Still-Life: August 20-22

From a built mountain of diverse artefacts, there emerged a narrative which was heavily influenced by my compulsive devotion to drawing the female nude.

 

 

 

We were here for three days. On the first morning we were presented with an 82cm x 113cm sheet of heavy duty cartridge paper set upon an easel. The thirteen participants selected their position on the first morning from the locations around the studio perimeter with the pile of artefacts (pictured above) in the centre. At the end of each day our easels were moved around the studio to a new location. The pile of artefacts was not disturbed. All drawing and/or painting was to be carried out on the one sheet of paper.  

 

I addressed the complexity of the pile of artefacts before me by adopting an approach which had emerged in my life-drawing over the past months which focused upon the concept of a 'linear journey'. Below you will be able to trace a path from the lower point of some folded red plastic sheeting, around the side view of the curve of a bronze dish, then the foot bones of the skeleton which framed a stack of books.

 

 



 

I started to outline this journey, not by producing a representational description but by utilising my two-handed pencil technique, which offered an interpretation of what was before me.

 

Below is the completed drawing at the end of the three days.

 

 

What are the principal outcomes to be  noted?

This I find amazingly difficult to summarise.

The narrative which emerged, and then evolved, and was added to over the three days, holds a complexity of concepts, symbols and insights which are very personal to me.

The most significant influence upon the drawing is my compulsive addiction and devotion to drawing the female nude. All decisions as to which of the numerous artefacts to include in my drawing were based upon the contribution they might make to my final drawing which would be of, or would suggest as much as possible, a female body.

 

It is important to note that at the start of this three day event which was a 'still-life' drawing and painting workshop, I had no inkling, or idea, or objective, about relating my work to any aspect of life-drawing

 

 [It should be noted that the only artistic activity I engage with is life-drawing, on two days a week, at life-drawing classes. I do not have a studio at home, and I do no other art work. I just love drawing female and male nudes, as this blog of mine will illustrate. To me this is a fundamental artistic activity. I find it to be meditative and therapeutic, and major component of my quest for wellbeing]

 

So, there should be no surprise that my work over these three days engages so much with the female form.

 

Below is the transformation which took place as I developed my drawing of the bronze dish as viewed from its side.

 

 

Are we viewing an interpretation of the succulent lips of the vagina, the location of which is focused  just below in the folds of material which have become the crevasse between thighs and tummy.

 

 

 

Have we just been witness to a breast emerging from a drawing of the wheel of a Singer sowing machine?

 

 

Deep into the cavern we see a pile of books and a figure holding what appears to be a cross. What does this all mean?

The strictly straight lines of the books were initially included in the composition in order to provide a contrasting element to my two handed 'squiggly drawing' technique which was beginning to introduce a strangely yet strong 'organic' character to the work. Eventually this part of the drawing became a view into the soul and the intellect of the lady who had emerged on my paper and who I had become very much in love with. The stack of books represents the foundation blocks of her knowledge and as they pile upwards they extend her intellect into the powers of infinite wisdom. What appears as a cross was in fact a drawing of an ornate brass key which was originally included to symbolise the unlocking to her of the knowledge and wisdom held within the books. However, on the third morning, from my new position in the studio in relation to the pile of artefacts there was a mirror in which I could see a reflection of myself. I could not resist including my image. I then included my hand holding the key (which also became a sort of cross). Perhaps this reflects my idealistic and ethical values in life which I am sharing with my lady.   The curved frame of the mirror edges the cavern over which a curtain is drawn back to reveal its contents. The curtain was from some draped material on the second day and was initially included in an attempt to introduce some suggestion of a head at the top of the figure.

 

Comment on drawing technique: Followers of my blog will be aware that I address tonal issues in my life-drawing. Recently, I have experimented with ways of conveying tonal variation when using pencil and fine-liner pen. In this drawing can be found some of these techniques. The circular forms, which are parts of the bones of the skeleton are drawn with my circular squiggly method using a fine-liner pen. The organic growth, which seems to be taking over everything which is machine made, is drawn using an HB pencil in both hands. These two pencils together explore the shapes they are representing and come together in places to produce an intensity of marks in the darker tonal areas. Down in the left hand corner I utilise simple cross hatching to the drawing of the puppet, whose punishment for his voyeuristic activity appears to be decapitation. 

 

There are numerous other parts to the narrative which evolved over the three days of the drawing (too many perhaps, which could keep me up all night trying to recall and relate). Just one further explanation: the shapes in the lower part of the drawing which seem to represent the thighs appeared quite early on, and as it became clear that a female form was emerging (or rather that links with my life-drawing activities were taking place) I looked for artefacts in the pile which might further help construct the idea of a female form. The juxtapositioning in the pile of the two circular forms of the wheel of the sowing machine with the ship's brass portal window suggested an answer.

 

Through the portal window you will see a sailing ship. At the very start of the three days we were each given a small model of a ship. This could be used, if we wished, as a starting point to engage with the still-life drawing. My ship sailed into view right at the end but it reveals that my lady is also a worldly traveller (or perhaps she's just gone off and left me).    

Life Drawing:August 13-15

The models are Damaris and Paul.

In this I am exploring a synthesis of two bodies.

 

Paul the model, laid back up in the ropes, in the same pose for three mornings. Damaris, also up in the ropes, in her same pose for the three afternoons.

 

Here is my drawing in which I bring together the two bodies. It is 72cm x 113cm.

 

 

 

 

This space, framed by the foot and the breasts, was the idea, the shape, the void, the element, which I felt would bring the two poses together. However, to start with, and for the whole of the first day, I was working on ideas for two separate drawings. One of Paul, and one of  Damaris, as the illustrations below will show. It was as I was in my bathroom on the morning of the second day brushing my teeth before setting off for Stroud that the idea of bringing the two together suddenly emerged.

 

 

 

 

The delicate exploration of the female body with a fine-liner pen in each hand.

 

 

 

 

 

The more robust drawing of the male limbs, again using a fin-liner pen in each hand, but this time using my circular squiggly technique, and pressing harder than with the female pose. There is also some squiggly pencil work in this.

 

 

 

 

 

Close-up of the squiggle technique for the knee and underside of the right thigh. The pencil squiggles can be clearly distinguished.

  

 

 

 

 

Below is my drawing on the first morning, when I understood I would be working on another sheet of paper for the afternoon pose. On the second day, having decided to unite the poses I continued with this same drawing. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is one of my studies of Damaris on the first afternoon. Then below this are two explorations of an idea I had of placing two opposing views of Damaris together.  

 

 

 

 

I now think that the idea of the space enclosed between two bodies must have emerged from this exploration of placing two Damaris's together, but I was not aware of this at the time. 

Two details from recent drawings

After the disappointment of my Summer School experience I just wanted to highlight a couple of details which lift me.

In my new studio

Drawing Lucy and Mike on August 10th

A double model day at Angela Palmer's own studio at Brockweir in the Wye Valley, with a small group of seven artists, and a variety of poses from very quick walk-abouts through to some five, twenty and thirty minute poses.

 Today was, upon reflection, something special. My five days at Summer School (see my last five postings) did not reach my expectations. I was unable to address the life-drawing issues which were upper most in my mind, and the drawings, all of which I posted, do not indicate to me that I have progressed my life-drawing journey. I seemed to have retreated into the comfort zones of familiar experiences. However, it was probably because of this disappointment that today saw me take a step or two further along my life-drawing journey. Nothing particularly radical in output. But it was more to do with what |I experienced.

I have previously talked about 'drawing a feeling'. Well, today I made the connection with Matisse, who by 1909 was able to declare: "I now draw with feeling and not anatomically." This was a crucial distinction, because at the time he was derided for his ugly and distorted figures. Thirty years later he would put it more succinctly: "Exactitude is not truth." He was explaining that the outward appearance of the drawing was less important than the emotional investment involved. The process meant more to him than the final result.

Today, I loved the process. But also, I'm quite pleased with the results.

Firstly, two three minute warm-ups, with the two models standing next to each other.

 

Then a 20 minute back-to-back sitting pose.

 

Next a walk-about.

 

Followed by a minute here and then a minute there.

 

For the next two I am using two of my old pencil drawings from Extreme Poses which I have treated with clear gesso so that they have a surface with a bit of bite to take a second charcoal drawing. This is something of an experiment to explore new juxtapositioning of  'old' and 'new'.  

 

 

The female model is lying on her side with the male model sitting with his back to me. So nothing particularly exciting in the pose. But it gave me the opportunity to use my two pencil (one in each hand) squiggle technique, which I then contrasted with a charcoal treatment to the male's back.

 

The final pose of the day found the two models lying side by side, head to toe, for about thirty minutes. He had his left knee raised and she rested her head on her hands. I did two fairly quick drawings. Both were designed as cropped compositions, with the second being even more selective than the first.

 

 

As usual all my drawings are on A1 cartridge paper.

Arts Alive Summer School: Day 5