Tuscan hillside

One of many watercolours painted while wandering in the hills north of Florence. The row of trees leading up the hill to the right shroud the path to a small renaissance church, in whose shadow I sat while I painted. It overlooks the small village of Ponte a Mensola, named for a stream you cannot see amid the trees in the picture.

It was a sunny day in May, perfect for watercolours. Here's another one I did from almost the same vantage point, but looking north rather than east.

Everything's not lost

I drew this from life with the Collective sketching group in Toronto, Ontario.

ashes to ashes

Drawn from life with a china marker.

In the bay

This isn't exactly a holiday-themed image, but I made the painting as a small Christmas gift a few years ago, so I thought I'd post it today.

Hannah as zombie

send me the pillow you dream on

A painting of some years ago, done from life in about an hour. A sleeping model can often be quite boring, but sometimes you get lucky and they repose in an interesting posture on a quilt of many colours.

human desire

make a movie please

Reading The Count of Montecristo in the bathtub.

It's not easy - it's a big book.




I've mentioned before that years ago, when I was too poor for canvas, I made small paintings on cast-offs of cardboard. I made this in the bathroom of a student co-op in Toronto, Ontario, using pencil and acrylic paints.

kimberley

Drawn from life with several Copic brush pens and a Pigma micron.

steve

I can't say why, but it makes me sad

to begin

This is how I begin life drawing sessions. For me, hands and faces are the most interesting elements, so in the initial period, when the poses last only one or two minutes, that's what I concentrate on.

These were all done in china marker, at the Arts Project in London, Ontario.

cover your face

A simple gesture adds pathos to a regular life drawing.

Harriet

I drew Harriet with a china marker in probably around ten minutes. She was one of those models (in fact, not a regular model but a generous volunteer) who has wonderful features for drawing.