class handouts

I enjoy making these handouts for my classes to help explain specific concepts. The one on the illustrates starting a portrait with the "basic frame" and working the detail over this. The handout on the right discusses a specific feature, the eye:



Also, I was taught the concept of the "basic frame" from my teacher Arthur Wang at Columbus College of Art and Design. He is a great draughtsman and teacher and I took his class for a few years. His website is here.

the singing boy

This is a compositional drawing for a painting I am hoping to do at some point. It will be called "The Singing Boy", a theme I have been wanting to paint for a while. My son is the model:

class sketch

Just a quick demo schematic drawing from class at LAA intending to stress the linear aspect of the composition. I have found that it helps to think in terms of "picture-making" when planning out your painting:

still-life with brandy glass

I decided to try a small colored pencil study before beginning the oil version. It is 5"x5.5". It is the first time I have used the medium since this figure study.




Also, the painter Claudio Bravo died earlier this month, on June 4th. He was one of my favorite artists. I went to his exhibition last fall at Marlborough Gallery in Chelsea. I didn't know that it would be his last show. Check out his website: www.claudiobravo.com

two new still-life sketches

This is a still-life pencil drawing I am finishing at the LAA studio:


And this is a compositional drawing for a still-life painting I am working on in my studio. It is a little bit trickier in that the final painting will be 16"w x 14"h. However, I drew it somewhat smaller, at 15"w. But I found that this website helped a lot, as I was able to type in the drawing's width (15"), along with the reproduction height and width (16"x14"), and it gave me the missing height of 13.125" to use on my drawing. It also gave me the enlargement percentage of 106.6% to use in my transfer:

sketch of baby jack

a quick drawing of baby jack, done while he was asleep in his car seat, in pen and crayon...

florence drawings

I went to Florence, Italy for a couple of days to get some inspiration, and to do some sketching. The Uffizi, Pitti Palace, and the Accademia had very long lines stretching around the building so I didn't go to those, but other museums in Florence are virtually empty. Places like:

The Museum of the opera di Santa Maria del Fiore:


The Medici Chapel:


and the Bargello.


I took one day to see the Tuscan countryside, here's a quick sketch:


Also, I recommend highly the hotel I stayed at, the Soggiorno Michelangelo Hotel. It is just north of the Accademia. I was welcomed by Oscar, who runs the establishment, and the accommodations couldn't have been better, or more quiet.