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Ahhh, autumn! For many people, that means back to school, and for me it's no different, even though I've been working for 20 years. As the publisher of The Artist’s Magazine and North Light Books, I know a lot about art. Actually, I've been painting for years, and I decided to exercise my eyes and hands by taking part in a local figure-drawing group. The first session was Sept. 12, and I’ve decided to share my thoughts about drawing and making art and some of the conversations that come up during the critiques in our blog.

Although this was the first group session, I've been drawing with some of these people for years. We were lucky to have a veteran model with us, so I was able to quickly get into a strong rhythm. We drew for about an hour with quick, two- to five-minute poses, then another hour with 15-minute poses. I draw pretty fast, so this approach works well for me.

It's always good to know your objectives before starting any work of art. I have some very simple goals for my drawings:

1. Exercise my eye-hand coordination.
2. Engage with the model to capture him on paper.
3. Practice my compositional skills.
4. Record what I see in a quick, simplistic manner.

I'm not too worried about accuracy; these are really just experiments and a chance to draw.

Notice the figures in my finished drawing (top) are of the same pose from different perspectives. I like this approach because it challenges me to incorporate the figures without making them repetitive. By including two figures, the composition becomes more complex and establishes a dialogue between them. I went back into the drawing the next day to create the setting, which connects the figures and makes the drawing less of a study and more of a finished work. This drawing was created on paper taken from an old book doomed to the recycling bin. The printed words added texture to the paper and were a challenge to integrate into the work. I liked the way the text interacted with the figures and decided I didn’t want to use traditional shading or modeling to create forms. Instead I opted to leave the figures unshaded and focused on using color and value to create contrast within the piece. I think it was successful overall and a good start to the fall drawing season.

The drawing sessions will be going on for three months, and I’ll be posting here every Friday. If you have questions or comments, post them below. You can also friend me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.

Check out our fancy new virtual studio in the latest edition of ANN!

Looking to improve your sales? Get into more galleries? Get more press mentions? Make a name for yourself as an artist?

I'm going to be giving an online seminar at 1 p.m. Eastern today (Tuesday, Sept. 22) called "Self-Promotion Strategies for Artists: How to toot your own horn, online and in person." There's still time to sign up! We'll be talking about promotion ideas and tactics designed to get you excited about building up your art career. Hope you can join me!

Click here to learn more and register for "Self-Promotion Strategies for Artists"

At 9:29 a.m. last Saturday, Amy Poor, John Potter, and Julie Chapman were standing in front of their easels in the Jackson Hole, WY, town square, eagerly awaiting the signal to pick up their brushes and start painting. They were three of about 20 artists participating in the Quick Draw, in which they had an hour to create a painting. (If it were reality TV, this would be the quickfire challenge on Bravo's Top Chef.) "It's masochistic and tough," says William Smith, who practiced beforehand to shave minutes off his time. A few minutes later, a five-piece orchestra on hand for the event struck up the theme from Mission: Impossible.

The Quick Draw is part of the annual Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival. The night before some of the artists were also ensconced at the nearby National Museum of Wildlife Art, where their works were on display at an annual miniature show. This year California watercolor painter Thomas Quinn received the Artist’s Choice award for his elegant piece depicting a quail foraging for prey. Meanwhile in the museum lobby, collectors dined on treats such as mashed potatoes in champagne glasses.


Shadow of the Sixth (oil, 60x120) by Tom Gilleon

Gallery owners participated in the festival with show openings and receptions for the artists. Paintings at some venues like Trailside Galleries sported an array of red dots—good news for the art market. Another piece of good news out of Jackson Hole is the opening of Altamira Fine Art, an exciting new gallery just off the town square. The space has an uncluttered, contemporary feel and represents artists such as Tom Gilleon (above), the festival's featured artist.
Learn more about Western art:

• Southwest Art
• The Pastel Journal Jan/Feb 2008 issue
• The Artist's Magazine July/Aug 2007 issue