The pen & ink drawings below were done at a time when I didn't have a full sized studio. The one with the woman was done with combination of a sketch of one of my models and the rest was, of course, fantasy. The other was just plain fantasy of a tree. Both ended up being used to illustrate different poems in two different books of poetry.

Nude on Balcony, 8 x 10 inches

Bubble Tree 8x 8 inches

This sketch was done from life as my model walked around the studio.It wasn't posed for as such, just an idea that evolved from watching her and listening to her talk.

I hope to refine it some soon and then do a color sketch before moving it to a canvas.

This is one of what I call my "swirly" images. I enjoy the abstraction of the figure but without losing the face or general appearance and then creating swirling lines and shapes around her. These shapes along with the colors define my feelings or the feelings she was projecting when the sketch was made.

This is the initial pencil sketch for a painting called, "Gold Moon."

The painting is just started so wanted to show the sketches and process as it moves along.

I had done several photos and sketches of this model in the studio and found this pose very peaceful and with a sort of dancers surpentine flow. From that I just sat and scribbled with the figure in place until this sketch emerged.

As I worked I got the idea of the gold moon behind her dark hair and then, thinking of Klimt, I decided to possibly do the moon in gold leaf. I'll just have to see how the painting looks when it gets to that stage.

I was undecided about color so did a rough color pastel of the sketch to give me initial direction. That appears below. I will post more on this as I move along with the painitng.

This sketch is done as a starting point for one of my abstracts I call my, "swirlys" (not very high-toned, is it?) Doing the abstracts allows me more freedom of design, of expression and color. I enjoy drawing from my feelings about a woman or women in general and then using the lines surrounding her as a way of further expressing what I feel. Then, when painting I can add color to further inhance this emotion. There isn't anything revolutionary about all this, it is what most abstracts are meant to do. For me it just gives me a different place to go from my realism and the portraits I do.  This sketch is about 8 x 10 inches. Here she is a flower, perhaps a prairie flower. To me, women are delicate and beautiful as a flower but also as a flower on the prairie they are strong and can withstand what nature sends them.

This is all from a sketch done some time ago. I recently cleaned up the lines if not the subject. Some may thinnk of this as too erotic or even pornographic but I like the feeling it projects as well as the memories it generates. The B & W is just the cleanned sketch but the other is after it was scanned and put on my computer to play with colors.

I guess I'm too old to learn the whole computer art thing but I do use it to do color changes quickly. I fiind it is very helpful to scan sketches, clean them up and then do various color renditions of them. In the past I would have to do many color sketches with either watercolors, pastels or oils to find where I wanted to go with the final work. I'm adding it here to show my process and perhaps let others see what they could do if they aren't already way ahead of me.

I know this will end up as a large final oil but not sure of the colors still.  What I have here is just a first idea.

This is another of my "cleaned up" sketches. It was done over the weekend with a hard pencil and then gone over with a Sharpie. Then all the many lines in the attempt to find the right ones were erased. I like the triangle of the overall pose.  Maybe there is a painting here but for now it is just more good practice and experimentation.

These two sketches were done as a starting point for a commissioned portrait I'll be doing soon.

The lady is a very lovely, petite redhead whose age I wouldn't dare guess. She wears very clear and almost invisible glasses. She is a kind of "country girl" and wants to the portrait to be of her outside wearing jeans, boots and a simple top.

When she got to the studio and looked around she saw the pastel I have been working on of a nude by a tree. She didn't have any interest in her being posed nude but liked the idea of being by a tree.

It is January here  in ugly Ohio in snow and cold. So I posed her inside as a starting point with her just really doing what she wanted to do and no direction from me. I often do this to start to learn about the person sees themselves.

After looking at the photos, talking about them and then using them and working from life I did these two sketchs just to give her an idea of what things might look like. She liked the first one as to tree and foot but realized the second one was a bit stiff and the foot just wasn't working. All this said, I am putting them here as a way of showing how I work on some commissions.  I will be posting more things as I work on it and when she has time to pose.

This is a pastel measuring, 24 x 18 inches. "Dulcinea In Pink Drape."

This was done from a combination of photos of this model and her posing for me as I worked after about half way done. This is a very common way for me to work on pastels or oils. I had only done one painting of this lovely girl when I did this one. I knew I was going to do a number of paintings of her but with the first one I struggled with her fair skin tones. It was important to be correct with that wonderful red hair.

That was what drove me to do this piece. I think from it I was able to learn enough to go forward with the other paintings.

Most of my pastels do not end up as finished works for sale but as I worked on this I could see it was going to be best to keep it clean. I'm glad I did.

I also added a closeup of the head just to show the technique and color a little better.

I can't say for sure but I think I only used about a dozen colors for the whole thing and that is very rare for me.

If you would like to see a larger image please go to, Dulcinea In Pink Drape.

Each of these sketces was done from life last night and very quickly as the model just sort of stood around in my livingroom and talked to me about her life. The poses are relaxed and comfortable even if the sketches, done in a couple of minutes, are very rough.

Doing these may or may not give ideas for a painting but each gives me more understanding of the woman posing and that makes everything I do of her better and more connected to her.

Or is that just me thinking it means something?

This is my sketch for the day.

Late last night I took photos of a model/friend. I asked her to pose in this way for an idea I had of a large painting. The idea for the painting came yesterday and I haven't actually drawn that part yet.

This morning I drew this from one of the photos. It is as I often do, "cleaned up" from all the pencil lines I had there originally.

The model was wearing a necklace and  played with it all the time we were doing the photos. I decided to let it stay in the drawing because it seemed to make me remember and feel close to the experience last night. Not sure if it will make it to the painting.

I guess now I better get to the drawings for the painting.

I would be fun to have people send me or post sketches of drawings using this pose or sketch as a starting  point  to see what others might come up with as a full painting. Who knows!