"Southpaw" - Jeff Francis - Cincysportsart.com by Jason Yoder

		I have to admit, this is the first drawing I've done in some time. Since taking up painting, I still do a lot of preliminary drawing, prior to painting, but that's been it for the past few years. So, I decided to draw something of Colorado Rockies rookie left-handed pitcher, Jeff Francis -- hence, the title, "Southpaw" / "Le Gaucher" (see explanation below). At left, are the first two pictures of the drawing thus far. I haven't eliminated the idea of tinkering with some paint in areas of the drawing, but am resisting those temptations at the moment. Right now, I've sandwiched this project in between working on the Ohio State painting.
		I apologize for the glare on the picture at left, but I forgot to turn off the 'ole flash for that one. The picture at right should provide a little better look at the drawing progress thus far. As you can see, I've progress from the pants, and added some shading to the background, his jersey, his hair, his hat, and some of his face. All in all, it's going fairly well, considering it's been quite a while since I've done a "straight" pencil drawing. A bit behind the title of the drawing -- well, Jeff Francis is from Canada, so with the French/Canadian connection, I just did a rough translation of "The Southpaw", and "Le Gaucher" is what I got. So, there you go.
		At this point, I've almost finished the shading of his jersey, and have moved onto his facial features. I apologize once again for the glare in the photos, as the lead is very sensitive to light and reflects light very well. Left to do: add the final facial shading and highlights, add the detail to the "Futures Game" embroidery on his hat, add the shading and highlights to both arms, and his glove, finish the shading of his pants, and finish the background. It sounds like a lot, but it goes pretty quickly. That said, be sure to check back soon for some new updates!
		Well, I've finally been able to work on this drawing a bit more. I added what is hopefully the final shading to his face and hat, and have started adding the shading to his arms and his glove. It's definitely an adjustment to make after just painting earlier in the day, and now drawing with pencils. But, I'm hoping the Joel Guzman painting will be finished soon, and I can finish this drawing shortly thereafter. Then, after that, it will be time to re-focus my attention on the Ohio State painting I've neglected the past few months. So, keep checking back and hopefully I'll have more photos to add soon!