Musical Musings and WIP update

Slow ride ... take it easy!! I love to listen to music when I draw. My favorite music is probably classic rock but I wanted something a little different to help me pick up the pace on this drawing and boy did I find it. I did a little searching for some instrumental songs and here are the one's I downloaded from either Amazon's or Walmart's mp3 sites (whoever had either the best sounding tracks or better price-- all other things being equal):

Apache- Jorgen Ingmann
Wipe Out- The Surfaris
Green Onions- Booker T & The MG's
Out of Limits (Lp Version)- The Marketts
Pipeline- The Ventures
Walk Don't Run- The Ventures
Tequila- The Champs
Peter Gunn Theme- Henry Mancini
Sleepwalk- Santo & Johnny
and just for fun . . .
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly Theme Song- Hugo Montenegro & His Orchestra

That's just a couple minutes shy of a half hour of music and I have to say that the time goes by FAST! I can't believe how quickly time flies when I'm drawing anyway but these tunes really push my productivity as I find myself drawing in time with the music. Would love to hear anyone else's suggestions of favorite music to draw or paint to??

WIP- A Boy's Life (update)

Update on progress, which continues to be slow because I'm trying to do too many things at once. But progress is progress, right?

"A Boy's Life" is the name for this series, not necessarily this drawing. I'm not sure what I'm going to title this yet. I usually never know until it's finished and even then, sometimes I start with a certain title only to change it when I eventually think of something better.

WIP- A Boys Life (Update)

Here's my progress since this weekend. It's coming along slower than I'd anticipated but I was a bit under the weather over the weekend and didn't accomplish much of anything. I showed it to my son and he said "why are you drawing my butt mom?" I told him I was NOT drawing his butt, it's a drawing of him climbing. Seeking a second opinion, I showed one of my daughters and asked her what she thought of my progress. She said, "it looks okay so far, but why are you drawing Bubba's butt?".

I'm hoping as I progress, less focus will be placed on his backside and more will be on the drawing as a whole. We'll see if I can divert the viewer's eye to flow the way I want it too. Right now though, with that dark shadow beneath him I'm afraid my kids are right. Bubba's butt seems to be the star of the show!

Current WIP- A Boy's Life (update)

Started on my latest drawing . . . here is my progress so far:

This is going to be challenging I think. Right now I'm just moving about a bit, trying to get my base tones right (the darkest darks, the whitest whites). This is the area I've always had some dificulty with- establishing enough contrast in my drawings so they don't look flat. I think this piece will be a good study in contrasts for me.

The paper I'm using is 11x14 Strathmore Bristol Vellum 500 series. It's 100% cotton rag, archival quality, with an even, slightly textured surface and a soft white color. This is one of my favorite types of paper to use so far-- but I'm still experimenting!

I'm using a 2B Staedtler 925 mechanical pencil. I like this pencil because it's realitively lightweight and allows me a lot of control with very little "effort" when building up layers.

I started drawing with a basic set of Generals' drawing pencils. Then I discovered Derwent graphite pencils which have become my favorite brand of wood cased pencils. After taking a workshop with Armin Mersmann, who primarily uses Graphgear 1000 mechanical pencils, I thought I'd give mechanicals a try, but I wanted something a little lighter to handle. It's not easy finding a wide assortment of lead grades (hardness/softness), but there's enough of a range of leads to do everything that needs to be done. I've primarily been using only 2B to "force" myself into being patient with my drawings and build tone with layers. Also, by using a light touch, I don't "crush" the paper texture like I used to- which not only creates a graphite "shine" but also limits the paper's ability to hold multiple layers of graphite.

In a future post, I'll do an overview of my studio space and the materials I use most freqently.

New Project- A Boy's Life (possible series)

I've started a new project. This one will most likely be the first in a series with the theme of "A Boy's Life". I want to illustrate the natural, adventurous free spirit that inhabits the hearts of so many little boys out there. I got the idea when I found some old pictures of my son from a photo shoot he and I did several years ago on a "just mommy and me" excursion.

This is the picture that I chose to start with.

I figured these would be great reference photos to inspire me to practice drawing the natural textures in rocks, trees, leaves and water. What better model to have than my own boy!! Of course, he's not really a boy now but has become a fine young man any mom could be proud of. Instead of looking down at his trusting, innocent eyes, I now have to look up... way up ... and I see smiling eyes full of hopes and dreams. Enough waxing poetic, time to pick up the pencils and get busy!!

Emily- Completed

Here is the completed drawing of Emily which I delivered on Sunday. She seemed to be very pleased with it. I gave her a note with it to explain what I was trying to convey. The three rays represent The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. I wrote, "when you look at this drawing, remember that no matter where life takes you, over seas, thru forests and over mountains, the Lord is always there to guide you."


I feel like I'm getting better but I'm still so far from the level I want to achieve. The only way to get there is by drawing, drawing some more and drawing some more. So, it's back to the drawing board. . . wonder what my next subject will be???