Black Bustier, Ballet Dancer, and Busted by the Cops

I feel like I have a million things to share with and show you!  I'll start with some progress on a couple of pastel figure drawings...

First, the portrait of one of my Zumba instructors.   I loved this outfit - the combination of the leather bustier and hat, with the filmy black mini skit/tutu, the striped socks (it was Christmas!) and the high boots.  The boots are, actually, giving me the most trouble right now.  I can't seem to get the shape right.  I'm also struggling with her lip - there's such a small amount showing, so if it's not exactly right, she seems like she's scowling, and she's actually smiling.

I also worked for a while on the new ballerina with striped tights sitting in the window.  I spent a lot of time adjusting the position of her head - she was, at first - staring directly out the window, and it felt a little stiff and unnatural.  So I tilted her head down a little, using one of the reference photos from our drawing session.  Now that it's in a better pose,  I'm trying to build up the colors!

Working on these latest figures, incorporating more pattern and fabric than I normally do, made me realize something today - I've had these photos in my inspiration pile for quite a while.  I guess I've been drawn to stripes for a while, and now I'm finally getting a chance to play with the theme!

And I drew this beautiful figure Wednesday night at our drawing group.  She brought along these gorgeous fuscia and turquoise fabrics, and the created a beautiful reflection on her skin.  We had one artist painting and one artist sculpting, so we set up one long pose in order to get as much work done as possible after a short warm-up.  

So, while we're in the middle of drawing, I hear the studio door open and somebody walking in.  Now, we are on the second floor of a very quiet building, so we don't get very many non-artist visitors.  Imagine my surprise when I saw a cop standing in the middle of the room!  So I walk over and introduce myself and ask if there's anything I can do for him (while our lovely model sat in the middle of the pose in the middle of the room!) He said he was just checking things out, since he had seen the lights on.  Anyway after chatting for a few minutes, he left.  We're betting now that the Wednesday night Main Street shift will be covered by a new cop every week...