A dance of colour with Doreen

Doreen in motion with sheer cloth

We began with a long very slow movement by Doreen with cloth. It was long enough to say something about the shape and movement but not long enough to resolve anything. 

On the heels of Tim's workshop, using pastels instead of a paintbrush, I worked small and directly, looking for the colour and the tone but intending colour studies rather than accurate colour.  For me, today, the goal was to create believable light by approximating the relationship between the tones and colours without being slavish to skin tone. 

5 mins 10x10cm

5 mins 10x10cm

5 mins 10x10cm

25 mins 12 x16cm

a few quick poses

Sadie 14x13cm, pastel on paper

Sadie, 12x15cm, pastel on paper

Sadie, 22x20cm, pastel on paper

Back at life drawing but only for 1 1/2 hours as had to sit an exhibition. These are 3/7 drawings I made in the session. My goal today was to be direct.  

I even have a Brandy Toreador

Brandy Toreador Fiesta, 16 x 17cm, pastel on  paper, 

I didn't go to the carboot sale today, instead I put together some of my carboot sale spoils along with the first zinnias, nicotianas, daisies, carnations, and bachelor buttons.  When I painted with Alex Fowler and Tessa Coleman recently, Alex's technique of putting coloured paper to break up the spaces was something I thought I'd try at some point.  What a good trick, now I don't need to rely on the fabric I own.

The brandy toreador was one of someone's collection, hawked at the car boot.  It still has a little brandy to the glass figurine's knees. The book in the front is something I will alter one day; the embroidered shirt is something my mum brought back from Mexico and all the other things I've gathered here and there.

The drawing isn't very big and I worked on it all day so that thing where even when you erase and the colour doesn't want to adhere happened. Still I was pleased with the overall depth of colour and the way I created surfaces .  I had to change a plane because the reality was disturbing, though. 

** If you read my last post you might be wondering why I am back to pastels.  Actually I have been working in pastels all week but I guess I'm feeling a bit less determined to stop working the way I do, here and there, with this media and that because another person I respect (the husband of the other person who gave me advice) told me not to worry, to just keep drawing in whatever way I want to…

Marilyn

Marilyn - 30 min pose, 15 x 16 cm pastel on paper

 We began today's life drawing with three 5 minute poses with Marilyn holding the same pose but at three distances (see last three images). When asked, the person working next to me, Roy Freer, said that he didn't take any notice of the scale issue; Sue had inteded it as a scale exercise. Like Roy, I was just drawing, first in black and white, then in colour. What I noticed was that the light was very different on the figure as she moved forward.  Up close Marilyn was mostly just skin and it all had a similar colour. 

I tried to find the figure today, making lots of marks before I discovered her. although I was drawing straight on and there was nothing behind the model, I looked hard at the background and tried to discover something interesting but 'real'.  

I am excited to be heading to see a Milton Avery exhibit in London next week. I can see that I have been looking at him in at least one of these drawings.

Marilyn - 10 min pose, 10 x 14 cm, pastel on paper

Marilyn - 10 min pose 9 x 8 1/2 cm, pastel on paper 

Marilyn - 5 min pose,  (distant) 12 x 25 cm, charcoal on paper

Marilyn - 5 min pose, (mid distance), 9 1/2 x 14 cm, pastel on paper

Marilyn - 5 min pose (close up) 11 1/2 x 19 1/2 cm, pastel on paper

What do you focus on in 15 minutes?

Sue, who has organised and modelled for our life drawing group since it began more than 20 years ago, has been asking for 15 minute poses lately. Fifteen minutes is long enough to get alot down but for me, it is also enough time to tighten up and lose the energy of the pose. Drawing is such a relational thing, with every mark the betweenness narrows and it's easy to mush all your marks into something similar. Today I was thinking about the mark making in particular.

I began with a black and white drawing but aimed to work in colour for the session.  Esme, the model, is angular and although beautiful to draw, her poses can feel a little more posed than some of our veteran models. Her first few poses were standing and getting the model onto a square piece of paper without making her diminutive is always tricky.  Some people insist on getting all of the model in the frame.  I was taught that that wasn't essential, and for me it's all about the shapes. Each of the drawings is about 15 cm square on prepared cartridge paper.  Some have schminke pastel ground mixed with a bit of acrylic.  In others I have rubbed pastel into the paper and fixed it with surgical spirit.

I've put the drawings up in the order they were made. Each was a 15 minute pose.

Trial & Error in LIfe Drawing

Oops, I forgot my roller again today so the monotypes are greyer than I like. I was working on a small plate 7.5 x 10cm today, though, so I was able to be more exact than I usually can be in a 15 minute pose. 

When I make monotypes the marks I make become one of the key aspects of the work. In another 15 minute pose I made the drawing on top first and then spent the remaining five minutes being specific about the marks.

In a drawing session a few weeks ago, I remembered my roller but the first print was disappointing, the plate was beautiful, but the print was a let down.  A few days later I rolled some release agent onto the plate and although it is weak in value, it has more of the feel from the plate.

Sometimes working back into a failed print or drawing gives me a head start for a different drawing.  Originally this was a print of another model.  I put some clear gesso over it and worked back in with pastels.  although I am not convinced of the colour, the overall feel is much better than the original failed print!

Drawing on the road

We went to Cornwall last weekend and this time I took my pastels. While H and P watched the rugby at a pub, I sat outside at a picnic table in the wind and drew. The beach was bursting with activity as it was the start of some nice weather.  Lyra even dipped her toes in the water. I limited myself to using some new Conté à Paris colourful but hard pastels and some rembrant grey tones. These are 6 1/4 x 5 1/2 ins.  

Again, while H, P, Steph and Ben watched the rugby and some revised for their AMK, I looked for something to draw. The boys keep their glasses in the window that overlooks the neighbour's house.  The Conté à Paris were in the car so this time I had my big box of assorted very soft pastels and no eraser.

Drawing in colour

In the split second after a model strikes a pose, when you know you will only have minutes, to tens of minutes to say something, grabbing colours can be almost arbitrary. I usually start with three colours and then choose the next few to get a range of values and to complement my first choices. Sometimes the model is really quick and I barely have time to choose the first few and rely on what is in my hand to begin again.

I am starting to draw in order to paint, although in that split second I don't think I'm thinking about anything like that.  I am just trying to get the shapes in the rectangle to work together.

 Not all poses or choices work, but a piece of something unsuccessful may inform something later.