Annual Student Figure Drawing Show

Hello everyone!  I promise that I'm still doing art, I just haven't gotten my class projects back yet.  But when I do get them back they will definitely be posted on here!

In the meantime, I wanted to do a quick post about the Annual Student Figure Drawing Show.  I had two pieces selected to be in the show!  I was very honored-- especially since my work was up next to such wonderful art done by my peers.  One of my pieces (the ballerina girl) won third place in the show as well!  I thought I would post them here for those of you who would like to see them.  (If you have been following my blog for a while you may recognize them as I have posted them before)

And thank you to everyone who came by the show to see my art-- I really appreciate it! :)

Illustration 3: Oil Painting wrap-up

Hello old (and maybe some new) friends!  I haven't posted anything new for a while because I didn't have much to show until the very end of last semester.  Each oil painting takes quite a long time, so there aren't as many paintings total.  But here are the final three paintings I did in Illustration 3!  This current semester, in Illustration 4, is all about acrylics-- so get ready for some of that in the next few weeks!

This was a reflection study.  I did it of my husband, Andy deciding whether or not to shave off his mustache.  He really didn't have that much of a mustache, but the painting kind of turned him into Tom Selleck.

Here is my original sketch for the piece

And these were my digital color comps

This was an in-class figure painting day (with a live, costumed model).  I was loving how this was turning out and I am sure this was going to be my best painting, but because of my Folk Dance rehearsals/performances I only got to work on it for one day.

This was my final painting for the class, and I think it turned out pretty well!  I decided to try to merge my love of figure drawing (which I feel comfortable/confident doing) and oil painting (which I struggle with).   So here is me figure drawing! 

My original sketch

My digital color comp

Also, during those Folk Dance rehearsals I sketched some dancing girls!  What cute little Welsh clog and Italian Tarantella dancers!

The Book Thief Illustration

I did this illustration months ago but I didn't have time to make some of the final changes that I wanted until now.  I thought I should post it before the movie is released everywhere.  This is a scene from one of my favorite books of all time: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak.  I have posted character drawings from this book before (http://nmb-art.blogspot.com/2012/04/figure-drawing-final-week.html   and   http://nmb-art.blogspot.com/2012/05/some-drawings-and-sketches-for-fun.html ) but never an illustration of a scene.

I chose to illustrate Hans teaching Liesel how to read.  If you have not read this book yet I highly recommend it.

Sketch Dump!

Here are some sketches I've done in the past little while.  I figured it was about time to scan them all in and upload them onto the blog!  Enjoy!

This may be how I take notes on the talks in church

Sometimes you are singing in the choir and have to
sit on the stand and can only draw the backs of the speakers

General Conference doodles

If you've been following my blog for a while you know that in my art classes
I often just draw the other students instead of working on my actual assignment

Girl in my class (almost a year ago... man I need scan more regularly) with awesome features

Illustration 2: Oil Painting (mid-semester update)

Here are the two paintings I have done since the last post!  Unlike Figure Drawing, each painting takes at least three class periods, so I don't have very much to post in my updates.

We have started the figure unit which is exciting! Because I love the figure!  But also kind of scary and worrisome, because I'm afraid that mixing painting into figure drawing is going to make me doubt myself in/lose the one part of art about which I'm truly confident.  Oh well!  As I've said before, it will be a good learning experience and I do want to be able to do figure work in different mediums.

The other painting is for an assignment where we had to create a still life and painting that represents a person/personality.  I haven't quite finished it yet, but any guesses as to who it is? :)

I decided to try being a little more bold and experimental
with color than I usually am-- I liked the result!

Update: Yes, I still do art

Hello friends!  I apologize for the extremely long break between posts here.  This Spring term I wasn't taking any art classes (weird!) and Summer was a little crazy since I was getting married.  Hooray!  Anyway, I just wanted to reassure you all that I do indeed still do art.

This semester I am only taking one Illustration class (I'm almost done with my major which is freaking me out a little) and it is all about oil painting!  Painting is not my strong suit as I have very little experience with it.  So this class has been, and will continue to be, a very good learning experience for me.  The first half of the semester is all still-life paintings (so this will be a little flashback for all you long time readers to my posts a couple years ago-- http://nmb-art.blogspot.com/2011/11/some-serious-backlog.html ).  However, the second half will be figure painting!  You know how I love the figure!

Anyway, here are the paintings I have done so far (from earliest to most recent):

This piece was done with only Ultramarine Blue, Burnt Sienna, and White paint

This piece was focusing on warm vs. cool lights and shadows.
It was also done with only the three colors mentioned above.

This piece was done only using Alizaron Crimson, Yellow Ochre, white, and black paint.
Grapes are hard.

Master-work study of a Diego Velazquez painting.

I painting this piece using only a palette knife-- no brushes.

Using palette knives makes the paint quite thick.

Advanced Figure Drawing: End of the Semester

We started our drapery unit and have been working on that for the past two weeks.  I sometimes dread drapery and I sometimes love it.  It usually takes me a bit to get into it and comfortable and remember that it doesn't have to be as complicated as it seems.  But there were a couple drawings that I think turned out really well. Enjoy!