Paper and Threads

A Quarter Round Cased-In book made with 50 sheets of copy paper - 5 folios per signature and 10 signatures:

The copy paper was cut 6 inches in height and then folded in half to make folios.  The finished book is 6.25 inches high and 4.75 inches wide.  The book was covered with black book cloth and paste paper I made with acrylic paints.  The end papers are solid black.  It was photographed on another section of the same sheet of paste paper which I will use to wrap it as a gift.

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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)

Summer is almost over, and I will miss my visits to Wagner Park to see and draw the flowers.  The Battery Park Conservancy has wonderful gardeners, and every week there are new varieties in bloom.  They have an adult art program in Wagner Park in the morning and I go to figure drawing early to see friends and quickly sketch the new "flowers of the week."  I am enough of a novice that I don't know the names of many of them.  These last two weeks I first saw the purple Passion Flowers, and then concentrated on them in the second week.  There are huge vines growing in both sides of the park, and only when you get close to the flowers do you realize how complex they are.  

Purple Passion Flower:  This sketchbook page was drawn the second week - and has a drawing from above and the side.  There are about 550 species and these in Wagner Park were growing on vines.  Others can grow on shrubs and trees per Wikipedia.

Posted by Shirley at 6:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Figure al Fresco

It was very warm, but sunny, Wednesday at Battery Park City, and then our model didn't arrive.  One of the Conservancy employees quickly filled in and was great.  

This was a 10 minute pose of Frances done with a Burnt Siena watercolor pencil on toned paper.  I resketched the lines with a pen when I got home because the drawing was too light. 

One more of my Drawing Sheets: 

My figure drawing on the left was a 20 minute pose - drawn with a soluble graphite pencil.  When I finished sketching her there, I added water to the three 1 minute poses on the right that I did earlier.

I have two pages of flowers, and 4 pages of drawings done at Christie's Southeast Asia Modern and Contemporary Auction Preview on Monday - that I still want to paint.  There are so many other things that kept me from my paints this week, but I am delighted that retirement is so fulfilling.  I began my Fall semester FIT class on Monday, Fashion Art and Design, and my homework is drawing front and back views of my fashion figure - which is 10 head sizes tall, instead of 7.5 heads tall like real people.  Should be interesting.  

Posted by Shirley at 6:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I love drawing human figures, and although I can draw people who are sitting around, or standing in groups talking, I can't draw any person who is moving fast.  I keep thinking that if I draw enough from photos, I will be able to fill my memory with specific actions, but so far that is not happening. 

I sketched these 3 figures on quarter sheets of scrap copy paper, painted them with watercolor, then collaged them on a piece of paper that I made with acrylic paints and a Gelli Plate. 

Last night I began a new Fall Class at Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) - "Fashion Art and Design."  It is basically a drawing class and we spent the first 2 hour class drawing the very elongated figures used in fashion design.  A "normal" person is 7.5 heads long.  A fashion illustration body is 10 heads long - mostly due to long legs.  I'll post my homework for next week soon to demonstrate the differences.  I already love the class.

Posted by Shirley at 7:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)