Buttnekkiddoodles

 
I had the absolute delight to watch Lenin Delsol give a presentation of how he approaches portraiture with pastels. Lenin is a first rate draughtsman with an exemplary work ethic who has a long career as an illustrator and teaches at the Palette & Chisel Academy in Chicago.
Both knowledgeable and accessible he has a smooth and jocular personality that is perfectly suited to the P&C where his students may range from the advanced and professionals brushing up on their technique, to beginners with whom he is especially good at giving them the nuts and bolts of foundational skills and encouraging them that challenging techniques are within their reach. Especially appealing to me is how he deflates the nerve racking apprehension of learning a demanding craft with self effacing humor that stuffs the notion of genetic gifts of genius and pompous celebration of technical bravura. His relaxed manner assures all his students that one and all are humbled by the challenges of the craft and that joy, thorough investigation and perseverance are more dependable paths to creative and personal success.
Some of his fine work, as well as that of the other instructors at the Palette & Chisel are currently on display in the galleries on the main floor.

 
Revisions. “Work that page!!” I urge my students to make the most out of your sketchbooks and studies. This ledgerbook I’ve been drawing in since 2017 is getting worked over pretty thoroughly. I can’t leave alone pages of the quick 1-3 minute gesture drawings or sprints as I call ‘em. And if a figure drawing can’t stand on its own then I jump into any open space that begs to be assailed. Tends to keep things nice and loose. Robust. It’s a learning process in which I don’t want to be prissy or treat my studies as precious. The studies over the last 3 weeks of Elizabeth, Tor, Gretchen, and Bobby were slung onto sketches from 2017 and 2019. All done at the Palette and Chisel. I may like a figure but still feel the page needs work. Or, I may like a page as it’s developing but am disheartened by some of the studies. The first page, for instance, the drawing of the model on the step ladder irritated me for a few years and last night I dropped a pose of Bobby on it that I felt was one of my better studies this last month, and the gray background only served as a challenge to work highlights back into his shoulders and torso. The page of Elizabeth and Gretchen was fun and I liked the color play but Gretchen doesn’t look like Gretchen. And while I let go of getting a likeness if the structure and values and marks all add up to a well constructed head, but….I have drawn Gretchen scores of times and I confess, it bugs the bejezzus outta me that I miss the mark on her likeness. Maybe if I actually spent less time on the bloody internet and more time drawing.
      Consider me a devout practioner of pentimento and palimpsest.  sprawling the thought process out onto a page. 

As for medium used, all the usual suspects are here, fountain pens, Platinum Carbon and DeAtramentis inks, grease pencil, and Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens.