Fiona

Today's model was Fiona who was plump and dark skinned with heavy hooded eyes. Lovely. You wouldn't gather she's dark skinned from my pictures though! Pina introduced colour today and because I paint, this isn't new.


These were done on brown paper using soft conte and charcoal.


Another development is the 2010 Goya (get off your arts) competition. My friend Jodie runs this event and strong-armed me and my daughter to enter. She's also having Sarina as a burlesque model and invited me and a couple of others to draw. We are the 'live' installation so to speak. Bit of a challenge to do art in front of lots of sticky beaks, however must view this as a promotional opportunity. Plus a chance to draw the lovely Sarina for free! For more info see GetOffYourArts

Before The Race

Came across this trio at my favourite people watching spot Wylies Bath; who were going to have a swimming race. The one on the left is an off duty lifeguard and all three look like they are very physically fit.


I snapped a photo of them and only recently dug into the archives because I needed to replace a painting sold from my Coogee series (a blank spot on the wall; recently a common occurrence that I'm enjoying).

Second live drawing class with Pina

Murtim was our male model this week. He's Turkish, young, slender but muscular. Lovely physique. Has hair that is long and wavy which Pina requested he bunched up.

Drawing a man is quite different from a woman, Pina suggested we used straight lines and that was most successful with Murtim. Friends are amused and envious of my legit excuse to purve at a nice male body. Doreen has offered to dangle the bunch of grapes artfully.

Not wanting to focus overly on his dangling bits, I've succeeded only in making the omission obvious!


This last sketch was fairly long pose but it's hard to get the proportions of figures lying down right. That took much of the time with no time for delicate shading.

Land's End Again

Catherine was the kind critic who advised that the house in the Land's End painting needed to be darker. It was the same colour as the sky which made it look queer; as if it were transparent. She also suggested shadows on the house.

Here it is again. It's one of those paintings that I like but not love if you know what I mean.