March 6: Stayed in this a.m. and sat out on our 12th-floor lanai overlooking the high-rises of Ipanema (and you can see a bit of ocean, too–on the right a nice view of Lagoa, and Corcovado behind it) and worked on a drawing of Laurens.
This is the first drawing of him I’ve begun. It’s a simple standing frontal nude with his hair kind of messed up from being wet and in the wind. The hair is actually one of the reasons I chose this image–I like the look of it. It’s kind of a new thing for me, doing a model with long blond hair.
I’d begun working on that drawing about a week ago, just did a little on it–but today I worked for several hours, out on the lanai as the day got hotter and hotter, listening to music on my iPod, and feeling better than I’d felt, physically, in several days–and I actually finished the drawing! And I’m pleased with it. I’m calling it “Blond Surfer.”
March 11: I got home from Rio yesterday. I am SO glad to be home and starting to feel better! I’d begun a second drawing of Laurens just before leaving Rio, and in the airport, and today I was able to finish it.
It’s a playful piece with a nice energy—and more detail than I usually include in a pencil drawing. So it took a while. While there are things I don’t like about it—the self-critical artist inside, you know—I think it turned out well. I’m calling it Surfer with Stick.