Ben's Sketchbook (with comics!)

[househatke]

aaron and Rad have inspired me to post some of my own figurative work from this past summer and fall. Working from the figure and from life was a tremendous help to me. There's no substitute for drawing from life.

to start off, here's a more finished figure in oils:



these are mostly from evening figure drawing sessions:
















This one is actually our neighbor, Guiseppe, mixing a batch of concrete.








This is a preperatory sketch for a painting of St. Zita that I never got around to. It would have been a fun piece because St. Z. is known for breadmaking...


and here is a very recent quick sketch of my wife.

thanks for looking. I've been meaning to scan/photo these for a long time.

[Swizec]

You ... you draw too well

When the hell is Zita updating, I want more Zita!

[Muffin]

oh wow, - i love that oil painting. And the two drawings of your wife. And the rest.

[househatke]

When the hell is Zita updating, I want more Zita!

I'm working hard on that. I promise!!

[mr cow]

these are wonderful, ben. that first oil paint is fantastic. i like the portraits of your wide too.

what a great benefit that must have been! i'm really wishing i could find a decent class here in in tampa. my figure drawing skills have flown out a 32 story window and made their way to the antarctic or something. it's definitely something you have to keep up with.

[househatke]

Thanks Mike. Yeah, it was a fantastic experience and so very helpful. Unfortunately, I can't find anything like it around my area either, so we're in the same boat.

I used to be naive enough to think that I could use my family for this kind of thing. But kids... they NEVER sit still. I occasionally get to sketch them while they're asleep. I also tried to do a portrait of Anna over the summer and that was just a mess. Mom's can't sit still either. We would have had to find a babysitter for 2-3 hour sessions.

Anyway, I've decided to turn this into a sort of sketchbook thread that I'll update for a while. Here's some recent sketchbook action:

[mr cow]

yay! a ben hatke sketchbook thread! this should be fun.

these are all really great. i don't have a favorite. what's with the little circle guys though?

[Muffin]

i love these last ones aswell!
beautiful drawings of the women. (:

[ChadTHX1138]

Nice! I am overwhelmed...so much to look at. Thanks for sharing.

[gau dog]

Very nice! Love the oil painting.

[househatke]

Thanks everyone.

Mike: Those little circle guy shapes have been cropping up here and there. The Graphic Novel I'm fiddling with has me fiddling with the imagery and iconography for a wierd little alien culture.

I'm glad whem people appreciate the oil painting stuff. I worked hard on that over the summer and since I haven't been painting for a few months I was starting to get discouraged. But this month I'll be starting on a new picture! Here's the basic concept:



And here's a sad, sad little boy:

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[Hyptosis]

Gorgeous work man. As expected. =]

[Sebastian Agresti]

Im jalous

[Og]

I knew when you went to Europe that you were going to get a first-class result for your art. It's nice to see the results here. It really shows.

Love seeing this stuff.

Also hungry for more Zita... any plans?

[househatke]

Thanks Steve! I still have a long way to go... By the way, though, i stopped by your website and read your "Waves" story. I really enjoyed it. You put your finger on the way I'm sometimes tempted to think.

And there will be more Zita! Very soon too. I've gotten a good start on a long Zita story that I'll be posting online. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks. It's so cool that people still want to see the Zita comics.