Paper and Threads

I DEDICATE THESE DRAWINGS TO THE STRONG WOMEN WHO STEPPED FORWARD TO TRY TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD FOR ALL OF US.  I'M OUTRAGED AT THE REPUBLICAN REFUSAL TO HAVE THE WHITE HOUSE REOPEN THE FBI BACKGROUND CHECK!  WE NEED TO VOTE ALL OF THEM OUT IN NOVEMBER.

I'm still enjoying drawing active figures after breakfast - a commitment to fast drawings as many days as possible (<15 minutes to draw and paint).  I love life drawing and adore dancers and ballet.  This project allows me to continue my sketchbook drawing habit on days when I have nothing else planned.  It helps that I have paper, pencil, pen, sharp scissors, and my reference book waiting for me and ready to go.    

Collaged Line of Action Figures 1

Collaged Line of Action Drawings 2

Posted by Shirley at 6:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am taking a Life Drawing class at Fashion Institute of Technology this semester and these are the drawings from my first class.  For several weeks we are drawing outlines, and won't begin shading for another 2 weeks.  Our professor began with a 20 minute pose, then two 10 minute poses.  The length of the poses then decreased throughout the class, ending with ten 2 minute and twenty 1 minute sketches. 

We were encouraged to draw several figures on the same page throughout the class.  

These are (from L to R) 10, 10, and 20 minute drawings with charcoal.

We switched to graphite for the quick poses, and these are two minute drawings completed on the same page. 

And 1 Min poses superimposed very rapidly on one sheet until I ran out of room.

I've never drawn figures with decreasing times for the poses, and actually enjoyed it.  By the end I felt as if I was just "winging it" and was very loose.   An added benefit was that the model was able to hold very difficult poses for the 1 and 2 minute poses, when we were very warmed up and "seeing" better.

Posted by Shirley at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Pat, Benedicte, and I met our friend Gwen at the Morgan Library and Museum to see the Wayne Thiebaud exhibit.  It was my second visit, and it was equally enjoyable both times.  I wanted to paint his watercolor Candy Apples, and used his watercolor painting as a guide.   

Candy Apples - my version of Wayne Thiebaud's watercolor candy apples.

Thiebaud is an excellent draftsman and this graphite self-portrait was lovely.

Last week was Asia Week for Galleries in NYC, and Christies featured an auction of Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art.  Over the last several years my friends and I found artists in these exhibits whose work we really like.  My favorite is B. Prahba  (1933-2001).  She paints many elongated, rural Indian women, and I like everyone of them, the same way I like almost all of Modigilani's women. 

Here is a brief biography of her: https://www.saffronart.com/artists/b-prabha

This is my painting from the exhibit, in the style of B.Prabha, but painted in watercolor instead of oil.   I also posted the other original painting of hers in the auction.  

B Prahba:  Vorsova Girls 1960

B. Prabha Untitled (Fisherwomen) 1969 

Posted by Shirley at 6:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Our Wednesday weather was unpredictable this month, and I'm now in a Life Drawing Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Fall semester class.  Therefore my last "Flowers and Figures" pages from Wagner Park and South Cove in Battery Park City were in August. 

Figure Al Fresco - Brianna was a fantastic model - beautiful and imaginative.  These are my 5 and 10 minute poses.  Next I'll be drawing and posting drawings of nude models again.  It is months since I sketched nudes - and then I did it with my right hand holding ice on my left wrist which was drawing the model - all before I learned my dominant hand wrist was fractured!

The sketches  were done with a soluble graphite pencil (General's Sketch and Wash) and the gray tones obtained by brushing water over the figures with a "waterbrush" and clear water. 

Posted by Shirley at 6:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

My favorite flowers of the season are the Dinner Plate Hibiscus at Battery Park City Wagner Gardens.  I hadn't been to the Art Programs for several weeks because of the weather, and was thrilled that they were still blooming everywhere at my next visit. 

After drawing the flowers, I walked to South Cove for Figure al Fresco - our outdoor figure drawing session is close to NY Harbor and the Hudson River as it reaches the Harbor.  Our model was Regina, an old favorite of mine because I've been drawing her, at several different venues, since 2012.

2 Minute Poses:  I'm still playing with the line of action method - drawing quick lines to establish the pose, and then "fleshing out the body."  I think this helps me with the short poses, and the complicated positions.  Drawings were done with a General Sketch and Wash pencil and then spread with clear water and a waterbrush.

5 Minute Poses:

10 Minute Pose:   

Posted by Shirley at 6:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)