Figure Drawing with Model Denise

My Osher students & I were fortunate to have former natural bodybuilder and creative model, Denise pose for our class recently.  

She held physically strenuous and artful poses, like the one below, balanced in the center with arms and legs raised up in a V-shape.

After warming up with gestures, we moved on to practicing drawing Denise's face, using the subtractive method with vine charcoal.

Many thanks to the incomparable Denise for a wonderful class!

 

Figure Drawing Update: Class Prep.

 I'm getting my drawing hand warmed back up for a new semester of teaching figure drawing.  Here are some sketches from the last few days of David -- from a private artist's drawing session I was invited to last night, and from a session today.

Gestures (1 & 2 minutes):

Five Line Drawings (1 minute each):  The game here is to use only 5 lines to capture the pose.  It takes a moment to think, and an abstract image results, often expressing the emotion of the pose as well as just the form.

Longer Poses (5-20 minutes):

Figure Drawing Update: Kathryn's & David's Duo Poses

I have wanted a chance to really sink myself into drawing duo poses for a long time.  When I teach in the studio, I focus on helping my students, and don't have much time to draw the models myself.  A silver lining to teaching art via Zoom is that I get to draw just as much as my students.  I'm grateful to Kathryn and David for their creative poses to challenge and inspire us!  It was an amazing session.

Figure Drawing Update: Osher Class, Week 2 with David

In my second week teaching this Osher Figure Drawing class, model David gave us some athletic gesture poses, emotive Five-Line poses, and inspiring long poses for our study of proportions -- a great collaboration between model and artists.

5-minute Gesture Poses:

Figure Drawing Update

I had the privilege of drawing a wonderfully creative and athletic model named Zach today.  He invented dramatic poses full of negative space, using a few simple props.

I minute gesture

1 minute gestures

5 minute gesture

The Weary Warrior

15 minute pose

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

I recently had the opportunity to draw a lovely new model in my home studio.  Her curves and presence on the stand inspired me.

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!

Figure Drawing Update

Here are some more recent drawings from open studios with the Pittsburgh Figure Drawing Meetup.

Model Layla inspired us with athletic gesture poses, and elegant long poses, including a 25-minute standing pose that she held as still as a statue.  Not even her eyes wavered.