Techical Process: Figure Drawing, Part 2

Untitled Nude, graphite on plate-finish bristol, 16"x 12"

This is the result of a two-day figure drawing session.

I finished the figure by blending the shading, increasing the contrast, and finishing the hands, feet, and face.
This was the fun part! Day one was the hard part- check out my earlier post if you want to see the details.

I plan on darkening the background, especially under the bench and around her feet. I want to leave the background with a rougher texture, so the marble-like quality of her skin stands out in contrast.

When I finish the background, I'll add a new image to this post.

Here's an image of Rodin's The Kiss. This is an example of what I mean by contrasting texture. Rodin left the base of the sculpture rough and unpolished, which makes the flesh of the figures seem more alive in contrast.

I'm no Rodin, of course, but it's nice to dream, right?

Technical Process: Figure Drawing

I am halfway through a two-class drawing session with the same model in the same pose. This is great, because I can take my time and pace myself.
Just for fun, I decided to analyze my process by running to the computer lab during the model's breaks so I can scan the work in progress.

1.Very faint lines, but accurate because I took my time.

 1. This first image is after about 30 minutes of work. I spent about 10 minutes on gesture drawings to get warmed up. This helps get me used to converting 3-D reality to a 2-D paper. Then, I switched to my 14" X 17" Bristol board, and started mapping out the figure. This involves making very light marks for all the "landmarks" like shoulders, knees, chin, heels, etc. I adjust and re-adjust til they are all in the right spot, often drawing imaginary lines to check for correct proportions and angles. Once I got it all down, I erased everything but the most basic, faint contour lines. Look closely, they're practically invisible!


2. Next, I started gradually blocking in major shadows, building them just as carefully and slowly as I did the contour lines. Notice I avoid working on the hands, feet, and face. This is intentional; I know they will be positioned slightly differently on day 2, so I'll wait until then to worry about the extremities. I want to make sure I place the highlights in just the right place, so that the shadows are balanced. (See Below)

2. You can barely see the shadows, but they're there.

3. For the last half hour of class, I deepened the shadows and strengthened the lines. I feel like I am at a good halfway point; the hard part is over (making sure everything is positioned correctly). Next class I can complete the extremities, refine the shading, and do just enough background to suggest a setting.

3. This is about 2 hours of work. Halfway done!

 I was smart enough to mark the floor with masking tape so I can place my seat in the same spot next class. I just have to make sure I get there early so no one else steals my spot...

I can't believe this is my last figure drawing before the final critique.

I will update this post next week so I can show you the final product. Stay tuned!

And now for some color!

As promised, I branched out into colored pencils over the last few sessions of figure drawing. I really like Prismacolor pencils on smooth Bristol board, because I can achieve the same sensitivity and specificity of mark making as with graphite. I'm a little overly cautious still, though, because colored pencils don't erase as easily as regular ones do.

I initially intended to be more realistic with the color, but she had a blue spotlight shining on her... once I got started on the blue, I didn't want to stop. I always end up choosing the most fore-shortened angles with this model. I think it's because she always lays down for these long poses, and the foreshortening makes it more interesting to me.

See what I mean? Foreshortening is my thing, I guess. I do have fun with the challenge of it. I like the way she looks like she's sunbathing-makes me forget that it's freezing outside.

I've only drawn this model once. Too bad, because I like her ferocity. There really are green streaks in her hair, by the way. I really tried to loosen up my style with this one, to try and break out of my usually tighter style.

I know this post is supposed to be about color, but I really liked this one and wanted to share it. She was reclining (big surprise) and I chose a foreshortened angle (big surprise) but the fun part was that she was laying in front of a mirror. I hauled my easel up on top of the platform next to her so I could see her reflection and include it. This is graphite and white charcoal on gray toned paper.

 NEXT in figure drawing: we only have a few more classes this quarter, and I want to try pastels on black paper. Fun!

It's just what I do

My last post was about John Stewart, who teaches my figure drawing class. This class keeps me sane- for about six hours per week. I sit still, pop in my headphones, and just DRAW. There have been days when I might have skipped class in order to catch up on work in other courses, but I just can't- I love it too much. I don't always love the result, but the process is... I don't know... sublime.

I don't typically decapitate the models. I was just most interested in hands and feet that day. John Stewart said the hands remind him of "bunches of bananas" and to avoid that in the future. He's right, unfortunately. This is graphite and white chalk on gray paper, with touches of black charcoal.

I did this one the first day of class. I think it's my favorite, because it reminds me of Ingres. I felt unsure of myself, out of practice, but it works with the sensitivity of the model's pose. Graphite on white paper: my favorite medium for figure drawing.

I love this model's dramatic poses. And he never moves a muscle!

Next post I will include some color work. I do love my graphite on white paper, but I love color too.

Artist and Professor John Stewart

I am lucky to be a student in John Stewart's Figure Drawing class this quarter. I am also lucky that he allowed me and fellow classmate Kelsey to interview him today. He has lots of interesting stories.

John Stewart, artist and professor

He's been a member of UC's faculty since "a week before they discovered dirt," in other words, almost 38 years. He's a world traveler, spending much of his childhood in military bases in Japan and Germany. He backpacked through Europe when he was young. Shortly after arriving in Paris, he was walking through a museum when he saw The Lacemaker by Vermeer.

Tiny, perfect: The Lacemaker by Vermeer

He says he got goosebumps and chills when he saw it, and it still does to this day (he showed me the goosebumps on his arm as proof!). Up until that moment, he had been a printmaker and sculptor and was not all that impressed with painting. Vermeer changed his mind. He spent the rest of his European vacation tracking down as many Vermeer originals as he could, and saw nearly all of them.

When I asked him if he had any other major influences in his work as an artist, he didn't hesitate for a second to mention Caroll Spinney, puppeteer and creator of Oscar the Grouch (my favorite!) and Big Bird. Before his Sesame Street days, Spinney worked as a cartoonist for a paper on the military base where Stewart lived as a teenager in Germany. He made a huge impression because he was having fun at his job, which was, needless to say, RARE on a military base in Germany. John says he ways always fascinated with the visual world and artistically inclined, but it took the creator of Big Bird to make him realize that being an artist was a possibility.

Carroll Spinney with his most famous creations

Today John Stewart teaches life drawing and painting at the University of Cincinnati. His own current work features oil paintings of landscapes and the human figure.