Julia's Smirk

This is a white charcoal, charcoal, and pencil of my niece Julia.  She kept smirking so I decided to capture it.  She is a pretty lively personality so a smirk fits.

Sophia

This is another version of Sophia, my niece, but done in pencil.

Sophia

So this is is a black charcoal, white chalk, and pencil.  I have been working on these type of portraits for awhile and this is part of the ones which are starting to be good enough to make the cut to be in the blog. 

Faces

Practice eyes, lips, mouth and chins.  Sort of a strange mix of quick sketches, this all leads to actual faces or portraits.  I will post some full faces tomorrow.

Practice, Practice, Practice

More heads from Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing.  These sketches relax me and get me in a better mood.  I think the process is to observe and capture the planes of the face.  The upper right nose and eye sketch is a face with the planes developed more realistically.

Day after Day

"Day after Day, Never fail to draw something which, however little it may be, will yet in the end be much, and do thy Best."

Cennino Cennini c. 1390

Above is a threesome from skulls from Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life.  After the day job I do not always have the mental ability to draw or paint something original so I practice from a couple of classical drawing and Art guides.  I think of it as similar to practicing cords in music, after I am done I fell calmer and some what refreshed, i.e. Creativity for Sanity.

American Goldfinch

The American Goldfinch is always a spring time marker.  The males have the bright plumage.  They are around all year round but they are really noticeable in spring.  Put out thistle seeds and you will see them too.  We have seen them in Colorado, Utah, and Maryland.