Studio blog of Julie Galante – painting ridiculous things in Scotland
Today I noodled around with some ink blot faces. This was really fun, and I want to come back to this exercise next week when I have more time. I’m really getting a lot out of this online course I am taking from Gillian Lee Smith. If you’re looking to challenge and improve your drawing … Read more
Another expressive portrait for you today, in charcoal and white pastel. I might come back and work on this one some more, but I’ll let it sit for a day or two, first.
I love owls. I can’t believe it’s never occurred to me to draw one before. OK, so it’s not that unbelievable – I rarely draw animals. Now I’m thinking owls might need to become a regular subject, because they are so much fun to look at. Again the idea with this drawing was to stay … Read more
Today’s exercise was to draw an expressive bee. How did I do? I had to stop after 15 minutes or so, because I was too tempted to start adding more details and making it look more like the photograph, rather than leaving it loose and expressive. Maybe I should have pushed myself to keep going … Read more
Today was some quick figure drawing using this website. It’s a fantastic resource for drawing practice, showing you new photographs of posed models at timed intervals. Not quite as good as a life drawing class, but a decent substitute. I enjoyed the shorter poses more than the longer ones. I found myself getting too fidgety … Read more
This was an exercise in figure proportions. I am usually very impatient when I create art, so it was good for me to slow down and take some time to make sure I was getting the proportions more or less correct. I love having assignments to do. I am already behind in my online class … Read more
Today I did an exercise for Gillian‘s course which involved using oiled charcoal, a new medium for me. I love being told to try something new. When it’s my first time working in a certain way, there’s less pressure to be good at it. It’s freeing, and helps me just get to work. So the idea … Read more
Today the focus was on expressive portraits. The idea was to keep everything loose and expressive, and not worry about likeness. I think I could have done better on the loose and expressive fronts, as my lines tightened up too much on the longer sketches. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll give it another go.
Today I started an expressive drawing class. The first exercises were about loosening up and making marks. We were to draw an object from several angles, so I chose a little wooden figure model I have in my studio, as it was the most organically-shaped thing I had on hand. The idea was to work … Read more
It’s November 1st, which means Art Every Day Month is upon us once more. I’ve been taking part almost every year since 2008, posting my daily creations here on my blog. Last year I did a small oil painting each day; this year I think I’ll mostly be sharing things from the online course I’ll … Read more