At Paul Fowler's 'extreme poses' in Stroud with the model Paul up in the ropes.
I seem to be focussing on hands and feet recently, and finding this stage of my life-drawing journey really fascinating, as I embrace tonal mark-making.
Each 30 minutes is intense. Quite exhausting. Total concentration.
All are two-handed with HB pencils on 220gsm A1 cartridge paper.
As last Tuesday three quick poses (5-6 minutes each), and then further work on the arm and foot drawing. I enjoyed morphing in John's head with his foot, resulting in a surreal composition.
3 short poses on one sheet of A1 cartridge drawn with both hands with 2 HB pencils.
The arm and foot are about 45 minutes each and taken from John'seated pose which he held for the morning.
I am considering I may look at these details again next week but perhaps using fineliner pens (however, as I have noted before any plan soon goes out of the window as soon as the session gets underway).
The knees drawing I was particularly pleased with as it was carried out within the 30 minutes. Here Robin is up in the ropes at Paul Fowler's 'extreme poses' at Pegasus Art in Stroud.
I'm enjoying my two styles of drawing, both of which are carried out with my two-handed approach, a pencil in each hand, and mark-making coming equally via each hand.
However, each style is quite distinctive, not only in the nature of the marks, I.e. 'linear' and 'squiggle', but I'm using the 'linear' for short poses (usally ten mimutes) and the 'squiggle' for longer poses (anything from 30 to 90 minutes).
The squiggle is a value or tonal approach. It searches for the form and does not involve 'outlining' the overall pose in any way. In fact I usually have no concept of the extent of the finished drawing.
Whereas the linear often starts with one pencil perhaps at the foot at the bottom of the paper and the other at the head at the top of the paper. Then they tend to converge and separate many times during the course of making the drawing.
In any life drawing session I will often include both and I am finding moving from one style to the other very beneficial. I am sure they are helping each.
Here I have juxtaposed the quick drawings of Sue, as I have done a number of times previously, and enjoy the narrative which emerges.
This session was at Angela Palmer's class at Brockweir in the Wye Valley.
It was good to get back to life-drawing after the Christmas break and the three day still-life project which was the subject of my last posting. Upon reflection I strongly feel that the still-life project made (as did the previous one) a significant contribution to my life-drawing journey. Principally, I believe it helped me to slow the process of drawing, to reflect upon what is happening (e.g. composition, content, mark-making, the emerging narrative within the drawing, etc.) and to take on a greater responsibility for that which is emerging on the paper.
With very few exceptions (hardly any in fact) I now draw with both hands. I am achieving an equal contribution via both hands and what is probably of greater significance I feel my whole body is involved in a symphany of action, as I stand with a pencil in each hand, arms usually outstretched, my body confronting the paper, my eyes the model, my mind oblivious to its surroundings but sensitive to and in a symbiotic union with my feelings. In most cases, I do believe I am drawing my feelings, without analysis, without objectification, without any expectationof what the end product will be.
So here are most of my drawings from January (those from January 28th and 30th still to come).
They are in more or less chronological order, starting with the models:
Abigail - Jan 7th and 14th at Angela Palmer's class at Brockweir, Wye Valley.
Paul - Jan 9th and 16th at Paul Fowler's Extreme Poses at Pegasus Art in Stroud.
Jacquie - Jan 18th and 19th at Niel Bally's studio in Talgarth.
Sue - Jan 21st at Angela's.
Damaris - Jan 23rd at Extreme Poses.
Penny - Jan 25th at Tony Tribe's classs at Arts Alive.
