Drawing Hands in Anatomy Class

This semester at Nossi my dreams have come true and I’m actually teaching anatomy and figure drawing! To college level students!! I feel so accomplished :)

…not to even mention that because our class is so small, I actually have time to draw from the life model as well!! Score!

As we started out the semester we discussed proportions of the face, body, and (my all-time fave) the hand. Last week I had my students practice drawing hands from images as well as their own from life, and they did such a phenomenal job I can’t help but share a few of the best.

These ones are examples of master copies from their homework practice from the traditional Bargue Drawing Course, which has been used for anatomy practice since the late 19th century.

By the end of the semester they will have done about a quarter of the book, which is such a great way to start mentally working out shapes and shadows on 3D forms. And so beautiful to boot!

How are you at drawing hands?

Maybe could use a little more instruction..?

Don’t forget I released this extensive ‘How to Draw Hands’ workshop which you can attend on Skillshare or download from my website to learn all the skills I’ve been sharing with my class. It’s perfect for beginner to intermediate artists who really want to tackle and succeed in rendering the most difficult subject out there - hands - which will make everything else you ever try to draw less daunting in comparison (I promise!). You even have the option of getting personal feedback from me along the way.

Here are a few of the hand drawings we recreate together during the workshop, from simple cylinder shapes all the way to fully fleshed out renderings.

Now it’s your turn!

2.9.2022

My Students' Amazing Scenic Artwork

“Wow wow wow!” is what my students kept hearing me say all semester long. I’m literally so impressed with how skilled these kiddos are!!

Over the summer I’ve been teaching two classes at Nossi called Illustration Materials & Techniques 310, which is a bit of a broad term, but basically it’s an advanced class that teaches how to create enriched background settings. Think the ocean background of ‘Finding Nemo’ or the Wild West cowboy desert scenery in ‘Rango’ or ‘Fievel Goes West’.

It’s a great concept for a class considering how often our art focuses heavily on the foreground objects or characters and the background is simply put in as an afterthought. In this class, students must put forth all their effort in creating a consistent and believable setting atmosphere with no characters at all.

Some of their projects are done digitally and some are created with traditional materials like gouache, acrylic, or even marker and pen. Their final projects all had to be done both ways which made for some great compare-and-contrast class conversations. (The two below are done digitally in the top and with watercolor and marker on the bottom)

I just can’t get over how creative these kids are! Like when the assignment was to create a ‘Celestial’ setting, they’re coming up with spaceships and interstellar Victrola sessions. Just wow!

Some of these scenes really had such a mood! Like this one of the last tree in the universe or a tropical island formed from a shipwreck… I mean those details are incredible!

Two of my favorite aspects of this class though were the brainstorming sessions and the critiques where everyone got to discuss what they liked or struggled with in each assignment, and which materials they liked best. I just love having such small class sizes so we really can have spontaneous and enlightening class conversations. I hope I get to teach this class again in the future!

8.12.2021

First Semester Success Teaching at Nossi!

Squeeee my first teacher gift as an instructor at Nossi College of Art here in Nashville, Tennessee! We discussed the Fibonacci Sequence in my Design Composition class and one of my students told me she could not resist getting it for me when she saw it at a shop - how sweet!!

As the semester drew to a close, it was so meaningful to have a few students tell me I was their favorite teacher and that they wished they were taking more classes from me. (Literally bursting!) Having this dream come true of teaching higher education and getting such a meaningful response from students, has been surreal.

Such stunning talent!

One student especially told me that my art history class made history more understandable and exciting than any history class she’s ever taken. She told me she normally struggled with it but learning history through art, (which is personally my favorite way to do so!) helped bring alive the stories and events better than she had in any previous class. I can’t think of a more incredible ‘thank you’ at the end of the semester than hearing that as she gave me a shy hug after the final exam.

Swipe to see a few positively amazing paintings done by my Color Theory students. I seriously cannot believe some of these kids were in high school only a year ago!

I also organized my first class field trip to the Nashville Parthenon which was a big hit! I’ll definitely be back with more students in the future, what a fantastic local resource!

Sending a big ‘Thank You!’ to Nossi for allowing me this inspiring and enlightening opportunity to join this happy community of super knowledgeable teachers and incredibly enthusiastic students!Yay!

Yep, even teachers feel relief on the last day of class - ha!

4.22.2021

The Complete Guide to Oil Painting is Here!!

It’s here! It’s finally here!!

The Complete Guide to Oil Painting has finally arrived in full to my YouTube channel, my Skillshare classroom and as a Workshop on my website! There are oodles of places you can watch it… even for FREE!

That’s right, you can watch this series as a playlist on YouTube or as a totally free course on my Skillshare, or you can download the series off my website for a small fee so that you can have it with you ready to work from whether or not you have internet access.

Enjoy this intro video today, then pop down below for links to all the places to see it in full!

And if you find yourself needing any new art supplies, using my special link helps to support the creation of my videos at no extra cost to you - thank you!!

1.24.2021

Teaching Workshops in China + India!

As you’ve probably noticed lately I’ve begun producing more in-depth workshops both here and on Skillshare that expand on the knowledge I teach on YouTube. They are a lot of work, but worth it in the end, since quality digital courses can be sold for years to come.

Well the exciting thing is, not only is my specific audience paying attention to my workshops, but I have also been tapped by two different international online teaching platforms to offer my workshops across the globe!

Wow! What an honor!

This first online classroom website is called No Schools Life and it’s basically the equivalent to Skillshare, but for a Chinese audience. I upload my workshops to their platform, they translate them into Chinese, and then we split the sales - easy peasy!

Check out your Birdie’s ‘About Me’ info in Chinese!

There’s another one based in India that tapped me too! This platform is a mobile app named Graphy where all the classes are taught in a vertical orientation for learning on the go.

It’s definitely been a little extra work having to reformat or shoot specifically for the vertical screen, but it’s an ever expanding audience that I’m so excited to be in front of.

You can find Graphy in the App store and check it out. It’s actually a really new platform, but it’s under the parent company of India’s biggest online learning platform so they already have a massive audience to market to.

Here’s a few random shots. It’s great idea for a way to learn though as it’s specifically meant to be viewed on a smartphone, with the idea that any idle moments during the day can be maximized by learning. A view I can definitely get behind!

10.8.2020

How to Paint a Skull with Oil Paint

Yay folks my highly anticipated Skull Trio is complete, and not only that, but I’m going to use them to teach you how to paint a skull with acrylic or oil paint too! First we’ll draw a skull from a royalty free image I found to share with you, and then I’ll take you step-by-step through the skull painting process, from materials to paint mixes, to how to enrich our human skull painting from the reference image using an array of natural toned paint that will really breathe life into our skulls!

The abbreviated version that includes the resin pouring process is here on my YouTube, and at the bottom you can find a link to the extended Skillshare version that is almost an hour long and goes into way more specific technical detail.

Grab a Skull or some wearable art in my Shop here!

Ta daa! My completed mixed media Skull Trio oil paintings!

Take the full workshop here:

You have two options to join! Find me on Skillshare or get access on my website for only $4

Videos I Reference:

Real Time Skull Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9XSNCjh8Y4

How to Create a Shadowbox Frame: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJcIFE__tlU

How to Create Resin Layer Art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxmP_I9gEvM

How to Make a Painting Panel + Transfer a Drawing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XozulwC3fM

8.30.2020

How to Draw Hands Workshop

This highly detailed and extensive workshop features everything you need to know to draw refined and realistic hands. Together we will start off with basic palm and finger structure utilizing correct proportions, then move onto how tendons affect movement. Next we'll incorporate muscle, skin, and fingernails to round out our drawings and finally learn about shading to bring a real depth and realism to our works. 

You also have the option to get personal feedback through email from me three times over the course of this workshop for that extra boost in conquering this challenging subject matter. Woo Hoo!

Supplies:

White Conte Pencil: https://bit.ly/2DbnqQ5

2B Pencil: https://bit.ly/3jHhDml

4B Pencil: https://bit.ly/39woBGg

4B Woodless Pencil: https://bit.ly/32VNolv

9x12 White Sketchbook: https://bit.ly/39C3wdu

9x12 Toned Grey Sketchbook: https://bit.ly/3hDUrDH

Kneaded Eraser: https://bit.ly/2VC4qBB

Map Eraser: https://bit.ly/2wgzoop

Mono Zero Eraser: https://bit.ly/3885Fej

*Any supplies purchased through my special links helps to support my YouTube channel at no extra cost to you, so thank you!

To preview and access the remaining 10 videos of this 12 part series, hop over to Skillshare or snag the class here:

Skillshare

If you're new to Skillshare I have a special affiliate link that gives you your first two months for free! And that's not just to my classes, that to the 10's of thousands of classes available on the Premium plan. Enjoy lots 'o learnin! https://skl.sh/39snxCW

7.26.2020

Upcoming 'Hand Drawing' Workshop

Whew I am working around the clock to get this multi-video workshop uploaded here on my website, on Skillshare, and on YouTube, which let me tell you with loading times and small hiccups along the way, that in no small feat!!

Stay tuned!!

7.23.2020

My First Artist Residency!

Aaaah! I’m living in an art gallery for the next 7 weeks!! How amazing is that?!?!!

I recently got accepted to do an artist residency program here at the Highlands Art League in Central Florida. They’ve put me up in my own quirky yet spacious 100 year-old house right on a lake with the front rooms being used as a community art gallery and the back space being used for a sitting room, studio, bedroom, and even a kitchen for visiting artists (ie me!)

It’s a really incredible program; basically I get my rent etc. taken care of in exchange for doing 20 hours a week of artistic community out reach, either within their museum, local public schools, or with some of the senior citizens that are members. They also said they loved my YouTube videos and would like me to use some of my time to make promotional videos for them.

I am literally paying my rent through art!

I’m beside myself with excitement and I cannot begin to express how grateful I am for this opportunity. Can’t wait to help out and teach and learn and get to know the other artsy folks in town!

If you’d like even more details + pics from my first few days here, jump on my Birds of a Feather newsletter where I share the more personal side of my experiences as an artist, plus all my biggest news first. I just sent one out yesterday about Highlands so pop on my list and I’ll resend it to you too:)

And Happy New Year to all my readers! I hope you find so much success and happiness in 2020!

1.1.2020

Figure Drawing Workshop in Honolulu

It’s officially official, folks, I’m teaching a workshop at the Honolulu Museum of Art School in October! Hoorayyy!!

‘Forming the Figure’ will debut as a two day intensive where I will be teaching exactly how I create my signature toned paper life drawings.

This workshop is actually something I've been developing over the last few months as a way to dive deep into how varying types of light sources affect highlights on the figure differently, and how to render them accurately. I even created an active worksheet we'll be using for the first part of the class which goes over single, multiple, and diffused lighting resulting in sharp, soft, or penumbra shadows.

I know... serious business, right!?!?

All materials will be included and evvery student should walk away with at least 1-3 dynamic and frameable pieces :) Check out all the details on the Museum of Art School site.