Relentless Robin

Intermediate Art Project 4 Drawing Re-Do

As part of my personal growth in 2022, I am taking an intermediate drawing class at the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. The class is taught by Jeff Nesbit. After spending a couple of weeks drawing parts of a face, project four was to copy two statutes from a National Geographic magazine.

Bronze Ooni head, 12th-15th century, National Museum of Ife, Nigeria.

This is my first attempt at copying the Bronze Ooni head with charcoal in a Carson XL 9 by 12 mixed media sketchbook.

What went well? I like my shading and the contrast of the deep black, grey and white lines in the hair.

What would I do differently? The shape of the face is off. I would draw and shade the figure with vine before adding the cross-contour lines with a sharp charcoal pencil and white chalk for the highlights. I would spend a lot more than 20 minutes.

This is my second attempt at copying the Bronze Ooni head with charcoal in a Carson XL 9 by 12 mixed media sketchbook.

What went well? I shaded the face before I put the contour lines on. I used a sharp pointed soft charcoal pencil and a white charcoal stick to do the white contour lines. I like the super black background.

What would I do differently? The face shape and proportions are still off. I’d spend more time drawing. I would use something even whiter for the white contour lines.

Intermediate Art Project 5

As part of my personal growth in 2022, I am taking an intermediate drawing class at the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts. The class is taught by Jeff Nesbit.

To prepare for the final project on identity, I completed ten 6 inch by 6 inch self portraits using soft pastels.

Graphite and soft pastel in a Carson XL 9 by 12 mixed media sketchbook.

Soft pastel in a Carson XL 9 by 12 mixed media sketchbook.

Charcoal and soft pastel in a Carson XL 9 by 12 mixed media sketchbook.

Selfie Sunday

Road Trip!

The wife and I drove to Vassar yesterday to watch our youngest child play basketball for Swarthmore College in a season opener showcase.

These are the only basketball photos that I took. My kid (in the center of the bench) gets a breather after starting and playing most of the first quarter against Hamilton College on November 11, 2022 at Vassar College during the Hochberg Family Tip-off tournament.

My kid, Swarthmore College # 14 T Sallie, warms up before playing against Nazareth on November 12, 2022 at Vassar College during the Hochberg Family Tip-off tournament.

This morning we explored the Vassar’s beautiful 1000-acre campus. I almost wished I had packed a “real” camera. However, I did enjoy snapping away with my old, tired IPhone SE 2020.

Testing Charcoal and Graphite

I have 30 years of charcoal and graphite that I have purchased and did not use.

Hands and Heads

As part of my personal growth in 2022, I am auditing art classes at the Rivers School in Weston, Massachusetts, taught by Jeff Nesbit.

I layered water soluble graphite, purple watercolor paint and gesso to make a ground. A ground, short for background, is a base used to prepare a support for drawing or a painting.

I drew over the ground with waterproof ink and added shadows and highlights with oil pastels. For the final layer I sprayed on several coats of workable fix.