Paper and Threads

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.

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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. 

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My NYC Grandchildren go to summer camp each summer, and I try to write them one letter each week.  For the last few years I sketched my imaginary character Axel on the envelopes.  These are drawings that I did this year.  

We see several hundred camp photos each day on the camp website, and I draw Axel participating in the same activities as our grandchildren.

July 2.

July 6

July14

A postcard for each of them as they were preparing for "color war." 

Final Letters:  Axel is just waiting for them to come home.

Posted by Shirley at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We are going to London this Fall and I just recycled a London 1960s Photography book to use as my watercolor travel sketchbook.  My daughter and her family lived there for 14 months a decade ago, and I'm finally ready to go back.  But we will miss living in their house with our very young grandchildren on multiple visits. 

I bought a half-price photography book at the Strand Book Store in NYC, removed the original page block, and made a new page block with 140 lb Fabriano Artistico Soft Press paper.  Interspersed with watercolor pages, are photo folios from the original book.  

Front Cover

I posted a 4 part Tutorial about recycling a book to use as a watercolor travel sketchbook in 2012.  This is the link to the process and the book I recycled for a 2012 Venice vacation. 

http://www.paperandthreads.com/2012/02/watercolor_sketchbook_tutorial.php 

Front End Paper: I was able to use two of the original folios as end papers, and just glued a decorative strip over the original fold to strength it.

Title Page:  This will be my title page, with a Big Ben collage I made previously using a photo of Henry the VIII.  I will add a title for the sketchbook and my contact information.  I once received a phone call from a museum hours after I left my sketchbook by mistake.

There are 4 signatures each with two folios of watercolor paper and one folio of the original photographs.  Two of the signatures had one folio that is narrower than full size and I will use these for 2X2 square daily drawings, and grid of my daily notes.  

This is the example of the short sheets, I didn't want to use only a portion of another full sheet of watercolor paper and actually like having these random narrower pages.   You are seeing the narrower page on the right with part of a London bus photo behind it.

There are 24 full pages and 8 narrower ones for a 10 day vacation. 

I made similar books for trips to Paris, Berlin/Prague/Budapest, Madrid/Seville/Barcelona, Barcelona, and a second one for Venice 2017.   

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