Tuesday 3 November 2009
Course work: Additional work on the “Clothed Figure” drawing.
Reading:
E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,
Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978
Chapters 15-16 (pp 217-259)
Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook
North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001
Pp 80-101
Personal sketchbook work: Two partial sketches of people in the street, for the “Moving Figure” exercise.
Other related activities: My painting group met today (time not included).
Total time: about 1 ½ hours
Wednesday 4 November 2009
Course work: Completed work on the “Clothed Figure” drawing, done with graphite pencil on 25 x 38 ½ cm (apx 10 x 15”) paper. I found the number of layers of hatching required to produce even a good mid-tone grey somewhat surprising. Overall, I am fairly satisfied with the drawing, which does, I think, capture not only the pose of the model, but a hint of her personality.
The next section in the text is “The Moving Figure.” Since I live in a very rural area, work on this may be slow (though I have made a start on it when I make my weekly trip to our county seat of 4,000, about 18 miles (30 km) away. I will work on this exercise in parallel with others.
Started work on the “Self-Portrait” exercise, with two short pencil sketches (one full-face and one rotated to about three-quarters) done with the aid of a mirror, another imagined from the first two, and a strongly side-lit view on one eye and half the nose.
Reading:
Ephraim Rubenstein Graphite in the Hands of an Indisputable Master in Drawing#22 Interweave Press, Loveland Colorado, USA Fall, 2009
(An interesting and well-illustrated article on Adolph Menzel)
Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook
North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001
Pp 102-125
(The text in this book is useful, but the best part of the book is the numerous sketches by many artists, each accompanied by a brief description of the technique used, or the reason for sketching in that particular manner.)
Brian Curtis Drawing From Observation
McGraw Hill, New York, 2002
Pp 1-28
Personal sketchbook work: The oak leaves are just beginning to turn color here; I made an attempt at capturing a large willow oak in oil pastel, but was unhappy with the result. I have worked very little with oil pastel in the past, and still find it difficult to manage. (Oil pastel is not a very useful medium here, deep in the American South, as the intense summer heat will often soften the sticks even in a shaded outdoor site. Sketchbook work has to be interleaved with waxed paper to avoid its adhering to adjacent pages...and this sometimes leads to adherence to the waxed paper.)
Sketched a cast of a hand, strongly side-lit, with pencil. Positioned it poorly, so that the tips of two fingers were cut off. Need to do this again.
Summary Observations on the Clothed Figure Exercise (Check and Log):
The first part of the exercise was unsatisfactory (see comments on October 30th.) The second part was made challenging by omission of at least one line and perhaps more from the text: I made my best guess at what was intended. For the figure drawing, I made an attempt to approach the figure as a whole, but the black skirt rather overpowered the lighter-toned blouse, sweater, and shawl in the final drawing. Volume of folds is best demonstrated in the shawl. One can tell that there is a figure somewhere under all the clothing, but the exercise itself seems almost designed to be self-defeating by requiring bulky, obscuring garments.
Total time: About three hours
Thursday 5 November 2009
Course work: Additional work on the “Self Portrait” exercise. Did several head sketches in varying sizes and media, none really recognizable, most looking either desperate or demented. Working with a fixed mirror limits one severely in available viewpoints from which to draw: full frontal or three-quarters is about the limit. Lighting has been a problem in my available working space as well.
Reading:
Brian Curtis Drawing From Observation
McGraw Hill, New York, 2002
Pp 29-58
Simon Jennings Face Parts
North Light Books, Cincinnati,Ohio, USA, 2008
Pp 10-153
(The first part of this book, dealing with facial structure, proportions, and individual features, was most useful to me. The section on self-portraits was somewhat useful, and certainly timely.)
Personal Sketchbook work: In my pocket sketchbook, one of the cats asleep in my lap, hastily drawn. In my A4 sketchbook, a page of eyes, and another page of lips, drawn from various sources (some drawings, some paintings, and some photographs.).
Total time: About 3 ½ hours
Friday 6 November 2009
Course work: Drew four more heads as seen in the mirror. After reviewing yesterday’s work, I discovered a tendency to draw the head too narrow: my head is in fact more like a cube than an oval. Today’s work is somewhat better. I also started the neck-drawing portion of the exercise, but found it difficult to get the lighting arranged to reveal the suggestions of subcutaneous structures well. Will try again tomorrow to see if daylight will work better.
Reading:
Brian Curtis Drawing From Observation
McGraw Hill, New York, 2002
Pp 59-92
(At this point, I decided to defer further reading in this text in favor of reading material more closely related to the present course work.)
Personal Sketchbook work: A page of ears and a page of noses, taken from drawings, paintings, and photographs.
Total time: About two hours
Saturday 7 November 2009
Course work: After some experimentation, I found a way that I could position two mirrors and get a reasonable profile view without excessive contortions: the second mirror should be placed at about a 60° angle to the mirror one is facing. My first attempt at drawing a profile produced a reasonable likeness, closer than all except perhaps one of the frontal views. Working with two mirrors is challenging, as the viewing angle is very narrow, requiring careful adjustment to see the desired view, then careful attention to head position to maintain it.
As yet, neither with daylight nor with repositioning of lights and mirrors have I been able to improve visibility of the soft-tissue structures of the neck; it may be that I simply have too much subcutaneous fat to allow good demonstration.
Reading:
Bernard Chaet The Art of Drawing (3rd Edition)
Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1983
Chapter 8 “Skulls” (Pp 139-159), Chapter 10 “Introduction to the Figure” (Pp 173-199)
E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,
Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978
Chapter 17 (pp 260-276)
Personal Sketchbook work: A drawing of a ginger root, done with water-soluble pencil, with addition of a little powdered graphite for backgound tone.
Other activities: Our local Arts and Crafts Festival was held today in Washington, Georgia. I donated a quantity of materials and did some photography for the children’s arts and crafts workshop (my wife worked as a volunteer).
Only a few painters were exhibiting on the Square, and I thought only one of those was of professional quality. It was a lovely fall day, though, and everyone was enjoying themselves.
Total time: About 1 ½ hours
Sunday 8 November 2009
Course work: Two small sketches of people fishing, both badly drawn, in my pocket sketchbook. Another ¾ view, this one a full page in my A4 Course sketchbook, in graphite. There are faint traces of a likeness. My positioning and use of mirrors has gotten a little better, as has my ability to hold my head still. I remain dissatisfied with my representation of hair, and need further work on this.
Reading:
Richard Taylor The Creative Drawing Course
David & Charles, Newton Abbot, Devon 2002
(This book was a “quick read”…large illustrations, little text. The first section, primarily on monochrome techniques, was interesting and suggested some possible projects. The second and third sections dealt primarily with colored media, and some of this information should be helpful when I start Assignment Three.)
Personal Sketchbook work: In my A4 sketchbook, a partially-peeled apple with a curl of peel still attached.
Weekly thoughts on learning experience: For reasons I don’t understand, I seem to be working more slowly this week. After completing the “Clothed Figure” exercise, work on the “Self-Portrait” and “Moving Figure” exercises has been less productive and in many ways less satisfactory than some of the earlier work. I think that the heads I am drawing are gradually becoming closer to true proportion, and hope to start on the definitive self-portrait drawings for this exercise in a day or so. Reading continues to be good. Sketchbook work sometimes is a pleasure and sometimes seems a chore, but I’ve missed only one day this week: even if some of what I’ve done is not particularly inspired, there is some merit in consistency.
Total time: About 2 ½ hours
Monday 9 November 2009
Course work: With a little more experimentation with mirror placement, I was able to draw a self portrait of the back of my head (possibly my most attractive view). The lighting used also helped to show the upper portion of the sternocleidomastoid. I then drew another full-frontal view of the face. I think that my efforts have improved enough now to start work on the two required self-portrait drawings for the exercise: there has certainly been a significant improvement over the past several days.
Reading:
Rudy De Reyna How to Draw What You See
Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1972
Pp 9-68
Personal Sketchbook work: A revisit to shiny metal: a drawing of a cocktail shaker.
Total time: A bit over two hours
10 November 2009
Course work: Worked on a ¾ view self-portrait in pencil; reasonably satisfied with result (though I have a stiff neck and tired eyes from staring at the mirror). Had planned to work on my “Moving Figure” exercise today on my weekly visit to Washington, GA, but heavy rain from Tropical Storm Ida had emptied the sidewalks, the square, and the restaurants.
Reading:
Bernard Chaet The Art of Drawing (3rd Edition)
Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1983
Pp 79-138
Personal Sketchbook work: In my pocket sketchbook, drew the Confederate Memorial in Washington, GA, silhouetted against a stormy sky. In my A4, sketchbook, a hasty sketch of a desk-cup with an assortment of markers.
Total time: Almost 3 ½ hours
Wednesday 11 November 2009
Course work: Four little sketches of people waiting in a doctor’s office, in my pocket sketchbook. Started work on a lateral view of my head, using Conte’ crayon.
Reading:
David Bayles and Ted Orland Art and Fear
Image Continuum Press, Santa Cruz, Californian, USA, 1993
Personal Sketchbook work: A drapery study of a hanging towel.
Total time: About 1 ½ hours (77)
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