After an interesting interlude in the land of the pencil, I am back to working with charcoal, pastel, and charcoal pencils. Today I even availed myself of china markers (which probably aren't even light fast) because I like the waxy devil-may-care way they inspire me to handle them.
I went into tonight's session determined to get loose and work almost entirely with the side of the chalk (which I managed) and to get away from former ways of seeing and drawing the figure (which I did not manage much). These are more free than others, and my journey through pencil-land may have helped with my use of the pastels - I don't know. I do know I was happy to get back to the chalky way of making marks.
We had one of the regular models who inspires me. She has beautiful shoulders and grace. She refers to herself as a "big girl" - and she is above average height for a woman - but I think her poses are elegant and femine. She also holds her hands in lovely ways. Some of these drawings show her age (she is in her sixties, I think) but others do not. She has thick, lovely straight hair, cut in a simple bob.
I really enjoyed tonight - and I did struggle a good bit with unfamiliar means and methods. Several of the drawings (not shown here) are pretty terrible, actually, but they are well outside my comfort zone, and so I'm actually pleased with them. The work I did tonight has me reaching for a different way to see and draw the figure. Right in time for another session on Saturday.
These are all on newsprint except the final one, which is on Strathmore drawing paper (a pretty smooth sheet which held the pastel better than I expected). The first is a 2 minute pose, followed by a 5 minute pose, two 10 minute poses, and finally a 20 minute. Click any for larger images. I'm content with all of these as showing progress and as fairly good records of what I felt and saw in each of these poses. I can do a lot more, though, and that's what is making this nearly an obsession. I haven't been this passionate about learning something in a long time.
After an interesting interlude in the land of the pencil, I am back to working with charcoal, pastel, and charcoal pencils. Today I even availed myself of china markers (which probably aren't even light fast) because I like the waxy devil-may-care way they inspire me to handle them.
I went into tonight's session determined to get loose and work almost entirely with the side of the chalk (which I managed) and to get away from former ways of seeing and drawing the figure (which I did not manage much). These are more free than others, and my journey through pencil-land may have helped with my use of the pastels - I don't know. I do know I was happy to get back to the chalky way of making marks.
We had one of the regular models who inspires me. She has beautiful shoulders and grace. She refers to herself as a "big girl" - and she is above average height for a woman - but I think her poses are elegant and femine. She also holds her hands in lovely ways. Some of these drawings show her age (she is in her sixties, I think) but others do not. She has thick, lovely straight hair, cut in a simple bob.
I really enjoyed tonight - and I did struggle a good bit with unfamiliar means and methods. Several of the drawings (not shown here) are pretty terrible, actually, but they are well outside my comfort zone, and so I'm actually pleased with them. The work I did tonight has me reaching for a different way to see and draw the figure. Right in time for another session on Saturday.
These are all on newsprint except the final one, which is on Strathmore drawing paper (a pretty smooth sheet which held the pastel better than I expected). The first is a 2 minute pose, followed by a 5 minute pose, two 10 minute poses, and finally a 20 minute. Click any for larger images. I'm content with all of these as showing progress and as fairly good records of what I felt and saw in each of these poses. I can do a lot more, though, and that's what is making this nearly an obsession. I haven't been this passionate about learning something in a long time.
1 comment:
Another very nice series of drawings. I haven't worked with conte crayon in a long time but tempting me to get some.
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