Stacy Weitz Minch

Another figure! I really liked the pose on this one. All this drawing has almost given me an itch to pick up some brushes and try painting something again. We'll see...

A couple quick sketches (probably about 10 minutes each) from some Saturday afternoon TV time at our house :)

16x20, water mixable oil on panel, finished 12/13/15 I've been in the mood to finish old projects lately--the dress I started sewing for my daughter (which I'd like to get done before she grows out of it!), a quilt I started 6-7 years ago, and this painting. You can see which of my projects got first priority. An unfinished painting sort of gnaws at me, and I don't really know why... from what I've heard, DaVinci carried around the Mona Lisa for 25 years while he was still working on it--25 years!!! Ha, I don't think I could do it. Anyway, it was that silly white blanket and the proportions on the woman that kept holding me back, and while I am not perfectly satisfied with everything about this painting, I'm calling it good enough (mostly so I can feel good about starting on something else--I really don't like unfinished projects, and this one's been dragging on too long). So I guess all there's left is to do is sign my name ;)

12x9", pencil on paper, 12/8/15

Last night's figure drawing. This was a two hour pose, and well, if I don't get slower at drawing each week! I think it's because I'm becoming more and more aware of my accuracy errors and caring more about fixing them. Probably not a bad thing ;)

My older sister was in town for Thanksgiving, and she agreed to hold still for a little bit while I sketched her :) This is not a perfect likeness, but it reminds me of her anyway... I filled in most of the values after she had left, so had I had a little more time, I may have been able to get a better likeness. Next time she's in town ;)

12x9", pencil on paper, 11/24/15 This one got a little messy ;) I wasn't quick enough to get the pose right in the first 20 minutes (why do I draw so slowly when I'm standing at an easel??? sketchbook on my lap, I feel like I can get a quick basic sketch done pretty quickly). And it was the same story after every break (and the pose shifted ever so slightly each time). So there was a lot of erasing and redrawing. I was using different paper this time (more textured than my usual), that also made my lines softer, which I'm not so sure I like. This model has such a beautiful nymph-like quality that I didn't quite capture (she's much prettier than I made her here... just started refining the features in the last 5-10 minutes and didn't quite get there). So overall, some room for improvement :) But when I feel bad about my most recent drawing, all I have to do is look back at the first night I came out to draw in March... haha ;)

Currently dangling precariously between #3 and #4 in the sequence below (and I don't always make it to #6 ;)

16x20, water mixable oil on board, 11/1/15 I'm just getting started on this larger painting (I know that relatively speaking, 16x20" is not that big! but it's bigger than I usually figure I have time for). I stumbled across this couple in the foyer at church a while back, and I just had to snap a stealthy photo on my iPhone :) Working from a photo is always more difficult for me than working from life, but I do have access to the very spot where this photo was taken, so if I need to I can zip over there some afternoon to study from life. Starting something new is always a little scary--there's always the very real possibility that it won't turn out! But if so, I'm sure I will learn something important from the experience, so here I go. Wish me luck ;)

12x9", pencil on paper, 10/27/15 I was a little more caught up on sleep than I was at figure drawing last week, thank goodness. Same model as last week, and a two hour pose.

9 5/8 x 10 1/16, pencil on paper, 10/26/15 I loved this drawing the first time I saw it. It has such a spontaneous quality, and you can really see how Sargent broke up complex subjects (like shiny black fabric and hands) so simply and effectively. Doing these copies is helping me realize a lot of things. One, I always make heads and facial features too big. Including in this drawing. If you compare it to the real one, it's very obvious (also the tilt of the head is a bit off. see below). It's strange because I think I measure everything out and get it in the right place, and then it's not. Two, capturing a likeness takes ultimate precision. It is not easily done. Three, the details make a huge difference--type of paper (mine was too rough in this instance), sharpness and hardness/softness of the pencil, etc.  I almost want to try this one again to see if I can get the head/face more in proportion... but I probably won't, at least not right this second. Dr...

Yesterday was a long day. For some reason, the day after getting back from a trip is always a hard one. There's the let-down of getting back into swing of real life, coupled with the unpredictable behavior of the two little ones (who are also adjusting to the normal routine again after all the excitement of travel).  By the time I got out the door to go drawing I was completely exhausted already, and I was really feeling it as I drew last night. I decided to try out the "sight-size" approach again, standing at the easel and drawing the model the exact same size as she was in my field of vision. It was really frustrating, actually, and I started over a few times. I think my exhaustion played a role. The last 20 minutes, I decided to give it a rest, and moved on to a non-sight-size, no pressure portrait to loosen up a bit. Obviously I didn't have time to finish, or worry too much about getting everything exact--probably a good thing :)

12x9", pencil on paper, 10/13/15 I was thrilled when I showed up at drawing last night and this beautiful expectant mother was modeling. She is just three weeks from her due date. This was a two-hour pose. 

8x8", water mixable oil on canvas board, 9/5/2015 Just a cute little photo I found on morguefile.com. I'm always drawn to images of children. Since I didn't take this photo, I can only imagine what they might be looking at so intently--maybe a parade, or some street performers?  With this painting, I was just trying to keep it simple, and not get too caught up in the details. Definitely something to keep working on!