Three figure drawings

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This lounging figure drawing was a big risk for me to take as it included a lot of challenging aspects, for example, foreshortening, convincing figure construction, accurate colour palette and application of the watercolour medium. I was aiming for a realistic portrait and I am reasonably happy with what I produced. I did a bit more preparatory work in comparison to the other figure drawings in this exercise as I was simply unsure and a bit nervous walking in uncharted territory but I think it was a great experiment and has given me the confidence to progress further with this and see if I can push myself a little further to explore this medium and style of figure drawing. I do feel that if I had stepped back away from the drawing before I applied the watercolour, I would have seen that the foreshortening isn’t quite successful in that the proportions represent that the head is larger than it should be if the model was reclined away from the viewer. A lesson learnt for next time. I worked really hard on trying to identify the structure underneath the skin for this figure drawing and I think if the proportions had been more aligned with the effects of foreshortening, this would have been a more convincing outcome. Next time, I would also like to have applied a bit more of a contextual grounding for the model as the shadows which suggest she is lying down needed to be stronger.

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For this charcoal figure drawing, I played around with the idea of using the watercolour medium again once I had decided on my construction lines. I decided to go against this and opt for something a little more blend-able by my finger tips where I could grasp a little more control over describing the tonal values. I think the outcome is quite successful, although there is something proportionally, not quite right about the figures upper right shoulder and arm, and possibly the lower left arm and head; they seem a little too small for the lower half of the body. I like how I have described the light with the charcoal and tonal variation. I tried to add in areas of reflected light to give a bit more realism. In contrast to my thoughts of a heavier support for the model in the previous figure drawing, I actually prefer a really light suggestion of a table on which the model is sitting for this charcoal drawing. I think it is just enough to suggest there is context to the models seated position, but not enough to take away from the smooth flowing lines of the figures shape, form and pose. And for this reason, I haven’t added the figure’s shadows on the support she sits on.

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This final figure drawing is by far my favourite of the three. It may have something to do with my natural loose and expressive voice coming through here. I found it a lot easier to transfer my construction drawing of the figure into an abstract Indian ink drawing. I used a chop stick to transfer the ink as I wanted a real edginess and abstract feeling to the drawing, an essence of the figure and something to be read by the viewers brain, a drawing they have to look for patterns to understand and read the image. I took inspiration from my experiments and studying of the drawings in Robert Kaupelis’ Experimental Drawing, Watson-Guptill, 1980 which I also previously discussed in Part Four. The support colour for this figure drawing is actually a consequence of using a lamp in the evening to take a photo. This happy accident gave me a great idea: to try using different coloured supports for my figure drawing. This would enable me to use say, a nude/neutral colour as the lightest tones and build up from there with darker tonal variation. If I were to change something about this drawing, I would suggest that the figure’s right leg came in at a bit more of an angle underneath herself as it almost suggests that the model is leaning on something to support her weight with her hip and elbow. I understand this would then result in me needing to adjust the angle of the shoulders and hips to ensure the line of balance and centre of gravity is maintained for this unsupported standing figure drawing. Other than that, if it is not too bold to say, I really like the outcome of this piece and would like to experiment further with different coloured inks and supports to see the different directions I could take this.

Bibliography

Life Drawing, Hester Berry, ILEX, 2019

https://fieryones.artstation.com/projects/Vwl0X

https://www.flickr.com/photos/noramacphail/17932514930/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/noramacphail/17932514930/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/galapunk/31770980474/

https://freyasharpblog.wordpress.com/2015/03/16/oil-pastel-life-drawing/

http://www.ferenczy.co.uk/life-drawing-pointers-3-introducing-colour/

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/363947213611754287/

https://meganyaxleyddd.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/life-drawing-charcoal-inks-and-colours/

https://paintingdemos.com/figures-in-watercolor-and-pen/

Painting Portraits and Figures in Watercolour, Mary Whyte, Watson-Guptill Publications, 2011

The Structure of the human body

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It becomes clear that once I started investigating the various structures of the body and face with the above drawing studies, I had absolutely no conscious idea about the proportions and certain body parts relate to others in terms of measurements and angles. The more I observed and studied, the more I understood how each piece fits with another, to create the overall form in quite a mathematical way. I enjoyed experimenting with different angles of some of the features as this gave me an idea of how the body parts looked in different positions. As in life drawing, you rarely see the same body part from the same angle for every pose.

Bibliography

Drawing the Head & Hands, Andrew Loomis, Titan Books, 2011

Understanding Human Form & Structure, Giovanni Civardi, Search Press Ltd, 2015

Energy

I absolutely loved producing this drawing and I feel that enjoyment comes across in the execution of this piece. I decided to take a risk and return to an experiment I tried for Project 2, Exercise 2, using a black support and picking out the lightest tones with a white medium, much like Tacita Dean. The free-flowing and energetic lines in this style come a lot more naturally to me than tight and highly detailed. I found that my measurements were overall, quite accurate, although I have reflected and feel that maybe the thighs are too long when looking at them in conjunction with the angle of the feet, ankles and lower leg but perhaps I am being overly critical.

I opted to try out conté sticks for this piece as I haven’t really utilised them in my drawings very much so far and I knew they would give me a more permanent and harder application than soft pastels with my current technique of applying them. I used the sharp long edges of the pastel to describe the creases of the netted skirt the dancer is wearing and the top corner points to give thin lines for the curls of her hair, the hem of the dress and delicate highlights on her skin such as the fingers and face. I applied broad sweeping strokes of black pastel to darken the surrounding space and to give a bit of depth and dynamism; I felt like the negative space was too empty for some reason. I used my fingers to sweep the white from the dancers dress, body and hair to represent drama, movement and energy. It reminded me of Tacita Dean’s ocean spray waves on her blackboard drawings. For me, I know the model looks unbalanced but I generally think this is suitable for this dynamic composition as the model is mid-movement, meaning the centre of gravity is shifting. I think I managed to capture the dancer’s transition well, and also a moment of explosive but gentle energy.

I think that the reflection below the dancer is light and expressive enough to not take attention away from the figure and her movement but rather add presence and grounding of the figure to her environment. I swept the conté stick in the opposite direction for the reflection to mirror the movement and I wanted to represent a sort of soft yet confident burst of energy with the pose and the light, to bring the eyes back around after travelling around the drawing.

Bibliography

https://unsplash.com/photos/POd35V_uE4k

https://zhan-art.com/2018/03/15/exercise-3-artist-research-tacita-dean-and-georges-seurat/

Essential elements & Stance

I decided to combine these two exercises together as it felt like a natural step to look for the stance, centre of gravity, the line of balance and the tonal values with weight/three-dimensional form. It seemed to help me more to understand how the figures were placed within their setting, i.e. how they held themselves and which body parts where placed where to ensure they remained balanced. The culmination of blocking in the drawing, measuring/proportions, tone and form, and stance is starting to build up a good picture for me of how the body sits/stands or moves within the context of its environment but also how the parts of the body interact with one another for natural movement. The picture is slowly building in my head and I feel like I’m becoming a lot more confident each time I sit down to draw a figure. It’s almost as if my brain is working through the stages methodically, a series of techniques, looking for the line of movement, the basic shapes, the lightest and darkest tonal values, the energy, the line of balance and centre of gravity and slowly but surely it is getting quicker and more discerning of what to look out for when considering the outcome I would like to achieve when I sit down to study the figure.

With the following sketches in the rectangles, I made a conscious effort to measure as accurately as I could with my pencil and squint to show me the lightest and darkest tonal values. I also noticed, that with the strong lighting used in each pose, I was able to see more definition of muscle and skeletal structure than with a softer, less contrasting light. I considered how each pose was taken and how the central line would move depending on the pose. It was difficult but I overcame this by thinking about how the hips and shoulders interacted and therefore the head and extremities which would support the model, if they had a twisted axis.

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I also attended an online life drawing class prior to this exercise and reflecting back on the work, I can see how if I had focused on the areas of study as above, the essential learning building blocks as if it were, prior to the life drawing class, the pressure of the time restraints between the model changing his or her pose would have been a lot more comfortable for me as I wouldn’t have felt so overwhelmed and disappointed that I didn’t ‘finish’ the drawing or create a convincing figure drawing which didn’t look unbalanced or unnatural in its construction. I understand now that I have to think carefully about which areas I would like to work on before the model takes a pose taking into consideration the time restraints. Since exploring these exercises, I have readjusted my expectations as to what I am capable of with a little time and practice but also how drawing classes operate and what 2, 5 or even 10 minutes feels like when drawing from a live model!

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Basic shapes

My approach to this piece was to experiment with soft blending of charcoal and go for a realistic figure drawing rather than an abstract one. finding the lines of movement really helped me to progress with this piece but also blocking in the shapes of my model gave me a real sense of how the shapes combine and work together to build up the whole form in proportion. It definitely helped me not become some focused on one particular area with detail before ensuring the rest of the body measurements add up to produce a convincing figure drawing. That being said, when looking at the finished piece, once all the tones and details were laid down and I remembered that I haven’t stepped back to look at the drawing from a distance, that the torso looks slightly too long and the left hip crease, where the thigh meets the abdomen, is too low for the angle of the pose the model adopts.

I really want to try to give this piece a slight edge to it as I was searching for something a bit edgy and maybe take a little risk with the composition. When I placed down the basic shapes of this figure, it seemed a little unnatural and obvious and I wanted to evoke some of the sensuality that this pose evokes in the reference photo which was of an early tasteful ‘erotic’ postcard, possible Edwardian era, judging by the style of furniture the model sits upon. I do find drawing faces quite difficult at this stage and I didn’t want to get hung up on it. Rather than eliminate the head completely, I wanted to add a little into the composition to give personality that the model emits by striking this particular pose for the reason of early erotica. I still wanted to retain some anonymity of the model as I felt that this piece was more about the angles and presentation of the form itself rather than the identity of the the model. Although this particular nude figure drawing is based upon an ‘erotic’ image, I don’t feel like it is too distasteful or offensive as there is a softness to it and I think the monochromatic colour palette compliments the intent and style of this drawing.

Bibliography

https://www.barnesatelier.com/journal/2019/10/8/the-fundamentals-of-blocking-in-the-figure

https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/erotic-postcards-circa-1915-a-picture-of-a-nude-woman-news-photo/79045279?adppopup=true

A longer study

I originally started this exercise with a similar subject and theme as in Pr 2, Ex 1. I decided to go against this idea after about 5 minutes of starting the drawing. It felt forced and I wasn’t enjoying it so I came back to this exercise the following morning and decided to find a photo of a model online in an moody atmosphere with the model in a dynamic pose to suit my wants and needs for this exercise. Ultimately, using photographs is not ideal for this type of study but it was the best I could do at the time with the limitations of finding a model during the lock-down restrictions.

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Getting the self-analytical evaluation out of the way first, I think the challenging points here are more around the re-occurring theme of measuring and accuracy of the figure. I don’t think I have done too badly here although I do reflect and think perhaps the torso should have been shorter, maybe the right leg a little less rotated. As the figure was stationary when this reference photo was taken, the centre line of gravity or line of balance was easier to find than in a dynamic pose. Therefore, I think I have balanced the model well and even succeeded in adding a little drama and dynamism with the use of light extending from the finger tips and feet, giving the impression of where the energy is flowing to or even, which direction of movement the figure has moved from?

Following advice from my tutor, I researched an artist that I previously looked at in Part Three; Tacita Dean and her charcoal drawings with mixed media. There was also a moment of inspiration after seeing a student’s figure study on a black support with a white medium in the handbook which prompted me to look at Dean’s work on the blackboards again. I found the use of the medium to be the lightest tonal value on the support quite enticing as a challenge. It made me work hard to make proper use of the negative spaces and really think about how the light reflected off the dancer’s form but also how to use the support as the composition’s darkest tonal value. This is normally the opposite to how I work whereby the support usually offers the lightest tones. I felt obliged to ground the figure with a slight reflection and also varying tonal values behind her form to give the impression of her occupying the space and her presence in the dark atmosphere and a specific source of of light. If I were to attempt this drawing again, I would like to lay down the construction of the skeleton first to achieve a more accurate representation of the figure.

Bibliography

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/dean-the-roaring-forties-seven-boards-in-seven-days-t07613

Quick Studies

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As this was the first time I have really focused on the proportions on the body, I tried to measure accurately and notice the angles of the body, i.e. how the shoulders are tilted away from the hips to ensure centre of gravity keeps the subject upright or where some parts of the body are hidden by other limbs or furniture and even the challenging effects of foreshortening. One of the challenges I faced was to make my figure appear seated in the seat rather than just perched on top of it; the angle of the femur bones in relation to the tilted pelvis was challenging for me to depict accurately, with consideration to correct proportions and measurements. I felt liberated to use my dip pen and ink to describe my 10 minute study and I wanted to capture the model in a relaxed and effortless pose with his guitar. The loose and expressive lines enabled me to rework my lines, again and again, until I felt like the proportions and planes were where they should be to make the construction of the figure a realistic representation. This tied in well with the music theme here and the atmosphere which was expressive and free flowing like the music being produced from the guitar; it seemed like a great pairing. I particularly enjoyed the way the lead from the guitar came out in a fluent way which captured the subject and the theme of the drawing well. I applied thick patches of tone with a metal skewer on its side (rather than the point) to describe the darkest tonal areas but also add a little drama here and there. Initially, my first 10 minute study sketch was completed in ball point pen and I felt like the line was very thin, and although the ink from this style of pen flowed effortlessly, I felt like it lacked personality and depth to match with the subject in his surroundings. I wanted a little more weight and some resistance, not quite sure why, but it felt good to follow this instinct. Looking back and analysing the measurements, I can see where I could have added a little more foreshortening and acute angles of the joints, for example, to ensure the foot is properly planted at an angle which is conducive to the knee being bent up at such an angle and therefore the pelvis being at the right tilt to suggest a seated model from the angle I was drawing him at. I think these things will come with time, practice, good observation and patience!

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Drawing in this particular way of reworking the drawing and going over the same lines again and again reminded me of Alberto Giacometti’s work and so I spent a little while researching his drawings and his work. It was interesting to read in an article at https://www.theparisreview.org/art-photography/4844/eight-drawings-alberto-giacometti that it is thought he said he doesn’t like to sit too close to the model and/or focus on one particular part of the form as he gets lost and can’t find other points to work from so cannot accurately create the “whole ensemble”.

Bibliography

https://www.theparisreview.org/art-photography/4844/eight-drawings-alberto-giacometti

https://www.tes.com/lessons/fWeLll1LF87sdw/hs-art-1-gesture-drawing-giacometti-sculptures

https://www.artistsnetwork.com/art-mediums/drawing/drawing-basics-look-at-john-singer-sargents-swirls-and-squiggles/

Emphasising form with cloth

It was around the beginning of March that I was undertaking this exercise and restrictions were in full swing due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. As such, I was not able to attend any more life drawing classes or use friends as models for the rest of the exercises in Part Four. My view on how to get around this challenging in terms of progressing with my coursework and artistic journey had been encouraged by my natural optimism that I could find alternative ways to investigate my drawing with photos online and in books, possibly even catching a glimpse of a passer-by out of the window for quick sketches. This exercise was difficult to produce without having a model to give me a real sense of depth and formation to the cloth being part of the human form. However, to overcome this, I looked in my art books for an image that would really inspire me to be loose and free with my description of the cloth as in the previous exercise. I came across a photo of a sculpture, which was different to my initial idea of a photograph of a drawing or painting, but actually it caught my eye as the tonal variation was quite strong because of the interesting way the light fell on the figure captured in marble. The book was ‘Art The Whole Story, Thames & Hudson Ltd 2018’, and the sculpture was ‘Moses’ 1513, Michelangelo.

I enjoyed this exercise as I felt quite liberated to represent the robe that the figure was wearing and make it appear as if it were one with the form. The difficulty I had, and I notice it after I had finished working on this piece and stepping back, was the proportions of the body were stretched, meaning the torso was unnaturally elongated because I didn’t draw the structure of the figure first, rather than put the construction and proportions down first and then add the textile onto the figure, I went straight ahead and drew it as one. This is fine I imagine if not going for true accuracy, but something to bear in mind if trying to place an accurate description of the form under the material. This experience reminds me of something I read on the website https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/article/from-life-history-of-life-drawing-annette-wickham when studying the history of figure drawing. Historically, I understand that society frowned upon artists drawing from nude models, this may have seemed morally inappropriate for the era and the culture of those who lived in this time. I found it refreshing that, according to Annette Wickham at royalacademy.org.uk, 2018, “Theoretical justification was provided by the Italian architect Leon Battista Alberti…He recommended the following process in preparing a figurative painting: “Before dressing a man we first draw him nude, then we enfold him in draperies. So in painting the nude we place first his bones and muscles which we then cover with flesh so that it is not difficult to understand where each muscle is beneath.” This agrees with my findings on this exercise and I am really happy to have read this information and made the link and proven Alberti correct in his justification.

Finally, I feel like this exercise is one that went a bit too ‘tight’ and I got carried away adding all the creases and folds in the material with various tones. The figure’s form dictates a light and loose hand with broad patches of tone, whereas the material suggests quite a sharp and detailed textile in some parts. If I were to do this drawing again, I would loosen up the tonal marks on the drape and apply more of a broad tonal description rather than individual little lines here and there, I would also look at the structure of the figure and its proportions, trying to adopt an accurate measuring technique.

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