Art by Mary Rochelle Burnham

Portrait of an Artist,  Carbon Pencil, 14x11" Dick is a fellow artist and member of the Jackson Civic Art Association. You can see a gorgeous piece of his pen & ink art, "Sudden Encounter", on the JCAA website . It is always a pleasure to have Dick as a model, as he has so much character, both as a model and a person. I have used him many times in my workshops and classes. Here is a quick computer sketch that I did of him a few months ago: Dick Stanton, Painter IX  And, on a similar note, here is a quickie pencil sketch that I did while sitting at my computer, from a Google image of Drew Barrymore awhile back: Drew, Pencil, 4.5x4.5 Something about the act of drawing that I find both soothing and stimulating. Sounds a bit like an oxymoron, but I feel so relaxed while drawing and totaling engaged, simultaneously. How about you?

Shadow Play,  Charcoal, 12x12" I love this poise at today's Open Figure Studio. I have been working on oil and acrylic paintings for the last few weeks, in my own studio, so its a nice departure to work with charcoal. Pat is a great model that holds very still and is a wonderful photographer in her own right.

Ben , Charcoal, 14x11"  This is Ben. He is 11 years old and one of the best models that I have had the privilege of working with. I taught a two day Figure and Portrait Workshop last week and the scheduled model neither called or showed. Ben happened to be in with his mother who is on staff with the Community Arts of Tecumseh. I asked her permission to use Ben after I asked Ben if he was interested. He gave me a resounding, "yes", and he was our only model from 9 AM until 3 PM. What a trooper! Everyone loved him and I think you can truly see his wonderful personality in this charcoal sketch that I drew of him.