Johnny's Corporate Gig..

A most interesting job came my way; 23 Lawyers from a big Auckland firm are on a weekend bonding trip, staying at Waihi Beach, riding the bike trail through the Karangahake Gorge and would I organize an art class for them to give them some brain food? 
Of course I would. It's what I do when I'm not doing something else.. 
I hired the old Waikino Hall and set up a portrait drawing class for beginners and introduced them to the psychology of children's art, the mechanics of the smile, the organic origins of World War Two aviators sun glasses, the surprisingly exquisite beauty of the curve of a nostril or other facial features and all that basic art school stuff we all know and love. 
It was a lot of fun and I came away from it with a new respect for lawyers as people.

Franzi's Portrait

Franzi is a tall slender Tyrol girl from German speaking Northern Italy and was staying here at Art School Waihi and insisted on a portrait to take home with her. Couldn't say no...

Violin Players Live Drawings

Every one of these drawings were aided by Guinness, single malts and, of course, the music.

Drawing Musicians

Adam and Mike and Alison are having a musical evening on Friday night so Ruthie and I go along to enjoy the music and I do some sketching.
Alison above is playing the keyboard, she thinks she looks grumpy in this drawing but I tell her she was intent on her playing, engrossed in the sounds

Adam playing some of his original music.

Next blog

To find inspiration for myself I like to open this blog and then click on the next blog tab at the top of the page and I am sure to find five or six art blogs, random, from all over the world.
It seems Google has shuffled art blogs together over time.
After five or six or so the next blogs go real random - blogs about anything at all which is also interesting.
And oh it is a bitter sweet pleasure because I am finding no time to do any new drawing myself.
Perhaps later this week.. or next week...
Nice to be busy though.
The pastel drawing above is an old one of mine of someone else drawing which is where I am at lately - looking at some one else's drawings.
It crushes my ego to realise I have become a wannabe, a dilletante, a bloody procrastinator!
Still, could be worse. It's a sunny day today and Spring is coming.
Like Christmas.
Like my latest drawing..

New Paintings

These two paintings are of Hannah, one of our life drawing models.

Pastel Portraits

Charcoal sketch on canvas

I like this one done at life drawing class last week. Willow charcoal on canvas this will become a painting

Water Colour Pencil

I took my water colour pencils to a jam session at Graham's 2 Saturdays ago and drew this picture of Robyn playing her bass guitar.

At life drawing class I did this sketch on canvas with a sepia watercolour pencil instead of pastels or willow charcoal. It will become a painting.

Wednesday's Life Drawing Class

At tonights life drawing class I got us a portrait model. I managed two drawings and this is the second one which is the better likeness

Life Drawing Class starts again 17 Feb 2010

I forgot my camera at the first life drawing class of the year last week. At the second class, last night, I did this drawing of our model's husband, Steve.
Steve dropped our model, Georgia, off at the class and he and their two daughters Amelie and Cassidy stayed for an hour and offered a wide variety of fast warm up poses and longer portrait studies by just being themselves and we all enjoyed the warmth of family and gentle music.
Magic!
I gave this large drawing to Steve when he and the girls went home

Art in Windows Exhibition, Paeroa

The finished portrait of Georgia outside the Quilter's shop in Paeroa

The two finished portraits displayed in the Paeroa Quilter's shop window with quilts and etc. and a third quilt portrait and a panel copy of a section of the famous Villa of Mysteries mural near Pompeii.
This window dressing competition may net myself and Pam, the quilt shop owner, a prize of $250. each and attendant free publicity.

All part and parcel of living the life of an artist: promotion, publicity, marketing. All I wanna do is create cool stuff and get well paid for it but as zefrank says: "it's more complicated than that..."

Two New Portraits

These two portraits will be exhibited tomorrow in a Quilters shop as part of an art competition, the painting above uses a view of the Quilters shop as a setting and background for the portrait and the one below is of a woman sleeping on a quilt.
They need some finishing and will then be taken to the shop tomorrow and displayed there.

Katherine Mansfield

Katherine Mansfield is one of my heroes, a very famous New Zealander and a master of the short story.
While I was finishing my portrait of Katherine a visitor called at my studio. The studio was upstairs at the Moth house in Sandspit and had recently been opened to the public with a sign at the top of the drive and a new visitors book at the top of the stairs.
My visitor was the first to sign the visitors book; Elizabeth Beauchamp Leatherbarrow.
Katherine Mansfield's maiden name was Beauchamp, my visitor was Katherine's grand niece.

The Weekly Portrait: John Key, Prime Minister of New Zealand, painted by Barbi

I visited my friend Barbi today and came away with this photo of her latest painting.
A portrait of John Key, an ex merchant banker with $50,000,000 personal profit garnered from whatever the hell it is merchant bankers do
He's now the leader of the right wing National Party and Prime Minister of New Zealand and one of Barbi's heroes.
Barbi grew up in a farming family, traditional National Party supporters.
I did not and am not but she is a good friend and one of my favourite artists and in this painting you can see why

The Weekly Portrait: Sean in a green robe and the Artist with a chopped up hand

I drew our young model at the last life drawing class for the term and the next day, Thursday before Easter, I got my left hand sliced open for a carpal tunnel operation. Had both hands done now.

Life Drawing Class: Mother and Daughter models

Our young model, Samantha, has a go at drawing her Mum who was our other model at the class last night

Samantha throws us her special Star pose and the crowd goes wild..

Mother and Daughter together. Trying to draw two people in short poses was a challenge for everyone but lots of fun for Samantha's bright energy just lit up the whole room.

The Weekly Portrait: Eli

A portrait of my son Eli, drawn on the prepared canvas 2 years ago from life and finished today.
This is painted in oils and shark oil

The Weekly Portrait: Georgia at the Life Drawing class

My drawing of Georgia, pastels on sugar paper

Janice's drawing of Georgia, pastels on wrapping paper
This drawing has a lovely feel to it.

The Weekly Portrait: Heidi

This commission to decorate an antique oak door with Souvenir de Malmaison roses, violets and a renaissance style angels face became, in the fullness of time, a portrait of Heidi.
It took me ages to do, for reasons that I won't go into here, but when I finally delivered it to Heidi I really missed seeing it in my studio.