anticipated and got a TON of great sketches. My sketching was on which made up for all the disasters that happened in the studio earlier in the day, including spilling an entire jar of linseed oil everywhere on my desk and carpet in the office. Thankfully I've learned to leave serious artwork alone when I get clumsy.

Well, here are the best sketches from the night:

He was so serious.
Must have had a bad day?

Loved his head and neck.

There was a theme that kept repeating itself during this session and that was skulls. I had to really concentrate on skulls in order to get the drawings correct for both balding men and for those wearing hats. It all started with this guy who was bald. His head had a great shape to it and he was thin so the neck was all muscle which meant I couldn't flub anything. I had to draw this guy spot on. In an instance like this you have to visualize the skeleton underneath the skin. I think I captured the shape well. This is my second favorite drawing from the night.

She had the cutest pigtails

A hat with glasses proved
to be a challenge.

A different type of forehead

Bouncy!


I couldn't resist drawing her. Her bra was too tight and her camisole too small which caused an interesting effect in her chest to draw. It was line upon curve, upon line. She moved too much though and was way too bouncy to keep up with. I stopped struggling to capture the line when she asked the female bartender to pop a Beef Jerky down her cleavage. Sorta took the fine art aspect out of it and I couldn't help but wonder if the female bartender got tipped well when all was said and done.

Loved the tuft. Had to draw it

She was GREAT to draw.
Completely Reubenesque.
She left too soon.

My favorite drawing
of the night. She was so graceful

Awww...my cowboy!!
This was by FAR the most difficult
person to draw. That HAT...so hard to draw!!!

Hard to capture him.
Im still undecided about whether
this was a success.

Farrah is alive and well
in Nanticoke!

And last but not least, the best body to draw in the entire place last night belonged to this girl:

Full drawing


She had beautiful form and a gracefulness that I couldn't ignore. I believe I captured her dead on. She was such a pleasure to draw. Everyone was a pleasure to draw. Thank you. :)

Bar Sketching

Big hair, up high. Loved that
her cheeks and neck became one.

So what does an artist do on a Friday night when there is no one around and her son is partying in Brooklyn? (Yes, he was at a sleep over party having a tremendous time with his cousins). We gather pencils, pens and other drawing items and hit crowded places to sketch people. The fact that I wanted a cold beer prompted my trip to the local bar.

Last night I was very interested in people's faces and capturing their features. We all have two eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears and etc., but the combination of how these elements are placed together vary greatly which make up an individual. Capturing that in live time with people moving and watching and wondering (and getting drunk) can be difficult, but very fun. Here are some of the better sketches from last night at the bar.


Tommyboy's, Nanticoke PA

Shape of his neck
was fun to draw.

Her hair and eye lashes
intrigued me and I had to draw her.

Sometimes when people
shift positions in a chair
it creates interesting lines.

Bar view.
Way too much change/movement so I
quickly bagged this idea and centered in
on just capturing faces.

He knew something was up.
He wasn't pleased and kept an eye on me.

Yeah, people sometimes get pissed about being drawn. I've never understood that, but an angry person is something I have to contend with from time to time. This guy was quickly sketched and I avoided making any more eye contact with him. Overall the bar was a very pleasant one to sketch in and no one really bothered me. A few were curious and sent a designated person over to ask what I was doing. News quickly spread throughout the bar. That happens too.

Arms crossed was
difficult to capture.

Guy with the big gold chain
knew something was up too.
He kept a close watch.

Loved how elongated his
face was. The goatee accentuated the features

Yeah, papa had a
rockin' neck!

And, that was that. I'm currently searching out for another bar to sketch in maybe next week. A bar is good since people move in and out of view, but stay long enough to be captured on paper. This was just way too fun not to do again.