Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about learning, what it means to improve at something, even late in life. Drawing, especially. I’ve been doing more studies of the same image, experimenting with different approaches. Color has been tricky for me. I tend to overdo it and end up with mud. So I’ve been going back … Read more
So I cheated a little this past month.That’s how I’m starting June. I had planned to share an oil painting I’ve been working on, but things aren’t going well there. It may need a complete reworking, so I’m putting it aside for a while. Instead, I’m cheating a bit and using a small charcoal drawing … Read more
On a plane ride back from visiting my daughter’s family, I was sketching from a photo on my phone of our six-month-old granddaughter. During that quiet, awkward period while waiting to “deplane” (what a strange word), a woman across the aisle commented on my sketch. I hadn’t realized she could see what I was doing, … Read more
I have a few projects started now but it is had to push them over the goal line. This is one that I think I will call done for now if only for the reason of saying one finished piece this month. It is a 12″x12” oil painting on a canvas board. I have not … Read more
A figure drawing session at the Hopkins Center for the Arts in February 2025
I have a lot of projects started but unfortunately I am falling short of my goal to get one done every month this month. Maybe I can try for two next month, we will have to wait and see. To be fair, I did lose a little bit of time this week due to some other … Read more
Life still just happening here, same as always… A new piece finished, (I think), over the past few weeks. This is a largish charcoal drawing, largish for me, I know there are people who like to work big, BIG, but for someone whose work is mostly small scale and in sketch books, this is largish. … Read more
Sometime in the past month, I completed my 63rd trip around the sun. While these journeys have started to feel more routine and uneventful, they’ve also taken on a deeper meaning. I’m increasingly aware of how fortunate I’ve been to have 63 of them—and I find myself thinking more often about the limited number left … Read more
For the last 6 months or so I have been studying with Steve Huston, a favorite artist of mine, at his “Draws From Life” course. I have grown a great deal already in my confidence and my ability, (at least in my mind), to make a little better sense of gesture and structure. As well … Read more
We were blessed with a new granddaughter a few weeks ago. Here is a page from a small sketch book I had with me on a recent visit. Not great for sure, there is always the struggle with proportions of children and babys. Here I am trying to work out the structures with quick ink … Read more