Tim

Tim

Tim

 

Meet Tim!

I was making up a missed class in George’s Drawing Workshop and was there on Monday which is not my regular day. That’s when I met Tim, another student. The moment I saw the amazing planes and bone structure of his head and face, the Burne Hogarth’s drama of his posture I knew I had to draw him.

Tim kindly agreed to be photographed. As I was seating him at his drawing horse (Tim is too tall for me to photograph him standing) I heard commotion, giggles and noise behind me, and George was calling “Be careful, Alex! Be careful!” I only had about 10 minutes between classes and wasn’t going to get distracted to figure out what the ruckus was about. So I proceeded with taking pictures. Then the class started again, and I never figured out the mystery… Although I have some ideas.

#39 of 40. Graphite, Moleskine Cahier sketchbook

 

In other news…

This blog was named among the top 50 Drawing Blogs by the Guide to Art Schools – 50 Best Drawing Blogs list. Pencil Scribbles is number 3! Right after Rob Carey’s Kunst-by-Rob – Rob is an inspiration and a friend/blogger. The write-up they did on me is embarrassingly nice:

Pencil Scribbles: This self-taught artist started drawing in 2009 and is already inspiring with her realistic, detailed pencil portraits. Zonis already achieves in her work what the true expressive artist strives for: the subject in all its glory infused with a little bit of herself.

I am surprised and honored. How did they possibly find me in my backwater of the blogosphere? Who knows, but they did. And I can now display this badge

badge

13 Comments

  1. debbieadamsart December 20, 2010

    All your drawings take me! They are so detailed and clear. This one in particular is extraordinary for his strong bone structure, as you think yourself.
    The work is excellent!!!
    You ever going to get that mystery solved?

    • Alex Zonis December 20, 2010

      Thank you so much for your comment, Debbie! Tim has quite a presence, doesn’t he? I am not sure about the mystery :)… I have asked George, the teacher, and got a joking round-about reply that didn’t tell me anything :). My theory, completely unsubstantiated, is that being as beautiful as he is Tim is a hit with ladies, and that’s what the giggles were about. Possibly.

      • debbieadamsart December 20, 2010

        How rude of me to have said nothing about about you being in the top 50 blogs, as if I hadn’t even noticed….but I did notice and even checked it out, but failed in my last post to tell you, “Good Job!”, Well Done!”, Two thumb-Up!” Just look at yourself, see how good you are?
        Hope I made you blush. 🙂 Really though, all goofing around aside, you deserve this honor.
        Best Wishes,
        Debbie

        • Alex Zonis December 21, 2010

          Oh, yes, you made me blush! and at a loss of words! How does one respond to all these compliments and exclamation points?! A mere thank-you doesn’t cut it somehow. I don’t think you were rude, instead I think you were very considerate to come back and make this point. I appreciate the gesture!

  2. eldy December 20, 2010

    This portrait elicited an “oh wow, very cool” out loud and kudos on the honor of being put on the top drawing blogs list…well deserved!

    • Alex Zonis December 20, 2010

      Thank you, Eldy! I was very much surprised to find myself on a such an illustrious list, and a number 3 at that! I am not quite sure how they’ve come up with these names because I know at least half a dozen graphite/charcoal artists that are very much ahead of me in terms of quality and artistry of their work, and they are not even mentioned. At the same time I am honored to be noticed and mentioned, so no complaining :D!

  3. Alex Zonis December 20, 2010

    Hi Alex,

    Your work is amazing! I found you quite accidentally. One of my friends Googled me and found you by accident. My sister is an artist too and has been drawing and painting since she was a little girl (and on occasion sculpting). As curiosity grabs me, I am wondering if by chance you are Russian or from somewhere in Easter Europe? Reason I ask is because there were not that many Zonis’s left after WWII, and most who survived got scattered around the world. My family immigrated to the US back in the 70’s from Kishenev and I was a child when we arrived. We found several other Zonis’s who were originally from Bucharest and other part of Russia, and one was actually a distant relative. Anyways, I thought I would reach out and let you know that I really like your sketches.

    Thanks,
    Alex

    • Alex Zonis December 20, 2010

      Hi Alex, thank you for your comment! I knew of you before, your (our) name would come up in Google searches for me as well. I am Russian, and I am from Kishinev. It sounds like chances are high that we may be related. I am going to send you an email to make our communication a bit more private. I am really glad you left a comment here, although it was a little psychedelic to see my own name on the comment :).

      Thank you for complimenting my work, I really appreciate it! Does your sister have a website of her work? I would like to see it.

  4. lesliepaints December 20, 2010

    The other day I clicked over to your gallery page for the sketchbook. WOW is all I can say. Your attention to contour has remarkably changed and your skills in rendering hair is phenomenal. Love the expression you captured in Tim. It really fits his physique, well, in order to capture the viewers attention. I don’t know him so I don’t know if this expression defines him, but it would capture my eye in a large format drawing at a show! Great work!

    • Alex Zonis December 21, 2010

      How very kind of you, Leslie, to check the whole series! I have learned SO much doing this! I don’t know Tim either, that one Monday class was the only time I have seen him. So I have no way of telling whether this expression defines him or not. But his whole image was so full of drama, that I tried push that thought further and made the eyes more dramatic than they actually were in my reference. I think it worked.

  5. Carol King December 23, 2010

    Tim looks like the kind of guy who would be living in the uber trendy section of NYC called Williamsburg! He seems like an intelligent, artistic young man and I bet all the young ladies in class are ga-ga over him!

    I noticed this is # 39 of 40 ! wow, you did such a great job with your sketchbook. I can’t wait to see who # 40 will be.

    A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS on being listed in the 50 best drawing blogs! You deserve it.

    I did a double take at first seeing you writing to yourself! Once I read the comment I realized it wasn’t you at all. How strange though, to have a comment from someone with your exact name who also comes from Russia.

    • Alex Zonis December 23, 2010

      Thank you, Carol! I don’t know Tim at all, he is in a different class, this was the only time I saw him. But he is intelligent and without a doubt very attractive. I am pretty sure that what all giggles were about.

      The 50 best drawing blogs selection was a complete surprise, I had no idea, nobody contacted me or anything. I just started getting traffic from this website and went to check what was going on there, and there it was!

      I did a tripple take when I got a comment from Alex Zonis, LOL! But recovered quickly because I knew of him, saw his name in Google searches. We may be related, we are looking into our family lines.

  6. […] a.k.a. The Sketchbook Project, I forgot how to paint. This is my second watercolor study of Tim (click the link to see the graphite portrait of him). The first painting study of him was a […]

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