These two marker drawings of people, one of an old man and the other of a young woman, were sketched in the year 2003. Each portrait focuses on the face of each person, using a limited palette and opaque colored lines to recreate a likeness on paper. A white paint pen was also used for highlights. The stark colors add a cold and rigid feeling to these portrait drawings, even though the marker lines are kept fairly loose and energetic. Tension is also created between the upbeat style of drawing and the melancholy look on the old man and young woman’s faces.

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This is a charcoal drawing of an Egyptian Sphinx, which was sketched in 1998. Heavy black charcoal lines were used to energetically draw the structure of the sphinx. Quickly moving from one area of the page to another helps to keep perspective on the whole drawing. Shadows were pushed very dark, and the white highlights are emphasized with chalk. White chalk was even used to fill in white areas of the paper, and blend some of the crisp charcoal lines. Sanguine sepia is used to highlight angles and perspective lines in the drawing of the Egyptian sphinx, which also helps to lead the viewers eye through the art and creates a sense of movement.

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Similar to a recent post with charcoal gesture drawings, here are two more gesture drawings of human figures. Although the medium used in the first one is acrylic paint, so it should really be called a gesture painting. The figures were drawn from life. As live models would take a 30 second pose, the paint and charcoal was utilized to make quick gestural sketches. This helps to convey the energy and movement of the figure with a few quick expressive strokes of a brush. The posture or stance of the person is summed up quickly, and this process is often used as a warm up exercise before drawing more detailed sketches.

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This is a pen drawing of an Old Man that was sketched in 1999. It is somewhat of a portrait, but it doesn’t focus on the face, rather the whole body and posture of the man. Light squiggly lines where used to quickly sketch in the body, with heavy crosshatching used to depict shadows and shapes. His hunched back and downward gaze help to reinforce the contemplative nature of the old man, as he slowly walks away from the viewer. Also, the drawing is approximately 9″ x 18″, and utilizes a slight wash of water to soften some of the crisp pen lines.

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This is an original drawing / painting of a hippopotamus, or “hippo” for short. It’s a mix between a drawing and a painting, because parts of the hippo are drawn with pen and markers, and other parts are painted with paint pens and watercolor. Thin blue pen lines were used to sketch the initial drawing of the hippo, and other layers of marker and ink were applied after that. Washes of plain water and muted watercolors were then painted over the marker, which adds subtle gradients and shadows to the painting. Some of the lines were blurred, but a second layer of markers was then used to sharpen the drawing back into focus. Stark contrast between the bold black lines and pale colors adds tension to the drawing. Lastly, silver and white paint pens were used to add highlights, and shimmering specs of paint help to lead the eye of the viewer around the hippo. Unfortunately the effect does not translate well to digital reproductions of the drawing / painting.

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