Diana's Love for Her Hound

"Diana's Love for Her Hound"
     pastel drawing on paper
                  NFS

This is my submission for Karin Jurick’s DSFDF Challenge. We were asked to draw or paint an entire marble sculpture of goddess Diana and her hound. I decided to put away my paints for a while and work on my drawing skills. Karin suggested taking our time working on the three dimensional qualities, details, weight and elegance of the sculpture. My focus was also to capture Diana's loving gaze at her hound as he licked her thigh.

After reams of practice drawings with vine charcoal, one even upside down and backwards, I finally felt confident enough for the final drawing without having to use a grid. The drawing was sketchy so I could correct as I went along, while continuing to work on values, form, and edges at the same time.

I decided to do my drawing on Canson Mi-Teintes pastel paper using the smooth side. I used Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils that are soft enough for glazing and firm enough to sharpen in an electric pencil sharpener to keep their points sharp for detail.

My experience of working in hard and soft pastel years ago while studying under the guidance of the late James C. Prohl, classical realist painter and teacher has been a big help in this challenge. I never thought I could go back to doing such detailed work again or even have the patience. Thanks to Karin Jurick, she has again come up with a great challenge that stretches my skill further than I thought I could go. Be sure too check the Different Strokes from Different Folks blog for the many wonderful versions of Diana and her hound.

Drawing of Cole

Graphite on Strathmore paper 

4x5

Last night I decided to see how long it would take to draw this darling boy named Cole. I used the photo from James Parker's "Window to the Words" blog. Check his blog here, he posted this one on the first of the month and artists have the whole month to submit a painting or drawing. I'm not sure yet if I will work this up into a painting and submit it to his blog...I just wanted to test myself to see how long it would take me to draw it.

I am realizing now why it takes me so long to paint. Not only is it a challenge for me to mix the right colors as I start a painting but getting a good drawing down with correct proportions is important too. The only way I can achieve this is to draw daily even if it's only a 5 minute sketch. It took me over an hour to do this...I hope I can speed up and improve more on my proportions as I keep drawing daily.

Back to Drawing

I decided to take the advice Karen Jurick gave on her Different Strokes from Different Folks blog. She said, “For anyone out there who wants to to be a better painter - it has to start with being a good drawer.” So that is what I have been doing...struggling with my drawing of a marble sculpture and sketching whenever I can.

These sketches were done in my Strathmore 6.25 x 8.5 sketchpad. I used PITT Graphite Pure pencils by Faber-Castell. I really love these pencils because they are solid graphite, no wood but they can break if you drop them on a hard surface. You can get some nice darks with the 2 and 3 B but I used mostly the HB on these two sketches. This is a good time of the year to draw trees here in Wisconsin, they are just starting to bud.The 2nd sketch is Dick, my better half who is always a willing subject while watching cable news in the evening.

A Passion for Painting Award

Now that I’m back from Florida’s sun and sandy beaches, I’m ready to start painting again. First though I want to thank Ann Marie Propts who passed this “Passion for Painting Award” on to me while I was gone. Ann Marie has some wonderful paintings of pets, people and cityscapes that are fresh and alive with color so be sure to check them out on her blog and also her latest submission to DSFDF.

Rules are as follows:

List seven things that you love
Put a link to the artist who tagged you for this honor
Pass the honor on to seven artists you feel should receive the recognition
Let them know they received this award

Seven things I LOVE (in no particular order)

- Four legged pals; Kiki, Dorie, & Shawna
- Two legged ones; spouse, kids, grandkids & my sibs of course
- Wisconsin Swiss Cheese (okay, so I’m a cheese head)
- My pochade box (skillfully crafted by spouse)
- Painting and thinking about painting
- Swimming in Lake Superior on hot summer days
- Omanhene Hot Cocoa on cold winter nights

Here is my list of artists I follow that have been a real source of inspiration to me in their work habits, level of skill and passion they show in their paintings.

Frank A. Edwards
Holly Zemak
Becky Joy
Cathleen Rehfeld
Dana Cooper
Todd Smith
Charlene Brown