First attempts to use charcoal

I am giving a young student some private lessons and these are the first assignments he turned in, using charcoal. He is so talented! Awesome is not even the best word. This young man is blowing my mind with his natural talent. Can you tell on the skull, which is the photo and which is the drawing?

Three sets of pears, colored pencil

My new colored pencil class is doing awesome. Here are some samples of their first homework assignment. Pretty good, huh?

I am offering a Pastel Painting for Beginners Class, starts April 17th 2014

This is a soft pastel painting class for those of you who have never tried this wonderful medium, and those of you who tired it years ago and would like a refresher course on the basics. This class will introduce you to pastels and you will see how quickly they go down on the surface, and how brilliant the effects are of these pure colors. Each class will start with some information on pastel painting including: how to make different marks: linear or side strokes; several ways to blend colors on the paper; how to fix your painting before framing. Pastels are very versatile and it is easy to create simple or complex paintings. We will concentrate on landscapes such as fields, mountains, and salt marshes for this class.

What to bring: Sennilier Half-Stick Soft Pastels set of 20
assorted half-sticks, Prismacolor NuPastel set of 12, Colourfix Pastel Paper (warm tone pack 9” X 12”), vine charcoal (soft), painting board (to tape drawing paper to), roll of paper towels or rags, paper stumps and an old artist paintbrush (1" wide) for blending, Artist tape 3/4” wide or masking tape. I have set up a Wish List on www.DickBlick.com with the recommended supplies, but you may substitute these with soft pastels of your choice. Once you sign up for the class I will email you the link to this Wishlist. Do NOT buy “Oil” pastels by mistake. We will not be using them in class. You may want to wear clothing you do not mind getting dirty.

Class starts: Thursday, April 17, 2014, and runs for 5 weeks, 10:30am to 1:30pm with a short break. Cost is $135.00. 10% of each tuition is donated to the SAA Art Scholarship Fund.

To hold your spot please mail a check directly to: Revelle Taillon, 26 West Pine Street, Plaistow, NH 03865. For more information: 603-382-3397 or email Revelle at rtaillon@comcast.net.

Class will be taught by Revelle Taillon, member of the Seacoast Artist Association. She holds a BFA in graphic design and illustration and has been teaching for over 3 years. She has worked in just about all mediums. Revelle’s Blog has samples of her work and technique: www.revelleimagemaker.blogspot.com

Class will be held at:
Seacoast Artists Association
225 Water Street, Exeter, NH 03833
(603) 778-8856  •  www.seacoastartist.org

Cape Buffalo continues!

Here are a few more steps. I thought I was done, but realized after looking at the horns for a couple days, that they were just too light. I also went back and added more darks in the face, ears, nose, well just about everywhere got more layers! It's always a good idea to take a break after working on a drawing, so you can see it with new eyes when you come back to in. I was adding detail up to the point I had put a mat around it and was about to sign it. When I was sure I was done, I signed it and finished framing it! Hope you enjoy it. It is for sale if you are interested. Contact me directly.

Cape Buffalo Drawing

Here are a few steps in my new drawing of a Cape Buffalo and an Oxpecker bird. The first drawing shows how I get the entire basic shape of the animals down first and then I work on the eyes. If the eyes aren't right, the drawing will fail even is everything else is correct. I put together several photos in Photoshop to use for reference: adding the top of the horns which weren't on the original photo by dragging them from other photos, then adjusting the shape and angle so they looked right. Then I found several photos of oxpeckers and added the bird on his head.In the next shot you can see I have added much more detail to the center of his massive head!

This shot shows a closeup of the little Oxpecker.

Art Classes in Exeter, NH starting March 18th, 2014

NEW ART CLASSES. I'm starting new classes on Tuesday, March 18, 2014, at Seacoast Artist Association, 225 Water Street, Exeter, NH. Cost for each class is $135.00.

"Learn to Draw" class runs 8 weeks; class is held from 10:00 am–12:00PM. 

"Colored Pencil Class" class also runs for 8 weeks and iis held 12:30pm–2:30pm. 

For full information see website http://www.seacoastartist.org/events_classes_art.cfm

Limit 7 students per class, minimum class: 3 students. Hope to see you there!