Astounded

So CGMA has posted their student gallery for last term (Spring 2013).  I'm incredibly humbled by their selections.

I hold 5 of the 16 gallery spots for Dynamic Sketching I.  :o

I completely expected to have 1, possibly 2 of my pieces in the gallery because I feel really good about my work last term.  But having a third of the available slots in a class with ~35 students is shocking to me.  I'm looking into how the pieces are selected for my own curiosity and will update this post when I find out.

In a humorous and slightly boggling turn of events, I also have a piece in the Intro to Perspective gallery even though I took that class two terms ago.  :D

So thank you to CGMA for teaching me the methods to make better art and then showcasing it for me.  This has been an amazing experience so far. 

Damn Polaroids...

Here's my final piece for Dynamic Sketching I.  Designed a series of ambush predators who hide amongst the orchids.  I am not completely happy with the finished product.  I feel like I tightened up early and it constrained my drawing. 

Overall, very pleased with the course.  Even after drawing for years, I'm just now starting to feel the confidence that I can fix any mistakes that I may make during the process.  Next term will be a continuation of these techniques and will feature extensive drawing from life.  I've got all my field trips planned out and am grateful to live in a city with such a wealth of museums to visit for my artistic purposes. 



My kind of plants...

At least these won't die because I water them too little (or too much).

Went to the Crystal Bridge to do some drawing from life.  It was a fairly enjoyable experience, especially with the techniques I've picked up this term.  Amusingly enough, the kids were very respectful and the irritation was brought on by the old woman who loudly asked, "are you drawing that flower???"

:|

Fill in your own joke answer.

These were sketched and labeled on-site, cleaned up later, then digitally colored as a final step.  I'm pretty pleased with how a few of these pages turned out.  Makes me more excited for Sketching 2, which is almost exclusively going on field trips. 

 

What the heck, here are last week's plant drawings from reference photos/videos.

 

 

Finally sketching dynamically...

So this semester is going well.  Somewhat easier than Perspective since I don't have to measure everything out!  Here are some highlights of the last few weeks.

 

 

Weekend Thumbs

Finished homework AND spent about four hours coming up with a page of thumbnail paintings for my personal use.  These are the best of that work.

When my ship comes in...

Feels good to paint again.  Spent the evening making custom brushes (thanks, Alex Ruiz!) and about two hours painting this.  Looking forward to doing some more in the next week before class starts.

Also needed to take a break from reading. I've downed 9 books in the last 28 days.  I think that's medal-worthy or something.

 

Laughing matter.

Some dynamic sketching before the weekend.  My first on my new toned paper.