TArthurSmith - Sketches & Projects (nudity) UPDATE Friday Jan 13, 2012

[TASmith]

So, I've gone back a step or two. I'm rusty...

[TASmith]

A few more studies. From life... The last one's a caricature, in case you thought I'm just really bad - I'm just really bad at caricatures.

[TASmith]

New sketches and Christmas gifts:

[TASmith]

More studies and bad caricatures. The figures are obviously from photos.

[TASmith]

A view of Cape Cod, on the beach. This was as a Secret Santa gift to Frozzt:

[Black Spot]

I love the pencils sketches on the previous page. With the photo studies - take more time with them and really push the contrasts as they seem a bit insipid in tone. The second & third oil pastel portraits are very good - not that rusty.

Your present is hanging in my hallway. I like the other Secret Santa as well.

[TASmith]

school meeting sketch:

[Black Spot]

She's looking severe. Hope the meeting went well.

[TASmith]

I believe so. It was all standard so far as I could tell. We went over the different student groups and their grades/problems. It's all hard for me to understand, as it's all in Slovak. I always come away with a list of new vocab to look up.

Here's a sketch of a student taking a test.

[Star Eater]

Thanks for stopping by my sketchbook. Your water and beach paintings are beautiful and that wedding present a few pages back looked fantastic.

Wish I could give you a more constructive crit, but I'm out of my depth here! Besides it looks like youre doing all the right things.

[Black Spot]

That's a lovely sketch. You should do more of them.

[TASmith]

Thank you both! It's a delicate balance, though. If I give too many tests, students get angry, and then they don't want portraits anymore. I know what you mean, though. I'll try to get more done outside of teaching. I also figure I'll get a ton done during the bus trip in April. Maybe I'll even catch someone drooling in their sleep. Till then, I'll try and draw people that post here:

[Black Spot]

I like these. Ballpoint is a wonderful tool and can be so delicate.

[TFsean]

love the recent portraits, great form and structure in those faces. Pastel stuff looks really nice too, great hue variety

[TASmith]

Black Spot and TFsean, you both are too kind. Thanks! I've put off artmaking for a long time, but now as the school year ends, I'm getting back into it. Here's what I've been up to so far:

[TASmith]

Another student portrait.

[TASmith]

Some forest scenes I made last week.

[TASmith]

A few summer sketches:

[TASmith]

The caricature was done some time in the last week. The waitingroom was from last spring, just never posted. Both from life.

[Black Spot]

Some of those landscapes are really lovely. I miss you on the boards, I suppose family life and work have to come first.

[Vritra]

Hey, remember me? You probably don't, but I remain grateful for the support you gave me back then. Anyway, it's been a while since you updated, so I thought I'd leave you a comment. Some of the environments are coming along really well, especially the ones on post #587. I also like the work you're putting into caricatures. I wish you'd work a little more with sharper edges, though-- but that's probably entirely subjective. Keep updating your sketchbook.

[xNatje]

Your landscapes are great! They are oil pastels right? I never tried that medium, but it seems so difficult. I also admire how you do the skin tones in your colored portraits!

[TASmith]

Well, this page is a testament to my inactivity. A year later and I'm still on it. I hope this self portrait is better, at least.

[Anthonycarey]

I like the indoor shot from post 589 it's cool how you altered the perspective so it looks like a fisheye lens

[Anthonycarey]

Are those landscapes from life? If so what media I been thinking about going out and doing some live stuff but unsure which way to go. I'm considering gouache.

[TASmith]

Try it! Definitely try everything. The forest works are from photos I took. The beach and boat pics are all from life. And, it's all oil pastel. Try either Van Gogh oil pastels, if you can find them, or Pentel, Expressionist, anything that's not too cheap. Sennelier oil pastels are very soft and hard to work with. I wouldn't recommend it without brushes and something to thin it.

[iven]

looove #505 the girl and the way you use just GREY is amazing.

[TASmith]

Something new! OMG! This was a secret santa gift for AngelintheUK