Drawn to drawing

Back at Susan Kester’s Thursday morning drawing class. Working with pastels and a selection of vegetation. Not my usual subject, but I suppose, what is.

Back at Brewery Arts life class

I skipped one term of life classes as I was fed up with how few models we had. Back for a new session and very pleased we had a new model, who was very good. She had modelled for sculptors before, so was very good at keeping still. Standing poses, which is rare. I have an idea for a painting which needs a standing figure. Working in graphite first, then willow and compressed charcoal

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Susan Kester drawing class

E were working in charcoal this week. Rubbing it in to blacken the paper, drawing into that with a rubber to create the basic shapes and finally adding some white chalk for highlights. Drawing eggs and stripes…

Drawing birds?

In amongst work on my boats, I’ve managed to do some drawing today. I went to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust at Slimbridge, which is just down the road from us, and had a go at painting some of the birds from life. Not brilliant, but it’s a start. I shall go back over the winter to see the migrants.

In the evening, I went to the Stroud Life Drawing drop in session for the first time in a long time. We had a lovely model, which made a nice contrast to the middle aged men that I seem to have been drawing in life classes for years. I used pencil to try a tonal drawing, which is not usual for me. Worked quite well and was fun to do.

Autumn drawing class

Start of a new session with Susan Kester. Looking at negative space and basic pencil rendering. I was late, so couldn’t complete a whole drawing in the time.

More birds, in New York

Catching up still on art projects. after St Abbs Head, we spent two weeks in New York State, with one week in the beautiful Catskill Mountains. I didn’t paint any birds directly, they flitted about too quickly. But I did paint four that I saw flying around the house in Woodstock, even though I copied the pictures from a guide book. I feel the world is a better place for having a bird in it called the yellow bellied sap sucker.

 

Painting birds at St Abbs Head with Darren Woodhead

I’m getting very behind with this blog. In early July I spent four days at St Abbs Head on a sea bird painting course, lead by Darren Woodhead, a superb wildlife artist. Despite being coastal Scotland, the weather was superb, with scorching sun each day. I’ve never painted birds direct from life before, peering at them through a telescope, so I was pleased with the outcome. Most people produced one, or maybe two paintings a day. I produced 14 overall, in three days! I’m planning to go on a week’s course with Darren next June, out on the Bass Rock. I doubt the weather will be so kind again, but who knows.