Mini toned paper! Yeah!!!

Blick was having a sale! New sketchbook!!

NYC Subway Pirate and Sad man

He looked so non-chalant , I had to..

Severely Mame at TNT

She was very Betty Paige! Lots of great poses, and such a classic style. I loved her!

This weeks pick of figure drawings...

Something I wondered as I was looking around the workshop: why is human anatomy so divorced from figure drawing? Is it that instructors think its too overwhelming to learn all these things at once?

I received some great feedback from David who runs the workshop. He had to repeat himself no less than 79 times but I think its finally sinking in. Basically I am making my construction lines too dark and then when I go to put in my actual lines its already too dark and so I end up with this outline cartoony looking thing, which can sometimes be charming but is mostly accidental in this case. What I need to do is keep my lay in as light as possible so that I can delineate my final lines from my construction lines. You can sort of see the really dark harsh lines on the first few poses, and then the lighter touch on the last two poses, which were done after he brought this little tidbit up to me for the umpteenth time.

Last Week's ASL Figure Drawings

These laying poses really throw me. I need more practise with that.

A few sketches from beach day 2013

Scenes observed at Rockaway beach. Note to self: need to re-up on copic refills.

Stevie Zar at TNT

Reeeeeeeeeallly rough pen sketch. I think working in pen forces you to make decisions and be more bold and graphic off the bat. Its going to take some time before I make something I'm happy with. But as with anything I have to remember to give myself a chance to be bad at it before I can be good at it..

Adventures in Pen

Trying to get better at sketching in pen. I think its important to push yourself and step outside your comfort zone every now and then. You never know what could happen.

The worst that could happen is you make a bad drawing, not the end of the world. The best that could happen is that you discover something new about yourself!

Mss Vee at TNT

Another classy character brought to you by DnD night at This N That bar in brooklyn. Mss Queen Vee all made up pop art style like a Roy Lichtenstein painting. You just can't get any classier than that!

"How does my butt look?"

The people playing chess at Bryant park

seriously don't give a damn if you draw them. No really-- its totally cool...they will pretty much ignore you and continue to play chess. Its great.

More Matt Knife

I do not know why I did this! Pure amusement I suppose.

This week's pick from the Art Student's League

David who runs the friday workshop has been giving me lots of great feedback and I'm so thankful that I happened to meet someone who is so generous with their knowledge and time. I'm really starting to love the League. You have musicians, artists, dancers and people from all walks of life coming together in a positive and friendly atmosphere to draw. Our model tonight also gave us some very fantastic, graceful poses. I suspect he is a dancer, but forgot to ask.

Anatomy with Robert Armetta

Well I really can't say enough good things about the Anatomy class I took with Robert Armetta at the NYAA. Robert is so funny and he injects these little stories into his lectures which make what could be a very dry subject matter very entertaining and fun. Also I found his critiques of people's work and my own very helpful. He is careful not to discourage the aspiring artist, but he also says what is obvious and needs to be said, while also being careful not to come on too strong or insist you follow his advice. He makes useful suggestions, and its up to you whether or not you're going to follow them (If you're smart you will). In my humble opinion, there is nothing worse than paying $500 for a class, only to have the instructor pat you on the back and say "good job!" Thats just not helpful at all.

So Robert was all around great, and he was even kind enough to bring in some of his personal work, and demonstrate some of the tools in his toolbox. He emphasized the importance of keeping a sketchbook and to keep drawing as much as possible. He left us with one final piece of wisdom on Saturday, and that is, if you want to be a great artist, you must MASTER anatomy. Its not good enough to have a basic knowledge. If you want to be like the old masters ( Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Rafael, Rembrandt, Sargent...) and you admire their work, then you must MASTER anatomy just as they did.

It sort of lit a fire in me. Up until now I was content to just know the general proportions and shapes of the body and have the rest be shrouded in mystery, but now I won't be satisfied until I truly understand how each muscle works and the mechanics of the body in depth. And even then, there is infinite possibilities for learning! And so, my journey continues. My sincere thanks Robert!

The following drawings are posted in chronological order, the first being at the outset of the class and the others towards the end.