Chris suggested I try a master copy of one of my favorite artists so here is the start of Eric's painting 'This Land Is Your Land'. His original is 40x40 and mine is half that size. Acrylic burnt sienna wash, ultramarine blue and burnt umber oil with turpentine for the shadow lay in.

This post is for publicly stating your goals and practice commitments for November. If you have already decided please make a post and share with the group. Let us keep you accountable. For those who are unclear, please comment here or schedule a progress call.

Started the lay in of my ambitious drawing #2 in charcoal on smooth A2 paper. Got a little too much into the details of the head, but managed to get out of that. Then I tripped over the foreshortened arms. First I will finish a rough lay in and then start to sell the foreshortening and add detail/ correct proportions where it is needed. Will continue today!

Finished ambitious drawing 2 for October (yes I know it is November 😂). I feel i did pretty well overall. The head feels a little too big, her torso not quite right and I don’t sell the foreshortening on the leg. The leg does not fit on the paper, that was by design. Actually cut it off below the knee for my composition. On the plus side, I feel the upper part of her torso and head are okay. I used a lot more intent in my edges And I have used my thumbnail tonal design!

I dedicated this Inktober to doing studies of the masters of the medium. I focused on Joseph Clement Coll, Charles Dana Gibson and Marcos Mateu-Mestre. Below is the mix of copies with some original work thrown in. Here are my takeaways: - Indian ink is black. Like, really black. And thick. It's like smearing soot on paper - On the brush vs quill debate I'm leaning towards brush. Quills are fun, but brush is much more predictable: ink flow never just stops, it doesn't tear paper, it's much easier to apply to large areas of tone, no issue picking up small amounts of ink, etc - The easiest way to clean a nib is to dip it in water and wipe with a paper towel, - If a nib gets clogged, you can unclog it by dipping it in water, but be ready for somewhat lighter lines, - If you using water to do lighter washes with Indian ink, clean the remainder off immediately. Indian ink can't be reactivated once it dries, and it becomes difficult to clean, - Doing copies is a great learning tool, - Doing copies is not enough. You need to try to draw something of your own and try to apply the design ideas that you learned through copying