3rd Entry for Nov 25, 2012 (Last entry from the TSA)

 (TSA cleanout update: the job didn't fully get done on Friday, but a large share did. If any of you could help finish up Saturday Dec 29 anytime from 9 a.m. onwards, just come to the 3rd floor of 410 Adelaide W. We're salvaging the best of the old school's supplies, and clearing out the junk as well. Thanks to everyone who pitched in Friday!)

After a couple of lunchtime errands, I decided to go back and try my luck at the afternoon session at the TSA. This is a 1.5 hour study of Sidney on a 22 x 30" sheet of 90 lb. Maidstone rag paper, done with hard compressed charcoal.
I had no inkling at the time, but my life was about to have huge changes, that would include the passing of my father and the sudden closure by bankruptcy of the TSA Nov 30th. Changes keep coming since then. But this was the last life study I did in the TSA space. Now that space is being cleaned out, room by room. Lots of memories in that process, but also a clearing to make space for the new.

2nd entry for Nov 25, 2012

TSA clearout update: Starting at 8:30 am Friday, Dec 28 and going through the day/early evening we'll be salvaging what is useful from the old TSA space into onsite bins and clearing out unusable stuff. We can use all the hands we can get to box, unscrew, move and pack. This will likely continue into Saturday. Please bring work gloves, and extra empty boxes if you can.

These are a 20-minute and 25-minute study done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 22 x 30" sheets of 90 lb Maidstone rag paper.

1st entry for Nov 25, 2012

(There's lots of news lately:
Salvaging TSA stuff in a day or so: contact me or check here,
New 9-week life-drawing classes at the Avenue Road Arts School:
Intro Life Drawing Wed nights, check here,
Anatomy for Life Drawing Fri. afternoons check here.
Looking for info on open drawing sessions in Toronto- visit here. )

On the Sunday morning I made it in for a portion of the open life session at the TSA, the last day of drawing before some very major changes took place in my life. Sidney was the model, and these are a 2-minute study at top, two  10-minute ones and a pair of 15-minute studies at bottom. All are done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper.

2nd entry for Nov 23, 2012

(Continued season's greetings to everyone out there!
For any of you who have time free at the close of this week, many hands are needed to help clear out the stuff from the old location of the TSA. The good stuff is going into storage so that the TSA faculty and interested students can work on putting a new TSA into action.
To find out more about exact times as they come clear, check into the TSA Community Support page on Facebook.)

The studies here are three 10-minute ones above,  done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper. The lower two are 20-minute studies done with the same charcoal on 22 x 30" sheets of 90 lb. Maidstone rag paper.

1st entry for Nov 23, 2012

 ** Happy Christmas and Season's Greetings to everyone. **
The darkest days of the year have passed, and we're on the road to spring and regrowth.
Best wishes to you all.

On the Friday night Simla was back working at the TSA. These are a 2-minute study at top, and a 10-minute and 15-minute study below that.   All are done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper.

Entry for Nov 20, 2012

(Are you looking to take a figure drawing class in the new year? I'm pleased to announce that I'll be teaching a couple of 9-week Life Drawing classes beginning January at the Avenue Road School of Art at Avenue Road & St. Clair.
You can take an intro class Wednesday nights 7-10 pm - details here.
And you can take a more intermediate Anatomy and Figure Drawing course Friday afternoons from 12:30 to 3:30 - details here.)
 
On the Tuesday evening, I went over to Artists 25, and found it was Robin working. She was good as always, but not my strongest drawing night.  These are a couple of 10-minute studies above, done on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper. Below are three studies on 22 x 30" sheets of 90 lb. Maidstone paper.  All are done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal.

4th entry for Nov 19, 2012

These are a  5-minute study above (with shading augmented during a break), and two 10-minute ones and a 15-minute study below. The 5-minute one is hard compressed charcoal on 23 x 34" Durotone paper, and the three below are all on 22 x 30" sheets of 90 lb Maidstone paper with the same Nobel charcoal.

3rd entry for Nov 19, 2012

These are 3-minute and 5-minute studies, done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper.

2nd entry for Nov 19, 2012

These are some more 2-minute and 3-minute studies. Miranda was working on a set of suspended silk bands, which made for different and interesting foreshortening.
I switched from the Sakura pen back to hard compressed charcoal, which is the more comfortable medium for me these days. After using something unfamiliar for a bit, it makes the familiar fresher, too.
All of these are on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper.

1st entry for Nov 19, 2012

(The closing of the TSA means big changes for me. I'm having a studio sale this weekend - 2 PM to 7 PM on Sunday, Dec. 16 at my studio, 165 Bathurst St., just south of Queen.  To help with freeing some studio space and give me some working funds, you can pick up some framed older pieces of mine at extraordinarily low prices, so please tell your friends and come by.
Day one was good, but there's still some super deals and I'd love to send some more framed pieces out of the studio, so come out. )


Before any of the weird stuff went down, I was over at Diane's Drawing Room session on the Monday night, and Miranda was back working. I was looking to continue the directness of the Sakura pen drawings during the short poses. these are some 30-second and 1-minute studies on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

3rd entry for Nov 18, 2012

To mix things up that night I used roughly 4 minutes of two 15-minute poses to do line studies with a Sakura Graphic pen, then a tonal charcoal study after. All four of these are on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper. The bottom study was 20 minutes, done with hard compressed charcoal on 22 x 30" 90 lb Maidstone paper.

2nd entry for Nov 18, 2012

These are some 10-minute studies, done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper.

1st entry for Nov 18, 2012

(The closing of the TSA means big changes for me. I'm having a studio sale this weekend - 2 PM to 7 PM on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 15 & 16 at my studio, 165 Bathurst St., just south of Queen.  To help with freeing some studio space and give me some working funds, you can pick up some framed older pieces of mine at extraordinarily low prices, so please tell your friends and come by.)


A couple of weeks before the TSA closed, a small part of what I liked about it ended with the cancelling of their Sunday night sessions. Tahnee worked the last one. these are some 1-minute studies, done with a Sakura Graphic pen on 18 x 24" Canson Recycled Sketch paper.