More Dancers for Figure Drawing Practice
I still take occasional ballet classes at Steps on the Upper Westside of Manhattan. Then I have coffee in the Barre Cafe at Steps until it is time to pick up my grandson at Nursery School . While there I sketch and paint dancers from magazine photos for my daily sketch and for more figure drawing practice. I could never sketch dancers in class and photography isn't permitted in the studios.
Comments
Shirley -- Your figures are so winsome and beautifully done -- they have an elegance and grace that is amazing!
Posted by: LIN | November 11, 2007 2:16 PM
These ballet dancers are really lovely! You have captured their poses so well. Nicely done.
Posted by: emma pod | November 12, 2007 1:49 AM
You've got beautiful movement in these drawings - just lovely. And good for you for continuing to take ballet. I have to drag myself to yoga...
Posted by: Casey | November 12, 2007 1:45 PM
Grace on paper - your fluidity and soft values, excel.
Posted by: sandy | November 12, 2007 3:02 PM
Well, I have no idea what happened - I've been trying for months, tried different software etc - but suddenly today I can see your pictures! Did you change something?
Lovely figures Shirley. Now I have some serious catching up to do!
Posted by: Felicity | November 13, 2007 3:00 AM
Lovely sketches, soft and elegant.
Oh please do try sketching the ballet dancers on the spot. I would kill to be there with you and put pencil to paper. Once you overcome the initial frustration and impossibility of sketching motion, your hand finds a way to capture something of it. Occasionally I try it with the chickens. At the time it just feels impossible, but afterwards, well there's something captured that can only happen in that way.
Posted by: Susan Cornelis | November 15, 2007 1:18 PM
These are wonderful Shirley. I especially like the first pose. Always enjoy your beautiful work!
Posted by: mARTa | November 15, 2007 6:47 PM
Hi Shirley, Love your work! Very sensitive. I found your site while I was Googling "Aquabee Sktechbook". I am an artist who is doing a big series of paintings on paper - Aquabee Sketchbook #808, size 6 x 9". the kind I have been using for several years has a single ring spiral binding with a series of little circular holes along one side. It seems that recentlly Aquabee has changed the binding on that sketchbook so that now instead of little circular holes it has larger square holes. I have looked everywhere for more of the older sketchbooks but can't find any and I'm desperate to find some for more paintings, so the new paintings match the older ones. If you have any of those sketchbooks, would you be willing to sell them to me???? You'd be doing me a HUGE favor. Please let me know. Thanks, Blue McRight blueness@earthlink.net
Posted by: blue mcright | November 15, 2007 7:19 PM
Again, lovely figures, so graceful. I think it is so great that you still do classes! Did you do ballet as a young girl?
ronell
Posted by: Africantapestry | November 16, 2007 3:51 AM
Wow! These are lovely! You can tell you have a real understanding of how a dancer's body moves by the way you've captured these from just photos.
Posted by: juj | November 16, 2007 10:00 AM
Shirley, I have been checking your blog for some time, your drawings are lovely. The ballerinas are so perfectly simple yet have so much movement. Beautiful job.
Posted by: Bambi-really | November 19, 2007 1:28 AM
These are so delightful! Beautiful drawing. How fun to take ballet class. I was terrible at it as a kid, but would love to try it again. Are there other grandparent-age adults in your class?
Posted by: Jana Bouc | November 19, 2007 2:17 AM