Paper and Threads

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)

I really enjoy figure drawing and during the last few years I've been sketching from photos after breakfast.  I tear scrap copy paper into 4 pieces, and leave a stack on the breakfast counter, with a pencil, pen, and small scissors.  This is a very low stakes exercise - which makes it fun!  These are some of the drawings I did during the summer - cut out and glued into my sketchbook.  

Posted by Shirley at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I returned to the National Museum of the American Indian (NYC) last Wednesday to again see the T.C. Cannon exhibit which closes on September 16th.  There are so many paintings, prints, and drawings that I wanted to add to my sketchbook, just to capture what I loved about the exhibit.  These are 3 very small images from the massive mural he painted 1 year before he died:  Epochs in Plains History: Mother Earth, Father Sun, the Children Themselves.  My photo of this painting appears below.

The images that I painted are in the very center of this massive painting which covers one wall of a Gallery.  

There is an entire corridor of smaller drawings, paintings, prints in the exhibit and I chose this one to remember this part of the exhibit.  I learn so much from drawing other artists work and looking through my sketchbooks brings back so many memories of these educational gallery visits.  He did a quick pen drawing colored with markers, I used watercolor.

Posted by Shirley at 6:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Finally, a thunderstorm was forecast, but I visited the TC Cannon exhibit at the National Museum of the American Indian and Figure Al Fresco in Battery Park City again.  It rained the last 3 Wednesday afternoons, but yesterday the rain held off until dinnertime and figure drawing was possible.

These are two of the drawings I did of Marilyn at figure drawing.  This one was a 20 minute sketch and since I get bored after 10-15 minutes, I sketched a little of the background.

My favorites are usually 5 or 10 minute poses because I work quickly and still have time to use a waterbrush for shading.

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It is almost time for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Annual Fashion Show to close.  I wanted to go through it very quickly, even though I wasn't sure what "Camp" fashions would be like.  This is a dress designed by Paul Poiret and I immediately decided that I wanted to draw it, but never wear it.  I loved many of his fashions in the Poiret show at the Met in 2007 and was happy to see one of his designs again.

Posted by Shirley at 5:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)