Life Drawing 10.4.14

Permanent marker, continuous line

I've just got back from a lovely holiday in Spain, where there was sun and lots of beautiful tiles! What I should have done is written this post before I went but I didn't so I can't remember all the details so this post will mostly be about pictures.

Pencil

Pencil

I used a range of media in this session, including pencil which is quite unusual for me but I wanted to do something a bit different. I'm quite pleased with the head sketch, it was good to work in a slightly different way and using pencil rather than pen allows for more variation in the quality of line which is something I think I would like to play around with a bit more.

Permanent marker

I also used the permanent markers again, this is a great way of working for me because it forces you to work quickly, trying to capture what you see before the pen soaks through the paper. Although the proportions of the full body pose are wrong there are still elements of it that I like, in particular the energy that the drawing has because during its making the pen was constantly moving.

Pen

Pen

Pen

Of course no session would be complete without pen drawings of hands and feet! Tomorrow is the last session for a while so if you're in Carlisle come along and join in!

Life Drawing 27.3.14

Pen, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

Despite having a very busy week and being a little bit shattered I really enjoyed this session, I got into my drawing quite quickly and was pleased with some of my sketches. Drawing is a very good form of relaxation for me, when I'm drawing (or knitting or crocheting) I'm not worrying; as I discussed with one of the other artists it is the best form of meditation as it allows the mind to focus on one thing and not be pulled off in all manner of odd directions.

Water-soluble graphite

Pen, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

As usual I mostly worked with pens this evening but I went back to the water soluble graphite, inspired by a conversation with another artist earlier in the week and seeing some of the amazing drawings he'd produced using this medium. It's not my best drawing but I enjoyed it and it was good to change from just working with pens.

Overlapping sketches

Pen, continuous line

3 pens together

Life Drawing 13.3.14

Pen, continuous line

A very quiet session this week, in that there were not very many of us. It wasn't quiet in terms of noise due to our line dancing neighbours! I really struggled to focus this session and this is reflected in my drawings; there aren't any that I'm happy with but sometimes that's just the way it goes.

Pen, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

Drawing with loops

Our model, Martin, was excellent as always providing us with a range of interesting poses and so it was frustrating that I couldn't find my drawing mojo. I played around with different pens and tried to get some different line qualities so there are some interesting bits and pieces that have come out of the session but overall not my best drawing day.

Permanent marker, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

Pen and water

One of the good thing about life drawing (in my opinion) is that even though this session wasn't very productive for me I don't worry about the results as they are just a snapshot; there will be other sessions where things will flow and I will produce drawings I'm much happier with. It is all good practice and just like with everything else sometimes you have to take the rough with the smooth. I still enjoyed the session and if anything it's made me a bit more determined to get my drawing back up to scratch (I think I'm mixing a few similes and metaphors here but you know what I mean!)

Pen, drawing without looking at the page

Pen, continuous line

Life Drawing 27.2.14

Pen, continuous line

Another session with the line dancers for accompaniment which was distracting but not too bad, we still had a good session and a good turn out. There was a really good, creative atmosphere and some great drawings were produced.

Pen, without looking at the paper

Pen, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

We had one of our most experienced models this evening so I didn't need to give much direction, this gave me less control over the composition side of things compared to last session but allowed me to focus more on my drawing. We had some lovely poses and I was very pleased with some of my drawings.

Pen and water (detail)

Pencil sketch

I was planning to do some work with graphite this evening but I never quite felt like it in the end. I did have a go at adding some water to one of my pen drawings and although I don't like the drawing I really like the effect of the water and ink together. I need to do a bit more experimenting to figure out which pens this works with as my favourite pens have waterproof ink so are not suitable for this.

Permanent marker

Permanent marker

Last time I had a quick go at drawing with a permanent marker and this session I decided to try this again. I'm really pleased with the results and I really enjoyed using the marker. I think because it is much thicker than a normal pen it demands bigger drawings and a slightly fearless approach; you really have to just keep the pen moving or it sinks through and destroys the paper very quickly.

Pen, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

Life Drawing 13.2.14

Pen, continuous line

A somewhat interesting session this one; in the main hall of the community centre where I hold the sessions was a line dancing group so our normally quiet and peaceful room was...less so. Some of the artists found this very difficult and disruptive which made for a frustrating session for them. Whilst it's not what I'd choose I find I can block most things out but I think it may be time to have a look at changing days or venue.

We had another new model this evening and as it was his first time modelling I had to think a bit more about the poses so I could give him directions for how to pose. This was good as it made me consider things a bit more; I know which poses I like to draw best and giving the model a bit more direction than usual helped me think more about composition and what it is I like about certain poses (mostly twisty and crouched with hands and feet in interesting positions.)

Hands, drawn without looking at the page

I drew exclusively with pens this evening, I was less settled than usual and didn't feel I had the concentration span to work with graphite. I'm really pleased with some of my drawings though, I am getting back into the rhythm of drawing and enjoying it more. Proportion is still a challenge for me, partly because I often work across multiple sheets of paper and cannot always see the rest of my drawing.

Permanent marker

3 ballpoint pens held together

3 Ballpoint pens held together

As well as my usual pens I used a permanent marker this evening which gave a different quality of line that I really like; I would like to work on really big sheets of paper with these pens next time. I also tried the three pens at once again but this time I did not tape them together, which worked much better and has created some interesting drawings. As with the permanent markers I would like to use this technique on really big paper.

Feet

Feet, drawn without looking at page

Hands, continuous line

Life Drawing 16.1.14

Pen, continuous line

Thursday was the first Life Drawing session of the year after a bit of a break over the festive season. It was really nice to see people again and to do some drawing, although I felt very out of practice. It is amazing how quickly you can fall out of the habit and I know my drawing was not up to standard. However, I don't mind as I know that once I get back into it it will improve again and I'm looking forward to developing my drawing further this year.

Water soluble graphite on prepared paper

I did quite a lot of work with my water soluble graphite this session but I wasn't happy with any of the results, however, it felt good to be drawing and as I said before with practice and time I will get 'get my eye in' and my drawing will improve again.

Pen, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

Having had a bit more time recently I was able to bring some prepared papers to this session-paper that I had previously worked on by adding poster paint, a bit of colour or newsprint to. I like working on prepared paper as it is a little less scary than a sheet of pure new paper, although sometimes if I really like a surface I've prepared and then do a drawing I'm not very happy with it can be a bit disappointing.

Pen, continuous line

Pen, continuous line

As ever I fell back on my tried and trusted pen drawings which I am becoming more and more confident with, I love the quality of line and the challenge of creating form using line rather than tone. One of the people who attends the sessions was telling me about a sculptor who drew with three biros taped together, I think this sounds like a great way of working and I am looking forward to trying it out next session.

Pen, continuous line