Tuesday Figure Drawing

Scott and I were at the Tuesday Society of Illustrators figure drawing session last night - as usual. The models were great, and did some really lovely poses together. While I often focus on one or the other model, these poses were too good to pass up, so I attempted to draw both women in each 20 minute pose, resulting in some unfinished (but pretty  cool) drawings.

Together Under One Roof - Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess

Exciting news! Neil Gaiman (of Coraline and Newbery award-winning The Graveyard Book fame) and Charles Vess (think Stardust, Sandman, and endless incredible sci-fi/fantasy/comic illustrations) have collaborated on a children's book titled Blueberry Girl. To celebrate the launch of this sure-to-be awesome book, Books of Wonder in NYC will be hosting a party/reading/lecture on Saturday, March 7. It starts at 1pm with a reading by Gaiman, then Vess will give a slide presentation on creating the illustrations, then there will be a chance for questions and answers, and a book signing. Take note, people - this will be worth attending!

And it's free.

A Little Inspiration: Alphonse Mucha, etc.

It is always exciting to see drawings, doodles, and sketches from the artists I admire. I recently came across an article about Alphonse Mucha on Lines and Colors, and was inspired to do some more digging. Known largely for his seamless combination of painting and Art Nouveau design, Mucha's skillfully executed large-scale paintings are less known. Also rarely seen are his drawings and sketches, many of which reside in private collections, or are not typically on display. 

We all know Mucha was a fantastic draftsman, but these little designs hammer home the point. And look what the guy could do with just a pencil and some white pigment! The image above was found on the Mucha Foundation website, which has a nice little collection.

For a more extensive pool of images, check out the Art Renewal Center. In fact, check out the Art Renewal Center even if you are not interested in Mucha. There is an extensive list of artists with articles and often VERY high resolution images, which can be sorted by quality, title, date, museum, medium, etc. A pretty cool resource. I'm a fan of the Bouguereau section (which contains over 200 images!), and the Gerome section (because duh!) - I'm telling you, the high res images are incredible.

Figure Drawing Shenanigans

One of the models was a pirate. I like him a lot.

Sketchbook!!!!

I have been going to figure drawing sessions at the Society of Illustrators. This one is from this past Tuesday.

This is from last week's session. I like big butts.

My friend Linda and her evil monkey. They live in Connecticut. I may do a painting of this.