Self-Portraits and a smoker

I do lots of self-portraits in my sketchbook, and they all come out differently. This one is just a quick sketch, it's completed in ink and watersoluble graphite. Derwent makes watersoluble graphite pencils and the sticks that don't need to be sharpened as well. They call them Graphitints. I like the wash effect they give and they are great for quick sketches. I prefer the sticks to the pencils.
The spoons have my reflection in them, so in a sense they are self-portraits. I got lazy and did the shadows and background in watercolor. Originally, I was going to fill the page with spoons, but then I decided I didn't want to spend all day sketching them.
The smoker is taken from a photo from Wetcanvas. com-reference image library. It's an image I have drawn many times, but I have never done it in pen and ink until now. I love the textures on the face and the challenge of drawing the smoke, and I think that's why I keep returning to this image.

More Moleskine Sketches

Here are some more moleskine sketches. I've been sick with a cold, and I haven't gotten out to do much outdoor sketching, plus it rained today. I'm beginning to get a little antsy to go outside. The drawing of the leaves is taken from North American Trees, a Readers Digest book. The hand is from observation, but the background and the rain is made up. The other sketches are of Turtle Creek, a park in Dallas. And they are from my own photos.

"Spring"-finished work

This piece is 6x8 inches. It evolved from a series of nudes that I did in my sketchbook. I wanted to illustrate the seasons by using a human figure in some way. This is the first piece that I have done so far in this series. It is done using 4x0, 00, and 2 sized rapidographs. The background is based on my own reference photos. The figure is taken from The Nude Figure a visual reference for artists.

Moleskine Sketches

I finally finished my larger sketchbook, and moved into my favorite 3x5" moleskine. Some of the images are small finished drawings, others are sketches. Some use the reference image library from wetcanvas.com as a source. The shoe and the cat are from direct observation.The drawing to the left of the falcon is a close-up of a hibiscus. The falcon is from The Complete Encyclopedia of Birds and Bird Migration. I drew the falcon's eye too large, but it is a sketchbook afterall and it doesn't have to be perfect. I think we all have to remind ourselves of that sometimes. Sorry for the uneven picture quality, my camera doesn't do well with pen and ink images. Which is too bad because I mostly work in pen and ink.

Gestural Sketches-a cat and figures

The first sketch is a gesture drawing of my cat bathing. The others of a female nude in motion are taken from the book The Human Figure-a photographic reference for artists by Erik A. Ruby.

More sketches

Here are more fountain pen and watercolor sketches. These sketches used the wetcanvas.com reference image library as a source for the images.

New Sketches

These first three sketches are from Whiterock Lake in Dallas, Texas. The first two were done on location. The one of the crane is from a photo that I took. I used a fountain pen and watercolor for all three sketches.