Ahuena's Bus

So, I am having a lot of fun with my new Tombow pens and am doing a little experimenting with them. This drawing is from Monday.  I am impressed with how productive I have been recently.

I am making an effort to do a few things. First and foremost, I am trying to use the entire page. I want to give context to the figures and provide a setting to the figure.

Ahuena drives the special needs kids to their after school program and then home. I ride along with them and am inspired by them.  This picture of Ahuena's Bus was made with a tombow pen and water to create a wash and then I went back into the drawing with some blue watercolor to create the blue shirt and the gray washes.

I really like how this drawing looks. My favorite part of this sketch is the mirrors. The large rear view and the round bubble on the hood of the bus.

This was a lot of fun to draw. I will have to do a few more like them.

"The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak."  

~Hans Hofmann, Introduction to the Bootstrap, 1993

Student Drawings X

More drawings of students, now with tombow pens. I really like the sketch above. It has a really nice likeness of the student.

"Dismiss thoughts of 'good, bad, right, wrong, success, failure' - be spontaneous." 

~ Josh Goldberg

HMoA Drawing Class 02/04/13 - Carli

"The nakedness of woman is the work of God." 

~ William Blake

Another Drawing Class at the Honolulu Art Academy. The model was Carli. The last time I drew her, I had a rough morning so the drawings were not all that great. I had a much better day Monday Night.

Above is my favorite of the night. It was the last of the 20 minute poses with 3 gesture drawings behind it. This pose came out very nice. The foreshortening on the hand and the foot made this drawing a little difficult.

I like the face of this drawing in particular. The blue ink wash I used for a even tone, was not in that area of the page. I was able to fit the highlights of the face in that area. The end effect is that the highlights are a little brighter there. I consider this a little serendipitous, but it is something that can be built with enough preparation.

I would always hear in painting classes that Rembrandt would plan his paintings from even the gesso phase of a painting. For the non painters, gesso is the white paint one primes the canvas with. For most it is making the canvas white. Rembrandt would build up thicker areas in the gesso step. This means that he had an idea what the final painting would look like even at the earliest of steps.    

This gives me an idea. I could experiment with this in a space I knew how the model would be posed.  Then prep the ink for the shadowed areas and use the white of the page for highlights.  I may try this at the Zwick studio one of these Saturdays.

Above is the 2 five minute poses and the 10 minute pose. My lack of oil pastel is starting to show in this particular drawing.  I ordered the oil pastels I use online they hopefully will arrive before this weekend.  

Above is the first of the 20 minute poses. I thought the pose was unusual and I like how the drawing came out.  The gestures behind it are also looking pretty impressive. This was almost my favorite of the night.

Above is the second of the 20 minute poses. It is a nice portrait but unfortunately the clock caught up to me on this drawing. It was a really pretty pose perhaps I can rework this one a little and add a few more details to the drawing.

This life drawing class is on Monday at 7PM. It is located at the The Honolulu Museum of Art School, formerly the Academy Art Center at Linekona. There is a $10 class fee. 

Around the Gaming Table - Robert

I did an ink drawing of one of my friends. He has a very smug look on his face.

I actually really like this likeness of Robert. I am really happy I did this sketch. 

"Expression is the essence of thought." 

~ Tony Calderone

Tombow Pens - A Happy Reunion

I walked up to a woman at the Honolulu Academy Drawing Class, eagerly I asked, "Where did you get Tombow pens?" As I pointed to the set I saw in her clear art box. "I love them."

For the Unfamiliar, Tombow pens are duo-sided, water-based markers. On one tip, they have a marker reminiscent of the thin crayola markers I used as a kid. The other side has a quarter-inch felt brush. The ink is thick and bold and the pens last for a good long time.

Unfortunately, living in Hawaii, there was only one distributor that was bringing them in, so regrettably I had gone without them for a while. After seeing this woman work with them, I bit the bullet and purchased two boxes of them online. 

When I got them, I opened them up and began drawing with a fury. These sketches are from a Starbucks visit where I drew waiting for a movie to start.

I went into the drawings with water, and washed out areas of the drawing, creating a neat effect. I am loving how quick and fast these drawings are.

Love, my friends, is sketching with Tombow pens.

“The act of putting pen to paper encourages pause for thought, 

this in turn makes us think more deeply about life, 

which helps us regain our equilibrium.”

 ~ Norbet Platt

UH Figure Drawing 02/03/13 - Tina

So, another Figure Drawing Session at the University of Hawaii. I had to leave early, so I only got two pages done that day.

Above is my favorite of the two and I really like it. It started with another page of Tina I did a few weeks ago at the Honolulu Art Academy Figure Drawing. I think the page looks complete now.

I think the central figure is doing a good job pulling the page together.

This was the first 20 minute pose of the afternoon and the last one of the workshop for me. I like how the figure came out. It is an unusual view of the model but the drawing is doing well, defining the form. I don't think the page is complete. I may add another drawing to it.

Zwick Studio - 02/02/13 - Honey - Day 4

Day 4 of this painting. It is progressing very nicely.

It is the second day of color.

I was really intrigued with trying to differentiate the areas of her body that are regularly exposed to the sun and the parts that were not. Trying to capture the difference in color in her face and arms while making her torso look paler by comparison.

The half tones, the grays in the highlights and shadows, are looking very nice in this painting. Though I may have over done it a little.

I am happy with the progress on this painting though I am a little disappointed that we have to wait two weeks to complete it.

However I am going to make the most of this opportunity. I want to trade out the pedestal Honey is leaning on with something else. I am thinking at the moment a Fu Dog. Though an Olmec Colossal Head might also be fun. Any other ideas?

Zwick Studio is located at 1041 Maunakea St. Honolulu, HI, 96817. His open studio is on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. There is a $15 class Fee.  www.williamzwickart.com