Is this the essence of my process?

 

And, HOW I am seeing it!

And another inspiring model

This time it's Paul Boon, Portrait and Life Model, also at Extreme Poses, on December 15th.

Two inspiring models

November 1st and 8th at Extreme Poses with Shelley and Callie.

Here are my 10 drawings, 5 x 30 minutes from each morning. My conclusion is that these were good mornings for me as I feel the outcomes are pleasing examples of my most recent summary definition of my art, posted on this blog some time ago (with a slight up-dating):

"superimposed images of anatomical parts drawn at different scales, with a palette of sophisticated and diverse mark-making, achieving a high degree of transparency and spatiality, an ingress of cubism, and acquiring compositional integrity"

This definition represents a post-rationalisation of looking back at my past journey, from attempting to stand back from actually doing my art, and trying to place myself outside of myself. Why and How do I do this?  Well, in an earlier existence, I used to think of 'design' as a 'problem solving, goal-oriented activity'. Now, in my new life, I would not refer to life-drawing as 'design'. Also, there is no 'problem' to solve. And furthermore, I never engage with any concept of what the end product might be. In other words there is no physical goal to work towards and to reach. When I enter the dialogue with a model and with a pose, I am entering an exploratory and experimental process, the outcome of which I look forward to standing back from and revealing to myself what has taken place. 

I am now going to add a note to each of the 10 drawings which I hope will hint at the process which took place. My recollection can only touch the surface of my memory, as during most of each 30 minutes I believe I can claim I am in a deep, sub-conscious, meditative and intuitive state, oblivious to my surroundings and with a total lack of interest and concern about what will result on my paper. I know that I inevitably must and do react and respond to aspects of the process as I go along but exactly how, and what these are, I like it all to remain a mystery. So, here are a few of the moments I can actually recall.

Pose Nos 1

I shall start with a Haiku of mine:

Her breast, her knee, her foot, her hand

I greet them all

Into my new assemblage

The diagonal line is one edge of a strap. There is both 'mass' and 'spatiality': she looks into space, and her hand touches the earth.

Pose Nos 2

Sequence: 

foot supported by strap

other foot behind

hands brought down to juxtapose closely with feet.

Pose Nos 3

A frequent form:

morphing of two halves at different scales and different mark-making (tonal and linear)

Pose Nos 4

I instantly wanted to respond to the triangulation of limbs.

Pose Nos 5

I draw at a large scale. So in order to include the full length of the pose I brought the upper and lower together (overlap, superimposing, transparency).

Pose Nos 6

The hand was the first to grab my attention. Then other parts followed in my collage build-up. Finally, the outline of the knee resting on the plinth went in at the last moment. Felt I must include its large exaggerated form thrusting towards me. Fascinating that its outline created a window within the composition which itself focusses attention on the hand.

Pose Nos 7

Again, the bringing together and morphing of two halves. 

Her left side profile went in first, beyond which I could see her left breast and right knee. Her left buttock sits on her left foot.

My cubism caused me to relocate my easel one metre to my right so allowing me to engage with her right side profile and seeing her right breast and again her right knee.

A final addition is the left hand holding on to a strap. This works well: it takes the place of where one would expect to see the head (a part which always attracts attention), and it relates to the other hand which is part of the right side profile drawing and was already included.

Pose Nos 8

A second demand on my ingenuity to move my position during the making of the drawing in order to explore the pose simultaneously from two positions. This results in, for example, the left foot being viewed from both a side elevation and a front elevation.

Pose Nos 9

The theme which resulted here is one of using the left arm a number of times and at different scales to create a diagonal energy to the composition. This, of course, was never an intention, an idea or a compositional concept at the beginning. Neither was it towards the end - it just happened. 

A 'spatiality' enhancement is given to the composition by the inclusion of the hand gripping the strap, at the top, and going in at the last moment. And I like how she appears to be focusing her gaze on this hand, as I am sure most beholders will.

Pose Nos 10

Strap under armpit, the line of the breast, and then the foot, I recall started to suggest a journey up through the drawing. So, I emphasized and enhanced this 'route through the composition' by my placing of the hand holding on to the strap.