Two Sketches: In the Breeze and In the Sun

 

Profile, Breeze
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

    What if we were surrounded by a beautiful, refreshing breeze?  Or what if we were sitting out in the bright sun, with a jaunty hat?

   Two different kinds of weather, but both being enjoyed by the two people in these drawings.  The first woman is shutting her eyes in the onrush of wind; she shows us a tranquil profile as she leans forward and the air whips a few loose strands of hair over her forehead.  The second lady, gazing at us with a smile, is clearly suited up for the a sunny day at the seaside; we can see the cheerful pattern of her sundress and its little tie at the back of her neck, not to mention that clever hat...

    These drawings are part of my special “sketchbook series”.  Their clear lines, a black pen following across a light sketch in pencil, make the portraits of women you will see from this procession of pictures; ladies with lively or peaceful faces, fashionable hairstyles and hats, and a sense of poise or grace.  It is a daily story, told with a pen and very occasionally with a line of charcoal; please enjoy the visual words that create their identities and expressions.

Sarah Myers

Summer Day
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

  If you are interested in buying a picture from this series, please contact me on my website:

https://www.sarahmyersart.com/contact/

Two Sketches: a Pair of Stylish Hats and Their Wearers

Three-Quarters, Lady in a Hat
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

    For today, two hats which make quite definite statements, and their elegant wearers.  The first hat is a boldly stylish shape and carries a stripe across its jutting outline; the second is simply big and broad and would provide any amount of shade in a brash, sunny climate.  However I chose to name the second drawing after the lady's short shirt-jacket, a bolero pulled over her light polka-dot bodice.

    These two drawings are part of my special “sketchbook series”.  Their clear lines, a black pen following across a light sketch in pencil, make the portraits of women you will see from this procession of pictures; ladies with lively or tranquil faces, fashionable hairstyles and hats, and a sense of poise or grace.  It is a daily story, told with a pen and very occasionally with a line of charcoal; please enjoy the visual words that create their identities and expressions.

Sarah Myers

The Bolero
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

   If you are interested in buying a picture from this series, please contact me on my website:

https://www.sarahmyersart.com/contact/

Two Sketches: Ladies, Flowers and Changing Seasons

Lady with Daffodils
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

    Two drawings with flowers; one, a lady holding a lavish bouquet of daffodils, and then – a picture of changing seasons, appropriate for the onset of colder days.  This second image shows a woman with hair streaming back; the flowers of summertime float away as the snow rushes toward her eager face.

   These two artworks are part of my special “sketchbook series”.  Their clear lines, a black pen following across a light sketch in pencil, make the portraits of women you will see from this procession of pictures; ladies with lively or tranquil faces, fashionable hairstyles and hats, and a sense of poise or grace.  It is a daily story, told with a pen and very occasionally with a line of charcoal; please enjoy the visual words that create their identities and expressions.

Sarah Myers

Changing Seasons
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

If you are interested in buying a picture from this series, please contact me on my website:

https://www.sarahmyersart.com/contact/

Two Sketches: Bright Sun and Dancer in the Wind

Bright Sun
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

    Let's imagine what we would most want; a bright sun overhead, inviting us to bask in its light, or a warm wind blowing around us as we dance?  Or both?  These two sketches are about weather and our reaction to it; one lady reclining at ease in the brilliant sunshine and the other whirling in a breeze so strong her hair flies bodily into the air.

    These two drawings are part of my special “sketchbook series”.  Their clear lines, a black pen following across a light sketch in pencil, make the portraits of women you will see from this procession of pictures; ladies with lively or tranquil faces, fashionable hairstyles and hats, and a sense of poise or grace.  It is a daily story, told with a pen and very occasionally with a line of charcoal; please enjoy the visual words that create their identities and expressions.

Sarah Myers

Dancer in the Wind
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

  If you are interested in buying a picture from this series, please contact me on my website:

https://www.sarahmyersart.com/contact/

Two Sketches: Woman in a Tiara and Profile of a Woman

Woman in a Tiara
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

     A golden tiara – resembling the diadems of Ancient Greece - ornaments the head of the lady in this first sketch.  The next drawing shows a lady with spiraling, fly-away curls and a light necklace of pearls trailing along her neck as she turns in profile.

   These two drawings are part of my special “sketchbook series”.  Their clear lines, a black pen following across a light sketch in pencil, make the portraits of women you will see from this procession of pictures; ladies with lively or tranquil faces, fashionable hairstyles and hats, and a sense of poise or grace.  It is a daily story, told with a pen and very occasionally with a line of charcoal; please enjoy the visual words that create their identities and expressions.

Sarah Myers

Woman in Profile
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

 If you are interested in buying a picture from this series, please contact me on my website:

https://www.sarahmyersart.com/contact/

Two Sketches: Woman with Flowing Hair and a Lady in Lace

Woman with Flowing Hair
 (c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper

     A woman with flowing locks of hair gazes wistfully out at us; and another, in graceful profile, shows the delicate lace of the collar or shawl wrapping her shoulders.
   These two drawings are part of my special “sketchbook series”.  Their clear lines, a black pen following across a light sketch in pencil, make the portraits of women you will see from this procession of pictures; ladies with lively or tranquil faces, fashionable hairstyles and hats, and a sense of poise or grace.  It is a daily story, told with a pen and very occasionally with a line of charcoal; please enjoy the visual words that create their identities and expressions.

Sarah Myers

Lady in Lace
(c) Sarah Myers 2020
Pen on paper.

  If you are interested in buying a picture from this series, please contact me on my website:

https://www.sarahmyersart.com/contact/

Two Drawings in Line - Art by Sarah Myers

Abundance with a Cornucopia, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

    Here are two drawings with classical inspiration; a figure with an overflowing cornucopia and an Athena with helmet and shield. While the minimal outlines describing them are a style we associate with modernism, it's also true that the ancient Greeks were masters of the very simple, very accurate line that brings so much life and energy to their vase-paintings, and I hope that some of that influence remains in my drawings - even though these quick sketches, made at least partly to express fugitive thoughts on even more transient social media, are very much results of the present era.

Athena, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

Ladies with Birds, Two Drawings - Sarah Myers

Cherries, Sarah Myers
Minimal line-drawing in charcoal.

    Two drawings show a woman with a swallow and cherries, another lady with a dove and an orange. We might be tempted to think that the swallow was begging for fruit, but if you can see a speck in the air overhead you will understand he is actually looking to catch the little fly that is the winged thing in pursuit of the cherries. And the dove in the next picture is a friendly visitor flying into land, perhaps on the outstretched hand, perhaps on the shoulder. From my collection of line-drawings in charcoal.

Woman with Dove and Orange, Sarah Myers
Minimal line-drawing in charcoal.

Line Drawings - Baroque Mantle, Lady with Feathers and Pearls

Baroque Mantle, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

   These drawings are simple in their use of line but somewhat ornate in the style they portray, with embroidered fabric, pearls and curling hair; the two faces – two imaginary portraits - contrast, one with open glance and one with a more tranquil but reserved downward gaze.

Lady with Feathers and Pearls, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal

Three Pictures of Pigeons - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Pigeon Strutting, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

    Three pigeons busy themselves in these drawings. Strutting, preening, scratching, the friendly birds appear in dark charcoal on the white page, descriptions of their everyday life rendered simple and distinct by the strength of a bright sun...

Pigeon Preening, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

Pigeon Scratching, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal charcoal on paper

Head of a Woman in Conte & Charcoal - Art by Sarah Myers

Head of a Woman, Sarah Myers
Conte, charcoal on toned paper

    Having finished this sketch this morning I thought I would post it here - the drawing of a face with luminous highlights pouring over rounded forehead and cheeks and leaving a spark in the iris of each eye, while outlining layers of curls and beaded ribbon above. The forward tilt of the head leaves the woman's neck in shadow; lower down the light falls very simply.

The hairstyle is a fantastical one inspired by the Italian painter Fra Filippo Lippi, but the portrait itself tends more toward the tradition of eighteenth century drawings and the mediums used are similar; conte in white, red and brown; charcoal, and toned paper of a light brown.

Head of a Woman, detail.  Sarah Myers

Three Renaissance Hats - Drawings by Sarah Myers

Woman in Renaissance Plumes, Sarah Myers
Minimal charcoal on paper

    In my collection of minimal line drawings I found these three women with elaborate Renaissance headgear; hats of velvet and silk, laced with pearls and topped by plumes, clasped with a jeweled brooch, or set on top of abundant, flowing curls.

All of these drawings are in charcoal on paper and come from a long series of sketches in simple line.

Woman in Renaissance Turban, Sarah Myers
Minimal charcoal on paper

Woman with a Renaissance Hat, Sarah Myers
Minimal charcoal on paper

Lady with a Schnauzer - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Schnauzer, Sarah Myers
Minimal line drawing in charcoal.

     A lady holding her small dog sits in front of us. The pet's small paws are draped gently over the woman's protective arm; fluff of brows and whiskers on the dog prevent us from seeing its eyes. But we can tell from the line of its body that it is pleased and relaxed, in contrast to the somewhat more watchful expression of its owner as she glances intently out of the picture to our left.

   This minimalist drawing in charcoal is part of a large series I have made; many of them, including the sketch here, you can see on my website, SarahMyersArt.com, under “Drawings”. 

  

Lady with a Schnauzer, detail.  Sarah Myers

Duck Flapping - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Duck Flapping, Sarah Myers
Drawing in minimal line, charcoal on paper 

 The duck eagerly flaps her bright white wings as she rises on tip-toe. Simple lines describe this friendly bird who has come to shore to see us; the black charcoal defines beak, eye, neck, and especially the feathers that curl as she briefly, gently, lifts herself on the impulse of her smooth wings.

Duck Flapping, detail.  Sarah Myers

Flowers and Ribbons - Drawing by Sarah Myers

Woman with Flowers and Ribbons, Sarah Myers
Minimal drawing, charcoal on paper

     With flowers and fluttering ribbons among her ringlets and with dangling earrings which swing as she tilts her head, she looks toward us - she almost smiles… This imaginary portrait is a minimal drawing in charcoal; dark, definite lines describe face, curls and the flying streamers. She is part of my long series of sketches in a more simple style. You can see much of this collection of drawings on my website, SarahMyersArt.com.

Woman with Flowers and Ribbons, detail.  Sarah Myers

Dancer with Scarf - Sketch by Sarah Myers

Dancer with a Scarf, Sarah Myers
Charcoal, white charcoal, red conte and pencil on brown paper

    Here is a dancer with a scarf. The folds of her robe and the folds of her scarf ripple across the air in hurried curves as she sways to unheard music.

    This sketch was inspired by Renaissance or Mannerist art which shows dancers holding scarves or ribbons – images that were in their turn inspired by late Roman art. My vision grew more modern as I drew, lines scattering over the paper to portray the quick movement of body, cloth and expression.  

Goose Swimming - Drawing in Minimal Line by Sarah Myers

Goose Swimming, Sarah Myers
Line drawing, charcoal on paper.

   Here is a goose swimming gracefully through the water, looking at us as we watch him. The hot summer sunlight shines down; as it makes the small lake a pleasant place to drift along it turns his feathers a dazzling white, throwing his form into a single simple, bright outline. This drawing of a bird is part of my series in minimal line, more of which you can look at on my website, SarahMyersArt.com.

Goose Swimming, Sarah Myers, detail

Lady with a Crystal Vase - Minimal Drawing by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Crystal Vase, Sarah Myers
Minimal drawing in charcoal

      This sketch is of a lady delicately poising a crystal vase in her hand – the single, top-heavy bloom leans toward her as she glances away. The ornate trim of her dress matches her dangling earrings, and all of the detail makes the drawing, perhaps, not quite minimal; but still, every part, from pearls in hair to the curve of fingers, is described by black lines that touch the paper sparely and simply. And we wait for her to look up out of the page, in our direction...

Lady with a Crystal Vase, detail.  Sarah Myers

Sketch of a Face - Art by Sarah Myers

Sketch of a Face, Sarah Myers
Direct Charcoal

Here is a sketch, a woman looking out with large eyes – perhaps she may smile in a moment and the grave expression of her glance will lighten… The forms are created with rapid lines in direct charcoal, strokes that are almost abstract in themselves; only once they are placed together are descriptive of the eyes, of the slightly curved mouth or the wisps of hair curling over the forehead.

Sketch of a Face, detail.  Sarah Myers

Lady with a Ruff - Art by Sarah Myers

Lady with a Ruff, Sarah Myers
Drawing in charcoal and conte on grey paper

She gazes down quietly at the gauzy frill running across her shoulder. The ornate ruff is only faintly outlined, but the turn of her neck and her gently lowered eyelids show her concentration on the elaborate fashion we can barely see. Our attention is not there, but on her, on the shadow that covers much of her face and the light that touches it abruptly, directly - a bright glow.

Lady with a Ruff, detail.  Sarah Myers