Life Drawing: Autumn '09 pt. 8

Check out these drawings from my final session at the Autumn / Winter 2009 Term of life drawing class:



As a natural progression from previous sessions (notably pt.6 and pt.7), during this final class I took note of the tonal relationships between the model and her environment, and tried to distill my observations into an overall value study with descriptive, directional and varied mark making. All in the hope of achieving an engaging image that is pleasing to the eye. Hmm.



I was also quite conscious of composition while doing these. For example, in the drawing above, the stuff around the model is mostly at 90 degrees, either horizontal or vertical, except the dark boards behind her head which are obviously at a slant. These compliment and mirror the direction of her left leg - also more of a slant than the rest of her body. The folds in the fabric curling round the chair leg in the right corner of the drawing is also mirrored by the fabric draped in the background on the opposite side of the drawing. My feeling at the time was that, together, all these elements would help frame the model and ensure the viewer's eyes returned back to her.

The drawing feels pretty static. Overall I suppose I'd describe the composition as "reserved" - a direct response to the nature of the model's pose and the fact that I was sat down while drawing her, squarely facing the chair pretty much front-on.

Compare that drawing with this one, of the same pose:

As you can probably tell I drew this standing up and from behind the model. My view was obstructed by other people working in the studio, which meant I had a kind of tunnel-vision view of the subject. This interested me and I purposefully chose to confine my drawing to the same subject as in the previous one - by wedging myself between easels so I could take the challenge head-on. As before, the result is a tonal study in direct response to the subject - which includes my point of view as well as the model, her props and our shared environment.

In the final pose of the evening our model was lying down. Faced with the challenge of overlapping shapes and foreshortening of mass I did a series of drawings of this pose, from various angles, several of which were sketched in 3 -5 minutes. This one felt best to me:

Notice I've considered composition too.

Adjusting my point of view slightly, I set to work on a tonal study on a separate sheet of paper which, after 40 mins or so, came out like this:



The next one was dashed out in half that time, from the opposite angle:



The Autumn / Winter term was a blast and I've enjoyed reflecting on my experiences at the Princes Drawing School through this blog. Tonight I've got that exciting "back to school" feeling because starting tomorrow I'm attending Drawing Week at the school - which means I'll have more exciting drawing-related experiences to blog about in the week ahead.