Tying her ribbons

My first drop-in session with Sky Blue Art Classes was on the subject of Degas and his dancers. It was a very busy session and it was good to see Jane Denman again.

This was drawn from a reference photograph in the style of Degas, with Conte hard pastels on grey W&N pastel paper. It measures 12in by 10in approximately.

Father's Tools

The task last evening at Art Club was to paint something from your tool box. These items came from my father's toolbox. He became a carpenter when he was demobbed from the Navy in 1945, and the plane pictured here is date-stamped 1946. We lost Dad in 2009, and painting this brought back lots of good memories.

It measures approximately 14" by 10", and is painted with Conte hard pastels on W&N coloured pastel paper.

Nat

This has taken some time to do. It was a real struggle to capture the likeness, and this is the second attempt.

It was painted with Conte hard and soft pastels on W&N coloured paper, and measures 10" by 12" approximately.

One for the August exhibition I think.

The Station Master

This was painted from a photograph taken on our holiday last year to Bulgaria. As the aging train pulled into the fairly remote station, this chap donned his hat and was immediately transformed into a figure of authority, despite the creased suit and the slackened tie.

It measures approximately 10" by 12". Conte pastels were used on W&N coloured paper.

Suzie in the Captain's chair

The last Sunday morning session was on 10 April 2011. Suzie, a new model, had beautiful definition and was a real joy to draw.

This is the best of the pieces, completed in around 45 minutes, using Conte hard pastels on W&N coloured paper. It measures 12" by 14" and looks really good double mounted and framed. A possibility for the Lancing Art Club exhibition, although it might be a little racy!

Oscar

The task at Art Club last week was to paint a horse's head. My attempt on the evening was not bad, but had a number of anatomical errors! One of the members also recommended that a black background would be better than the gray used for the original. Here is the result of the second attempt. Thanks Mary, you were right about the background.

It measures approximately 12" by 18" and is painted with Conte hard and soft pastels on W&N pastel paper. This is one for the exhibition, I think.

Segovia

The task at Art Club last night was to paint a musician. This man was an inspiration to me, as I struggled as an 11 year old to master the fiendishly difficult classical guitar. Segovia seemed effortlessly to make that instrument sing. Long before Hendrix, Clapton et al he was my original guitar hero.

This was drawn with charcoal and conte pastel on coloured W&N paper. Not a bad likeness, and it brought back some super memories.