Woman in Blue and Orange

Or, like Whistler, "Composition in Blue and Orange." Or maybe "Grunpy Woman with Oranges." This was a three hour pose with the Toronto Watercolour Society (although I tend to finish in one and half to two hours) .

Whatever the title I am quite happy with the way this one turned out.

Wednesday Night Figure

Another painting from my Wednesday night group. A twenty minute pose of a large model from behind.

Male Nude

A painting from life last Tuesday. Not a particularly good likeness, but I am satisfied with the result.

Growing Body Syndrome

This is another Tuesday evening portrait.

She is suffering from what one drawing book referred to as "growing body syndrome." We (or I) usually start with the head and in this syndrome the rest of the body gets bigger and bigger as we come down the page. A slight exaggeration can give a weight to the bottom of the composition as well as a monumental feeling. I also like to take a slightly lower viewpoint, sitting in a chair with the model on a model stand; this gives the resulting portrait a nice feeling of importance.

We are so interested in other people and spend so much time looking at them that even a mistake of half an inch or a quarter of an inch can create a proportion problem that is readily visible to a viewer. If they can see it and we can see it (when we are finished) why do we miss it when we draw it?

Wednesday Night Drawing

This is from last Wednesday night at my drawing group. A twenty minute painting of the model from behind. I am fairly happy with this one.

Tuesday Night Portrait

Here is the latest portrait from the Tuesday night group at my art club in Toronto; the Don Valley Art Club. Still from last week so I am still behind. I think I have captured something in this portrait. The sitter was an older man, another member of the club and I think that is a feeling of nostalgia in this painting. I decided even before I was finished to call it "Looking Back."

In a previous post I talked (in reference to another artist in the group) of his ability to take a sitter who is perhaps in a "neutral" pose and in their portrait conveying a sense of character or personality which they bring to or "impose" upon the sitter. Sometimes, as in this case, it "just happens." Is this unconscious or accidental? Do better artists than I do it intentionally? I am sure they do and I am hoping that with practice and experience I can get to that point.

Sunday Portraits

At the art club that I am involved in Toronto we do a couple of informal portrait sessions a month in which club members sit for the other members for short (25 minute) pose. This painting was from the most recent one that I attended. It is one of three that I did that day and I consider it quite successful. Unfortunately I did it on an old piece of watercolour paper and the sizing had deteriorated or been damaged so that it didn't take the paint properly. Ah well!