Alex

I dream of being prepared and early for everything but often that doesn't happen. This was an unusually busy weekend since the restaurant I work for was open for Mother's Day brunch. Which means doubles for everyone and less time for me to pull my life together. It was a great turn out though and I hope all of the Mothers enjoyed their day!

Sunday after midnight I realized I forgot to put an imprimatura on the panels I use for these studies. They are also in a box somewhere and I did not feel like rummaging through to find them. Instead of giving up and skipping the open studio I used an old canvas that's been sitting around my apartment. I wasn't able to finish it because the model couldn't make it anymore or some sort of scheduling conflict, there is always a scheduling conflict.  

The old painting was so much darker than what I usually have for my imprimatura so I massed in the lights earlier than normal. I also used charcoal to roughly block in the figure this time. For me seated poses or reclining poses are more challenging. I hope with practice to get better with them. Near the end of the session I re-established the outline and shadow shape, trying to hold on to the drawing. Unfortunately this pose was too uncomfortable for the model to continue with it.

Here is the final sketch. 8 x 10 in oil on canvas.

Elise

I've attempted to make another GIF, this one did not take as much time as my first try HOORAY!!!  I will have to learn how to line up the images a bit better though... maybe I should pay more attention while photographing? Glad we can all struggle through this together:) It's been helpful to look back, as I'm learning what works best for me and what to avoid in the future. Today I tried to start by massing in the shadow and light shapes without as many construction lines as I normally use.

I believe this was the strongest stage in this study, afterwards I did not keep things unified enough.  

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Here is the final sketch.

Looking Back Six Years

It's difficult to see progress in your own work, it can feel like you are putting in all you can but not seeing the results you want. I was attempting to organize my images and noticed I had a similar view of a female portrait painted 6 years ago. My first thought was my painting ability should be more advanced than this, but that is an unproductive way of thinking. My goal is to be able to dedicate more time to painting but for now this what I can put in. I think the study on the right is stronger than the one on the left, yes there is room for improvement but there will always be. It's important to see how your work has developed and continue to move forward.

It did not take long to find other examples of studies all completed roughly 6 years apart. These studies are nice to compare because they are all around the same size 8x10 in and they were all painted in 6 hours. 

I spend a lot of time trying to understand the pose while painting a figure during an open studio. When I studied figure drawing our teachers posed the models in a standing contrapposto within a very controlled environment. I believe that setup enables you to see more clearly how the figure is moving. And hopefully, make better decisions about it what to do to make sense of it in your work. I spend most of my time trying to make the bodies of these lounging ladies not look broken.

Abbey with Orchids

Two-day pose YAY!!! I tried to paint in the figure and suggest the background, her sitting at a table with orchids in a box. I spent most of the time working on the likeness of this model which I did not get but, I do think her arm looks less like a…

Two-day pose YAY!!! I tried to paint in the figure and suggest the background, her sitting at a table with orchids in a box. I spent most of the time working on the likeness of this model which I did not get but, I do think her arm looks less like a turkey leg than it did yesterday;) It's all about the small accomplishments.