watercolour woman

A watercolour portrait after a long time! I did it from a TV grab.This lady might be a TV actress , I dont know...just liked her face hidden half in shadows as she stands in her kitchen.I did it in two sittings, using layers, unlike my previous portraits which I finish in one go.Striving to get more control.
Watercolour, A4 size cold pressed paper.

Charcoal Portrait on a whim

A Portrait of my son in charcoal...I did this to experiment some more with charcoal.It has been a dull and rainy day outside...so something to cheer myself up!
Usually I use grid  for my pencil portrait but this one was done freehand,without any measurement.
I guess I will be doing more like these, try different paper and see what emerges!
A3 size, willow charcoal on paper

More sketching...Pastel Pencils

Yesterday when I went to the library, I ran into a small but wonderful group of women who love watercolors, and were there to paint together.I joined them and had a great time...they also told me about an art shop which was very close but which I didn't know about!Later I went there to explore and found all the art material I was looking for- from paper to pencils, all under one roof! I bought some pastel paper and Derwent pastel pencils which I had been wanting to do for quite some time.This drawing is the result of that material combined with the book that I got from the library on human anatomy.I have used a light coloured paper and orange, sienna, dark brown and blue pastel pencils along with white conte stick for highlights.
This is more like the work of Derek Jones ...he is very good at these figure drawings.You can see him in my blog roll.I like his style.
Pastel pencil on tinted paper, A4 size

Sketching

Two drawings from my little sketchbook that I carry around.Top one was of a gentleman who was busy reading his papers at the library this morning-as I sat behind him with my own books...(A clothed figure- for a change; as I missed my Monday drawing session this week :))
Second one is a bit older...I did it sitting at a picnic table in our neighbourhood park while the sun was still shining.An elderly couple, enjoying the sun and having their snacks at the bench nearby.Later I used ink pen and brush on the drawing.

Pencil Sketch_A little Girl

This is the first time I have attempted to draw a dark skinned person in pencil.Its sure tough to create dark skin tones and not go overboard! For her hair I have used willow charcoal sticks, which were quite soft and smooth...Cross hatching in the background was later added to emphasis the light falling on her head.Though I must confess I am unsure about the background,Does it look good?What do you think?
Pencil and charcoal on paper
16"x12"

Figure Drawing Session

At yesterday's figure drawing session, my attempt at black paper and chalk failed miserably.Lack of contrast being one reason-- the only light that we had was reflected greyish daylight coming from the big windows coupled with two or three overhead fluorescent lights. Not really dramatic!....I switched to a more versatile medium, my colour pencils.And last two sketches were done in these- about 30 minutes each.

You are right about this being a tough job for these guys who pose for us.This guy is probably new to the job; not really used to it.He has a cute face;looks like' Hagrid' of Harry Potter because of his size and wavy long hair.He does seem a bit shy, keeps shifting, can't hold a pose comfortably for more than 15 minutes.The skinny guy in my last pose was a pro.He gave poses without prompting, sat through them in a very relax manner and even came to each of us, checking our progress - time to time...It takes guts! :)

Figure Drawing at Art Club

Some of the sketches I have been doing in my Figure Drawing sessions.As you can see, model P (plump) was more fun to draw than model S ( skinny).I have been doing these in pencil so far, but in today's session I am taking black craft paper and some colored chalk.I hope the results would be good enough for sharing here.So watch out for this space tomorrow for something new!
Have a good day

Sold _Portrait of Sherry

I am so excited to announce my first sale through this blog!This is a portrait of my blogger friend Sherry  Massey -I did it some months ago- Sherry liked it very much and today she has bought this from me.
Thank you Sherry!