Unique Portraits and Fine Art by Kristina Laurendi Havens. Figure Drawing Techniques. My Inherited Artistic Talents. Current Paintings and Drawings. Selling Art On-Line.
Of course green teeth are a must!
If anyone makes a comment about "hey where's your costume?" I'll come after you with a broom!
Arianna drawing her face on her pumpkin - such a cute little artist!
Jack is very proud of his Pumpkin - I love the face he drew! It's a big improvement over last year's creations...although they too had a certain Picasso Pumpkin charm!
Happy Halloween everyone!
Our local gallery is hosting "Saints and Angels" in November, a showcase of Art depicting Saint Nick and Angels. We had already had a wonderful time painting an Angel, and last night was Santa's turn to model, helping us prepare for the show!
I haven't done a painting from a model in a LONG time (well, acrylic painting...I have done some watercolor sketches). I was using an 11" x 14" multi-media board. It's a Masonite board that's primed and has the texture of canvas. The paint dried very quickly and I was able to layer paint without waiting too long on drying time. There was so much to paint! I loved all of the colors in the white fur collar and on Santa's thick beard.
A couple of my fab fellow painters! (If you listen closely you can hear the Christmas music in the background)
Santa checking out my progress...I hope he likes it! I don't want coal in my stocking!
This is as far as I got in the 3 hours last night. I think Santa is sitting comfortably, although I need to add more chair - maybe the back and the leg on the right, so he doesn't look like he's floating. I'm also thinking about glazing the background with a warmer color...I love the blues, but maybe they are too strong? And a few more details in the gloves and boots. Overall, I'm glad I got as far as I did. 
Last night our (very full!!!) figure drawing group had the privilege of working with a terrific male model, and I thought it would be a great time to try Wallis pastel paper for the first time. This paper is primed on both sides, with one side having a very fine sand-paper texture to hold (as it claims) up to 25 layers of pastel. It is also (so it says) suitable for oils and other media. It's not for the faint of heart, or wallet...the pad I bought had 8 sheets and was almost $50! Thank goodness for Dick Blick coupons :)
I continued to build layers using brown pastel pencils - some deep and cool, other warm and reddish browns, to build up the shapes and depths in the shadows. I tried to leave the high lights fresh and "open".
I tried to not spend too much time on the face, but I did want to give enough information that you got a sense of where he was looking, and I loved all of the variety on his chin and lips and nose - the cool blues, warm browns, deep shadows. 
I was also trying to make sure that he was "grounded" - sitting on the ledge of the model stand, leaning against the wall - so I did spend some time building up the shadow shapes around his torso and under his leg.
I loved that I could layer and re-work the Wallis paper. What I have to practice is HOW to effectively layer colors - sometimes if I put brown on top of blue I got a yucky mud, other times it created a great effect. Also, I tried to blot my watercolor with a paper towel, but that left bits of paper towel stuck to the surface. Hopefully I can gently remove those little pieces with a dry brush. 
These are from last Thursday evening in Woodstock. Our scheduled model was Santa...but a few hours before our drawing session, Santa called to say he was sick with food poisoning! So our fabulous miss D came to the rescue, and a wonderful night of drawing was not lost!
This was a 20 minute pose, and I love that she had these black boots on. There's something about one element of clothing or an accessory that makes the model feel more "naked". The combination of the black boots and this pose? It's intense.
The only part I am not totally happy with is the face. I think I spent so much time on the legs and torso that I didn't solve the face enough.
This is also a very sensual combination - the boa and the boots, and viewing her from behind - almost as if she doesn't realize (or is about to realize) that we are watching her. A beautiful pose, made more interesting by a few extra elements.
I loved the pose, the drapery, the boa and the boots. But I am not happy with how I drew the face. It almost looks "cartoonish" compared to the rest of her body. Perhaps, too, I should have asked the model to cast her eyes downward, or touch her chin to her shoulder - I think the look is too engaging - and even distracting from the rest of the drawing. SO I may re-work the face a little bit, tilting the head slightly or even adding something like a hat or a veil - she needs a little mystery.
Above - the Angel "Hope" and below the Angel "Compassion"
I am working on adding prints and notecards to my Etsy shop - with and with out the quotes. These are just previews :) I'd love to hear feedback - thanks!
This is a just phenomenal watercolor done by - we'll call her "H". I like that she's working in this media- she got a great initial drawing done in charcoal, capturing the form and proportions, then just washed in the shadows. I forbid her to work any further on this piece (yeah, I'm a real pain in the ass that way) and she went on to create two more fabulous watercolors. I was inspired :)
Another amazing artist working on an oil painting. The skin tones were wonderful! Our model has the creamiest skin that just glows and has a wonderful array of soft colors.
A few other works in progress! As you can see - we all had some great success! I am so lucky to work with such a talented group. (artists and models! The paintings in the background are by Shane McDonald, whose website you can find on the right - his work is incredible!)
The first drawing I created was in pastel on Cranberry mat board. I hadn't worked on this color alot before, so I had to discover what colors worked well together and what didn't. I love starting on a dark surface - colors almost immediately "pop". The blues worked especially well - I love the turquoise and cranberry combination.
When I moved to a new vantage point for my second figure drawing, the lighting was a little less dramatic, and I sat thinking for a few minutes how to make the most of the figure. I started to think about my great Aunt Barbara's work, shown above, and how she would draw the same figure several times, each time making slight adjustments to the most important lines of information until she got it just right.
So while drawing the model, I focused on only a few important moments - the light catching her cheek and her shoulder, the curve of her spine, and the lines of her leg. I limited my palette to just a few colors. When we took a short model break, I stepped back and thought about adding a little bit more - but several of my fellow artists said STOP so I did. (thanks!)
The last drawing I did still ventured into abstraction, but with a much brighter palette. This was a cranberry piece of pastel paper, and again - the blues just popped! I think there's a nice rhythm in the drawing.
