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A friend of mine asked me why I draw with a ballpoint pen the other day. When I first began learning to draw the figure I chose to work with pen initially so I couldn't erase. The thought process of having to accept and work with the marks that you put on a page still intrigues me to this day. It generally forces me to be braver when I draw and that always helps create more dynamic drawings, mistakes, and nuances that identify me as an individual. I like to see the struggle of the artist on the page and using a pen or any other permanent tool to make marks with encourages that. Here's some images drawn with a Ballpoint pen.

This is a drawing of Craig who regularly attends the Draw Humans sessions at Theceeflat.

Here's a few drawings of Gestural poses. These were about 2 minute poses

Here's a complete figure drawing from a 20 minute pose of Laura

Reve > is French for "Dream"

I often speak to other artists about naming of their pieces and it's not uncommon for it to be a tough subject for some. For me it seems like a simple process and this illustration was no different.

The look on the woman's face I had drawn seemed to have a longing for something different than her current situation, half removed from the person who's face was looking back at her in the mirror, a longing, dreaming of another life. Through word searching on the internet I came about the word Reve. I liked the look of the word and it seemed to fit the illustration style plus the meaning fit as well. Just like that a name is born. I've always been under the belief that no matter how much intention you have for a piece of art and what you'd like it to be you must always leave room for what it wants to be as well.

Here are some of my favorite studies from September..

I chose this one because it's something I'm working on, which is just painting while working from the model. That is no mediums that are generally used for drawing, ie: markers, pens, oil pastels etc……Just acrylic paint and a few brushes. This page was prepared before painting this image with a solid green background. "Killing the white of the background like that helps you to work with paint a little better. It basically creates a mood that you can then place your figure into.

I really love the way this one came out. It reminds me of an old USO poster, or something that would have promoted Coney Island. It just has that 40's/50's feel to it mostly I suspect because of the color.

In this image, as opposed to the last two, I'm using drawing as well as painting. There are many things that I like about this but mainly the distortion through the page and the complexity of the angles in which body parts are moving. The stockings might have caught my attention as well.

Anjela is a dancer and an awesome figure model. Besides being very comfortable modeling she's also very concerned with creating dynamic poses that have a unique feeling to them. When a model goes that extra bit to create something interesting it pushes me, as the artist, to enhance my sense of graphics and vision resulting in something theatrical and theatrics always make for good pictures…..

Here are the drawing / paintings for this week…….My thought process for this week was to push my images and keep adding to them. To explore layering and building up the images. I didn't want to settle for just a good drawing and that basically brought me into a more painterly attitude with these images……

 Image 1: I like this image for the exploration of different sized marks or paint strokes on the page. The figure is barely emerging from within them but the variation of the marks makes for an interesting image despite the figure.

Image 2: I like this image for the thought process of painting and the adding of light to allow the figure to emerge from the page. There was an underlying abstract painting here initially. I created a line drawing of the figure on top and began painting in the volume of the body on top of that……

Image3: This image is a little on the rough side compared to some of the things that I usually do but that's what I like about it the most. I think that with the combination of colors, the primitive types of marks running throughout the figure and the composition of the page the image works. Detail could be added but I'm not sure if that would help or hurt what’s going on here……

Image 4: What I like mostly here is the way that the colors pop off of the grayed out background. Nothing seems to make colors sing more than juxtaposing them against a color that has little to no hue in it. If the background were white the colors would still sing but they'd be competing with the white background. Here the colors are left to perform on their own…

Image 5: I included this image because of it's simplicity. It amazes me how a simple wash can describe the form of the body. After that wash lays out the terrain it's always fun to come in and draw around and on top of that form.

Image 6: I like this final image for a bunch of reasons……I like the line drawing that runs throughout, the distortion of the figure to push space on the page, the way that the feet and hands came out, the abstraction in the background, and the patterning in the pillow. It's generally my taste for design and drawing that attracts me to this image. I hope you enjoyed the images for this week. More on the way soon…..

This week we drew another one of my favorite models. Her name is Lori and she's well known on the Long Island figure scene. She's a large model and just about one of the most interesting people to draw. My focus this week was to create mood in the images and to think about designing the backgrounds on the image as well. I was also looking to fill the entire page and create a more complete image rather than a solitary figure sitting on the page. I wasn't too worried about creating a representational image (one that looks just like what the model looks like). I was focused on the overall composition, design, and picture as a whole…….

Image 1: Chosen for it's overall composition and it's sense of volume. I enjoy how the figure feels like it's being chisled out of the page and the abstractions that exist in the background as well. I believe this image works as it is without adding anymore detail. I wouldn't be against adding some small bits of detail here and there but I don't think it's necessary for the image to work compositionally.

Image 2: I chose this image for it's mood and it's potential. Unlike the first image I feel this image needs more work to finish it. It's got an interesting mood to it which I like, but I will be painting back into this one to bring more weight into the figure itself. Once I do that it should create a lot of space between the figure and the background which will force the depth I'd like to see in this image..

Image 3: I chose this because of it's abstract composition. The figure's not recognizable and it's not supposed to be but the shapes that reside on the page have been created by using the figure as a point of departure. This is mainly a study in composition, color and space. I feel this image is complete. I think it's interesing to solve compositions on a page just as a musical composer solves compositions. When the songs complete you move on and create another one…..

Whenever I'm drawing the figure on a consistent basis my sketchbooks benefit as a result. It's a good argument why I will always continue to study. The more that I study the more I produce. My mind keeps moving with ideas and it fosters creativity. I've never gone to school for art and that doesn't bother me a bit. I am a student of art and will always continue to be. As I grow my thoughts change and new things come of it. I don't believe in having a block as an artist. I believe that if you create without fear and without judgment and allow yourself the freedom to play and enjoy the process of making art interesting things will come out of that exploration. Here's a page I drew in my sketchbook the other day. It's fun and creative and I think that there's some interesting things happening here.If someone asked me how to be an artist my simple answer would be to create art. I haven't found a better way to do that than to keep a sketchbook at all times, a place to explore, fail, test, think, color and learn. It might just be as simple as that……..

This week I have two images to show. These were drawn live from one of my favorite models. I was trying to use mood and design in these images. The mood I accomplisehd in one of them by creating a backlit situation where the figure is slightly shadowed causing a strong sense of light. In both images I was able to incorporate patterns into the backgrounds to add a sense of design to them. Whenever I'm creating patterns my focus is mainly on letting the pattern have a life of it's own and not controlling it too much. I generally want to patterns to seem random which always helps them to feel more natural…….

Image 1:

Image 2:

Professor Edwardo Alvarado is just one of the many musicians that grace the halls of New York's Penn Station. On the days that I travel to the city I often enjoy the sounds of the somewhat random melodys that linger through the tunnels. You can always count on a performance while your there.I found Mr Alvarado to be one of the more intriguing musicians that I've seen thus far. If I had to descibe him in words it would be:Spirited, humble, shining, inspiring, full of energy, and dedicated. That was my visual impression of him. I've never spoken to him, just a quick exchange of smiles as I dropped a few dollars in his hat, purchased one of his CDs and snapped a quick photo for nostaglia's sake.He had an interesting shape to his body and the way that he sat hunched when he played his keyboard. I thought I"d take the 10 minutes that I had to wait for the train and sketch him. In the sketch I was trying to capture the life and character of his presence and the beauty of the sounds as they eminated from his fingers. Here' some snapshots of him, a small taste of his Ecuadorian sounds, and the sketch I did….

Turn the (Sound OFF) in the slideshow window at the top of this page before listening to the track below