The Forgotten Passing

With all the news coverage surrounding the tragic death of Robin Williams, I feel the passing of Lauren Bacall was overlooked. Here's my homage to a great siren of the silver screen.

Lauren Bacall

charcoal on toned paper

16.5 x 21

Rocky Horror Picture Show

Rocky Horror Picture Show tribute

charcoal and pastel on canson paper

10x12

Lately, I've been watching so many artists on you tube and facebook who can draw amazing, tiny drawings (think baseball card size) on a completely flat surface, and I've been trying to force myself to work that way.

This piece was drawn at a slanted easel on my desk. I have a tendency to be very tight whenever I work any place other than my big standing easel, though I know from having it drummed into my head repeatedly in figure drawing class that you need to have free range of motion when you're drawing. My pencil grip is completely different when I work at my desk, and inevitably, something on the drawing is off. This piece was no exception. More than 24 hours after finishing, I noticed the left eye is higher and larger than the right. It's not a huge difference, barely noticeable actually, but it was driving me crazy, so I corrected it in Photoshop, and increased the contrast slightly.

I have come to the realization that comparing yourselves to others is generally a waste of time. My method is my method, and I'm going to honor it, even if that means squeezing my giant easel into the teeny tiny corner of my apartment that has been converted into my "studio!

Shaking off the Rust

Slowly but surely, my drawing chops are returning.

 

Lawrence of Arabia

charcoal pencils on toned paper

14x16

moving in a new direction

It's been a very long time since I last posted to this blog. While I was away, I was busy doing some commission work, as well as just dealing with the rigors of my 9-5 job.

Now, I've reached a point where I am feeling the call to do more figurative work, with (hopefully) a healthy dose of fantasy thrown in the mix. Inspiration for this new move (which is actually more of a return to my old art desires) has come from many different directions (Jeff Lafferty, Miles Johnston, Annie Stegg, etc), and I have jumped in with both feet.

At this moment, I am in the beginning stages of several different projects, including a personal tarot deck, a long and complicated graphic novel, and a commission piece for a friend.

Unfortunately I have become incredibly rusty. My sketchbook is loaded with horrible drawings that look nothing like the person they are meant to portray.

After getting past my initial panic, I decided to just keep going. That the only way to knock off the rust was to get back on the horse and keep riding. So, that's what I've been diligently working on for the past several weeks. I finally produced a drawing I liked. This is Saladin from one of my favorite movies "The Kingdom of Heaven".

pencil on vellum

I'll likely be posting more movie/fan art drawings as I continue to work on getting better and faster with figurative drawing.