Osher Figure Drawing Class: Zoom Summer School with Model Kathryn

Kathryn kicked off our first session of Osher summer Figure Drawing Friday, July 2nd with fantastic poses full of energy and creativity. 

It felt good to be back to drawing Kathryn, and we focused on gestures to start.

I asked my students to use a soft medium like charcoal or pastels.  By turning the charcoal chunk on its side, we could capture large areas of mass rather than focusing directly on contour lines.

As we warmed up, we added a few select lines to our mass gestures.

Kathryn told a story from her childhood about collecting spring water in gallon jugs tied to each end of a pole and crossing a creek.  A flood had washed out the bridge so that all that was left were steel beams.  She said she and her siblings had to balance carefully as they crossed.

For her final mass & line gesture pose, Kathryn gave us this dramatic fall into the creek!

We moved on to 5-Line poses, simplifying each pose into 5 strokes.  It forced us to observe carefully before drawing.

Kathryn's skill as a model showed in the way she selected poses to create beautiful lines that suited the 5-Line format.

We finished up with longer poses.  The late morning sun shone in our east window, casting a lovely blue light behind Kathryn.  This only occurs around midsummer, so I made a point to draw it in with pastel.

We finished the class with a 30-minute pose reminiscent of Manet's Olympia.

Hiring a professional academic figure model to pose for your class provides depth and creative spark to inspire your students.