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. 

Drawing Paul on January 31st

At 'extreme poses' with Paul up in the ropes. Maximum time for each pose is 30 minutes.

I have been wanting to slow down my drawing process. To some extent I have achieved this by pausing, standing back, and reflecting on what's happening. This works. But there is also the speed at which marks are actually made on the paper.
Graphite in all its forms skids across the surface to some extent. So I dug out my box of Derwent Tinted Charcoal pencils with the recollection, from the last time I used them, that they would introduce a resistance to the pressure applied to the paper. And indeed this is exactly what happened.
With a charcoal pencil in each hand, so continuing with my ambidextrous approach of recent months, I immediately experienced a heightened tactile engagement with the surface of the paper. I am not holding the pencil near its point, as when writing with a pen, and pulling the pencil across the paper, but holding it at the top end and to some extent pushing it across the paper. This makes a very different line and mark.
I'm loving it. Here below are the results. All are on A1 220gsm cartridge paper. 

'a little too heavy and anxious use of the charcoal pencil to the upper part of the drawing'

'a far more gentle overall approach to mark-making'



'following the first drawing of the pose I pushed back the marks with an eraser and the applied a second series of marks which were lighter to the head and body further away, and darker/heavier to the advancing arm and hand' 



'some additional charcoal for the deep shadows'

Drawing Paul at EXTREME POSES on January 24th

No life-drawing on Tuesday as I spent the day digging ourselves out from the heavey snows of the last few days. So it was with great anticipation for a good draw that I battled my way in my Land Rover Discovery to meet up with Marianne and drive over into England and spend the morning at Extreme Poses. On the journey we talked enthusiastically about our current life-drawing experiences, with moments of silent reflection on our shared thoughts. This helped to place ourselves in a good 'state of mind' for the morning ahead of us.

Below are my 4 drawings from this morning's session. All are on A1 220gsm cartridge paper, drawn with my two-handed approach, using HB and 2B pencils and some additional charcoal which has been blended in with the finger.

'emphasising the strong diagonal of the pose, the advancing foot, and the depth between the legs'

' a rare inclusion of the ropes: the arm pit was hidden behind the knot of the ropes and as it was impossible to make-up what could not be seen I decided to include the ropes which in fact helped to explain the pose'

'a further approach to placing emphasis on part of the pose by the inclusion of lost-edges'

'this in fact was the first drawing of the session which attempted to explore a journey up through the pose: I was not very satisfied with the drawing but it did prove to lay the foundation for the above three pieces all of which I am pleased with'

Robin at EXTREME POSES

The first life drawing session after the Christmas break, and I expect now to get back into my weekly postings.
I am at Paul Fowler's 'extreme poses' at Pegasus art in Stroud. I have travelled from Wales over the Severn Bridge into England, about 45 miles, with three colleagues, to participate in this unique, challenging and thoroughly enjoyable life-drawing experience.
The model is Robin. She has taken on board the opportunities presented by Paul and his triangulated, tensioned rope structure, and has created an art form in itself which we artists are totally intoxicated by, and stimulates us to immerse ourselves in our own art. We are privileged.
This is a three hour session with half-hour maximum per pose, and a good and welcome coffee break (to the model and us). It is pleasantly exhausting.
You might ask "Where are the ropes?" I never really see them!

'is it possible to achieve a pose of this nature without the suspended rope matrix devised by our tutor Paul Fowler? I don't think so. As you can see I'm looking upwards. The left leg has weight, as do the hands, and the angle of her shoulders is critical to capture. This is an amazing pose. Is the head too big? Not sure. It dominated this part of the figure' 

'Robin hung in the air, limbs dangling down, shoulders and head arched away'

'this time Robin was long, she appeared extended, and I tried to capture this elongation of her body, with both hands constantly moving up and down the paper exploring the form'

'this was a quick ten minute drawing'

'not happy with this drawing'

'beyond the act of drawing an object'

I sense that there is beginning to emerge, within myself, a sense of ownership of my life-drawing. Here is what I mean by this:  

• I no longer feel I am drawing an object.
• I no longer feel I am a separate entity from that 'person' who I am representing on my paper.
• I no longer 'consciously' battle with issues of composition, fitting it on the paper, and proportion, and I am oblivious to any attempt to accurately portray the model.
• If a preoccupation prevails it is 'mark-making'. I feel I want to make interesting marks. And I have discovered that charcoal has no bounds. It is infinitely explorable.
• Above all I am beginning to surprise myself by creating the unplanned and the unanticipated.
• I also feel that my work is beginning to have an identity which is particular and peculiar to me, although my researches find parallels from whom I can both draw inspiration but also further my own identity through a process of comparative analysis.  

I have entitled this posting 'beyond the act of drawing an object' and have already hinted of the current transformation in my life-drawing. 

For a few days now I have been drawing with both hands, simultaneously. 

It almost seems now to be the natural way to draw. 

Making marks through my left hand has challenged the life long conventions and sensations of drawing through my (usual) right hand. When I make marks through my left hand my right hand responds to the act of mark making in a different way from the usual  [I am still attempting to understand what is happening]. But I have concluded that by using both hands my 'whole self ' has entered the life drawing process and that I have become much more emotionally/intellectually and physically/tactily involved. In other words using both hands at once I am not only utilising both sides of my body but I am bringing into the process both sides of my brain. The implications of this I will be researching soon.

All drawings in this posting are on A2 cartridge paper. I am finding a significant benefit in using the smaller A2.

So here are 9 drawings from Tuesday June 19th at Angela Palmer's class at Brockweir in the Wye Valley with the model Carol. 

    

The first three are warm-up quickies (fairly conventional, and I am not excited by them).

Then three drawings which build upon the two small 5 minute drawings from last week. I am attempting to minimise the time spent on each and concentrate on tonal contrasts. Each is drawn from a different position in the studio, and for the third I lowered my easel and sat down.

I like these very much. They seem to extract the essence of the pose, and I'm excited by the character of the mark-making

Then three more drawings of the same pose, from different positions and elevations.

For the last one above I felt a strong need to move away from charcoal (sometimes I feel I have exhausted the potential of a particular approach for the time being), and used the double pen technique with some added graphite stick to enhance the darker tonal areas.


Now to Paul Fowler's Extreme Poses at Pegasus Art in Stroud, with Dave high in the ropes. Whereas the nine drawings above were the output over the morning and afternoon sessions (6 hours with breaks) here my nine drawings were the output from the three hour morning session, with breaks and a long coffee chat.

All nine are drawn with both hands being used to make marks simultaneously. They are posted in the order they were drawn.

At 'Extreme Poses' again.

This morning I had some thoughts about lost edges and about introducing a colour to work with the charcoal.

In this above pose the foot came advancing towards me and I attempted to use the colour to help the perspective (everybody liked the foot). For me the colour did not work.

So I gave up the introduction of the colour and enjoyed the flexibility and malleability of charcoal by itself.

At 'Extreme Poses' on 16/12/2010

Hoisted up in the studio by the network of trapeze ropes the resultant figure appears to float in air. In these poses which last for about 30 minutes one of the main issues is that of capturing the perspective of the pose as elements e.g. hands, and particularly the feet, come advancing towards one, and the torso , shoulders and head recede into the distance.

In this first drawing I used layers of graphite powder applied with a brush for the dark tones.
In this next drawing I became aware of the desirability of applying heavier lines and marks to those parts of the body nearest to me.

In these final two drawings of the morning I again tackled this issue of perspective, and deliberately exaggerated the drawing of the legs and feet in relation to the rest of the body beyond. I gave them some further emphasis with tonal hatching.

In these final two drawings, with the encouragement of my tutor Paul Fowler, I worked hard to also introduce a 'continuity of flow' up through the composition; a kind of journey through the drawing before one's eyes. The aim here is to unite the closer and somewhat exaggerated elements with the more distant parts of the body, and so produce a more coherent, consistent and complete composition.

All four drawings are on A1 cartridge paper and I am standing at my easel less than one metre from the nearest part of the model. Yes, she is really close!

Drawing Georgie on 08/07/2010 and 15/07/2010

EXTREME POSES
I had heard of 'Extreme Poses' many months ago and so with the summer break in my usual programme of life drawing I decided to head over to Stroud and see what it was all about. It was amazing! The model is suspended by a series of knotted ropes hung from the overhead beams. She can sit upright, lie horizontal, or take up numerous other positions. Each pose lasts for no longer than 30 minutes. What is different?

FIRSTLY: the issue of gravity, with the weight being seen to travel to the ground, is suspended (excuse the pun). So the bottom firmly seated on the chair, or the weight travelling down the legs to the floor, or the head perhaps resting on the hand with the elbow transferring the load on to a table, are all absent.

SECONDLY: the model is at eye level (which for me being almost two metres tall is a rare if not unique experience), which means that one is looking up into the space(s) created by the model's body. In Drawings 3 to 6 the arms are above my eye level. I am standing no more than 2 metres from the nearest part of the model.

THIRDLY: there are the ropes. What to do with these in the drawing. Well, in my first drawing they are included, and the model is clearly suspended by them in air. And they can be used as a sort of framework to help proportion the body. But one soon forgets their existence and there is only a slight suggestion of them in one or two of the other drawings. This results in what I believe are some very exciting images, and poses with an added dynamic to them.

Drawing 1 (charcoal and pastel on A1 cartridge)
Drawing 2 (conte crayon, pastel and charcoal on A1 cartridge)

Drawing 3

(charcoal with white pastel highlights and yellow conte background on A1 beige newsprint)

Drawing 4 (conte crayon, charcoal and white pastel on A1 beige newsprint)

Drawing 5 (charcoal on A1 cartridge)

Drawing 6 (red and blue conte crayon with an orange pastel background on A1 cartridge)

'Extreme Poses' Life Drawing is run by Paul Fowler at Pegasus Art, Griffin Mill, Thrupp, Stroud, GL5 2AZ [www.pegasusart.co.uk]