Reading on the Subway

093 reading man
Originally uploaded by rudisillart.

I love drawing people on the subway. Buses are harder - shakier. Most people in the city ignore me as I draw. They read or listen to their music. Everyone just wants to get home. I love quickly trying to do these character sketch portraits. Sometimes I distort them and sometimes I don't.
We will be having a fundraiser SketchCrawl to raise money for victims of landmines and children in war zones. This is typical of a sketch that will probably be produced on that day. I might do 5 per hour for 8 hours. Want to sponsor me at $1/sketch? of $5 per sketch? Learn more at http://www.sketchcrawl.com/blog/

The Princess concept portrait

Princess concept 701
Originally uploaded by rudisillart.

This is a quick drawing of a model with very delicate beauty. I always find that so hard to draw because it is based on subtle and delicate things like the skin and hair color or angles of the face that are not dramatic or pronounced. The edges of her lips are blurry and not well-defined and I risk ruining the feeling by putting ink lines there.

This 10-minute sketch reminds me so much of those issues and, when I take it to the next level of detail, I have to be very careful about how I work that into the concept painting.

Tree Alone

tree alone
Originally uploaded by rudisillart.

This is another treatment (done in plein air) of one of my favorite trees near Lake Merritt, Oakland, California. I did this oil painting study originally as one of several showing different stylistic treatments of the trees. This one has a flowing feeling of the wind. The other is more about the textures (especially when the substrate primer absorbs all the oil immediately) Here's a link to my other painting of this same tree http://cazsh.blogspot.com/2006_11_01_archive.html

Lake Travis Mural -full view in progress.

Lake Travis Mural -full
Originally uploaded by rudisillart.

This is a mural I did in 3 long days in the VERY HOT August sun of Texas. I need to go back and take some pictures of it now, a few years later, with the vines and flowers and the water fountain matured.

Acrylic painted over primed cement wall. Lake Travis, just outside Austin. I take commissions.

Couple on the Beach?

couple 126
Originally uploaded by rudisillart.

This is from our Models Marathon last summer. I love drawing groups of people. It's an unusual opportunity when the Bay Area Models have their marathons and more than one model is on the stage at a time. Sometimes they set "scenes" together; sometimes they don't. In my mind I made this into a scene - "Couple on the Beach" I try to stop myself and thinkbefore I start drawing at these sessions. I ask myself "what do I like about this pose? this person? what do I want to make sure that others see when they look at this drawing?" Even though this was a 20 minute pose that really only left me with 10 minutes each... not long to capture the image and your imagination. I see many artists and students trying to capture every detail, when I am constantly reminding myself to look for those few things that I don't want anyone to miss, that are the essence of this scene. If nothing else, I want to accomplish in this sketch the notes to myself that enable me to "take that with me" for later, if I want to use this sketch for something else - such as a painting. Figure Studies and "life drawing", especially with nude models, are very enjoyable for artists but not popular to sell and make a living. It's a curious thing.

Two guys at the Models Marathon

Two guys - Models Marathon (150)
Originally uploaded by rudisillart.

Our Bay Area models guild holds a group thing every quarter so you can have multiple models on the stage at a given time. They often strike poses together and can be very fun.

I'm excited because there is "drawing marathon" tomorrow at the art department of the Community College. This is one of my favorite days of the year.
It's also a fundraiser for them. Check the models guild website for more info -
bayareamodelsguild.tripod.com/marathon.html

Sleeping Dog

louie asleep
Originally uploaded by rudisillart.

I have been playing with "painting" on the computer again for my own fun, rather than for work. This is a quick color sketch of Louie, my dog, using Corel Painter . I plan to do several of these before committing him to oil paint. I love doing these from life rather than photos. I am also working on other "Doggie" pictures in oil. I like it when I can do it for fun, rather than formal portraits.

the conversation

the conversation 161
Originally uploaded by rudisillart.

I love watching people interact. This was a quick sketch at my local coffee shop. Want to make up the caption? I plan to make this into a larger painting.