some studies

been working on some gouache studies last few days. these are about 45 minutes each. they don't completely suck, but they are far from where i want to be. this new brand i'm using seems less opaque than what i used to use, and the color mixing also is a little different so i've been struggling a little with that.

the dude on the moped in the alley is from a really cool photo i found on the BBC once (this study does the photo no justice); the other two cityscapes are from regensburg germany; and the mountain is from castle craggs state park.

not strictly from drink and draw

...but i suppose the kernel of the idea came from there. and developed into this sort of flying craft. thought it was an interesting shape. might put it in a scene at some point..

some sketches of a coffee shop over time

there's a coffee shop i go to every now and then that i've drawn often. it's grungy and cramped but full of character. i've drawn it so many times. here's the latest as well as an earlier one from a similar angle.

from the previous drink and draw

i wasn't feeling particularly imaginative that night, so i resorted to drawing the always interesting and challenging hanging motorcycles. bikes and motorcycles are such complicated shapes i find.

from friday

i've decided (as i have before in the past) that in my time off i need to paint more using real paint. i'm trying a different brand of gouache (holbein acryla) than i usually do (windsor newton) and also trying to work more transparent, so definitely signs of struggle here above and beyond normal challenges of figure drawing. these are two, five, and ten minute poses i think. somehow never managed to get to the model's face...hmmm...

as with most life sketches i do

there are some things i like about these two (from a few months back), but some things that i don't and in retrospect i wanna kick myself for not having seen it/thought things through. in this first one i like that i was able to get the model's face in a few strokes. on the other hand, that back leg...ugh...also she had this beautiful bright red orange hair (see second image) but worked too dark here. and above all, in both these paintings i don' t really make good use of the toned paper, and in not taking advantage of this they ended up being in many places overworked. these are both 20 minute sketches.

Boddington's Brewery Gnome