Paper and Threads

Yesterday was a gorgeous day near New York Harbor.  We had a cool breeze while sketching the model and the rest of Manhattan was really hot.    

We did 10 one minute sketches to warm up, and I actually liked one of them more than usual. 

The warm up sketches were done on newsprint with an 8B graphite pencil.  The rest were done with a General brand Sketch and Wash pencil (soluble graphite) and then finished with a Niji water brush. 

These are the 5 and 10 minute sketches.

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These are the 20 min poses:

The flowers in Wagner Park were amazing this week - probably because of the amount of rain we've had.  I'll post them after I finish the painting. 

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I haven't been to Battery Park City as often this summer, but still really enjoy the setting, visiting with others who regularly attend the sessions, and drawing really good models, in a program that is sponsored by the Battery Park City Conservancy.   These models are clothed because the session is held outdoors in the Park.

Five minute poses:  I recognized this model from prior venues when she let her hair down."  These and the 10 minute poses were drawn with a General Sketch and Wash graphite pencil.  The graphite was then spread with a Niji waterbrush.

Ten Minute Poses

Twenty Minute Poses: I switched to a Mahogany Caran d'Ache watercolor pencil for the final poses.

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Urban Sketchers Gathered for Lunch: We met on 5th Ave opposite the Guggenheim Museum, and had lunch in the Gardens behind the Cooper Hewitt Museum.  These were 3 of the artists sitting across from me in the gardens.

Park Person: My Husband and I went to the Boat Basin (Conservatory Garden) in Central Park early on a Sunday morning.  While drinking coffee and eating a croissant I sketched this person who was very busy editing a manuscript - and she stayed long enough to be drawn and painted.

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I love two minute sketches - they are more free and spontaneous for me.  Twenty minute drawings - the longest in the venues I draw - are sometimes torture.  I'm done by 10-15 minutes and keep fiddling with lines. This was one of my 2 minutes sketches today at Figure Drawing. 

Five Minute Sketch: This was a full body pose, but I chose to limit the amount shown, just to post the face of the model and amazing hair.

Ten Minute Sketch:  Thin, but muscular, and I was even able to see and paint his vertebrae.

Twenty Minute Pose:  Devin was a very relaxed model and I would love to draw him again.  He told me afterward that he likes to "mix it up and next time he may have his dreadlocks loose!"

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My friend and I went to Wagner Park under threats of rain and thunderstorms, but we actually made it through the morning session, had lunch, and were able to sketch the model for the first hour before the rain began. 

Flowers blooming in Wagner Park: I love seeing the various flowers in bloom each time I visit Wagner Park.  The staff keep the flower gardens looking beautiful, and there are always a few new types of flowers since the week before.

Figure Al Fresco - Brianna

We had one minute warm up sketches, 2 five minute sketches, and 2 ten minute sketches.  While drawing the first few minutes of the 20 minute sketch, rain drops began and we packed up and went to visit an exhibit at the Center for Book Arts - Manhattan's amazing bookbinding/letterpress center.  It poured as we were moving between sites, and were lucky we left the minute that we did.  I was drawing with a watercolor pencil, and the first few rain drops made a mess on my paper.

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