Before The Egg Hunt
When I was planning this picture I scouted Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens
for a scene that the figure would fit into.

I stood under the weeping cherry tree and looked at the garden through the branches. I thought it was beautiful with the white blossoms like a veil, and put it in the foreground.

When I went back a few days later the petals were falling like snow under the tree.

Charcoal and Conte Pencil Sketch for the Egg Hunt
This is the first step. I wanted to draw the figure at 10" because I planned to put her in the middle ground. It still took me a long time to get this rough.

I want to be as accurate as I can with the charcoal, because I can't make her more beautiful than the statue. If I go off at the first step it's harder to correct later.

The Conservatory in February
I got the charcoal sketch of the figure started before the snow.
I enjoyed drawing inside the conservatory when snow was on the ground for weeks.
It was fun for me to put one of my favorite statues from Hollywood Cemetery
into the flowery interior at Lewis Ginter's garden.
I think her dress is flowery too.

90 Second Poses
The models take ten 90 second poses at the start of figure drawing. It's an exercise that you can use in different ways. Sometimes I try to throw down as much of the figure as I can get in 90 seconds. There's not enough time to check proportions. And sometimes I concentrate on drawing just one body part.

20 Minute Poses
The figure on the bottom:
My practice checking proportions helped here. It's still not much time to get a drawing. This model is pregnant and graceful. When I saw the pose had the position of the knees giving me a forshortened view of the thighs I thought I'd never get it in 20 minutes. But when I got home and looked at it I liked it, so I must have been close in the few times I checked my proportions. Because otherwise a forshortened limb just looks bad. If you get the knee bones in the correct place in relation to the other bones, there's a better chance the picture will look right.

90 second pose upside down. 2 hour pose seated.
Another beautiful and graceful model.

The Goddess
My model is a sad stone angel on her knees at a grave, holding a lap full of flowers. When I was
drawing with charcoal I noticed her knee isn’t touching the ground. This drawing was difficult
the whole way. I wanted to make her less sad. I changed her arms and hands, and made up a
horn of plenty. The still life was a problem. I had to do one piece at a time, and the fruits and veggies spoiled before I finished.

When I was finished I was excited, because it worked out finally. And I like looking at it because
there’s a floating feel to it that wasn’t planned.

My Father Captures His Dragon
My model is a boy angel with flowers in his left hand. His right arm is raised, but the hand is broken.
I've always liked dragons, so I drew one here to have fun. I sketched his hand holding a sword, and
a dagger. Then I decided he should be roping the dragon and twisting it's ear, while standing on it.

I thought it looked like Dad and made up a story to go with it. You can make up your own story about an
animal lover you know, and change the title if you want to.

The Fairy
This is the same statue I drew in the picture of the goddess. I changed her angel wings to
fairy wings. And gave her a big leaf to hold so you can imagine a close up of a little fairy.

My Hand Study
Sometimes when I'm stuck with a problem in a picture, I do a classical exercise to take a break.
I've always liked symbolism in art, and a lot of it is spiritual.
When you see a hand posed like this it means submission to God.

Remember Neda
When I worked on this drawing it made me think of the people living under oppression. Some of the people responsible for my freedom are dead.

I want to thank the vets and everyone serving in our armed forces.

Angel with a Rose
An old drawing trick I learned in art school is to hold your pictures in front of a mirror and look at the reflection. When you’re working on a drawing you can’t see it unless you step back. If you look at the reflection, your mistakes are easy to see.

When I looked at the reflection of this drawing, the hand holding the rose seemed to reach out off the paper. So I knew I had drawn it right.

Sad Lady in Green

Angel on the Clouds