At first I lightly sketched the figure. I don’t know why, but I always seem to start with the arms. I also spend time on the head tilt and its relationship to the shoulders. I finished with enough time to include some of the furniture, and to darken the lines of the woman. I’m pretty happy with this one.
Woman Reading Magazine Before Eye Dilation
Pencil Sketch
8″x5″ 110# Moleskin Journal
I’ve seen these folks before (Second Day of School). This time the girl was exhausted, or very bored. School can take it out of you.
Grampa and Gramma and Bored Kid
Pencil Sketch
8″x5″ 110# Moleskin Journal
Light and dark divided evenly for a day. Dark will take over from now on. And cold. This is the last outdoor party of the year. This year.
Last Outdoor Party of the Year
Pencil Sketch
8″x5″ 110# Moleskin Journal
This could be entitled older man sketching young man looking at a girl. I boiled it down to “Looking at a Girl”, which generalizes the central idea of the drawing. I just started a book called “Why Poetry” by Matthew Zapruder. I’ve had a difficult time with most poetry and this book promises to be of great help. I think my title for this piece is an unconscious application of my reading of the first few chapters of “Why Poetry“.
Looking at a Girl
Pencil Sketch
8″x5″ 110# Moleskin Journal
I wasn’t sure that this couple were married, but their relative postures assured me that this was the case. The woman is sitting comfortably; the man is on the edge of his seat.
Man and Wife
Pencil Sketch
8″x5″ 110# Moleskin Journal
Taking care of children is a very tough job. But sketching kids is also tough. The more active child was all over the place. I started to draw him when he was in one position and 30 seconds later he was in another. This mother was truly in charge of a family of at least 2.5.
Mother and Two Point Five Kids
Pencil Sketch
8″x5″ 110# Moleskin Journal
They really weren’t. The bottle of water I drew looks more like a wine bottle. The two people, who were actually chatting look more like they are waiting for something to happen. The title works for the reality I created, not for the world of those two, at that moment. I can do this, since I just renewed my artistic license.
Thinking Up a Toast
Pencil Sketch
8″x5″ 110# Moleskin Journal
Usually I draw people who are doing something . They are occupied and unlikely to see me drawing them. The woman below wasn’t doing anything. I didn’t know if she was staring straight ahead, if the was asleep, or if she noticed me as I sketched. I had to look at her though. I kept peeking up, hoping she wasn’t watching me, wondering if she would be angry if she knew I was making her portrait.
Woman with Unseeing Eyes
Pencil Sketch
5″x8″ 110# Moleskin Journal
In crowded situations, my sketching contracts. I do small vignettes, moving mostly my thumb and forefinger, anchoring my wrist in one place. (Normally I my wrist would be in action.)
Even with the restricted reach of my pencil I was able to trace some quite different characters.
Collection of Faces Poolside
Pencil Sketch
8″x5″ 110# Moleskin Journal
He didn’t have a pained expression. Maybe I’m projecting, but I just thought this man looked very uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable Man
Pencil Sketch
5″x8″ 110# Moleskin Journal
