Figure Drawing with a Live Model
This week in the Sketchbook Skool online People Drawing People Course, the theme was foreshortening. In this 20 minute pose our model rested her head on her hand and her face was foreshortened in a way I've never drawn before. I sketched the model with a General Sketch and Wash Pencil for the first part and then used a waterbrush to spread the graphite to areas I wanted to shade.
I am currently taking the Sketchbook Skool 5 week online course People Drawing People. This week I joined artist friends at 2 NYC art exhibits: Self-Portraits at Neue Gallerie and Lucien Freud at Acquavella Gallery. I chose a self-portrait drawing by Egon Schiele to copy because the hands were great. And I chose one of only several figure drawings in the Freud exhibit - Big Sue Tilley. She was floating in space in his drawing, so I added a big chair for her.
Egon Schiele: Self Portrait with Hand Twisting Around Head Graphite Drawing
Lucien Freud: Big Sue Tilley Ink Drawing
Week 2 of this wonderful online course is "drawing people in motion". Like Week 1, there are several artists drawing figures in motion demonstrating their specific method for this difficult task. I draw lots of figures, some in action poses from reference photos, and now from photos I am taking out on the streets of NYC.
Drawing People in Motion from My Photos: These are the current batch from the sidewalks of NYC.
Drawing People Live: I also draw people live, sitting in one place, and these don't make me nervous. These are ones from the bus, or at a restaurant.
Drawing Someone in Constant Motion: The only time I draw people in constant motion is at concerts. During week 2 I sketched this wonderful flautist, at a Juilliard Historical Presentation Concert. She played a Bach flute solo, 4 movements, and her entire body continually moved as she bent and straightened her torso along with her playing. I am still unable to draw figures when their movements are NOT repeated occasionally.
This week, week3, covers foreshortening of the figure.
I am taking the 5 week Sketchbook Skool class called People Drawing People. I go to figure drawing, both nude models and dressed models, and I often draw people on the bus, or subway, restaurants and concerts. I feel comfortable drawing in these settings. But I find it very difficult to draw bodies who are really moving - i.e. head, torso, arms, and legs, all at the same time. For at least a year I've been doing line of action drawings from photos of moving people, but I still lack the confidence to draw someone live who is running, dancing, etc.
Today is the beginning of week 2 in the SBS class and there are 4 demos of artists drawing people in constant motion. Just looking at the class demos this week brings out Mildred - my inner critic. For my own practice, I took a number of photos the last time I was on the Lincoln Center Plaza - of people walking, running, or standing still for a moment in front of the Metropolitan Opera. And these drawings, 1-6, are from those photos. The final 2 drawings were done in restaurants, i.e. live direct observation.
People in Motion:
My Next Deliberate Practice: I will try to draw the constantly moving models in videos from class this week. And then I need to go into Central Park and try to draw people in all kinds of motion. Yikes!
Screen Print on Fabric: For the 3rd of our projects this semester, we had to create two "positive" images, and burn them into screens, registered, and make 2-color prints on fabric. Registered means that you can easily place the print from one screen exactly on top of the print from the other screen. I had the fashion model with the horizontal stripes on one screen and all of the calligraphy/typography on the other screen. The first screen was printed in black (figure) and the second one in charcoal gray (typography). The print measures 15 X 19" The background fabric is white.
Original Art Inspiration: I sketched a live model in a Fashion Illustration course last year and then collaged over the drawing.
Creating the designs for the Screens: The positive images for the screen #1 were created by collaging black paper and typed words, that were printed on a transparency, to create the blouse. All the pieces were taped to heavy vellum to photograph (burn) them onto a photoemulsion screen. The calligraphy for screen #2 was printed on transparency sheets and cut out and taped to a second piece of vellum to make the other screen. Here are the two sheets of vellum clipped together for me to test the image.
