Kristen Live Model Painting

Dear Art Lover,

      

     I was surprised recently to receive a private message in Facebook from a woman in another country.  She told me that she had bought one of my oil paintings.  It was painted 2001, sketching from live models (usually just one three-hour session, with work at home later if I could add to it).  What a wonder!

     Last summer while I was in Texas, I released a few other earlier works.  These are even more affordable than my current paintings. Here is one of my earlier paintings [2001] from a live model, Kristen. I always liked the light on this one and her very dramatic profile. I re-stretched her and re-framed her this past summer in Texas. She measures 27 x 15 inches (without frame) and will sell for only $525 (with frame), with additional shipping at cost from Austin, Texas. Contact me if you like her, please.

http://www.borsheimarts.com/painting/2001/kristen.htm

Kristen, 27" x 15", framed

Kristen

27" h X 15"
Original Oil on Canvas
© 2001 Kelly Borsheim

$525, includes frame

[shipping from Austin, Texas

 not included]

Peace,

Kelly

http://BorsheimArts.com

P.S.  Happy birthday to one of my very first friends in college back in 1982, Terrisa in Texas! 

The Model a painting

Dear Art Lover,

     Part of the time spent in my former home and studio in central Texas has been spent painting.  I have so many unfinished works or sketches in both 2-d and 3-d that I still want to finish. 

     Many years ago I was interested in experimenting with marble dust on canvas, sculpting it a big at times to get a more 3-d effect on a painted work on board or canvas.  That was how I started this new painting “The Model.”
    

The Model - Marble Dust and Oil on 40" x 30" Canvas

     I have a mysterious art supporter who occasionally sends me things of interest.  If memory serves, he either sent me the film on tape of “The Model” or wrote to me about it.  In any event, this French film inspired the pose and the idea for this painting.  It records the moment of “unveiling” and I hope to have captured something of those mixed feelings one may have of anticipation, shyness, confidence, appreciation, and so many more things that often happen in an instance before the work begins.

The Model - Marble Dust and Oil on 40" x 30" Canvas Framed

     If you are interested in buying this painting, please just contact me.  “The Model” makes her debut at the upcoming art party… your invitation follows below. [Enjoy Warren’s whimsical title…]

Cullar - Borsheim - Cullar - Borsheim: Paintings and Sculpture

Rembrandt Meets Picasso
TWO NIGHTS; TWO DIVERSE ARTISTS TOGETHER: Kelly Borsheim [Rembrandt] and Warren Cullar [Picasso]
WHEN: 8th [Tuesday] & 9th [Wednesday] September 2015:
6:30 – 9:30 p.m. each evening
WHERE: Austin, Texas; Studio of Warren Cullar, 12102 Conrad Road, 78727; Tel. 512.589.6717
WHY? Because life is worth living and art is worth having!

Sculpture AND paintings by BOTH artists.
Wine and cheese party.
Please bring art-loving friends.

http://BorsheimArts.com/
http://artwarren.com/

Peace,
Kelly

~ Kelly Borsheim, sculptor, painter, writer, teacher

http://BorsheimArts.com

Abstraction of the Real Figure

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),
It is sometimes a strange thing to understand -- this getting to realism in art through abstraction. The idea basically is that the artist is not just copying from a model. She is creating a design based on what she sees in the model. I want to capture a gesture, for gesture is a physical expression of a thought or idea.

The following oil painting “Neela” is one of my favorites of my early paintings from life. I cannot believe it is still in my collection, but then I usually keep it in my home for my own enjoyment. This is an older work and therefore quite affordable.

Neela, the model, was sitting and leaning forward a bit as she read a book during her pose time. I often enjoy working on the extreme edges of the model room, as well as working in the shadows with backlighting. And I love backs. You may see here that even if you can recognize this image as a woman’s back, it is really made up of abstract shapes of light and dark. The triangles of the shoulder blades give you an idea of symmetry in the anatomy, yet are not exact repeats of form. You may enjoy the circular shapes, the pointier ones, and hopefully the long swirling dark shape that widens as it gets closer to its bottom and denotes most of the woman’s spine.

The cool thing about this process is that one can achieve a believable human figure that does not look like a photograph. I hope that you enjoy “Neela.”

Valentina Charcoal Drawing

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I have been sifting through my piles of life drawings from models that I drew in Italy and trying to figure out what I can do with them. I want to keep many of them as studies or pose ideas for future multi-figure works that are brewing in my head. Others I simply like as they are and consider them finished works.

This next charcoal drawing is one of those. Usually I put the dates on my work, having a memory that focuses more on emotion than data. This one I did not, but I suspect that I drew this figure art in early 2009 when I was hosting an Open Studio for artists in Florence, Italy. If it was not 2009, then it was in 2008 near the time that I did a drawing of Francesco on this same-proportioned paper. [You may view the framed hands of Francesco here.]

I have drawn Valentina many times. She is a terrific model and a fun person. This horizontal composition of a lovely woman’s torso as she reclines with her arm resting along her body’s top edge is available framed for only $150 + $15 shipping (sales tax added, if applicable). Surround yourself with Valentina’s luscious curves…

“Sketch of Valentina”

6” x 17” (framed)
charcoal drawing on watercolor paper
copyright 2008-2011 Kelly Borsheim
$150 + $15 shipping (and maybe sales tax)

P.S. Please pardon the glare on this framed image. It is so hard to photograph some things! Here is an image before she was framed:

Full Monty Life Drawing

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

Since I have been back in central Texas, I have been trying to attend at least one of the many life drawing sessions in Austin. The Austin Full Monty session is held each Sunday evening, hosted by artist Leslie Pierce and sponsored by AVAA (Austin Visual Arts Association). As you can probably guess, Leslie hires only male models.

Earlier in the day, there is a session that previously offered life drawing with alternating male and female models, but for the last several years, those hosts have drifted towards only the female model. So, as it turns out, if I can tear myself away from my studio on Sundays, I can be sure to draw a model from each sex.

The Austin Full Monty starts off with about ten 1-minute gesture poses. These brief, usually more dynamic poses help the artist to loosen up and shift the mind to the spatially thinking right side of the brain. They also give us artists the opportunity to try to record action. Instead of focusing on detail, we try to capture the essence of a gesture.

The following are not the best images I have ever taken of my art and I tried to increase the contrast to help you see the pencil or charcoal marks on the paper.


Sometimes I see a gesture that I would like to turn into a more formal work of art. One of my better known works is “Ten”. This bronze bas-relief sculpture was inspired by a one-minute gesture sketch that I had done eight years before and just could not forget. Click on the sculpture’s name if you would like to see this sketch.

After the quick gestures, we move into several 15-minute poses and then try for two 30-minute poses.


Sometimes I try to create a perfect gesture with flow lines and an energy that moves me. Other times I simply focus on one body part, such as the foot. In the last image of the torso with the stretched out arms, I was most attracted to the triangles and the light and dark shapes within.

Even if I never use these images to create a painting or sculpture, I still could not imagine NOT drawing from life.

Check out the Austin Full Monty Life Drawing Sessions.

Figure Drawing

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

There is a young girl, Sarah, here in Florence, Italy, who has become one of my favorite models. She is punctual and charming to work with. And she is truly lovely.

I created this figure drawing in charcoal on the 3rd of June, taking a short break from street painting. I find sketching from a model between drawing in the street all day relaxing and engaging.

This original charcoal drawing is on "green-blue" Canson’s Mi-Tientes colored paper is approximately 14 inches tall. The female figure is half-seated and half-reclining as her legs reach toward the viewer and the model leans away, against a chair.

She is priced at $150, including shipping. Sales tax is extra and depends on your location. If interested in adding her to your collection, or allowing this drawing of Sarah to start your collection, please contact the studio or just use the PayPal button below.

Thank you so much for your support and interest!
Tell a friend, if you like.

Entwined Art

Cari Amici (Dear Friends),

I am preparing a lot of new drawings, a few paintings, and I hope still to finish another sculpture for my solo exhibit here in Florence, Italy, at Sei Divino. The exhibit is titled “Kelly Borsheim: Luce dall’oscurità” (Light from Darkness) and starts on the 16th of April. Here is a preview of one of the new drawings, “Entwined.” And yes, this is one of the ones I was hoping to finish before the model Ernesto left (see previous blog entry).

Since I started seriously drawing, I have enjoyed drawing hands. I also find myself intrigued by mystery and high contrast. The idea of ‘being entwined’ (versus entangled) with something strikes me as romantic without being suffocating. And this pose with the hands over the chest feels comfortable. (The ‘two thumbs up’ reminds me of the sculpture I carved in stone of manta rays, “Encounter”.)


“Entwined” was drawn on Roma-brand paper using only charcoal and pastels. This original drawing is 20.5 x 64 cm (approximately 8” x 25”) and he is available from the Borsheim Arts Studio. He will have his public debut on 16 April in Florence.

Thank you for your continued interest.
Kelly

White Pencil Drawing of Nude Male Figure Florence Italy

Cari Amici,

Not too long ago, I hired one of the many charming Italian models here in Florence to pose for other artists and me for a two-hour sketch (including breaks). Since sculpting the bronze “I am You”, I became even more interested in how different individuals or specifically even men and women carry themselves.

So, on this evening, I asked Mauro to try to imitate the pose that you saw in the charcoal drawing of Ilaria that I posted yesterday. He really could not get into the pose, which I found interesting. But he did an acceptable job of holding the gesture that he did give us.

Here you see my work of a white pastel pencil on black paper. I am really enjoying this idea of light from darkness. I hope you do as well.
His price is 125 USD, plus $20 for shipping and handling. Contact me if you are interested in “Mauro in Light.”
Thank you for reading.

Kelly

Cartoon Transfer for Charcoal Drawing

By Wednesday night, my friend Janné and I were ready to transfer our cartoon drawings of the model Valentina to the better quality Umbria paper for our charcoal drawings. Pictured here you can see my tracing paper that is used to transfer my original drawing to the new paper.

This method of transfer does not harm the original. I used a blue felt pen to trace over my drawing. Then on the back side of the tracing paper, I rubbed some soft B charcoal over my lines (Nitram brand – French and not available in the States, that I know of). I then position the tracing paper over my Umbria paper, measuring my vertical placement lines from the paper’s edge so that my figure is oriented properly on the paper. And then I use a blunt pencil to trace over my blue felt lines and transfer charcoal lines onto the Umbria.


My next step is to lay-in the tones, starting with the background. I use a soft B charcoal (stubs usually) to scrub-in the ‘dirt on paper.’ Then I use a soft sponge to even out the charcoal and try for some consistent and desired tone. This is not precise because until I see the model in pose, I cannot determine any tonal relationships. Janné took the image you see of me wiping the extra charcoal dust into the street of Via Ghibellina here in Florence, Italy. Vine charcoal is quite dirty and the only other window in my apartment opens up over another woman’s courtyard. She often has laundry hanging up, so it seemed a bit rude to give her the dust. So, go ahead and chastise me for trashing Florence. Some art production is not particularly environmentally friendly.

This last image shows you my basic transfer from a cartoon drawing on inexpensive paper to a tonal disegno on Umbria paper. So far, I like Umbria much better than the Somerset that I used for the drawing of Francesco. As you can see, I have a lot of blending to do in the background, once I establish my desired tones in each area. And, of course, the figure needs much refinement. The face is too garish for my taste, but having gone through this process before, I know she will not end up looking like this for long. Also, I do not often see the model’s face (depending on her and my movements and the fall of her hair during each posing session). However, I want to create her beautiful face before adding wisps of hair over it. And finally, I am pleased with the sexy wave-like shadow her body causes on the model stand.

Thank you for reading!
Yours truly,
Kelly Borsheim

PS Buon Compleanno, Matteo!

All in A Day’s Work – Drawing

So, I am coming to the end of my projects. Here is what my weekday often looks like: from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., I work on my charcoal drawing of Sara. Then from 2 to 5 p.m. I work on my charcoal drawing of a plaster cast of a sculpted ear using the sight-size method. I do not actually see it as an ear. For the longest time I have only seen abstracted shapes, such as the duckie, the infinity symbol, and the sideways apostrophe mark.

Monday, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, I draw from live models (portraits the first two days, one 2-hour pose of the figure on the third day) from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. I host the Wednesday evening sessions of lots of artists sharing model expenses. Thursdays are art history night, often with two events at two different art schools here in Florence, Italy: Angel Academy of Art and the Charles H. Cecil Studios. Fridays, I have the option to draw from life again or usually, just catch up on other projects or maybe even go out with a friend.

After drawing each night, I then work some more on my drawing of Sara (without the model) until 9 p.m. Much of working with charcoal means using the point. By this I mean that the charcoal stick must be sanded to a fine point in order to be applied to the paper, especially when trying to remove any blotchiness from using other application methods. My figure of Sara is 60 centimeters tall. She has taken up a lot of time, but I am happy with the progress I am making.

The rest of the time, I am either living life, meeting new people, or doing laundry or something. Perhaps this is not the exciting life some imagined – being in Italia and all – but I am really refining my skills as an artist and I love it.

Drawing of Mario - Florence, Italy

And another life drawing here. This time the model’s name is Mario. We seem to have an abundance of models here in Firenze. Lots of new faces and forms to draw. The figure is about 42 centimeters (just over 16 inches) tall. I drew in the light shapes only with a white pencil on a dark charcoal grey Canson paper. I have done some shape exercises to train the eye in which I only draw what is light, and not shadow. I had fun with it and when working with Mario, I decided to use a much darker paper so that the lights seem to emerge from darkness, adding perhaps some mystery.

The paper for framing purposes is around 47 x 30 cm, not counting what would be under the mat and frame. The drawing is signed and dated 7 November 2007. I did a few minor touch-ups after that, but that is the date that the model session was held and most of the work was done. I may get to use this sketch as an inspiration in my “Naked Gondolier” series of paintings.

“Mario” is available for private or public collexions, so please do not be shy about inquiring! Thank you for reading.