5 in 1: Nos 6 ............. October 10th 2013

And now for something completely different to the content of the five previous postings. I am still exploring my '5in1' project, and I am again back at Extreme Poses. BUT this time with two models up in the ropes, and two models who we know so well: Robin and Paul.

 

What's new? I am able to select a contribution (part of a pose) which includes a bit of each model. This probably adds to the degree of ambiguity in the drawing.

As before I am still coming to terms with this emerging and evolving approach to life drawing, and I shall be posting my thoughts some time in the future.

 

In the meantime I ask you to take a close look at this one and work out which is part of Robin and which is part of Paul. My only hint is that Robin, facing the beholder, is resting her head on her own hip.  

 

5 in 1: Nos 5 ........... October 8th 2013

Today was a challenge.

All the 5in1's have so far been created in life-drawing sessions at Paul Fowler's Extreme Poses at Pegasus Art in Stroud, where we have five half-hour poses with the model up in the ropes. Today I am at Angela Palmer's class at Brockweir in the Wye Valley where we have the same model in the same pose for two consecutive Tuesdays.

As a result I have to myself create a sequence of arrival of selected parts. So to some extent I could anticipate a final composition, or at least suggest to myself a strategy for engaging with the project. However I tried hard not to do either. I did succeed. And here is the result, which I have yet to make a considered judgement about. 

 

 

 

For the above drawing I was located at the foot of the model who was lying on her side. Try working that one out from the drawing! I indicate above that I am uncertain about the result, and at the time I could have decided to add additional parts. But I had already included, in the order of drawing: the breast and chest, the head and hand, the left foot, the bottom, and finally her right foot. So here was a more or less complete body, and I liked the asymmetry and the questions that the drawing asked. 

 

After lunch I moved location to view the full length of the model from left to right before me. The drawing proceeded from left to right with the head being the second contribution and locating itself at her right knee

 

 

The above is the two handed pencil drawing, to which I then added some tonal emphasis with a fine-liner pen in each hand. 



 

Drawing Abigail on October 8th 2013

These are two drawings at the start of the morning and secondly at the start of the afternoon sessions. Each include three 8 minute poses and are drawn with a 2B pencil in each hand on A1 cartridge paper.

Although only three poses were available I'm still employing the approach of my current '5 in 1' series, so there is no hint or expectation about poses 2 and 3, and so no initial ideas about composition or any narrative which may emerge.  

 

 

5 in 1: Nos 4 ......... October 3rd 2013

 I've included 'two' stage drawings in this posting.

 

Here is a good example of one of the characteristics I am seeking in this current approach, i.e. 'ambiguity'.

The first of the five contributions to this composition is the knee, leg and two feet. The second places the head on the knee. Standing back from my easel I then saw that the knee and leg could be interpreted as the shoulder and arm. This was not designed or intended in any way. It just happened to suggest this interpretation. And this gave me great pleasure. 

 

 

 

Below, the third contribution is selected and drawn in.

I felt at the time that an interesting relationship between the two heads might result, and that a narrative of two figures inter-twinned might prove provocative.



 

 

In the end the impact of the third contribution was reduced with the addition of the hands, followed by the fifth contribution to the lower right of the composition 

 

 

 A number of other ambiguities appear but the one that has just struck me, as I write these notes some days later, is that the hands, although they are how they appeared together in the fourth pose, could be seen to belong to two different people, i.e. the upper right hand to the guy on the top left, and the other hand to the guy whose upper body we do not see.

I am beginning to enjoy these gymnastic ambiguities.  

5 in 1: Nos 3 .........September 19th 2013

 Some thoughts here about clearly separating each contribution by including a distinct line rather than organically juxtaposing (inter-penetrating) parts of different poses. The verdict is out on this issue for the time-being, although I do prefer an emphasis on 'flow and continuity' between parts, and on a suggestion of 'ambiguity' which comes from not being sure which bit belongs to which pose.

Also I am beginning to sense a pleasure when the final drawing begins to take on a form of its own. In other words when 'the whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts'. I think we may begin to sense this in future pieces.

 

 

In these 5in1's I am drawing with a pencil in each hand and concentrating on both making an equal contribution in the making of the drawing. 

5 in 1: Nos 2 .........September 12th 2013

This drawing interests me in a number of ways:

a) it is made from five poses which range from a whole figure (the first drawing) right down to a small selected part i.e.  the left side of her face which I have placed to coincide with her left buttock.

b) it holds 'ambiguity': in this case the head at the top of the drawing can be interpreted to belong to two both the full 'outlined' pose and the figure leaning forward.

c) one selected part (the breast, tummy, upper thigh and hand, which surround a sort of cave like void and which gives a depth where least expected) are firmly located within the thigh outline of the first pose.

d) as a composition, one's eye is constantly encouraged into the drawing, and not lead to the edges of the paper. This is the opposite to the drawing in the previous posting '5 in 1: Nos 2'  

 

5 in 1: Nos 1 ..... September 5th 2013

This is the first of six sessions at Extreme Poses during which I am aiming to explore juxtaposing the five morning, half-hour poses in one drawing.
The first selected part of the first pose is in the top left (breasts, right  shoulder and indication of left side ribs). The fifth and final contribution is the single line pose which is designed to perhaps help relate the organic parts to each other, to anchor the first four contributions to the edges of the paper, and to include a single line drawing which helps bring out the more organic, exploratory squiggle line.
This is a two-handed drawing with a fin-liner pen in each hand. So no erasing is possible.