Figure Drawings

End of semester 3 hour drawing - vine charcoal and conté 

So I'd say that my drawing has improved. Last semester I took a Figure Drawing for Illustrators class and it proved to me what drawing for 6-8 hours a week, with professional guidance from my lovely teacher, Erin Meads, can do. There is a 10,000 hours rule - if you work on improving a talent for 10,000 hours you WILL get amazing results. Plain and simple. Line upon line. One hour at a time. It's not a philosophy or opinion to be debated. It's a law of the universe. 

Now, I just need more time.

I thought I would post pictures of my progress from the beginning of the semester to the end to illustrate my improvement.

 This drawing was done a few semesters before taking the class in a live gesture drawing session.

This was a sustained pose done on the first day of class. This is the first sustained pose from life I had done in over 15 years. I was a little rusty.

Gesture drawings beginning to mid-semester.

Sustained poses mid-semester

Gestures and sustained poses mid-semester to end of semester

End of the semester portraits and sustained poses

This one is my favorite of all.

Erin Meads is a wonderful teacher. Tremendously positive and encouraging, she gave such soft criticism  while pointing out my strengths that only made me want to work harder. Because of her tutoring, I finally feel like a real artist.

To view some of Erin's work, you can visit her blog: Erin Meads

Happy New Year! Come Monday, I start painting for 6-8 hours a week. 

Wish me luck! 

September Display = Carnival + Back-to-School Theme

For my September theme, I thought of all the carnivals and festivals coming to town as well as the children going back to school. A lot of my inspiration came from some of my favorite items purchased over the years from The Black Apple.

Behind this little aproned girl are both of Emily Martin's published books opened to their school scene pages: Oddfellow's Orphanage (left) and The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer (right).

The book underneath her is a limited edition Oddfellow's Compendium I was lucky to snag from her shop.

Another Black Apple doll clutching a small book and pencil, sitting atop some old-school library books.

The Black Apple Lost on the Midway print, complete with a popcorn bag and some stylish tickets.

This may be my most favorite monthly display yet!

Halloween 2011 and 2012

Front door

I went with a more vintage, fun theme this year instead of my normal witch's apothecary look.

These busts got their Halloween costumes on.

This is the famous sofa table that gets decorated every month.

 

The following are my Halloween 2011 displays...