Paper and Threads

I have an unexplained need to draw sculptures recently.  Are they more of a challenge, or am I hoping I can take a sculpture class next semester?   Hard to know.  I saw this small Matisse sculpture at the Christies Auction Preview in NYC and sketched a frontal and 3/4 view.  As I was leaving that gallery I saw it from the side and stopped to draw it again. 

Here is the side view and 2 small Henry Moore sculptures.  I sketched them as they looked and then made up the colors!

The art that is on view for the upcoming auctions is hard to imagine.  There are multiple galleries full of wonderful paintings, drawings, sculpture, ceramics and most of these works are going from one private collection to another.  Next Blog Post:  drawings from the Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Auction Preview.      

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When I have time after breakfast in the morning I still like drawing bodies from photos - these are from The Nude Figure: A Visual Reference for Artists by Mark Edward Smith.  I draw them on copy paper scraps and periodically collage some in my sketchbook.  It is a low stakes activity and it keeps me drawing....

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Went for coffee after the Village Art Fair, and sat across from a cute young couple.  It was the beginning of the semester at NYU and they had lots to talk about.  I sketched them very quickly and painted them at home.

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My artist friends and I discovered SE Asian Modern and Contemporary art several years ago and fell in love with their colorful, native, representational art, while much of the art world was deep into abstract expressionism.  We go to the auction previews at Christies and Sothebys during Asia Week, and in 2018 Pat and I saw an amazing exhibit at the Asia Society about the Progressive Artists' Group which formed in 1947 while the British were leaving India.   

Last week Christies had more than 100 pieces of Modern and Contemporary SE Asian art from this time period, and 4 of us went to see the paintings and sculpture,    Each of us sketched from the works.  These are 4 paintings/prints that I liked - the 4th one is just one figure from a much bigger painting. 

B. Prabha

MF Husain

MF HUsain

Avinash Chandra 

I learn so much from drawing/painting exhibited art, including the color palettes, line qualities, and subjects.  I also see the gallery exhibits through a different prism as I learn about which drawings and paintings I am attracted to.

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Yesterday our model was completely new to modeling.  She was wonderful - and actually had props and different clothes that she could change her appearance during the 2 hour session.  She had very active and wonderful one minute poses, and when I finished other drawings, I went back and firmed up my lines on two of them.

These are two ten minute drawings - she had quickly changed into another outfit right in front of us - with props.  I sketched with a soluble graphite pencil and then spread the graphite with a waterbrush to shade the drawing.

She was dressed in other clothing, as if by magic, for the 20 minute poses, and I sketched her once.

Her other 20 minute pose was prone and all I could see were the bottoms of her feet and hips from my seat, so I sketched the artist across from me. 

Posted by Shirley at 9:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)