Figure Drawing : Pastels

So I think I've left charcoal-only drawings behind for good. It's not that I don't like doing them...well it kind of is, but only because I think I've reached my capacity in that medium. I'm awful—when we're doing a longer pose in class, and I've only been working in charcoal, I either keep drawing over the same parts over again, or sit back and wait for time to run out. With pastels, though, I totally lose myself in the drawing and the colors, and the other day I even noticed that my heart was beating faster!

I used to use my Senneliers, but then I discovered Nupastels, which are firmer and better for finer lines. And less messy, though it's still hard to eat and work at the same time (I like to eat and do many other things at the same time)... I think I may start combining the two next time, though, using the soft pastels for broader, first-layer strokes, and the Nupastel on top. And maybe more Sennelier on top for contrasting texture. I'm getting all excited just thinking about it! Can't wait for class on Monday.

my etsy

It's up! So far there are only 10 drawings, but there will be more to come every day. It's a lot of work for a newbie, geting it all set up: taking the pictures, editing the photos to get them to match the drawings in real life, writing descriptions and my profile,... I'm not complaining, but who knew it would be so hard to get the black and white ones true to life? I think I still need to change the banner, though. Even though I love that photo—it looks like nothing, but it's a picture I took at night in New York, of those glass circles in the sidewalk with the light from the basement shining through. I wonder what was in that underground room. Ooo, spooky..

Work in progress. And getting ready to post some stuff on etsy.

Fake Polaroids

Poladroid takes your photos and makes them look all dreamy and old-looking. I love this effect which is why I have so many toy cameras, so I feel like I'm cheating with this computery version, but it's still fun. It's a little gimmicky, like it takes forever for the "film" to develop, and you can only convert like 10-ish photos before it tells you the cartridge is empty and makes you quit and restart the program, but tonight I just worked on an unfinished dress from draping class last term while I waited for it to do its thing. So here are some from my first "cartridge" (second, really, since it froze during the first set and I had to restart it). I know Christmas is over, but I never got to post about it! These are actually from different Christmases, the bottom three photos from Paris (our family had a very romantic Christmas dinner—check out that lighting), and the first from a bank here in San Francisco—I love that one: a snowman choir! There were more I wanted to put up, but blogger was being stubborn. Actually, that last one is not very polaroided at all...hm. But anyway, I want to see your poladroids, too.

A Card for My Dad

getting over a cold

Happy Thanksgiving~