Day 49

Jolly ol' St. Nick, by Jolly Ol' St. Rockwell...

Day 48

The drawings for the day. Today was a really inspiring day. I just couldn't quit drawing! Today was very relaxing and I was able to just sit and draw (and watch episodes of 30 Rock). These are all Normal Rockwell studies. I'm beginning to think more and more like this guy. His lighting makes more sense, his gestures as well as his composition are making more sense. I will continue to do more studies of his work until I really feel like I understand it fully. Until then, he are 5 new drawings!

Day 47

I really had fun drawing this one. What a great image! This guy's face is so funny. The graphite just flowed on this one. A fairly detailed drawing in about 25 minutes with pretty much no mistakes. I really feel like I'm beginning to think like Norman Rockwell...

Day 46

Here's another Norman Rockwell. He is an expert with reactions. All of his paintings focus on the response of each subject. He slightly exaggerates the expression which really sells the image. I read that when he was interviewing each model he would ask how high they could raise their eyebrows. When they showed him how high, he wold insist they raise them even higher. When his photographer would take their photos, Rockwell would jump up and down yelling screaming to get the most extreme expression from the model. Once he got the look he wanted, he would stop jumping up and screaming and quietly leave the room without any words.

Day 45

Another Bama Study...

Article on my blog!

Hey Gang,

Here is an article my hometown paper did on my blog. It was written by the very talented Tessa Schweigert. I hope I don't sound too pretentious in it... and I also hope you can read it. It might be too small. I think if you click on it, it'll will come up bigger.

Day 44

Hey Everyone... three new pics for the day. These are all Odd Nerdrum studies. Once again, pretty awkward poses in concept and design. His studies are not that easy to do, but they are fun, and hey always get people wondering what is going on in the image...

Day 43

Here is the drawing for the day. Not too much to say, another Odd Nerdrum study...

Day 42

ok, here's a little painting I attempted. I'm not too impressed, but I haven't painted for awhile, so I was kind of expecting this. Sorry the quality is so lame for the photos...

Day 41

This a drawing of the old comic book hero Doc Savage. This a James Bama painting from his early days as an illustrator. This drawing is closer to my artistic upbringing. I was always fascinated with comic book heroes and their dynamic muscle structure and positioning. This one felt like a return to the good ol' days of Jim Lee and Todd McFarlane, and to those who really know me (or knew me back when I was like 4 years old), it's a return to the days of He-Man! The whole reason I started drawing in the first place. I'm not sure that's totally embarrassing or totally awesome...

Day 40

Day 40. Here is my drawing. This might be my most successful drawing to date (in my mind). There was a lot of subtlety in this image. The original photo didn't have a lot of information, so I had to really stay true to what I was looking at. I did the full body because I realized that I have just been doing a lot of faces for this blog. Not that I'm suggesting that I should stop doing that, but it's good to break things up. However, this is still a portrait, so I'm not breaking the formula too much by this point. Baby steps...

Day 39

Drawing of the day! Another Edward S. Curtis. I feel like I'm seeing some progress in my rendering. The practice really helps. After I get a few more successes under my belt, I'm going to start painting again. Hopefully I can incorporate my paintings into this blog.

Day 38

Another Edward S. Curtis that flew by. This one took about 15 minutes. I can't believe how much my comfort level effects my drawing. Day 33 was drawn with a lot of chaos surrounding it, and I can't believe how much that drawing still bothers me. I really learned a lot from that drawing experience. So now, I pick the best time of day to work on drawings.

Day 37

This one really went quickly. From start to finish in about 10 minutes. I feel alight about this one. There's not too much I would change about this one. This is another Edward S Curtis photo study. I have really been butchering his work lately, so it feels good to have one I'm happy with.

Day 36

Here is the drawing today. Another Mucha. Just focusing on line quality while maintaining the soft edges in the face...

Day 35

Here is the drawing for the day. It's a study from James Bama's RFK. His version is FAR superior to mine. I feel ok about this one. The part that rushed through on are his hands, but I actually like that part the best. There always is a part of a painting that gets rushed, and usually I hate it, but yet, I seem to do it everytime! Todays drawing will just enable that behavior.

The glare on this one was unavoidable. I tried several different kinds of lighting, and this was the best I could come up with.

Day 34

After yesterday's fiasco, I needed a win for sure. That drawing really frustrated. While I drawing it, I wasn't too disappointed with it, but when I saw in photographed, it really bummed me out. Sometimes seeing a drawing in different sizes (like on the blog), I really see how it how the drawing actually looks as opposed to my view point.

Today's drawing I feel really good about. I really focused on the line quality. I have been thinking shape and value lately, so it feels good, and almost like a return to my past to work with line quality again. These Mucha drawings are very tricky in the sense that if you mess up the line quality, you're done. You pretty much get one shot. So, much like Bruce Lee described the act of throw a punch - you must imagine your target (line) before for you swing (draw). You have to already have the line you want to draw seared into your brain. Once it's in there, you draw it over and over again, all day. You just have to practice it 10,000 times before it works.

Maybe I need to spend more time working with line???

Day 33

Sheeesh! This is no good. I tried to do a study from a Edward Curtis photo. The guy in the picture has a very unique looks. This looks like the guy, kinda. He really has a look that in usual and hard to grasp.

Day 32

Here is my drawing for the day! I hope you enjoy. This is another Mucha. Pretty similar to the one I did a few months ago. He was very big into profiles...

Day 31

Here's a study of Norman Rockwell's "freedom of Speech" from the Four Freedoms. This a pretty great painting, and I'm pleased with my attempt. After yesterday's struggle, this one feels a lot better to look at. I don't regret too many decisions with this one. I really like the dark space filling up the top section. It really adds depth to this image

Day 30

Back from the dead with a Edward S. Curtis photo as my reference. Not very impressed with this. It's been a few days since I have drawn, so I can only expect some garbage...