When I have a psychological breakthrough like the one yesterday, I like to look back and find out how it came about. In the short run, it was most definitely last week's figure drawing class; I got a bit bored at how all my drawings looked similar to each other; nice, polite graphite or pencil on white, brown or gray paper. So last week, I picked up three different pink pastels and drew on black paper; the result was at once striking and revolting, but it was new for me, and I was pleased to have tried it.
I think that gave me the courage to add a little zing to my warp, though I didn't connect the two until this morning.
Today I continued drawing in new ways; I used white conte on newsprint, (they looked like my weaving), charcoal on black paper with lime green pastel highlights, and yellows/oranges on black.
Towards the end of last term, my drawings were starting to look nicer, but we're now working in quick gesture drawings, drawing impressions, so my shapes and proportion all out of kilter again. Our regular model Fran is slender and long, but my drawings look like moi, dumpy. Can't win them all...
Ben, who has known me since 1985 as someone who always chose sensible, understated choices, has been pleased with what I've been doing. There's something wrong, with Fran's right thigh/bottom, the highlights shapes are wrong; that's what happens when I stop looking at the model and just work on the paper. I like how her left shoulder looks as bony as her shoulders are and how her lovely chin sits; not sure what happened to her right shoulder. But I'm still sticking to a rather small range of colors near each other on the wheel. Must. Try. Harder.
3 comments:
Something that's rarely known about me is that I modelled for a life drawing class, back when I was 18. I couldn't afford to do that classes, and that way I was both able to learn and get paid!
Something I did learn - knowing what my body looks like and seeing what the students drew - is that most people will create drawings that either resemble their own body or what they think a body ought to look like. The former fashion designer always drew long and lean figures with small breasts, almost the exact opposite of what I am...!
I just discovered your blog and it's so inspiring! I now need some time to read, as I spotted some interesting topics you're addressing... I had a look at the section of your workshop with Randall Darwall and it's simply amazing - your development through the samples was incredible! Well done!!!
Geodyne, yes, I know!!! Depending on the focus of the day, if it is not specifically about proportions or contours, they all look like me, plumb and short. And I don't like drawing skinny folks - especially men. When we do the gesture/impression drawings they all start to look like me, OR, I compensate and exaggerate their thinness, boniness, or longness. This is also fun, and I've begun to deform some parts of the bodies for that purpose, but I would still like to be able to draw a tad more "accurately" in the first instance.
Hello, Donatella. Thank you for visiting. Don't take too long to read past posts, or you'll discover half the time I'm a grumpy old mess ranting and raving about getting old or lacking in imagination.
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