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.

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. :)

More Sketching

More sketching going on here in the studio. I need to keep my hand moving. These were my favorites from today's session:







Ignore the hand. It looks
like I ran it through a blender...I know.
Next week...I'll practice hands.

Some Days

Inspired by his neck

Some days you just have to throw your hands up in the air and go out for a drink with a good friend! That is exactly what I did this past Saturday when my week turned into this tumultuous event of highs and lows. Chocolate martinis (and some vanilla ones too) turned out to be the perfect remedy for such an unpredictable week.

Odd and artist is a natural combination so when I walked into the bar (earlier than my friend) all eyes were fixated on me and of course my rhinestone tiara. My friend was recently lamenting how it is never a good time to wear a tiara unless you're getting married or are a fictional princess. Having been very inspired months ago by cousin Angela to wear my tiara often and wear it proudly, most especially when times are tough, we decided that this Saturday was the perfect day to bring out the head bling.

I hate waiting, but have learned to come prepared with a sketchbook for such times. Sitting in a bar alone as a woman is never a comfortable situation, but add a sparkly tiara to the mix and you have a delicious recipe for being super uncomfy! So, out came the sketchbook (which always raises my comfort level) and down went some fairly decent drawings....that is, until the first martini hit my lips. I could have sworn I drew more but I think they got lost between martinis, laughter and song.

More Sketching

I'm not quite sure where I'm going with all of this, but it feels right and my soul feels happy. So onward I sketch. What is pretty cool is that these are just snippets of characters roaming about in a town that is unfolding in my brain. It unfolds like a movie. Slow at first then it speeds up and I have to visually grab the characters and pull them on the side, study them and flesh them out on paper. Once the movie starts rolling I just have to run, grab paper and start sketching. I'm on a most exciting journey.

More sketching...










I must confess that this guy is my favorite from this sketching session. There is just something so endearing about his will to go on despite his physical deformity. Perhaps he just reminds me of my little gal Nala who I know I must put down. The time has come. Her tumor grew....there is nothing more to do I'm afraid. Even in her awful state she continues to inspire. It's time though and I've grown selfish with her. Perhaps that too is why I Iove this sketch. In a weird way it immortalized her willing spirit one last time before saying goodbye.