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There are two parts of my deliberate practice program - architecture and figure drawing. I posted Big Ben last week after I painted it without any pre-drawing. Today I am posting my first figure drawn directly with my brush and watercolor. I used a photo in the book The Nude Figure by Mark Edward Smith.
Will I be brave enough to draw with my paintbrush when I'm sketching live models?
We are relaxing a little after our Thanksgiving cooking marathon - this year for 22 adults and 5 children (ages 2-8). We cooked at our apartment on Tuesday, and then transported the food across Central Park to our daughter's. We cooked at her apt. on Wednesday and Thursday - and then had a fabulous mix of family and friends for approximately 6-7 hours. I struggle to complete journal/sketchbook pages during these days, but did two that were Holiday-related.
A Turkey - from a photo.
My champagne glass, bottle, and cookbook - from the event.
I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday. My husband and I are always happy to host the event, but equally happy to rest up when it is over!
I am envious of artists who "sketch" models at Figure Drawing" with their paintbrush and watercolor, AND I need to develop a simpler, looser style for capturing a scene, especially when on vacation.
These are my goals for the next months-year. Can I do it?
I decided to paint Big Ben in London for the 7th time - as a first step. In the past I have sketched/ painted/collaged Big Ben from my photographs as I explored other techniques, so it wasn't as frightening. This was done quickly, so I could hopefully simplify the image.
I read about Dr. K. Anders Ericsson's research on "deliberate practice" on Donna Zagotta's blog and realized that my pathway since 2005 mirrors many of the concepts.
Donna wrote "The essence of Deliberate Practice for artists is pushing ourselves just beyond what we can currently do in order to take our art to where we really want it to go. Deliberate Practice involves two kinds of learning: improving the skills you already have, and the acquisition of new skills. Dr. Ericsson’s message is not to rely on repetition and experience to teach expertise, but to deliberately practice the expertise you want to master."
I practice drawing and painting through daily sketchbook pages and try to move out of my comfort zone to improve my skills. My drawings and paintings copied from the Masters appear regularly on this blog, and with each one that I do, I hope that I am refining my techniques.
I need lots of practice painting light and shadows.
While walking across Park Ave at 49th St. I saw perfect sunshine lighting the south side of St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church and took a photo. This is my painting from the photo.
One month later, my oldest son sent me this photo of him running the New York Marathon. It is from the official feed from the race.
By chance, I went to the Society of Illustrators Sketch Night during Illustrators Week in New York City and many illustrators posed (clothed) with the models. They were not introduced, so I have no idea who they were.
Drawings 4 and 5 of 10 Two Minute Poses
Drawing 4 of 4 Five Minute Poses - An Illustrator
Drawing 1 of 2 Ten Minute Poses
Drawing 2 of 2 Twenty Minute Poses: Two Models and an Illustrator (who is sitting on a stool)
My watercolor paper is to big for my scanner and I haven't figured out how to photograph the pages without the blue-gray background. Even Photoshop can't completely corrct it.
