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'Matthew, back view' Oil Pastel on coloured card.
One of the basic errors that can be made when drawing, particularly life drawing, is the tendency to draw 'around' a solid form and not draw 'into' it. Therefore a line, or a line plus a suggestion of tone is seen as the easy way to capture the form of an object, or a figure in this case. So it's worthwhile thinking about drawing the whole of the surface of a body, exploring how the bone and muscles underneath the surface determine the surface itself. And a good place to start with this venture is looking at the back of a person, because it's here that we see a whole stretch of surface with fairly subtle undulations modelled by it's undersurface and also being pulled in differing ways by the movement and posture of the body.
This one-hour drawing was completed on coloured card using oil pastels. The 'brief' I set myself was simply to show the solidity of the figure (I had noticed that he had put on a bit of weight since I last saw him). Also to use the direction of the pastel strokes (aided by the application of a ceramic modelling tool) to examine the flow of the surfaces on the body.
This one-hour drawing was completed on coloured card using oil pastels. The 'brief' I set myself was simply to show the solidity of the figure (I had noticed that he had put on a bit of weight since I last saw him). Also to use the direction of the pastel strokes (aided by the application of a ceramic modelling tool) to examine the flow of the surfaces on the body.
'Matthew, back view - detail' Oil Pastel on coloured card.
This detail from the previous drawing shows the effect of the modelling tool, which is used to push the (moist) pastel in the direction which follows the curvature of the figure.
(N.b., don't forget that you can enlarge any image simply by hovering over it and clicking. Select the back arrow to return.)
'Kneeling woman / 15 minute sketch.' Bistre conté crayon.
The curvature of the back was the striking feature of this kneeling pose, and suggested a rapid execution. n.b., - These days I have to compensate for my having BET (Benign Essential Tremor - which causes my hands to shake) by adopting a broader drawing and painting style than I did of old. I find that I can still predict where a line should go, and then I can execute it fairly accurately, (but only if I draw more swiftly than I used to). This gives all my current work what I like to generously term a 'broad-brush' look.
'Standing woman' Oil pastel
This oil pastel study is unusual for me in that it is done on white paper. Usually I find that a coloured ground (or coloured paper) is simpler to work on. On white paper the pastel has to cover every inch of the surface or the whiteness tends to visually jump through the pastel strokes. Because the colours used here are generally very light in tone it's not such a problem.
'Seated woman' Bistre conté crayon.
Another example where the crayon strokes follow the surface-flow, in an attempt to express the form.
'Study of a woman' Bistre conté crayon.
Like the previous drawing this study benefits from a strong cross-light which helps to describe the bone structure and muscles.
'Reclining woman, back view' Bistre conté crayon.
Simply describing the weight of a body, even when it is relaxing, is challenging. Then also attempting to describe the internal, skeletal structure of the body and it's 'shaping' of the surface; the correct proportions of the body; and what is called the 'gesture' of the body, is what makes life drawing so difficult and so satisfying.
'Leaning figure' Bistre conté crayon.
Very often, when starting a drawing, I use circular movements of the crayon, drawn very lightly to indicate the position of the figure and it's various parts. And also at this early stage, the composition is considered. As the drawing progresses, the weight of line, it's placement, and it's accuracy, is increased. Then the surface details are drawn in. It's a traditional approach.
'Standing male' Bistre conté crayon.
Sensitivity to the weight of the line is vital in expressing form. And the variation of the line-weight is an indication that this is an 'eyeballed' drawing rather than, (as Hockney points out) a traced line (as from a photograph).
'Matthew' Black conté crayon.
In any drawing, particularly rapidly executed ones) the early guide-lines may be changed. And these altered lines can be erased, or, as here, left where they are and superimposed by clearer, and hopefully, more accurate lines. (The art term for these visible changes seen in drawings or paintings is 'pentimenti' - from, of course, the Italian).
'Woman resting' Sanguine conté crayon.
Another consideration when doing any kind of realistic drawing is suggesting the space in which the drawn forms are surrounded. This is attempted in this quick, contre-jour (against the light) study, largely by the use of tone, which indicates the light and the distance.
'Reclining woman, back view' Bistre conté crayon.
I exhibited this drawing in an exhibition at the Royal Cambrian Academy and it was bought by a Liverpudlian collector. (It's worth noting that fact, simply because life drawings sell very rarely).
quiz quiz quiz q uiz quiz “details, details........,” quiz quiz quiz quiz. quiz Any idea what this is, and who painted it?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)Jean Baptiste Corot.
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Music
By the way, recently I've been using some of my 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.
_ ____________________________________
. . and now, a Recommended Read . .
'Apocalypse Never'By Michael Shellenberger Published by Harper
If you are panicking by the thought that the world is going to end in (this is a moving target) 6 / 8 / 10 (etc) years, you need to read this book.
Harry.
Now a National Bestseller!
Climate change is real but it’s not the end of the world. It is not even our most serious environmental problem.
Michael Shellenberger has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. He helped save the world’s last unprotected redwoods. He co-created the predecessor to today’s Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions.
But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die,” contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction.
Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas.
Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions.
What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.
Review from Amazon.
quiz quiz qu iz q. uiz quizTo subscribe to free email notifications of my newest posts, please go to the pull-out menu (on the right side of themain screen). Select 'SUBSCRIBE' and input your email address.
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Now a National Bestseller!
Climate change is real but it’s not the end of the world. It is not even our most serious environmental problem.
Michael Shellenberger has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. He helped save the world’s last unprotected redwoods. He co-created the predecessor to today’s Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions.
But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die,” contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction.
Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas.
Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions.
What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.
Review from Amazon.
When you receive the email,
you can go to the site itself by clicking on the blog title.