And now for something different: drawing Abigail on May 28th

Because Abigail makes her own dresses, Angela asked her to model clothed. So here is what happened. One outcome is that I am sure in my belief that 'the nude is my art'.

Drawing Robin on May 23rd

Drawing Robin on May 16th

Following on from my last post here is what took place when I went to Paul Fowler's Extreme Poses in Stroud with a plan.

The plan was to focus on the dynamic created by the body suspended in the ropes (but in this case it was system of straps and ropes).

For most of my two years attending Paul's class I have, quite deliberately, avoided drawing the supporting matrix of ropes. In fact I managed to remove them from the object of my attention. The model became my sole focus. Sometimes the ropes, and particularly the complex knots, obscured parts of the body. When this happened I simply did not draw what I could not see.

So, today was very different. A departure. A new direction.

I believe the plan worked!

Going with a plan into a life-drawing session has always (nearly every time previously) resulted in the plan being thrown out as soon as one addresses the model. 

The reasons for this are complex. There are numerous variables. And they all seem to vary each time.

But today was different: I intended the supporting ropes and straps to be as important as the body of the model in the drawings I made. I intended to engage with the interaction, with the dialogue, with the tension, with the peculiarity, of the meet of body and supporting straps.

There are four 30 minute drawings, each on A1 220gsm cartridge paper. These are two-handed drawings, with a 2H or HB pencil in each hand. I endeavour to equalise the contribution of each hand throughout the making of the drawing.  

 

If I had drawn the whole body together with the supporting rope system I would be addressing a 'structural dynamic'.

What I believe this approach allows me to address in a much more heightened way is an 'anotomical dynamic'. In other words I am required to look more closely at the body and to study how it is reacting to the impact of the supporting straps. I am having a deeper engagement with the anatomy of the model. I am looking closer at the human form.

To quote myself from an earlier posting: "I am seeing beyond what I am looking at and looking beyond what I am seeing"

I really feel that my life-drawing has taken off again. It does this every-so-often. Another step along the evolving path of this journey into the unknown. 

A new direction?

Rarely do I include the ropes when drawing at Extreme Poses. Deliberately so. But here are two recent drawings which clearly address the dynamic of a body in suspension. I don't believe I was aware of the significance of this move at the time of drawing. But now, as I look through my recent pieces, prior to going to life-drawing in the morning, I do believe they suggest an issue I have been avoiding in the past when the ropes demand to be included in the drawing in order to explain the pose, and one which can result in a fascinating drawing.
So, let's see what happens in the morning (May 16th).

Drawing Damaris on May 9th

Drawing Avril on May 7th

Drawing Damaris on May 2nd