CGP in Exile

The Lady is a Tramp

My first figure drawing session of the new year was none other than Sammich the Tramp. One of the advantages of my drawing group is the chance to draw some of St. Louis' elite burlesque performers on a regular basis.

Colors

Look, a naked girl! Something you don't often see around here..

'cause they have "hollow weenies!"

One from the vault. I drew this some time ago, possibly years, when I was experimenting with combining Asian imagery and Day of the Dead motifs (I guess, in so far as anything with a skull can be considered DotD). Like some of the recent posts, I started with a simple color scheme and it wasn't doing much for me. When I added the shadows and a light source, the image just popped. To illustrate my point, here is the original drawing and the in-between stage of the process.

You can also see what small touches were added digitally.

Weekend Quickie

These were from a session a few months ago. I was not incredibly impressed with them at the time. Having dug them up and played around with them a little, I think I was able to put together something worthwhile. I had originally gone with a style very similar to the last post. Instead, I opted for more dramatic lighting. I think it really makes these images stand out.

You Can Leave My Hat On pt. 2

These sketches were done at the same session as the last post. I thought I might try a little something different with the Photoshop part. I think it really works for this set. Not sure I could get away with it too often. Man, I miss that hat.

You Can Leave My Hat On pt. 1

I did these sketches a few months ago. Not sure why they never got posted then but here they are. I just threw the color in to break up the monotony. I actually kind of like it.

When I say "Earl Grey," you say "yes please..."

Friend and fellow artist Flammis modeled a new steampunk costume for us recently. I guess I got a little carried away in "post." Talk about using every tool in the shed.

Whatever Lola Wants

Got a chance to draw the lovely Lola van Ella. A bit of a local celebrity and a natural performer, she added en element of natural grace not always present with figure models. The fact that she's smokin' hot didn't hurt in the slightest.

Kind of an off and on night as evidenced by the 'linebacker shoulders' I kept giving her.

She was joined in the last session by friend and fellow performer Sammich the Tramp. Still kicking myself for missing out on drawing her solo.

Hear the Lamentation of the Women

My drawing group hosted a theme night in honor of the late, great Frank Frazetta. If you are unfamiliar with his work then you should probably just stop reading this now. As a teenager, Frazetta was a big influence on me so imitating his work was certainly nothing new.

The Doctor is In

Better late than never. These are from a session at Dr. Sketchy's. The models on hand were Ami Amore and Elle Adorabelle.

The theme was 'Sketchy's in Wonderland.' To be quite honest, I was kind of getting burned out on the theme at the time.

I got there a bit late so I missed the warm up sketches and had a bad seat, next to the DJ. A DJ, really?

I managed to get a few good sketches out of the evening. Including this one of Ami Amore's ass. Nice.

Let Them Eat Art

Some friends and I will be hanging out on Friday, July 9th in Maplewood for part of the annual Let Them Eat Art celebration. ~~I think there may be a pub/sketch crawl lined up for afterward~~ I will be organizing a pub/sketch crawl afterward.

Mojo Rising

From a recent session at Mojo Studios at Concrete Ocean Art Galleries. Sepia Pens.

I'm a little behind on scanning and posting but I'm working on it.

Dena the Bodybuilder

Got a chance to sketch a bodybuilder recently. This made for an interesting break from our typical figure models.

She did not have augmented breasts, rather a rarity in the field of women's bodybuilding. She was also a Florida native and from my neck of the woods so it was fun to geek out about Tampa/ St. Pete culture that my St. Louis friends simply can not relate to.

I pretty much took a stab with all of the pens in my arsenal; switching up tips and pens for different effects.

Several members of the group are using the same Staedtler colored pens I am to different results. I may have to start thinking outside of my proverbial box. (Right, because I do SO well with change.)

Despite the horrendously out of proportion shoulder on this one, it is my favorite of the evening. Maybe just because it is blue.

Pic-a-nic Basket

Contrary to the lack of recent posts, I have been drawing a lot lately. My art group has been averaging 2-3 sessions per week which has kept me busy. Pity my poor dog.

I bought a set of Micron Sepia pens. This is marketing speak for "brown." The set consistes of 4 pens in sizes and tips I commonly use: .1, .5, Brush and 1. This first sepia was done entirely with the brush tip, something I normally do not do. I prefer the tight lines and control of the .1 for drawing, relying on everything else for shading and texture.

This one was done in my normal technique only brown instead of the usual black. I think the brown pens would work better on a darker paper. Perhaps I should look in to that.

Another recent purchase was a set of Staedtler colored pens. I have used staedtler pens before and I really liked them. My only complaint is that all the pens in the set are the same tip size and a bit larger than I prefer to draw with. (why should I try new things?)

After a few times with the colored pens, I find I prefer to draw with my normal black pens and use the colored pens to highlight and add texture. I know artists who draw with color, using complimentary colors to form lines and shading but I haven't quite got that down yet.

My apologies to this lovely model who was absolutely gorgeous but I spent too much time on experimenting to get anything truly worthwhile out of the session. (Okay, that second brown drawing is good. Maybe I should finish that.)