Susan with a Towel on her Head

NFS
This is a pencil drawing of my sister, Susan, with a towel arranged
artfully on her head. Doesn't she have beautiful eyes? They have
always looked this way, ever since she was a baby - and we have
the photographs to prove it! Except, this was drawn from life.

I know, the towel is strange....I just liked the shapes it made, and
the way the crossover at the top complemented her high forehead.
I have always been into the Renaissance. I think that is kind of
the influence here.

Thanks for visiting today.

Sgraffito Head of Alexander

NFS
I am working on some drawings that are coming

along, but they are not finished. I feel like posting

things, so in the meantime, I am posting works from

the past of which I am very fond or proud.

This piece was done in the "sgraffito" method, which

is very ancient, as it was used in pottery centuries

ago. This particular work was done by laying down a

layer of crayons in patina colors, and going over that

with a layer of olive green/brown Caran d'Ache Neo-

Color Oil Pastel. That is smoothed out, and then a
drawing was executed using a tool that has several

wires coming out of the end, almost like a comb, which

enables me to do several lines at once, to do rather

easy curved cross-hatching. I finished it off with

some embellishment with Sennelier cobalt turquoise

oil pastel, which is as soft as lipstick.

Thanks for visiting today.

PS - I promise you will see some newer

work very soon.

Gouache Sketch of a Woman with a Minotaur

Go Here to Bid
This very loose study after a Florentine sculpture
of a woman fighting off the unwanted advances
of a Minotaur was very exciting to do. I did it
on Canson Montval sketchbook paper, so I felt
I could let go and just experiment. I have a lot of'
those notebooks, because they always make me
feel relaxed.
This was created with a combination of gouache
(also known as "body color", or opaque watercolor)
and indelible ink pen. I also used a lot of thin
black outlines with a tiny watercolor brush,
and a great deal of opaque white. I love the
turquoise blue - I am always seduced by that!

Man with a Hat

NFS
I didn't have a chance to do anything today, so I decided to post

something I had already done, because I love it so much. This is

a pencil drawing, and I like its line quality and the feeling in it.

Reclining Nude - Study for a Larger Work

NFS
This is a very small drawing - about 4" by 5". It was done in
colored pencil and graphite on some thin yellow paper. The
reason it is squared up is that I intend it to be a study for a larger
work. What kind of work that is to be, I do not know. Monotype?
Painting? Pastel? Drawing? Who knows? At least I am doing
some artwork again!!!

If you have been following this blog, you will have noticed that
my last post was October 30th, 2008. Sometimes we just haven't
got it. It just isn't there. I have always had this concept of
artistic "talent" or whatever you want to call it, as something
that we don't own. It comes and visits us for awhile. Sometimes
it is a very pleasant visit. Other times....well....you know. There
are a lot of things I want to do now. I wanted to do them before.
I just couldn't. These people who work everyday amaze me, and
have my greatest admiration.

Thanks for visiting today. Hopefully, there will be something
here very soon again. NFS