Using Red Chalk on Tinted Paper

On Friday I continued to work on my red chalk drawing on hand tinted paper. I deepened the value of some of the shadows and started adding more details to describe the superficial anatomy. I started pulling some highlights out using the kneaded eraser and white chalk. I hope to finish this study up next week.



Red chalk drawing by Marie Dauenheimer.

Figure Drawing Class with Robert Liberace continued

In class this week Robert Liberace demonstrated his soft charcoal technique using tinted paper. Rob has a very confident and energetic way of working. He quickly blocked in the form using vine charcoal. Using a large brush he stabilized the background layer of charcoal by smoothing it out. As he continued to build up the image he added shadows using a soft velvety charcoal. Turning his attention to more detail he used a kneaded eraser to pull out highlights. He also used a paper towel to pull out highlights and lighten areas of the drawing. The darkest darks were added using "Char-koal". The finished drawing seen below has a very painterly quality, not unlike John Singer Sargent.



Charcoal demo by Robert Liberace. Photo by Marie Dauenheimer



Finished charcoal drawing by Robert Liberace. Photo by Marie Dauenheimer



Charcoal portrait of Henry James by John Singer Sargent.

Figure Drawing with Robert Liberace at the Art League

On Friday I started taking a course at the Art League in Alexandria with instructor Robert Liberace. The course is the Figure and Portrait Explored and includes studying the figure with various master drawing techniques such as red chalk, charcoal and silverpoint. Liberace is an accomplished painter, draughtsman and sculptor and a gifted teacher.

This week I started a long study of the figure using terra cotta pencils on a tinted paper I prepared by hand. The paper (hand made by Twinrocker) is prepared using watercolor and shellac and when dry takes the pencil nicely and allows for erasing out highlights and adding them with white chalk. This technique was popular with High Renaissance artists such as Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael.

I plan on posting about the techniques I experiment with in the class and the progress on the drawing below.



Red chalk drawing in progress by Marie Dauenheimer



Silverpoint drawing by Marie Dauenheimer



Charcoal demo drawing by Robert Liberace

Open life Drawing Sessions

I have been running an open life drawing session at the Art Institute of Washington (AiW) in Arlington, Virginia for 5 years. After a break for the holidays the sessions resume this Thursday (January 20, 2011) evening from 6:00-9:00PM. The sessions are a joint effort between the AiW and the Illustrators Club. The sessions are attended by AiW students and faculty, local artists and members of the Illustrators Club. Drawing the figure frequently is a great way to improve general drawing skills, observational skills and a way to experiment with new media.

There are weekly sessions at AiW on Friday evenings, run by faculty member Tom Broad. At the Art Institute of Northern Virginia in Sterling, Virginia, faculty member Jason Axtell runs sessions every Tuesday evening from 6:00-9:00PM.

To learn about other open life drawing sessions in the Washington, DC metro area check out the Figure Models Guild.



Figure sketch by Marie Dauenheimer



Figure sketch by Marie Dauenheimer



Figure sketch by Marie Dauenheimer

Spring Fever! Drawing Plants

The days have been cold and dark so yesterday I bought some hyacinths and daffodils. I like to watch them change from hour to hour as they open and their color alters. I spent some time this afternoon doing a few sketches. I plan on doing more when they fully open. I have been influenced by many botanical artists. Most recently by Ann Swan author of Botanical Portraits in Colored Pencil.

I also enjoy drawing vegetables and fruits and exploring their various textures. Painter Liz Floyd is a master at capturing such texture. I own two of her paintings and go to them for inspiration.



Photo by Marie Dauenheimer



Colored pencil drawing by Marie Dauenheimer



Colored pencil drawing by Marie Dauenheimer



Colored pencil drawing by Marie Dauenheimer

Illustrators Club "Sketch Day" at US Botanic Gardens

On Sunday January 9, 2011 ten members and friends of the Illustrators Club (IC) met at the US Botanic Gardens to draw. Our group included young artists such as 9 year old Sienna Butters, high school student Samatha Bryant, VCU student Ben Bryant to more seasoned artists and members of the IC, including past president Lucinda Levine. The botanic gardens is a perfect place to sketch with lots of comfortable, quite places to draw and get lost in the color and texture of the plants.

After drawing for two hours the group met for lunch at the National Gallery of Art. We enjoyed camaraderie and best of all sharing our drawings. The works were amazing and varied in media from Sienna and Eric Butters who used watercolor pencils and finger painting techniques to create their brilliant paintings, to Lucinda Levine who used pen and ink and Meredith Nelson who drew with markers. Web Bryant used graphite and charcoal to create a lush textural drawing, architect Farshad Ferdowsi impressed us with his energetic graphite sketches. Most high tech was our "Sketch Day" organizer Sayeh Benham who used an iPad to paint a red amaryllis. I used colored pencils on toned paper.

Our next "Sketch Day" is scheduled for Sunday February 13, 2011 at 11:00AM at the National Museum of Natural History. Please join us for an afternoon of sketching (we will meet at the big elephant in the main lobby).



US Botanic Gardens atrium. Photo by Marie Dauenheimer




US Botanic Gardens atrium. Photo by Marie Dauenheimer



Amaryllis. Photo by Lucinda Levine



Eric Butters and painting. Photo by Marie Dauenheimer



Meredith Nelson and sketch. Photo by Sayed Benham



Web Bryant and sketch. Photo by Sayed Benham



Color Pencil Sketch by Marie Dauenheimer

Sketching at The Metropolitan Museum of Art Part II

Last week I spent a day sketching sculptures at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I started in the Greek and Roman galleries and by the afternoon was in the European Sculpture collection. Both these galleries are very comfortable to draw in with lots of benches and chairs. Both galleries feature natural light sources. When I draw from sculptures I try and work from the same piece, but varying the angles.


Houdoun "Bather" 1782. Photo by Marie Dauenheimer


Petrie Court of European Sculptures. Photo by Marie Dauenheimer


Pencil sketch by Marie Dauenheimer


Pencil sketch by Marie Dauenheimer


Pencil sketch by Marie Dauenheimer