Friday Portrait, October 3

Today’s sitter was Ruth, who had the wonderful skill of both sitting still and genuinely smiling for extended periods of time. A rarity, indeed.

Friday Portait, September 26

Today’s sitter was June. She had a positively radiant smile, but unfortunately it vanished and she got a bit sleepy as soon as she sat down (a frequent problem with our more elderly subjects, alas). So I did what I could.

The first sketch.

The cross is there for measurement; I’m not sure how much it helped, today.

***

The sketch today isn’t bad, I think, but there was an element of softness and roundness to her face that is completely missing. It may be mostly due to the angle, which makes her face looks longer and leaner than it is, but the end result is that I don’t think it looked much like her.

Of course, in the above it really doesn’t look like her

***

***

-o.o-

Friday Portrait, September 19

Before I show you today’s subject, I think it’s important to set the stage just a bit. As I ambled into class today, I was contemplating some things I’ve been reading lately, specifically the idea of Man as imago Dei. Before I start to sketch anyone, I usually try to look for the person behind the person, the animating Spark, and I was contemplating how to accomplish that today. With such light fancies wandering through my brain, I beheld our sitter:

Friday Portrait, September 12

Today’s sitter was Rebecca, a lovely woman who radiated a remarkable serenity and good humor the whole time she was there. Remarkable especially because she’s been going through some serious challenges (so if you could say a prayer or two for her, I’m sure it would be appreciated).

I forgot my regular camera today (not just at home, but in the other car), so while the photos are decent I had to toy with the white balance and contrast; I don’t know how accurate the results are, color-wise, but it’s passable on my computer. Your mileage may vary.

First, a gestural sketch.

Tools

Put to its purpose

worn down, coated with strange hues

underneath, still true

-o.o-

Friday Portrait, September 5

Today’s sitter was Linda. I’m in a sketchy kinda mood, so I went with the sketchy photo of her (well, that and she looked concerned in the other two). I didn’t stay for the full session today. I’m apparently in something of a speed mode, and all I wanted to do was whip out a few gestural-type images, focusing on some basics. Some days, you just have to go back to the foundational elements. Today, I think that was a good thing.

First, the warmup sketch. I kept it loose and squiggly to begin with, but then filled in more solid details. All of these were done in ten or twelve minute segments.

For the rest, I’m in a primary kind of mood. I just love the effect the pure colors have, and when you’re not focused on getting just the right flesh tone, it can actually be quite liberating.

***

This was a one-segment sketch, trying to capture broad gestural strokes.

***

This last sketch took probably three or four segments. It’s rough and sloppy, but I’m happy with it. it feels like I’m finally loosening up a bit, which is a good thing.

-o.o-

Friday Portrait, June 27

Today’s sitter was Tonya, a lovely and very still young lady who’s going off to college this fall to study art and psychology.

Friday Portrait, June 13

Today’s sitter was Pat, one of the rare folks who managed to smile almost the entire time.

Friday Portrait, June 6

Today’s sitter was Mary Alice, who usually is one of my fellow artists, and is very much a beacon of delight. If I recall, she is 92; if so, she’s a testament to how good a long life can be. Usually, she has a constant smile, but she was worried about being able to hold the expression for so long; she was very concerned that it looked like she was frowning.

Friday Portrait, May 30

Today’s sitter was Greg, who was kind enough to wear his regalia for us this morning. The ladies in my group were in full swoon. He was very patient and had a great sense of humor. As usual, I tried to catch him smiling; I’m not sure if I succeeded, but he has a great grin.