Baby's first steps

This drawing marks the combination of two awesome thrift store finds. The paper is from a lined ledger book from the 60s that I found at the bins and the drawing is from an old photograph (1930s?) that I found at a thrift store in Rockaway, OR.

Old photographs are fascinating to me because they not only chronicle the aesthetics of a different time, but also a time when photography was relatively new and people weren't as self aware as they are now. I bought about 20 of these old family photos and as I was drawing this it occurred to me that I have no connection with these people; there is no deeper meaning beyond aesthetic pleasure and nostalgia. Driven by that, I'm hoping to dig up some photos from my own family's past and use them as subjects. More to come.

Long Pose #2

I'm definitely happier with this one than yesterday's drawing and as you can see I'm back on the scrapbook paper. Something about that tone really does it for me. I omitted the chair and most of the head in this one, which made it easier to focus on the shadows and tone of the figure, and I'm really happy with the way the left hand turned out. Definitely the best part of the drawing. The white colored pencil did a good job of bringing out the highlights in the figure.

Okay guys, I promise no more nudes for at least a week.

Long Pose #1

Last Sunday I went back to PNCA for a "long pose" session. One pose for three hours. The instructor had the model pose with high heels and black stockings, and couldn't say enough good things about the pose. I felt differently. I don't think this pose was dynamic enough for a three hour session, and I had trouble getting into a groove because of it. I found a pad of colored charcoal paper at the Bins and used that for this drawing, experimenting with pen and colored pencil. Obviously I was having a hard time with the face so just pretend that part isn't there. Tomorrow's drawing is a more traditional approach than this, but I think the color is a nice touch.

I've also noticed that I like the combination of yellow, turquoise blue, and pink/purple. I wonder when that started.