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'Two 10-minute studies'
Bistre conté crayon.
Bistre conté crayon.
After a hiatus of a year or so, Mari and I have started back at life drawing.
It's always difficult to return to drawing when you've had a long break. The problem appears to be the disjunction between one's expectations (which are exactly the same as previously) and one's visual and technical fluency (which has suffered a drastic drop-off)'.
There is a tendency, when seeing how out of practice one is, to panic a little, and try to compensate by speeding up. This is of course exactly the wrong thing to do, and so one has to force oneself to slow down and be more deliberate, until a 'settling-in' period has been managed.
The two ten-minute sketches (above) are from this shaky period.
'Reclining Woman'
Acrylic Paint.
by Mari Glyn Robertson.
Acrylic Paint.
by Mari Glyn Robertson.
Mari, who was sitting next to me, probably felt a bit rusty as well, but it didn't show because she produced this fresh, painterly, confident acrylic work. This image took around 70 or so minutes to complete.
We normally have a show of work by everyone in the group at the end of each session, and one person who was there offered to buy this painting at that very moment, (but thankfully Mari decided to keep it).
'Nude with Parasol'
Oil Pastel on Acrylic Ground.
Oil Pastel on Acrylic Ground.
This is my attempt in oil pastel of the same model. Too tentative. Hopefully I'll be ok in a few weeks.
And now to a quick look at a few of my previous drawings.......
'Female Head'
Bistre conté crayon. (10 minutes)
Bistre conté crayon. (10 minutes)
I heard someone a while ago expressing the idea that one should always draw the whole of the figure in any life drawing. I think this is a somewhat strange idea.
Of course there is value in drawing the whole figure at times. (The challenge of relating all the parts to one another; of trying to accurately reflect all the proportions between each of them; of studying the whole figure in relationship to the surrounding space; of attempting to capture the subtleties of tonal changes across a wider composition, etc).
But it is also perfectly reasonable to draw chosen parts of the figure. To make more of a detailed study of hands, for example. Or to do a character study of the head and shoulders. Or so on. . .
The 'Female Head' above was a very quick study, largely using the conte stick sideways on, with broad strokes and using an absolute minimum of detail to 'pull the drawing together'. . . .
'Man's Back'
Bistre conté crayon. (15 minutes)
Bistre conté crayon. (15 minutes)
. . . and similarly with a larger portion of the body.
'Reclining Male'
Black conté crayon with white chalk on grey paper. (60 minutes)
Black conté crayon with white chalk on grey paper. (60 minutes)
In this drawing I was trying to simplify and make the figure look 'monumental'. Almost no detail at all, and a concentration on texture (the dryness of medium makes the figure look a little like stone).
'Study of a figure'
Conté crayon. (10 Minutes)
Conté crayon. (10 Minutes)
For no good reason I started at the feet, and worked my way up the figure. Till the ten minutes ran out.
'Leaning Figure'
Graphite.
Graphite.
I found this small drawing amongst my very old drawings. I was still going to school in Manchester during the day, and drew it whilst attending evening life classes at the Regional College of Art in Manchester.
'Sitting Figure'
Oil Pastel over acrylic base. (60 minutes)
Oil Pastel over acrylic base. (60 minutes)
And here is another partial-figure image. I chose this particular selection of the whole scene because I was interested in the composition rather than just the figure itself.
'Mathew's back'
Oil Pastel on coloured paper. (60 minutes).
Oil Pastel on coloured paper. (60 minutes).
This was a one-hour study which I made at a class which was held at Rhyl Library, a few years ago. The class has been closed down unfortunately since that time. (Money, I suppose).
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details........,” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
Any idea who painted these people?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
Antoine-Jean Gross. 1808. Louvre.
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details........,” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
Oscar Wilde, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray'.
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By the way, recently I've been using some of my naturalistic landscapes, figure paintings and life drawings, alongside some music, in a series of YouTube videos based at
Songs From Wales.
You're very welcome to take a quick look if you have the time.
These songs can also be found on (and downloaded from) iTunes, Spotify, CDBaby, and many other platforms, - (my intention is to upload a different song each month)
Also in the last period I've been recording some songs with some friends -
please have a listen here if you have the time.
please have a listen here if you have the time.
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. . and now, a Recommended Read . .
'Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout'
By Patrick Moore
Published by Beatty Street Publishing
Don't read this if you are an environmental doom-monger (you will be upset), or if you are an apathetic environmentalist (you will also be upset).
But if you are someone who wants to get a clear and authoritative handle on the climate-change arguments from the mouth of a widely respected scientist with a lifetime of experience in these matters, then this book is for you.
Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout: The Making of a Sensible Environmentalist is Dr. Patrick Moore's engaging firsthand account of his many years spent as the ultimate Greenpeace insider, a co-founder and leader in the organization's top committee. Moore explains why, 15 years after co-founding it, he left Greenpeace to establish a more sensible, science-based approach to environmentalism. From energy independence to climate change, genetic engineering to aquaculture, Moore sheds new light on some of the most controversial subjects in the news today.
But if you are someone who wants to get a clear and authoritative handle on the climate-change arguments from the mouth of a widely respected scientist with a lifetime of experience in these matters, then this book is for you.
Confessions of a Greenpeace Dropout: The Making of a Sensible Environmentalist is Dr. Patrick Moore's engaging firsthand account of his many years spent as the ultimate Greenpeace insider, a co-founder and leader in the organization's top committee. Moore explains why, 15 years after co-founding it, he left Greenpeace to establish a more sensible, science-based approach to environmentalism. From energy independence to climate change, genetic engineering to aquaculture, Moore sheds new light on some of the most controversial subjects in the news today.
Review from Amazon.
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