Life Drawing July 14th 2011

Tonight we had a lovely young model. Every human form is so different it amazes me. This is one of the privileges of doing this kind of drawing, and one of the treasures each model shares - this view of the variety and beauty of the human body.

I was determined, tonight, not to fall into old habits and draw the way I always do. It was a struggle. Trying to use a brush, ink washes, negaitve space, few lines... I was well outside my comfort zone, and the drawings show that. Most are pretty terrible, though they have moments or parts that taught me something. These are the best two. The smaller one (only 9 x 12), of the model in profile, is done with watercolor crayon and then water with a little blue ink. I dislike the texture - I seldom use cold press paper, and this is why. There are a few good moments in this drawing.

The other drawing here was a shorter pose (15 minutes), done on a larger sheet (18 x 24 - this is a cropping of the right side of a page). I wish the colors here, that almost violet hue on the arm, for instance, and the warm glow of the background, were true to the original, but they are actually improvements made by my camera. Usually these lose something in translation - this one gained. Again, there are some nice moments in this drawing (done almost entirely with a Niji water brush loaded with 1/2 strength Miday Blue Noodler's ink). This is done on Strathmore drawing paper (not really designed for this medium, but it stood up fairly well). I am trying to get away from newsprint. This drawing does a better job capturing the young charm of this model.