Drawing Class 25 May

Drawing Class yesterday was really good. I liked the male model's face (he had features which reminded just a bit of Samuel Beckett) and the clothes were more interesting than usual. The drawing went well, the line just flowed and I erased very little. The male model's face was done in about 15 minutes and both the class tutor and I were suitably impressed with it. And I had so much time left I started drawing bricks!

Isn't it weird how some classes can be such a struggle (hate the models / hate the lighting / hate the drawing etc.). Then along comes a class where everything just flows. Personally, I think how well a drawing class involving life models goes has something to do with the extent to which freehand drawing/sketching from life has been practiced in the previous few days. Working on a 'finished piece' where everything is a bit more planned and calculated doesn't seem to work the same trick. Spending 10 minutes on Tuesday drawing rowers zooming in and out of their rowing club and then sketching over dinner seems to have worked a treat!

Now the techie bit. This is a drawing in mechanical pencil with a little bit of graphite stick around the floor areas on heavy white cartridge paper size A2. It was completed in 2 hours - and I made a note last night of how I worked on this:

• Arrive late! First session (30 minutes left) - find position and get set up with chair and drawing board. Map out the outline and main structure of the male model's form and clothes. Establish size of head but don't work on it. Start to establish the outline form of the females model
• first 15 minute break - continued drawing getting all the infrastructure established (chairs, platform, windows, wall, cross beams etc) I don't need the models to do any of this bit - and having a background in actually makes it much much easier to get the correct positioning of the two models relative to one another.
• second session (45 minutes) - continued to work on form of male model while he got settled and then started his head and did most of it in one go of about 15 minutes; refined outline of girl and corrected sight sizing / placement / angle of key features relative to background markers; worked on overall value pattern and the design of the drawing
• second 15 minute break - had a break/stretch/chat
• last session (30 minutes) completed drawing of girl's face and hair; reinforced shading of forms - and started drawing bricks!

(Note: The weather this morning is gloomy, grey and raining (again) and makes me feel like London is in the middle of winter. If I get a chance for a better photo later on I will replace the image)

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