Osher Figure Drawing with Model Emily

We had a wonderful Osher class today with model Emily!  We began the class with five two-minute gesture poses, and I encouraged my students to draw rapidly, capturing interior structures as well as exterior contours. Emily gave us active, elegant poses to study.

We moved on to drawing the face using shadows primarily.  David set the camera to transmit a black-and-white image, and we started the first two minutes of the fifteen-minute pose with the camera de-focused. After two minutes, we sharpened the image a little, and after two more minutes, we sharpened the image to tack-sharp.  

This approach allowed us to really see the shadow shapes without getting caught up in trying to draw features, and it forced a technique artists often use in the studio in real life, intentionally blurring their vision.  

 We finished up with an hour-long pose (with breaks for Emily!).  Some students focused just on the portrait, and others drew the entire foreshortened pose.

Many thanks to model Emily for her elegant poses and rock-solid stillness!

Figure Drawing Friday Night with Lady Poser

Model Kathryn Zapalo introduced me to a Toronto, Canada model who works under the name Lady Poser & holds Zoom Open Studio sessions.  I attended her Friday, March 5th session and was impressed with her professionalism, creativity and pose diversity.  

You can see Lady Poser's Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/mynudefigure/   

We began with quick gestures of 1,2, & 3 minutes.  I drew those with a Sharpie on brown craft paper.

I switched to drawing with Conte crayon for the 4-,5-, & 6-minute poses and beyond.

About halfway through, LP changed outfits into a flowy, floral dress and hat.

She finished up with a portrait pose.

I wished I could have been there in person to draw her.  The laptop camera she used didn't capture tonal values very well, and fine detail was limited.  

Aside from the technical limitations, she really put her heart into her work and brought the inspiration!  My thanks to Lady Poser.

Playing with Watercolors

During an afternoon experimenting with watercolors, I took a post card sized piece of watercolor paper that I had painted streaks of blue on and added a heart design with Conte crayons.  I wrote a message on the back to my best friend, slapped on a stamp, and dropped it in the mail to her. 

I find even an hour spent with my brushes, colors and papers feels like a mini vacation from winter & daily stresses.

Salt added to a colorful wash creates a beautiful texture.

I painted this grassy scene and then covered the wet paper with plastic wrap to create additional texture.

Figure Drawing Update

Last night I got to check off a personal art goal -- to draw a muscular man with sanguine Conté crayon in the style of the masters.  I offer my thanks to model David for the inspiration and professionalism he brought to the session.

Figure Drawing Update

Yesterday morning at Gilberti Fine Art Gallery, I got the opportunity to draw model Alexx, a lovely young woman who brings inspiration and light to her work, and so to the artists' work.  Thank you, Alexx!