3rd Entry for Nov. 20, 2011

The top image is hard compressed U-art charcoal on 18 x 24" cartridge paper, and is a 15-minute study.
The middle one is a 20-minute study on 21 x 29" Strathmore paper, with the same charcoal.
The lowest one was 25 minutes, and uses a willow charcoal underdrawing for masses and tonalities, and hard U-art charcoal atop that for contours and details. It is on a 22 x 30" sheet of Maidstone 90 lb paper, which seems to hold promise as a material.

2nd Entry for Nov. 20, 2011

After a longer break, these are 1-minute studies, done with hatd compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

1st entry for Nov 20, 2011

On the Sunday night, G-   was working at the TSA.  These are, from the top, a 5-minute and two 10-minute studies, all done with hard compressed charcoal, all on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper,

2nd Entry for Nov. 18, 2011

These are three 15-minute studies above, on various Canson papers in the 19 x 25" range. The lower one is a 20-minute study, using 22 x 30" Maidstone 90 lb. paper. I found its' surface promising.

All are done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal sticks.

1st entry for Nov 18, 2011

On the Friday L-   was working. She was someone I wasn't familiar with. These are 10-minute studies. In preparation for a project I decided it would be a paper exploration night. The first one is on  familiar 18 x 24" bond paper.
The lower two are on a couple of different types of Canson paper, both 19 x 25". All are done with the same U-Art hard compressed charcoal.

3rd Entry for Nov. 14, 2011

These are a 15-minute study above and a 25-minute one below.  The top one is done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24"cartridge paper, while the lower one is he same U-Art charcoal on a 21 x 29" sheet of Strathmore paper.
For the larger paper, it seems that 25-30 minutes is the optimum time frame; the greater rigidity of the surface means it takes that little bit longer to lay shading down. On a smaller sheet I'm reaching the overkill point around the 20-minute mark - at least for this sort of direct study with minimal background.
...Which is slightly challenging, as almost all the drop-in sessions I get to go no further than 20 minutes at the top end.

2nd Entry for Nov. 14, 2011

These are a couple of 10-minute studies above, and 15-minute ones below. All are done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

1st entry for Nov 14, 2011

On the Monday I went out to the Ralph Thornton Centre.   S-   was working that evening.  These are a 1-minute, a 3-minute, a 5-minute and a 10-minute study, all done with hard compressed compressed charcoal.  The top two are on 1x 24" sheets of bond paper, and the lower two on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

2nd Entry for Nov. 11, 2011

Above are a 10-minute, two 15-minute and a 20-minute study. The 20-minute one is done with the U-Art hard compressed charcoal on a sheet of 21 x 29" Strathmore paper. The other four, including the 7-minute study at the bottom, are all done with the same charcoal, but on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.
(It's too bad I didn't do 11 studies that evening. Using my documentation titling, it would have been designated "11111111")

1st entry for Nov 11, 2011

 On the Friday, which was the numerically noteworthy 11-11-11, A- was working at the TSA. These are a 3-minute, a 5-minute and a 10-minute study, all done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

2nd Entry for Nov. 8, 2011

The Medusa story was better explored later on that night.  The upper three studies are two 10-minute ones and a 15-minute one , with B-   and N-  riffing on Athena's punishment of Medusa, turning her into the gorgon.   For 25 minutes, A-  joined them to stage Medusa's demise.  Finally, after a break, the three of them took a 45-minute post-decapitation tableau.
As usual, the costumes and props and multi-figure groupings were a challenge, and I'm not giving Caravaggio a run for his money any time soon.
I was focused on documenting what was happening with the people modelling in the session, versus shifting the images into more overt narrative versions of the story being represented.

An unfortunate mishap for their rigger meant that the signature quirk of rope harness decoration was absent from the models. I felt in this case, that worked out fine.  The combination of rope patterns and snake headgear might have added to Medusa's transformation into something extra-human, but otherwise the ropework would be a non-sequitur.

1st entry for Nov 8, 2011

On the Tuesday I went over to the Great Hall and sat in on the once-monthly Keyhole Sessions drawing session. Lately they have been branching out from their usual  fare into more character and costume-based evenings, which works for me.  On this evening, the theme was worked around the Medusa narrative. B-   from the Coquettes burlesque troupe was nominally channeling an Athena vibe in a sheer dress.
Drawing a person in draped fabric is a good challenge, though. These are two  1-minute studies at the top,, followed by a 5-minute, a 10-minute and a 15-minute study below. The first four are on 1x x 24" sheets of bond paper, and the lowest one is on 18 x 24" cartridge paper. all are done with U-Art hard compressed charcoal.  The softer bond paper is lower-quality, but imparts a finer grain with the charcoal then the cartridge I've been using does. (Sigh.)

3rd Entry for Nov. 7, 2011

These are a 15-minute, a 20-minute and a 7-minute study, which wrapped up that evening.

The top and bottom studies are on 18 x 24" paper, and the middle one is on 21 x 29" Strathmore paper from a big roll.  All are done with hard compressed charcoal (U-Art brand).
I'm liking the larger expanse of the Strathmore paper, but it is more rigid than I prefer, and has a somewhat frustrating tendency to retain a curl once rolled.
(Not to mention the extreme difficulty of `back-rolling this size of thick paper without engendering dents and folds. If I really come to like it, I would likely need to buy one or two large-diameter Sonotube pieces to roll it in reverse on in successive stages, which is a hassle in a small studio.  But at under $1.00 per sheet like this, it might yet be worth the bother...)

2nd Entry for Nov. 7, 2011

These are two 5-minute studies above, and 10-minute ones below.  All are done with hard compressed charcoal (U-Art) on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.
I was getting stuck on setting down T-  's  likeness (with moderate success), and not drawing especially fast that evening.