Canvas: Robin's Pear

I've always liked the dramatic starkness of simple still lifes. And besides, like Georgia O’Keeffe said about flowers, fruit doesn't move and it cost less than models. Actually, in this case that doesn't really matter since I based this painting on a photo taken by sweetheart Robin.

Robin’s Pear, canvas print, 28 x 34

Affordable Art

Most of my drawings from this week's Tuesday night drawing group were so bad that I couldn't stand the thought of posting them. Halfway through pose after pose I'd give up, flip over a new sheet of my sketchpad and start over.

Bob, the artist nearest me, said "It's never a good sign when you hear paper being crumpled up during a pose." 

I said "Yeah, that was a defective sheet of paper. It didn't draw good at all."

At the end of the evening's poses Bob ripped several sheets out of his sketch pad, folded them in half, and said "Anybody want to buy these before I throw them away?"

I asked "How much?" and he said "Three dollars."

"No thanks."

Then Bob ripped the sheets in half, handed one of the halves to me and said "How about $1.50?"

Oh how I wish now I had bought the ripped-in-half version for a memento. Maybe I'll have another chance.

The only drawing I salvaged from the night's sketches. After photographing the sketch I used the Dodge and Burn tools in Photoshop to add more shading, mainly to emphasize the model's mustache and goatee. 

Almost-Final Version

The almost-final version. Or maybe it's the final version. Could even be the nowhere-near-final version. I wouldn't know, I'm just following instructions from voices in my head. 32 x 44 inches, for now. 

Variation

Detail of one of the many variations of the previous digital painting (October 6 post). Click to see the image at an approximate actual size.