charcoal/graphite

started this in charcoal with model a week or so ago-

and as I am unable to get my regular ladies here

because of snow and ice I thought I would

occupy myself and try to work on it in pencil....

 though it is not completed yet 

after deciding

after deciding I liked the gouache best I had

another look at the pastel - sprayed it with water

brushed detail out and after it dried did a

bit more drawing into it....

but the scanner seems unhappy with some of the 

colours and it is a bit inaccurate......

beyond caring after spending 90 minutes digging our car

out of snow and ice on a hill a mile away

( I had to walk there from home with a shovel)

all because the council, as usual, is caught out

in surprise at the first snow of the winter even though

it was forecast several days ago -

promises to be a tedious winter as our road is

closed nearby for 16 weeks and because of that

it is not going to get any gritting or clearing

leaving three local families in some trepidation!

same pose - finished?

I think this is done-

gouache on Stonehenge buff paper

though not sure about Stonehenge paper

I find this colour good for gouache

and the paper is absorbent enough to suit gouache

same pose - a start in gouache

the second study of this same pose -

just a start in gouache - I like gouache but tend to

get too finished so I will try to avoid that.... 

Pastel quickie

I do need a break from charcoal so this is part

of my "holiday" from the gritty world of

black and white (a double meaning as a

Newcastle United fan!)

This small pastel is from a snap I took last session

with lovely model - that sort of quiet twisting

hair sort of moment...

a mix of pastels on Clairefontaine Pastelmat



reworked

decided to rework this a bit-

am getting disatisfied with charcoal at the moment

so we shall see what happens over next day or so!

detail - this morning's charcoal

this is a detail of this morning's drawing.....

the bits I have not shown are a bit awkward

and need working on....

the hair and face need a tiny bit more work but

I was reasonably happy with the fluid feeling

and mark making and to be with

this lovely model again

surprise visitor

its always a treat when a model turns up from the past

and the nude is a drawing done from a surprise visitor.

not finished yet.... charcoal

the top drawing is a little doodle in charcoal

on untreated hot pressed paper-

I was so sick of getting sore bleeding fingers

from my prepared surfaces that I wanted

to try a smooth surface...

I did, however, buy some fabric plasters

to use on my fingers for my next session 

as they protect and give an interesting effect

when "smudging" or shifting the charcoal.

little posted recently - been getting work

to galleries and doing some (yawn) administration

another poor photo!

managed some work on this today -

yesterday spent delivering some new drawings

to the Torrance Gallery in Edinburgh for their

Chhristmas mixed show -

get the feeling this drawing needs shaking up,

or perhaps it is me!

a decent midstage

forgive the dark image - it is an extremely gloomy

afternoon and I photographed this stage

on the easel by light of a single table lamp...

it is starting to get somewhere

a decent start

this is a detail from a square drawing

that I have just begun....

charcoal on prepared watercolour board

a model muse

I think this is the charcoal on canvas finished......

beginning on canvas

this is the start of a charcoal drawing on prepared

canvas 50cm x 50cm

just getting the face about right it has had it's first fix

and should develop nicely

thursday's pose

one of the problems with my charcoals on

prepared paper is that the surface is abrasive

and I get raw finger ends... I have never

liked blood mixed with charcoal so I have

been trying one or two different ssurfaces....

always the requirement is simple, a surface must

readily take charcoal

(preferably without too aggressive a mark),

rub back to white and must be able to acheive a dense black

even with fixing and redrawing....

this was my first attempt drawing

from my lovely model with a matte medium

as the surface........

dark eyes

a smallish charcoal on prepared paper

variation on a favourite theme

charcoal and white conte on Lascaux pastel ground...

trying to get the luminous beauty of this girl

6 november finished

bit more work done on this charcoal

aimed at a dhow in Edinburgh it has a

good "feel" to me

6 November - a start

a start in charcoal on prepared paper...

drawing this model is a constant delight...

will start another drawing tomorrow with her

then work on them over the week to come

a first session

I often wonder whether a first session is more worrying

for me or my first time amateur model....

it is taken up with lots of chat about how it all works,

what she is to expect from me and visa versa.....

and in the end you get an hour to look at your new muse

and find out how to "see" her....

and the model has to decide whether she can cope

for two hours with the madman in the room...

this lady will be great to draw and did not seem

to be put off with me staring at her....

a first sketch in charcoal and white conte

charcoal on unpleasant surface

Charcoal on prepared paper.....

a "not" watercolour paper with a texture

I really dislike for charcoal so I lost

heart a bit... this is a scan of

the central portion....