Life drawing with Irina

In this life-drawing session, I tried using a variety of media, with charcoal for some quick (one or two minutes) poses, and pencil for some slightly longer ones.
In the end, I reverted to Conte crayon on coloured paper for the longer 50-minute pose shown here...
I had a few problems with the left arm and hand, and also the right hand, and the result is a bit strange, I have to admit. 

 This was one of the earlier, shorter poses, done in charcoal pencil. Again, I'm not very happy with the result, even though it was a very interesting pose with the legs crossed and the left foot hooked behind the right leg.
Basically, I think I've made the body too long and the legs too short. And the hands are completely wrong. All in all, not very good..I'd have liked to spend more time on this pose as I could have worked on someof these failings.

Samson Slaying the Philistine

This drawing was done at the Victoria & Albert Museum where they have a great selection of stone and marble statues.
I chose this statue because of its subject and general sense of movement and strength. It shows Samson about to strike the crouching Philistine with the jawbone of an ass (?). He holds the weapon aloft while yanking back the head of his victim by the hair. It's a pretty dramatic pose, full of tension and straining muscles.
I spent about 40 minutes on it, working with a 4B pencil, and working from a standing position (one of the museum assistants did kindly offer to bring me a stool but by this time I didn't want to change position!)
I'm not unhappy with the result but I must admit it fails to capture the sheer vigour and strength of the original. I plan to return and maybe use a combination of pencil, chalk and ink to achieve a bit more 'body' to the image. I will also need to spend more time.

I've added a photo to show how my image compares...

 

Life drawing with Richard

This was the final drawing of the session, completed in around 35 minutes, using 3B pencil. I decided to go back to using pencil (rather than my usual Conte crayon on coloured paper) in order to focus on line and getting shape and proportion right.
The pose was quite tricky to pin down, because Richard had his right hip slightly raised so that both knees were slanted away from me. I'm not sure what he was doing with the left arm but it was out of view for me. After some considerable use fo the putty rubber, I think I've come up with a fair approximation of the figure, although I did struggle quite a lot with the hand and the feet.
Preparatory sketches
In the lead-up to the final study, we did a number of faster sketches in quite with some quite interesting poses, such as these....(lefthand took five minutes; righthand 10)
I'm quite pleased with the right foot of the lefthand figure, in which I appear to have captured the shape and the foreshortening, despite (or possibly because of) having to work at speed.

This 15 minute pose, although quite simple, did not come out quite so well...maybe because I couldn't see enough of the model from my angle...I re-worked the right arm several times, trying to get the shape of the elbow and fore-arm, and I'm still not sure it's quite right.

Life drawing - 2nd session with Marie

I first drew Marie during one of my early life-drawing sessions back in May, so I'm hoping that these drawings will demonstrate some improvement since then.

The session started with a couple of very quick (three minutes) sketches in different poses, folowed by one of five minutes. I used charcoal pencil on white cartridge paper for these...

Then followed a crouching pose of 15 minutes, for which I chose Conte crayon on coloured paper. This was a tricky pose with both the head and most of the arms hidden from me, and the stool she was leaning on was covered in a white sheet. I decided to focus on the line of the spine and buttocks to anchor the image and then build out from there.

Finally, we did a long pose of nearly an hour. I stuck with Conte crayon and tried using the white and grey crayons more extensively to pick out the lighter parts of the body. The left leg and knee gave me a bit of trouble for a while, as the knee was pointing out at me and the foot was tucked under tucked under the right leg.
While there is obviously more work to be done, especially on hands and feets, and getting a better facial likeness of the model, I think I can see and improvementover the pictures done in May....

Life drawing: 2nd session with Geoff

It's a couple of months since we last drew Geoff, so I'm keen to see if there is any discernible improvement in my drawings of him.

The session went through the usual routine: a series of very short sketches just to get warmed up (which I've not included here), then some of 10 or 15 minutes, concluding with a 50 minute pose.

This first sketch was done in about 10 minutes, using charcoal pencil:

Then I tried this with Conte crayons. It's a difficult crouched pose of 10 minutes with not much of interest except the hands, which I am still trying to master:

This pose was of 15 minutes, and was quite hard again because of the angle and the foreshortening of the whole figure. I switched back to charcoal pencil for this and used to watercolour pencil to get a different texture. I didn't particularly enjoy doing this drawing, and I'm not sure it captures the subject very accurately, but I think it has a pleasing abstract appeal (which is somewhat accidental, I have to confess):

In this final 50 minute pose, I struggled for some time to get the right shape of the body, and was constantly rubbing out lines and repositioning the back, the right arm and the position of the right shoulder until I reached what I believe is quite close to the actual subject.

I used Conte crayon on coloured paper, and also spent some time on the folds of the draped sheet hanging from the stool on which the model sat. (I've been practising drawing fabric)

This drawing took 40 minutes, so I used the final 10 minutes to do a quick sketch of the same pose with charcoal pencil. Although it is not very well finished, I was able to achieve the shapes with far less use of the putty rubber - which goes to show that it's probably worth having a few cracks at the same pose until it comes more naturally..

Anyway, here is the quick pencil sketch followed by the longer one...

Life drawing with Karin

The session began with a 15-minute pose. Having forgotten my new charcoal pencils, I reverted to standard pencils on coloured paper.

Karin the model draped herself in a sheet, but in the allotted time there was little opportunity to depict the folds of the material properly. I also spent too much time working on detail around the face and upper body, and didn't have the time to work on the legs.

Here's the result:

For the next pose of 25 minutes, the model lay on the floor with her legs propped up against the wall.
The main challenge here was her arms and hands which were partly hidden and in the case of the right arm, greatly foreshortened by the angle of the pose.

Here I switched to Conte crayon to achieve a better contrast between her and the sheet.

In the final 50-minute pose, I reverted to pencil, which I think works quite well for depicting the Chesterfield sofa, and the shine of the leather.
However, the model herself looks a bit anemic in my view (maybe I should have been bolder with the use of soft pencils), and I now realise her head is slightly too small.

Life drawing with model Chris

In this session with new model Chris, we limbered up with some short poses.

In this 10-minute study, I used charcoal pencil and initially struggled to get the right proportions and general shape of the body. But after ample application of the putty rubber, it got slightly closer to the right image...The left arm still looks a bit odd, but I ran out of time.

Then came this 15-minute pose, with Chris curled into a ball. I used Conte crayon for this, and I'm fairly pleased with the result.

Then for the final long (55 minutes) pose, I went back to charcoal pencil adding Conte crayon (white and brown) later to get more texture and shape. I'm quite pleased with some aspects of the picture, such as the sheen along his back which was created by the white sheet on which he was laying.
I still need to work in the finer details of the hands, but I think I've managed a better job of depicting the foreshortening of the legs which went away from me.
The left arm, I now realise, is slightly shorter than it should be, but I was running out of paper (classic mistake!) and wanted to include the hand.

Life drawing: 2nd session with Sarah

Our model came armed with some props - an umbrella, a hat, a scarf and a chair - in order to provide some variety.

This 10-minute sketch was done using Conte crayon, and presented a challenge because the left leg was curled under the chair away from me. I tried to convey this in the drawing, but I still think it looks a bit too small.

 

This 20-minute pose was in some ways easier, but I didn't really have enough time to get in more detail. Also, although I tried to reproduce the structure of the colllar bones and the shoulders, they don't really look quite right.

However, I think I've captured something of the playful nature of the pose.

 In this last 50 minute pose, I did two sketches, one using pencil and the other Conte crayons.

I'm not too sure about the results, which seems ot lack any real life to them. In both, I've tried to capture the foreshortened feet, which were turned towards me. 

Also, note in the pencil sketch the right hand is wrapper around the hat; however, the model did at one stage stretch out her arm to relax it and so I took the opportunity to do something that looked better to me (which explains why the arm looksa bit rushed!)

Life drawing: a 2nd session with Erol

In this life drawing session our model used a set of steps as a prop, and we did a series of short skecthes of him from different angles (the member of the group rotated around him, rather like musical chairs, every 10 minutes). This one, using charcoal on coloured paper, was probably my most successful of the four sketches I did, as I managed to convey the weight applied to the step and with the hands on top of the ladder.

Our final longer pose lasted 50 minutes, with the model seated in a corner and illuminated by an anglepoise lamp.


Here I used Conte crayons on coloured paper. The pose was a little tricky because of the foreshortened right leg and feet, so I'm not really too happy with the result which seems a bit lifeless for some reason.

Ballerina at rest - two poses

My regular fortnightly life-drawing session had a new twist this time. Our model was a ballerina wearing a leotard and long lacey ballet skirt.
After a few quick practice sketches, we did this pose of 20 minutes, with our model curled up as if resting or sleeping. From my angle, this proved quite challenging with the legs mostly hidden from view. I chose to use Conte crayons on a coloured paper, in order to capture the white of the leotard and the skirt.

We then did a longer pose of 55 minutes, which I found quite inspiring and rather reminiscent of some of Degas' pictures, where he captured the dancers in off-guarded moments.
I have tried to depict the tranquility of the pose as well as the delicate muscularity of the dancer herself (such as the prominent collar-bones). I have to admit the face is not a good likeness of the model and I'm not sure about the left arm and especially the hand tying the shoe-ribbon.
But on balance, I'm not too displeased with the overall image.

Life drawing with Geoff

I think this was my sixth life drawing session. The model this time was a well preserved man in early middle age, with grey hair and a beard.

This first five-minute sketch was done in charcoal, and still shows that I'm having trouble with proportions while holding the drawing board. Basically I start off OK at the top but the legs end up looking too short. I've tried working with an easle but this presents its own difficulties. However, I think I need to be able to step back from the picture every now and then to ensure I'm maintaining the right proportions.

We then went for a 15-minute pose with the model seated. I switched to using Conte crayon for this.
Looking at this now, I'm quite pleased with the left arm and hand, which really seems to be gripping the crossed leg. The right arms is less successful, and the left foot needs to be better defined to stand out from the leg beneath it.

Finally, the model adopted a reclining pose. Still using Conte crayon, I ended up doing three sketches of the same pose from different angles. Working from both the head and the feet, it was a real challenge to get the foreshortening right. It was really difficult and I was very unhappy with the pictures at the time, although now I'm slightly more satisfied with some aspects of them, helped by the use of white crayon to depict light.

Fabric draped on a chair

In this exercise (P 118 in course notes), the aim was to depict a piece of fabric draped over a chair.

I had three shots at this, using pen, charcoal and pencil, and I think each created their own effects and challenges. Although I felt safer using pencil, I have to say the boldness of the charcoal and the clarity of the pen sketch is much more eye-catching.

It's worth saying, I guess, that the exercise proved a lot harder than expected, and I think I'd like to experiment more with different types of fabric (silk, velvet) to see if I can express the actual texture of these different materials.

Anyway, here they are in the order they were drawn (pen, charcoal and pencil)...Still some work to do to show how the fabric hangs on the shape of the chair.

Life drawing with Asha

This was my 6th life-drawing session. The model was a young woman called Asha.

We began with a couple of five-miute poses which I did in pencil. In this first one, I've hit my old problem of doing the legs too small, which seems to happen when I've got the drawing board on my lap..

 In the second pose, I deliberately worked on the legs, and have probably made the model too tall and thinner than she actually was. Also, at the last minute I noticed that her left foot was further back than I'd drawn it. But I was out of time be then.

I decided to switch to Conte crayon for this next crouched pose of 10 minutes....With more time, I'd have tidied up the foot.

In the final session of 50 mnutes, I did two drawings of the same pose from different angles. The pose was quite an awkward one to portray with the fireshortening the legs. But I do like the effects that can be achieved with the Conte crayons..

Life drawing with Erol

This was the 5th life-drawing session I've attended. Erol the model was a middle aged man with quite a hairy body.

In this 10-minute pose, I used Conte crayon on coloured paper.

 This pose was for 20 minutes, and for me the biggest challenge was to depict the left leg as it went away from me. I've stuck with Conte crayon, which is a medium I'm beginning to like, especially being able to use white on coloured paper.

In this final pose of 50 minutes, I switched to pencil. Here the main challenge to the right leg, which the model had splayed to one side, facing away from me, although the shin and foot faced back. I had a couple of attempts on this, and although I did try to draw what I saw, the limbs still look a bit small compared to the body. As I say, the pose was slightly awkward, with the model sinking into the cushion of the Chesterfield sofa.

Two images of Lesley seated

The first of these images was done in charcoal, and took about 15 minutes.

I'm not particularly pleased with the result. One problem is that I've found that when drawing with a board held on my lap, I tend to do the legs too small and I'm not too sure how to remedy it. Maybe using an easel, which would enable me to step back from the picture and get a more holistic view.

 This second image in pencil is a bit more successful, I think, although I still struggled with the right leg. There was some foreshortening with the knee pointed towards me, and the foot going back under the chair. This took about 20 minutes.

Life drawing: poses with female model

This is my fourth session of life drawing, and the model was a young woman with tousled black hair.

The session began with a couple of five-minute studies. This one was done with Conte crayon on orange paper...

For this second pose, we were given 10 minutes. Again I used Conte crayon, experimenting with some white for highlighting (not very successful)

This next pose took 20 minutes. I switched to pencil using an HB which was rather too hard and failed to give much depth. I show the pencil version below, followed by a version that I've worked up thre next day using a graphite pencil. I think the legs look a little short, although they were facing away from me so there was a measure of foreshortening anyway.

Here are the two versions...

For the final pose, we were given an hour. After an initial botched attempt (not shown here) I switched to a 4B pencil and watercolour paper and did one version of the pose. I then switched back to coloured paper, and made better use of the white Conte crayon to achieve highlights.

I have to admit I struggled with the legs and feet turned away from me, but I think I managed to capture the lefthand foot with the sole of the foot facing me, after some use of the rubber to erase early efforts.