Hatless Russian Busker

The Russian Photo Busker Who Wore No Hat. 2014. @11" x 9." Graphite, tinted with Compressed White Charcoal, Conté, and Pastel, on Blue Saint Armand Old Master Drawing Paper. Casey Klahn.

Russian Busker

Russian Picture Busker. 2014. Graphite tinted with white compressed charcoal, conte and pastel on rough brown paper. 12" x 9." Casey Klahn. Sold.

Self Portrait

The Fauvist. 2014.

14.25" x 13.5." 

Pastel, Charcoal and Graphite. 

Casey Klahn

The Elbow

This post is formatted for the iMac
Les Nabis
@14" x 9"
Pastel & Charcoal
Casey Klahn

Ballerina Sketch

Ballerina @ The Mall, 1.2

@10" x 4"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

I'm working on figures, again.  This ballerina was at the mall in Spokane, preparing for an upcoming Nutcracker event.  From a photo I took.

Head Starts

Civil War Face

@ 9" x 7"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

Sergeant Major

Sergeant Major Sketch

@7" x 9." 

Charcoal and chalk on toned brown paper.

Casey Klahn

This is a life sketch I rendered last weekend at a battle reenactment.  The opportunity to draw the figure from life is rare for me, and Civil War reenactments are a grand time, with costumed participants, equipment and regalia for subject-matter.

Bronze Figurine, A Drawing

Figurine Drawing #1

18" x 12"

Charcoal, Chalk & Pastel

Casey Klahn

This time I drew the figure from photos I took of one of Degas' bronze ballerinas.  More to come.

In The Bath

In The Bath - Degas Copy

@ 3.2" x 3.5"

Pastel

Casey Klahn

pas

Other Degas copies.

At The Bar

At The Bar - Copy of Degas

@22" x 17"

Charcoal, Conte & Pastel 

Casey Klahn

pas camera 

Degas Copies - Irrelevant; Not Irreverent

Degas Copy - Ballerina 2
15" x 12"
Pastel & Charcoal
Casey Klahn

These Degas copies were done by free-hand copying from Degas' sketches, with some measuring for proportions. The one posted today was then transferred to a La Carte board the old fashioned way by making a charcoal negative and rubbing the backside to leave an outline. The color is added by imagination, and with heavy influence from memories of Degas' style and color choices.

I have decided that he truly was focused on the drawing component of his pictures, and his "candid snapshots" of figures relied on draftsmanship and his realist ideas.

On The Easel

These copies cannot be sold, or submitted for juries, because of their derivative nature. They may be irrelevant, but they are not irreverent.

The Colorist

Ballerina Copy

Degas Copy - Ballerina 1
10.5" x 8"
Pastel & CharcoalCasey Klahn

If I were to quit landscapes and just spend the rest of my days copying Degas, I would still be a happy man. Photos with a point and shoot - better quality ones to follow.

The Colorist Blog.

Detail Didact

Detail from Route Step...Casey Klahn

Soft pastels are not very appropriate for drawing details. Choose pencils and hard pastels for smaller details. Here are five tips for the detail-oriented pastel artist.

1. Decide ahead of time whether your picture will be finished as a painting or as a drawing. The difference to me is more about lost lines and edges versus outlines. Either result may be achieved with pencils, charcoal and hard pastel. But, keep track of your goal.
   
2. Sharpen your crumbly pastel pencils the old fashioned way. Shave a small portion of the business end of the wooden case from back to front to expose a small tip of pastel. Make sure you get it exposed all around. I use an X-Acto Knife for this. Now, sand the point with a sandpaper sharpener. I re-use mine by stapling hardware store sandpaper to the old board.
   
3. The bigger Derwent Set may be my favorite because it has three values for most of the colors. And I like the consistency.
   
4. Don't forget the invaluable General White Charcoal pencil. Also vine charcoal and compressed charcoal sticks, the latter also comes in white.
   
5. Hard pastels may pleasantly surprise you with the intensity of some pigments. They are traditionally used for blocking in lightly, but I urge you to try them over soft pastels occasionally. The effects are better than many other tools used for moving around and shaping soft pastel.

Detail from Route Step...Casey Klahn

More than enough knowledge on sharpening pencils-Link. Warning: doll defacement shown.

Civil War Artillerymen

Route Step in Garrison

8" x 7"
Charcoal & Pastel on Canson Mi-Tientes
Casey Klahn

This now qualifies as my return to the figure, and as a project. I'll name it the Civil War Project. The guy on the left of the image makes a great model, as he is a big statured guy with large hands.

Today, at The Colorist, I posted about the Civil War artist Alfred Waud. Follow the links there to find some artist reenactors who are active back east.

The drawing is not quite this severe in respects to contrast, as this is a scanned image.