Portrait of Mario

It been awesome working at my studio with Martinho and Douglas Friday afternoons. We are painting from life and are paying a model to sit for these sessions.

I was feeling rusty with my oil skills on this one as the blank white canvas stored back at me. I know all to well what it feels like. It took a few sittings to get comfortable with my palette again.
I scraped down the paining from 2 sessions and redrew and started over because I was unhappy wit how it turned out. But now things are going my way. This bit took me around 2.5 hrs. One more sitting and I should have it wrapped up.

I made the hat much larger on the top and will hopefully keep it that way. I need to bring down the eye on the far side and do all the detailing etc, but for not the oil will just get muddy so it is best to let it dry and attack it again next session, just in time before the opening of the Peoples Portrait Prize this Saturday 6 - 9 pm. All 4 floors of the cSPACE King Edward building.

New FROSST sketchbook

I got another new sketchbook. Yay!!! This one is extra special! Got it at FROSST Books, John Frosst ordered a few custom sketchbooks with his image on the front from the UK. If you don't have one and want one better rush down the Inglewood and grab one before they're gone. The paper is super nice, heavy, slightly cream in tone and has a great tooth for drawing. The book folds completely flat so you can work like you would with a spiral bound, only much better and there is a pocket in the back like Moleskine have.  Here is a scan of the metallic gold front cover, it doesn't do it justice, but it gives you an idea.

FROSST BOOKS - "We sell Books"


 It is a good idea to write your name and contact info or a way to get a hold of you in case you leave your sketchbook somewhere.  Its also a good time to test your markers to see how much they bleed. Unfortunately my Copic Markers bleed thru even this thick of sketchbook paper, I have yet to find a sketchbook that doesn't bleed when I use my Copics =;(  Here is the first drawing of my new sketchbook, over time I will continue to add to it and test my various colors like a palette here.

 
Whoa Mario!!!