Happy Holidays

I have not finished my figure drawing for this month, but here is a look at what I've completed. I have also included my cast drawing-I had a hard time getting a sharp picture of it, but you can get an idea. Last of all I included my portrait drawing from this week and some studies I've been doing on the train. I have been studying a lot of human anatomy, color theory and drawing but I've decided if I really want to get better I need to actually draw. So I have been drawing from Vanderpoel's book, "Human Anatomy".

Giving Thanks

I wrote this post Thanksgiving Day

We just let out for the Thanksgiving break and that ends our November pose. I was really happy how it turned out. The portrait turned out really well. I felt like I have a much better understanding of what needs to happen and am excited to get to work in December. In the afternoons I am still painting casts. I don't have a picture right now though.




Since it is the day we celebrate our blessings and focus on giving thanks I thought I would briefly reflect on some of the things for which I am thankful. First and foremost I am thankful for God. In our politically correct world we don't hear it enough, but I am thankful for His love and guidance. I am thankful for my family-my wife, my daughters as well as my siblings and extended family. I am grateful to be able to attend art school in New York City. That is the culmination of a lot of blessings. First off, for the encouragement my friends and family have given me and the support and sacrifice of my wonderful wife. She has been positive and always encouraged me, even though it hasn't been easy. I'm also very thankful to my in-laws. They have let us stay with them while I am attending art school. I am so thankful for everyone's sacrifices. I feel very humbled and thankful. I try and keep those sacrifices in the forefront of my mind. Those sacrifices help me to work harder.

Here is the November figure drawing

Portraits and Poster Studies

I came to the realization that if I was to fully take advantage of my time here while studying at the Grand Central Academy of Art I needed to seek help from God and allow Him to influence my efforts. In my prayers I have tried to be more specific, asking not just for help, but how can I improve my portraits?, turn better form?, and what can I do to better understand my teachers critiques? I have noticed that as I pray more specifically and put more effort into my prayers I find the help I am asking for. As I ponder on my questions thoughts come into my mind that hone my efforts and increase my understanding. The last several weeks have been some of the most growing and rewarding weeks in my art education. I have noticed my work getting better and better.

(above) portrait of class mate

Here are a few things I've been doing lately.

This is a poster study of Jacques-Louis David's The Death of Marat

The idea is to do a quick painting with emphasis on capturing the same values(light and dark). I would like to start doing a poster master copy once a week.

Here is a close up

(left) This is a sketch I did on the train on my way to school. The guy slept the whole way up. It was a good exercise since I couldn't really use comparative measuring... it would have been too obvious. I'm happy how it turned out.












(right) These are copies I did out of Vanderpoel's "The Human Figure. He was an incredible drafts-man.









(left) This is one of my anatomy sketches I did on the train out of Goldfinger's Anatomy Book. I have been studying a lot of anatomy lately. Not the easiest subject... it has taken a lot of work. In the spring I will be taking a ecorche/anatomy class. We will be sculpting a skelton first and then sculpting the muscles on top of that. I'm really excited.

October

I wanted to get some stuff up and show you what I did in October. The mornings are spent doing figure drawings and the afternoons, cast painting and one day a week portrait drawing.

Here's a peek.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to take a good picture of this drawing, but this was the upper portion of my figure drawing in October.

This is actually my second cast painting. The first was the mouth. Below you will see the process I went through to get to this point.

First I drew the ear. Initially I just had the basic outline and then my teacher recommended I do a wire frame type structure over my drawing. This was a great opportunity to become more familiar with the spatial structure of the form in preparation to paint.

Second I painted a quick value study. This gives me the opportunity to understand how the values relate to each other. This is another opportunity to study the cast in prepartion to paint. I'm happy with how this worked out

I wish I had taken pictures of the painting in stages of development, but it didn't happen. In any case next I transfered my drawing onto canvas and painted the cast.

Last of all here is the portrait drawing I did today. I'm not completely happy with it, but it's a step in the right direction. Right now Jacob is having us draw the portrait of the model along with skull studies from skull we have posed next to the model.

Back in School

I started back to school the first part of September but had to take several weeks off for military exercises. The only thing I have to show thus far is a figure drawing I did the month of September. It is done in graphite and took about 50 hours. All work was done from a live model at school. I will try and get the blog caught up soon.

Germany

I am in Germany right now!!! It has been a great trip. I havn't had a lot of time to draw because of work, but I have done a few sketches. Hopefully I can get them up as soon as I get home next week. I will have a month before school starts once I get back to Jersey. I want to get some serious drawing and painting in. Oh... take a look at the Mormon Times bulletin board (Mormon Times is the new newspaper that accompanies the Church News) if you have a chance. Sometime this week there should be an ad for Esplin Fine Prints. Any way, I'll try and get some drawings up soon.

Best wishes,

Neal

Update on Las Vegas Temple Drawing

I've been working really hard to get these done. I really like the feel of this drawing. I'm not sure if I should keep pushing it a little further or leave it how it is. (Sorry it's not the best photo of it). I've also been working on some portraits. I should have something to show soon.

I've also been working really hard to get my web site up and going.

Check it out

www.esplinfineprints.com

Temple Drawings

I just finished my drawing of the Salt Lake City Temple. I currently am working on Las Vegas. Check out the other ones I have done at

http://www.ldstempledrawings.blogspot.com/

Finally... a Moment to Reflect

We made it! After selling a majority of what we had, moving 2000 miles eastward, countless hours on the train up to New York, minimal sleep and moments of frustration we made it through our first year of art school. They say what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. So what is it that I have learned-what is it that makes me better prepared to go forth in life as a professional artist. This morning as my wife and I walked through the neighborhood I found myself studying the trees and how light hits them. I think that is the biggest thing I have gained from school-an understanding of what needs to be represented in order to accurately draw an object. You have to get the values right! I like to think of it like cooking. I don't have to cook the same amount, but I do need to get the right proportions to one another. I don't have to copy values exactly-infact normally it's impossible to do so. But you have to get them to work together in the same relationship. I wouldn't say I can do that perfectly, but I've gotten a lot better. My eye is a lot more sensitive to seeing what I want to draw. There are other tools that I feel are more developed, more consistently getting my proportions accurate, and understanding how edge quality effects the spatial relationship. You could say I feel more confident now too. There is lot I don't know but I feel like I understand the basics and with a little time can learn to paint and draw like I want. Unfortunately, this summer we financially can't afford to take classes up at school, which is OK because I am wore out from the commute. I'm trying to get a job and finish some projects I have been working on for a while. I want to create some good habits that will further my artistic abilities such as drawing something every night before I go to bed. I am reading several books and trying to build on the knowledge I learned this past school year. I'll continue to post what's going on and what I'm learning.

End of Year

I wish I had more time. School is out for the summer and I am trying to find a summer job. I will get some of my thoughsts down, but I need another week. I wanted to post the picture of my final cast drawing though.

One Week Left

Last week of school is coming up. We're done on the 29th. Then I need to get a job so I can go back in the fall. 85% of my time at school has been trying to finish my final cast drawing. I've attached a photo so you can see my progress. I find out that the bust comes from the greek statue called The Boxer of Quirinal in the museum in Rome. I've also included a picture of that taken from the files on cuidaswiata.com. I'm really tired with the commute so it'll be nice to take a break. I hope to do a blog soon on the progress I feel I've made in the last 9 months.

Progress on Final Cast Drawing

Like usual I am strapped for time. There just doesn't seem to be enough time to get everything done. Here is the progress on my final cast-three weeks to go (Hopefully I can get it done before school ends for the year). There are a couple of projects at home I get to tinker with every once in a while. Hopefully I can get some pictures taken and throw them up on the blog too.

Workshops

This week we are doing workshops. I will be studying value all week long. I'll try and post a little about what I'm learning. For now I just have time to attach a few drawings.

Home Stretch

The energy at school has steadily increased. As school comes to a close on our first year everyone is picking up the pace to finish final projects. I really want to finish up this final cast drawing. I've finally started modeling. It took me forever to get the block-in right. I've also included my latest figure block-in and my portrait painting from my night class.

Still Drawing

Not a lot of time-here are some pictures of what I'm working on. I have included a painting by Dagnan.

Drawing and Painting, Painting and Drawing

This is the portrait painting I started in the night class. You can see the entire painting to the left and below is a close-up of my work. (I can't claim complete credit for the nose-my teacher touched it up for me after I had worked at it for a while).

I decided to do the bust of Bruno for my final cast drawing, but I havn't been able to get it right. I think I have blocked-in 10 drawings now of it, but this is it. I finally got all the tilts right and am looking forward to moving forward. You can my sketch and then I included the actual bust as well.

Diligence

WOW.... life has been crazy lately. I don't have a great deal to say, but I would like to share what I have been doing lately. Also, I am going to start highlighting the work of artists, which I have come in contact with that I consider great. Here is one my friend found and shared with me, George de Forest Brush (1854-1941). He painted mostly Indians. I really like the colors he uses in depicting skin tones. A lot times skin tone can become almost plastic looking. This is very nicely done.

Included in this post is the painting I completed in the portrait painting night class. It isn't exactly finished, but I ran out of time. All the same I am happy with my first attempt at painting.

I have also included a portrait drawing I did of a young lady. It was a four hour pose.

The figure drawings our three day poses and the man with long hair is the new portrait I am painting in my night class. Also, I have included what I hope to model for my final cast drawing. It is a bust of a Greek man. We call him Bruno, not really sure who he is.

Let me mention quickly the importance of vision and persistance. It seems like the learning curve at school is actually not a simple curve but a combination of multiple curves-more like a jump rope. There seems to be the ups and the downs. Right now I feel like I am in a low period. I have mastered a certain level and am struggling to jump to the next skill level. It gets frustrating. I have to continue to maintain the vision I came with, develop the necessary skills and be persistant. Sometimes it seems things would be better if I tried something different, when in reality we're on the right path we just need to stay the course, be diligent, and wait for the natural consequences of work fall into place.