A teacher asked me if I used comparative measurements to check my proportions during my last year at The Florence Academy of Art. I thought using sight-size was enough. He asked how I was going to paint if I couldn't use sight-size after I left the school. I was speechless. The thought never occurred to me. The idea of not moving seamlessly from The Florence Academy of Art to a controlled north-lit studio (with a studio mate, of course, I'm not a dreamer) never crossed my mind. That critique was over 8 years ago and looking back I can confidently say that was a solid question. I believe my work is stronger when I'm able to use the sight-size method but when that is not possible it's also important for me to paint no matter what. Here are some studies from last month.
I tried to make her legs look less like a mermaid's tail and more like human legs but then all I could think of is how they are kinda in the shape of a mermaid's tail and she would make a great Siren.
This was a continuation of last week's pose but I did another small sketch instead to practice getting down the pose as quickly as possible.
We had two days with the same model so I decided to focus on her portrait to see how far I could get on it in 12 hours:)
Back to a one day pose with this study.
This model came PREPARED! He wore a black graduation robe with his Boy Scout sash (always a Scout I guess). He even brought his own props, two books that he held in his lap, one about poetry and the other about portrait painting. Unfortunately, I only brought a 8"x 10" panel so I could not capture everything. It was his first time modeling and he crushed it!