Something On His Mind

I took a trip to my college's library today to sketch. I'm really surprised that I got as many good drawings as I did; it was really pretty dead in there for a while. At least three or four different people sat down at my table, right in my line of vision, when there were three other tables empty. I was starting to wonder if they *wanted* me to draw them.

So the library is my new drawing location. With as much spare time as I'm going to have this spring, I should end up with a lot of drawings. I should probably buy a new sketchbook tomorrow. The one I'm using now is almost full.
Anyway, here are some of the sketches I did today:


"Georgia On My Mind"...(literally.)
I did these two drawings separately, and they ended up connecting. I didn't realize until later that it looks like the man has a woman growing out of his head.
But I like it this way.


Most of the people in the library were on computers.


This guy was further away than the others, so I couldn't get a very detailed sketch of him. I like this, though; it reminds me of the quicker sketches I did of people back in high school.


Some quick sketches of the staff that were milling around. The woman on the bottom left was answering the phone.

New Stuff

A couple new sketches:





I should be getting more sketches done now that winter break's over. I'm going to have a lot of time to kill between classes this semester, so I'll probably spend it drawing in the campus center or cafe.

I'm working on a new painting right now, too, but I don't have any pictures to post yet. I'm working all weekend, so I might be able to finish it then.

Update

No new pictures to post today, but I took digitals of all my paintings this morning in the sunshine and updated old posts with the better photographs. So Megan, Margaret, and Tess are all better quality pictures now.

There It Is Again...

... finished this time. Took me exactly 7 days.

New Painting

The third one of Tess. Should be done pretty soon; I have plenty of time to work on it. I just need to finish the hair and then touch up the face and neck. It's 14.5"x14".

Merry Christmas!

Christmas weekend and the cafe was packed. Managed to get a good table and some good sketches, too.

Tess

Tess, 26" x 20"
(This is the first one of Tess.)


Portrait of Tess, 23"x23"
And the second Tess, just finished today.

I also have a third one of the same girl that I started today. I'll post pictures of that once I get some more work done on it. Which should be relatively soon, seeing as I'm finally done with school for the semester.

Margaret

22"x21"

Finally finished. Actually, it's been finished, but I've only just now gotten around to photographing it.

Skull

I still don't have any pictures of paintings to post, so here's another drawing I did in class. Cow skull, I think, but I can't really tell all the different skulls in the room apart. This was from back in October or so. Charcoal on paper, 18"x24".

Bust

Drawing I did in class a couple of weeks ago of a bust of Venus. Charcoal and white conte crayon on green paper, 18" x 24".

Classmates

I brought my sketchbook with me to class today and drew for the first ten minutes before the teacher started his lecture. I should've been doing that all year. Unfortunately, I didn't get much time to sketch.



I also went out to the cafe and drew for a few minutes. It was emptying out by the time I got there, so I really didn't get much done. I ended up taking out my pen and a bottle of ink and making a few nice little sketches. The pen and ink wasn't as noticeable as I thought it would be, but that might be because there was practically nobody in the cafe to notice. Anyway, a brush would be really obvious, so I don't think I'll ever do that.


This little girl was sitting in front of the fireplace drinking her soda.

Ink

I haven't been able to paint much lately because of school and work and it's been driving me nuts. So I sat down and did a pen and ink of a drawing from my sketchbook.


It would be nice to find some place to do pen and inks of people from life, but that would be way too attention-grabbing. I think I'd end up with a lot of people either looking over my shoulder or running the other way.

The drawing is brown and black ink on vellum bristol board.

Goat

I took an oil painting class at my community college last semester. I didn't get much out of it, other than a new appreciation for just how hard oils are. Four months of that class was even to convince me that oils aren't my calling. They're alright, I just don't like them as well as watercolor. I think I would have liked them more if I had been experimenting with them on my own. I hated them during class hours and when I was rushing to get the minimum number of paintings done (which was most of the time), but when I came into the room early enough to be the only one there, it was kind of nice. I managed to have a little bit of fun on the final just because I had to come in early and stay late to work on it every day.


All that backstory just to say this is an 8"x10" I did of a grisly sort of goat head that was (and is) floating around the art lab. The goat was missing a nose--the mice chewed through it. I think it's the nicest thing I did during the class, apart from the two nudes that I never finished and the cow skull that got into the student show. I'd post a picture of that cow skull too, but it's missing somewhere... I think I forgot to pick it up after the student show. The oil painting teacher probably has it stashed away in his office somewhere.

Grandmother

Still don't have any pictures of my new painting (which is now finished). Now I'm working on a second one of the same girl. So until I get more pictures taken, here's another sketch. Sort of recent. I think I did it about two or three weeks ago. My drawing professor loves it.

Guy

I started a new painting Friday and got a major amount of work done on it over the weekend, but I don't have any pictures of it yet. In the meantime, here's an old sketch.

Baby Studies

I hit the jackpot today--dozens of little children running around for me to draw. Glad I went.


A little blond girl that was running around asking everyone what their name was. At least that's what it sounded like she as saying.


A little girl that was standing outside with her mama.


A really beautiful, happy baby at a table near me. The only time she frowned was when she dropped her teething ring.

Businessman

I had some free time last Wednesday afternoon, so I got the chance to hang around the cafe and draw. Here's a businessman I sketched.

Margaret Again

Got a good amount of work done on this over the past few days.

Margaret

Between yesterday and today, I got a good amount of work done on Margaret. I really hated to quit this afternoon, but I have other things to do (sadly).

November Show

Portrait of Katie (2" x 3")

Katie, Deep In Thought (3" x 4")

My two miniature Katies were juried into this month's all media show at the Art League. You can see them on the wall in the Art League's gallery inside the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

105 N Union Street
Alexandria VA 22314

http://www.theartleague.org/