1st entry for Nov 17, 2014

On the Monday morning I went over to the Heliconian Club session. Louise, a model I hadn't encountered before, was working. These are eight 2-minute studies above, and a couple of 5-minute ones below. All are Pitt pen on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper. The topmost one was a `blind' gesture study.

Entry for Nov 16, 2014

On the Sunday afternoon I was at the ARC studio, andAndrea was working that day. These are a 2-hour study above and a 40-minute one below.
One thing I find with the water-soluble graphite is that it is diffcult aand slow to build up big dark passages. As an experiment I used diluted india ink washes on these initially, to establish 'bed values'  in the darker areas. On top of that I worked with water-soluble graphite pencils and Artgraf washes to add in skin tones and details. It seems a good marriage; the ink washes block in deep values very readily. It does mean the preliminary drawing is a commitment, though, as the ink cannot be retracted or moved like the graphites.
These are both ink washes, water-soluble pencila nd Artgraf washes and some additional graphite shading on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Montval watercolour paper.

Entry for Nov. 13, 2014

I broke out the brushpens on the Thursday night at a Collective drawing session, in honour of Francis, who sat for us in a couple of ensembles.

Entry for Nov 11, 2014

On the Tuesday night I got over to Artists 25, where I found it was Polyna working. These are three 2-minute studies at top, a 5-minute and a ten-minute below that, followed by three 20-minute studies and a 5-minute one right at the end of the evening.
It was an uneven night for drawing. There were some promising moments. I think the 10-minute study on the low stool is strong, but it doesn't have as solid a sense of weight on the stool as it could.
The top five images are Pitt calligraphy point pen on Canson Recycled Sketch paper. The first two 20-minute ones are a combo of Pitt pen and dilute india ink in a Pentel brushpen for a midtone. The first is on Strathmore drawing paper, and the one on the chair is Canson Mixed Media paper, with it's cooloer colour cast.
The second-last image is watersoluble pencil on Strathmore watercolour paper, and the bottom one is back to Pitt pen on Canson Recycled Sketch paper. All the sheets are 18 x 24"

Entry for Nov 9, 4014

(so much time elapsed, and my chronology is a little out of whack)
On the Sunday afternoon, July was working at the ARC studio. There was a black velvet draped over a stool and pinned to the back wall, surrounded by the studio's white walls.
Great if you want to play with chiaroscuro, but I wasn't in the mood for a really dark image. The pose was also relatively static and vertical, a least from the available spot I found to work.
I had a phrase in mind - `grayairoscuro', of contrast emerging from overall grays instead of from a deep shadow. I did my best to stick with that in the top image , but it still seemed to want a lot of darker values than were in the back of my mind. I thought using a square format would be more interesting than having her full-figure in a vertical field, but I don't know that the ankle cropping does anyone any favours. It is a 2-hour study done with water-soluble graphite, Artgraf washes and regular graphite shading added after, on Strathmore watercolour paper.
The lower one is a 25-minute study with water-soluble pencil on Strathmore watercolour paper, as yet not washed over. The partial figure works better here, with the figure filling more of the space and the mid-calf crop. My viewpoint ( a spot that got vacated) was better with the more direct gaze.
Somewhere between these two would maybe be the ideal.

Entry for Nov 10, 2014

On the Monday  I got in for the morning session at the Heliconian Club, where Denis and Lina were working together.  I do enjoy drawing couples, and as on other occasions they were a pleasure to draw together.
My drawings were fairly uneven that day; it took to the last couple to get warmed up. These are a 5-minute, a 10-minute, two 15-minute and a 30-minute study at the bottom. The upper ones are all Pitt pen, and the lower one is water-soluble pencil and Artgraf washes.

3rd entry for Nov 7, 2014

These are a pair of 10-minute studies using Pitt medium pen and some very soft watercolour pencil above, both on 18 x 24" sheets of Strathmore Drawing paper. The lower one is water-soluble pencil and Artgraf washes on an 18 x 24" sheet of Canson Montval watercolour paper.

... it's been quite a while since anything's been posted here - the combination of a heavy work schedule, Christmas and a family trip meant there just hasn't been enough time for everything. . There's a few postings coming up, as I catch up closer to the present day.

2nd entry for Nov 7, 2014

These are a 10-minute study up top, a 5-minute standing one below that, two more 10's and a pair of 15-minute studies.
The top four are a Pitt medium pen on 18 x 24"sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper, with a bit of pan pastel for the chair in the lower one.
The lower two are medium Pitt pen and diluted india in in a brushpen, on 18 x 24" sheets of Strathmore Series 300 paper.

1st entry for Nov 7, 2014

On the Friday night I got out to the Dr. Sketchy's session at Round Venue. Performance artist Obskyura was working that night, with a fame/celebrity starter ensemble. These are a 5-minute study above,  a 5-minute line drawing and some 1-minute and 2-minute studies below.

(Among her props were a gold microphone and a hot-pink assault rifle with white stars.)

 These are all on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Recycled Sketch paper. I tried using a `woodless' 4B water-soluble graphite pencil for these rather than a pen. I found the marks a little thick for my taste and the pencil went blunt fast, but they do read fairly nicely reproduced small-scale.