One

My oh my! Here we are at the final week already. It has been a strange and crazy week. Fire in Ashland, and then a few days later, fire right behind our apartment complex! Thankfully the fire department, who are amazing and wonderful by the way, got the fire out before it caused any damage. I must admit I was making evacuation plans in my head as I was running back to the apartment with Twill after hearing and seeing the fire break out.
This time next week we will be home on the north coast of Oregon. The school is looking empty these days as they have been packing up around us. We have had the occasional goodbyes to say before the final one on Thursday. Tuesday is our last working day. As it is, last Friday was the final day of working on cast drawing and, in my case, painting too. The casts are all packed up so Tuesday will be an all model drawing day. I don't mind that as I really do enjoy model drawing.
So, I have the final cast drawings to share. I will put a picture of the actual cast up first and then the painting or drawing. The pictures aren't always from the same viewpoint as I did the painting/drawing from so there will be differences. Friday morning I worked on cast painting and here are the results:

It

It is challenging to take a good photo of the painting as the flash from the camera is too glaring to use and even the natural light produces a glare. So, I felt I could have used more time on this one. Mainly to get the tones right and balanced. The teacher thought, and I agree (of course!), that there needed to be more contrast in tone between the upper head and the face.
That said, I am new to painting and am still wrestling a bit with the medium itself. Charcoal was like that in the beginning for me too. I am sure it will get easier as I get more practice in.
Here is the final cast drawing:

I am pretty happy with this one. I still have a lot to learn and, practice with pencil has fallen off since the introduction of charcoal and paint. I need to work on my pencil techniques a bit. The teacher did a few tiny refinements (that make a big difference) to show me the next step. Lovely. I am looking forward to getting a few casts of my own. It will take a while to acquire a collection as they are a bit pricey.
So, what next?
When I started this journey I had anticipated spending at least four years as a formal art student. At the moment, I will be setting up a studio space of my own to continue my studies. My husband and I need a bit of time to regroup from so many huge life changes compressed into so little time. I think the only major life change we haven't had is divorce!
I hope to either find another teacher/mentor or make it over to Maui someday. Until then, the journey certainly continues, just on a different path.
I will have one final post of school work next week as we finish up. I will also be posting from our new home!

-Renee