Drawing Marianne on 26/4/2011

Great to be back life-drawing after 20 days: which was filled with working on my small-holding and with all six grand-children visiting.

We have a new model but (for me) a familiar pose with the ever challenging issue of 'perspective'.
All drawings in this posting are A1.
Firstly with an HB pencil I explored the pose. I was unhappy with the form and the marks on the paper. I was about to abandon the drawing when I decided to 'make corrections' with a conte crayon. The drawing suddenly took on a new character and seemed to be working in terms of perspective and proportion. I quickly completed it and felt that a charcoal drawing, which I could tactilly engage with, might more capture the sculptural qualities of her body. An A1 beige newsprint paper, but with little or no key to hold the charcoal, did allow me to use white pastel to work in contrast to the charcoal to achieve a tri-tonal range. Finger blending was the tactile dimension.

I then moved my easel just over one metre to my left and within one metre of the model. This very close position allowed me to look down upon her.

For this drawing I used an A1 white cartridge paper which I had previously treated with clear gesso [see earlier postings]. This provides a coarse surface which holds the charcoal but also provides a grain to the paper created by the direction of the brush strokes when applying the gesso.

The drawing is compiled from a series of charcoal layers which are each pushed into the surface with a vigorously applied stiff brush. White pastel is drawn across the highlight areas and given the same treatment but with a more lightly applied brush.

I finally introduced an outline with a black compressed charcoal stick. Generally, I do not outline, and I have always believed it to be a rather crude technique, preferring to contrast 'emphasised-edges' with 'lost-edges'.

I had about 15 minutes at the end of the day before we finished so I very quickly and very boldly employed the techniques from the previous drawing to a selected part of the pose. This was an A2 gesso (with grey acrylic) treated paper.

To complete this posting here are my four 5 minute gesture 'quickies' from the beginnings of the morning and afternoon sessions.

Drawing Natalie and Angela on 07/04/2011

A most pleasant surprise greeted us today (Paul had hinted there would be something special this week). It was that both Natalie and Angela arrived in the studio and climbed up into the ropes together for four 30 minute (approx) poses. Most of us found the first drawing difficult as we attempted to discover and then address the new issues and challenges of two models in close juxtaposition. Although I had worked with two models before, the peculiar setting of Natalie and Angela being suspended together within the matrix of ropes created a symphony of lines and a poetry of forms not previously experienced. So my first drawing appears somewhat tentative, although I thought that I had instantly appreciated the flow of lines between the two models and the special inter-relationships between the two, I was unable to capture this in the drawing. Charcoal and conte on A1 smooth white cartridge paper. In the second pose, although from my position in the studio there was no overlap of the two models, there was presented to me the issue of contrasting poses in that Natalie is laying back on the ropes with a strong perspective, and Angela is leaning foreword. They have a commonality of lower legs and feet to the fore, which I was able to bring foreword, towards the beholder, with my usual slight exaggeration of the feet. Charcoal outline of basic form rubbed back, darker tonal areas again with charcoal, then some line work with a tinted (pine) charcoal pencil, and finally a touch of green conte to assist the tonal treatment. A1 smooth white cartridge paper.

For the third drawing I selected an A1 sheet of off-white recycled cartridge paper which had a bit of texture to retain and hold the charcoal as I rubbed back the two initial drawings. This pose presented a great challenge with legs interlocking and perspective in both bodies as they rested away from me on the rope structure.

I liked the way, in the previous drawing, how tonal contrast was introduced, which seemed an appropriate issue to address in this particular pose as it was presented to me in the lighting conditions of this studio. So for the final drawing I selected an A1 smooth white cartridge paper which I had previously treated with clear gesso. You will be able to see how I have started on and developed this particular paper/drawing technique in earlier postings from life-drawing sessions from the past two months. The coarse texture holds the charcoal and allows brisk and vigorous brushing. This drawing has four or five layers of charcoal marks each contributing to a build-up in the tonal structure of the drawing.

This was an exhausting and challenging session! I loved it!