Tina, charcoal sketches at the IAC

These are this week's portraits from life at the IAC here in The Hague. Each sketch is about 20 to 30 minutes.

Portraits in charcoal, Li

Li is a model for the Beauty Project, but sometimes sits for us at the International Art Club. (I'm responsible for arranging the models and coordinating the class.)

More portraits...

obviously, these four portraits are not all of the same model. Three were done today here in the Hague at the International Art Club, and the fourth was done two weeks ago. There's something so satisfying about drawing in charcoal, from life.

Some drawings from the IAC

I love drawing this model. These drawings are from this week at the International Art Club of the Hague.

Monique

Charcoal on paper, 2 by 3 feet.

This is a 20 minute sketch from life. I've been working hard on portraiture skills, and feel like I'm making progress. What I like about this drawing of Monique, is that the drawing captures what she looks like. Which is what I'm trying to learn how to do. Now, the challenge is to do this with more reliability.

This week's portraits at the IAC

Sometimes I think I'm improving at this portrait thing, sometimes it feels impossible.
These stands are all about 20 minutes, except for the small drawings which are a little less than 10 minutes.

Owtin portrait series

These are portraits done at the International Art Club of the Hague. Each portrait is about 60 by 100 centimeters, very big. Which one is your favorite?

Bob Hagen portrait sketch

A last portrait of my dad, of course wearing his stocking hat. He left today, and we had a great trip. I took lots of pictures while we explored the town and the countryside, and will use them as inspiration for a new painting series called 'abstract landscapes.' Here's hoping that the series will be slightly less gloomy than the weather and outdoors appears now.

Bike ride in the dunes and harbor

Dad and I went for a bike ride in the dunes near Scheveningen and Den Haag. These dunes protect the inland areas from flooding. The pictures give a sense of the muted colors and somber beauty of the dunes.

We stopped by the harbor on our way out of town. I always enjoy the brightly colored boats and unusual shapes that can be found there.

On our way out to the dunes, I mad my dad stop so I could take a picture of our front gate with spiderweb.

Dad enjoys the crossword puzzle in the teahouse

It's cold in the teahouse, but dad likes to go out there for the crossword puzzle and a coffee. Here's some sketches of him puzzling.

My dad does not like the weather here

"It's so cold, and its so bleak, but at least it is not raining today. Thank God I wasn't born here."

I don't think my dad fully appreciates the weather here in Northern Europe. Maybe it is time for us to take a trip to Amsterdam. He does not understand - it is beautiful, once you've been here awhile. There's fungicide to take care of the mildewy bits, and hey, you can always wear layers. He's missing the watery romance revealed by the green moss lining the brick walls along the bike paths. He's missing the eloquent Indonesian puppet poetry in the long shadows of the mid-day sun. We did have sun, during one of the days he has been here.

Shiva, cat slut

My dad the cat whisperer is visiting, pictured here. He is one of only 6 people who have significantly pet our cat Shiva.

Notice the wool hat?

On a call home to my mother, my dad said that "I brought 3 pairs of long underwear, and I STILL had to go out and buy a wool hat. Damn it's cold here! It's a wet cold that goes right through you. It might be 40 or 50 degrees, but it feels like how 15 would feel back home."

Winter at East Twin Lake, Minnesota

I've been taking an abstract painting class at the International Art Club of the Hague. This is a painting of a lake in north-central Minnesota in winter, from memory. It is kind of an abstract landscape, in that it comes entirely from what I remember, without reference to a photo. Painting this way is very liberating, allowing me to "see" and apply the paint in a very different way. Because I am not trying to represent what is in front of me, I am free to explore the paint's texture and color and its application becomes much looser and freer.

Oil painting - part 2

Yesterday, I had an hour to do some more painting and so worked on the project from the day before. Here's what the painting looks like now. Fortunately, we've had two sunny days in a row, so I've had ideal conditions for outdoor painting. The house is lit by the late afternoon sun.

It is still in progress, and will change significantly. I am starting to get some of the colors down, but have a lot of work to do. For example, the darks can get darker, and some of the whites that are not in sunlight should be darker.