profile handout

This is a handout on drawing profiles. Profiles are one of the first things I learned to draw-and they are a bit easier than most angles, because if you draw the profile line accurately, than you are sure to have a good likeness:

class demos

These are a couple of demos from portrait drawing class. We were dealing mostly with the correct shape of the face, the "basic frame" or "envelope":

These next three are from basic drawing class, dealing with correct shapes, using plaster casts:

drawing on toned paper

Drawing on toned paper is a good idea in life-class because the middle tones are already taken care of. You can go darker with the charcoal and heighten with a white pencil. These are a couple of recent demos from LAA portrait class:




These next three are from a few years ago. The warm paper is Canson "bisque" color. I find that this offers a warm undertone to the cold black charcoal and cold white pencil. I find it is good to not isolate the charcoal from the white, but to let them mix and overlap:

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