Drawing Workshop Finale

Here is where I left off. 

After making that leap into a more solid drawing, this is what happened next. 

Our model began a pose which lasted over an hour, with breaks in between.  This one on the right is the first round for me.

This one on the left is the 2nd version.  

I felt I had finished with the one above, so started a new one of the same pose.  Using eraser, I began to "paint" in the form after drawing.  It began as an accident after I tried to pull some white out of a too-heavy dark area. (I think anyone who draws probably already knew this, but I haven't done charcoal drawing in so long, it was like a new discovery.)  I really liked how the eraser worked as a tool and since painting is where my comfort zone lies, It worked really nicely for me.  I was really getting into the work when it was decided it was time for a new pose. 

This one was a short pose, the end of the day, so this is all I had time to do.  I love the right leg - so powerful.  Looking at both legs, you can see where I complete the drawing on the left, then use the eraser to blend on the right one. 

This next image won't make a lot of sense, because I tossed out the work I did leading up to it.  I know!! tsk tsk, - so let me set this up. 

The last day of the workshop we spent working with materials.  The idea was to exploit 2 mediums to their fullest; basically do everything you can imagine with them and more.  This is where I have real problems as an artist.   Liz,  who was next to me for this task, LOVES, loves, loves playing with materials.  She could really care less (at first) about making anything - she just enjoys the process of discovery.  It was very helpful to me to have her nearby and watch her joy and playfulness. 

I like to take one medium and learn as much as I can about it and apply it to what I'm intending.  I don't tend to take the medium beyond it's purpose, so this day was a bit frustrating for me.  I chose oil and chalk pastels; two items which are very difficult to make work together.  

ok, so I set myself up....

anyway, after doing some typical texture studies, which I thought were kinda fun but Thomas (our instructor, see previous posts) seemed to think I wasn't pushing enough.  So he bolts off, comes back quickly and asks "what is your favorite food?"  "Chocolate..." I said with much hesitation and wondering what that was about.  "What kind?"  huh?  "What kind?"  I shook my head and he whips out a peppermint patty.  "Now paint with this."  

ohgoodlord. He broke the patty in half, smeared it all over his hands, then all over my paper, handed it to me and !  I had sugar and chocolate everywhere.  Sugar melts, so it wasn't terribly useful, but it did leave a residue - a very sticky residue, which explains the tossing of the experimental papers. Chocolate is best eaten, in my opinion.  But it did help loosen me up and yes, I probably could have pushed it more.    

I did go on to find ways to make the chalk and oil pastel work together, with the addition of white ink. I had a plastic container for my ipod earbuds, and decided I wanted to do shiny with these non-shiny materials.  I know how to do it with pencil or paint,  or color pastels, but this was a challenge.  I didn't achieve complete success, and it isn't a wonderful drawing, but I didn't do too badly.  

The 2nd part of this workshop comes up in April.  Can't wait!  

Drawing Workshop Continued

This is the next step after that frustrating experience drawing multiple positions continuously on one piece.  I've done it before; it was that I couldn't SEE any of them on the paper.  Many heavy sighs and furrowed brows later, Thomas says "if you are worried about what's on the paper, you are worried about the product, not the feeling."  OK, so I'm quoting incorrectly, but that's basically what he said.  Stop looking at your paper.  Capture the form.  






Obviously I am still struggling with that.  But there are hints of it happening.  And it gets better in the one on the right.  

 

I am still more comfortable with contours, and at this point am not even realizing yet that is what I'm continuing to do. But I like this drawing quite a lot, regardless.  I'm feeling a little Picasso-ish with the minimal lines getting the esscence. (check out his Mother and Child, 1922, which I won't put here since I don't want to deal with copyright issues - but it can be googled)

Here we are again - Thomas is all over my paper.  It's very helpful to have the visual demo help me figure out what I'm doing.  He did the leg on the left, no contours - a quick line for placement, circles for form.  




And look what happens next.  


whoa. 


a leap has been made.  
even more to come...

Drawing Workshop

Drawing is not something I’m “known” for, but drawing is at the core of what I do.  Underneath all the color and medium, I’ve always aimed for a strong beginning - a good drawing.  I haven’t always hit the mark, but it’s where my art begins.  

So recently I’ve been wanting to draw - get my hands into the paper and my medium, to feel the work emerge, get back to my roots, so to speak. I haven't had much time for classes in the past decade, but I fit in something now and again.  Finally, the opportunity to take a class with a teacher I admire and respect came along. A 3 day workshop with Thomas Bosket, an instructor (professor) from Parsons New School in New York. I won't go into how he happens to be in Richmond, but I have worked with him before. So I knew what to expect: to expect the unexpected, and he delivered.  

I'll start with a few images: 

My first drawings were of a rocking chair.  Contours and mark-making.  Gesture. Showing the essence of the rocker, that wasn't actually rocking. I'm literal - Draw a rocker rocking when it is still?  Capture the movement of a still object? My good mood quickly darkened.  I hated the drawings.  

Then came the model.  I had no idea we were going to do figure drawing.  This was a basics class, so I figured I'd just happily float along while he instructed the beginners.  ha.  

Anyway, here I am doing what I know, sort of, and adding in lines that I think capture the body.  

It's ok.  

ok, it sucks.  

  I'm liking this one better.  Fewer lines capturing the position. but oh no - not quite what I'm supposed to have gotten.  hmmmm. 

Now I think this one is sweet.  But we were doing quick gestures with form, so I'm running out of time.  I'm missing the point and getting contour, but not gesture.  ackkkkk!!  

 Below is a piece I began and Thomas jumped into.  I was missing the ground and mostly missing the curves. The round swirls are Thomas showing me how to capture an entire curve, around the entire object even when I don't see it.  

Check out my rendition of curves - zig zags.  

ohhhhh - kaaaaaay.  

Then came this:  Thomas is moving while the model takes a break.  All the while he is talking to us trying to get into our heads what each of us is not doing. (and that is different for each of us.)  We can't lift our charcoal from the paper AND we are to capture each gesture he is making and get form at the same time.  I'm getting frustrated and pissy - all I see is a mess.  All he wants me to do is FEEL.  The drawing.  The movement.  crap.  I don't feel, I render.  What I see....

more to come......