Wednesday 2 March 2011

Life drawing winter 2011: part 7

Here are some more drawings I made the other night at life drawing class:

LifeDrawing_2011-02-28_01

They're too big to scan so I had to photograph them, which isn't ideal because they were done on newsprint.

LifeDrawing_2011-02-28_02

Each one was drawn entirely without lifting the pencil off the surface of the paper, a great drawing exercise that I never tire of.

LifeDrawing_2011-02-28_03

I enjoy working like this because it really helps the ol' hand-eye coordination.

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The whole process is very engaging, especially when you're fighting the urge to lift the pencil off the paper whilst actively trying to identify and represent the shapes as you see them.

LifeDrawing_2011-02-28_05

All of the above poses were held for 2 - 5 minutes.

The ones in charcoal, below, were held for 10 - 20 minutes:

LifeDrawing_2011-02-28_06

Taking a single line "for a walk" as it were, is enormously satisfying because you're consciously making connections, physically and mentally, between shapes as you observe the pose. This transforms the often passive act of simply looking into a much more active one of truly seeing what's in front of you.

I have a tendency to press way too hard when I draw, so with these final charcoal drawings I made a conscious effort to ease off a bit which obviously allowed much more variation in line weight. Working in charcoal also allowed a lot of room for tonal variation to creep in.

LifeDrawing_2011-02-28_08

Still determined to draw without lifting off the paper, I used my left hand to push tone around while my right continued with the lines, thick and thin, dark and light.

LifeDrawing_2011-02-28_07

This particular exercise really improves my sense of proportion and helps me to create drawings that feel more connected. Fun stuff.

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