Saturday 21 November 2009




Course work: As my model was unavailable today, I could not do any work on the last part of Assignment Two. I therefore started work on the first part of Assignment 3, and have reported it under that heading.

Reading:



Jim Arnosky Drawing From Nature

Lothrop, Lee, and Shepard Books, New York, 1987

(A short book with un-numbered pages, more illustrations than text. Contains information that will be helpful in Assignment 3.)



Cathy Johnson The Sierra Club Guide to Sketching in Nature

Sierra Club Books, San Francisco, 1990

Pp xi-xii, 1-30



Personal Sketchbook work: In my pocket sketchbook, three pecans, one still with some husk, found under a “feral” tree probably planted by a squirrel hiding a nut.

Total time: A bit over an hour (92)

Friday 20 November 2009




Course work: Completed the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2. Trying to decide what to leave out of this pure line drawing was as difficult as deciding what to put in. I think I did a reasonable job of capturing the pose of a somewhat drowsy model trying to keep her mind on her book and on maintaining the pose.

Reading:



Deborah Haynes Art Lessons

Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 2003

Pp 17-50



Personal Sketchbook work: Two reproduction oil lamps, one mid-Eastern, one Roman.

Total time: About 1 ½ hours

Friday 13 November 2009




Felt unwell; did nothing useful today.



Saturday 14 November 2009



Course work: Did three little sketches of people seen on the street in Washington, Georgia. I am not pleased with my progress on this “Moving Figure” exercise. Did a third self-portrait, charcoal with touches of white pastel on buff paper 22 x 28 cm (8 ½ x 11”). Although I am not entirely happy with this piece, I think that I have, overall, now done a reasonable job of fulfilling the objectives of the “Self Portrait” exercise.



Reading:



David Bayles and Ted Orland Art and Fear

Image Continuum Press, Santa Cruz, Californian, USA, 1993

Pp 93-118

(The subtitle, “Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking”, describes this book rather well. This is not a book of “how,” but a book of “why.” I’ve read it before, undelined in it extensively, expect to read it again, and have recommended it to friends who are having difficulty finding their way. A worthwhile book.)



Tom Coates Creating a Self Portrait

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1989

Pp 7-129

(This would have been a more useful book had it been twice as long. The author does well at getting so much between the covers, but one wishes for so much more. I wish that this book had resurfaced two weeks ago: I might have approached the self-portrait exercise somewhat differently.)



Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of part of the book-case in my office-studio.



Summary Observations on the Self Portrait Exercise (Check and Log): Many years of seeing myself in a mirror and in photographs did not prepare me well for this exercise: my early attempts were very poor indeed, but I improved gradually as time passed. I plan to do more self portraits in the future. I think that I can see the head and neck as basic shapes, and the head and face appear solid and convincing in at least some of my drawings. Asymmetry is present primarily in my age wrinkles, eyelids, and the different appearance of my ears. I think the shadows are adequately placed. Head size had to be readjusted often as drawing progressed. This was a good exercise: I learned a lot from it.



Total time: About 2 ½ hours



Sunday 15 November 2009



Today was almost entirely consumed by a trip to Atlanta, Georgia to see the da Vinci exhibit at the High Museum (report in museum and gallery visits section).



Monday 16 November 2009



Course work: I found the instructions for the “Portrait from memory” section confusing and contradictory. One can hardly “…repeat the sketches until you feel you have gained enough information…” if one is to “…draw someone you have seen momentarily…” I chose to approach the exercise by spending twenty minutes collecting information from three photographs I have in which an individual I see primarily at local social events happens to be included. I then put the photographs away and worked from my notes, sketches, and memory. The process was, as expected, difficult: perhaps the most difficult part was getting a reasonable approximation of the unusually-shaped skull, which in a lateral view is quite strongly dolichocephalic. This, the subject’s chronic squint, and his complete baldness, are the three most important features in obtaining a likeness here. I found trying to imagine shading challenging, and finally omitted most of it.

Reading:



(No author listed) Techniques of the Great Masters of Art

Quantum Books, Ltd., London 1985

(Enjoyed browsing in this book for some time)



Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of several foil-wrapped chocolate candies

Summary Observations on the Portrait from Memory Exercise (Check and Log):

This is a difficult exercise: one learns that memory is frail indeed. Converting my sketches to a portrait was a challenge, especially considering the paucity of my original reference material. If I were to do a similar exercise (with clearer instructions) in the future, I would certainly endeavor to collect more information and draw more initial sketches.



Total time: About three hours



Tuesday 17 November 2009



Course work: Drew two quick sketches of people walking in town, both very unsatisfactory. Started work on the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2: tested several slightly different seated poses, did a number of small sketches, and provisionally selected a pose to begin work on tomorrow.

Reading:



Rudy De Reyna How to Draw What You See

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1972

Pp 69-102



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 19 (pp 301-324)













Personal Sketchbook work: A manikin drawing in the pose I have selected for my first assessment drawing.

Other activities: My painting group met today (time not included)



Total time: About two hours



Wednesday 18 November 2009



Course work: Got much of the pencil block-in done for the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2. I hope to be able to start inking in tomorrow.



Reading:



Russell Hart Photographing Your Artwork

Amherst Media, Inc., Buffalo, New York, USA. 2000

Pp 12-57

(This book, though only nine years old, is essentially obsolete, as it deals only with film cameras. Some of the information in the first half of the book, which is all I read, remains pertinent.)



Personal Sketchbook work: A drawing of a leek.

Total time: About 1 ½ hours (87 ½)



Thursday 19 November 2009



Course work: A sketchbook page of figures in motion or at rest in the parking lot of the grocery store. A bit more work on the pencil block-in for the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2, and the first few ink lines.

Reading:



James Horton Composition and Perspective

Quintet Publishing Ltd, London, 1994

Pp 4-64

(This small and slender volume could well be a transcript of a single lecture on the subject. I thought it rather basic, but a good review of the high points.)



Deborah Haynes Art Lessons

Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 2003

Pp ix-xvii, 1-16



Personal Sketchbook work: Some further experimentation with powdered graphite, this time a drapery study. As noted on 12 November, workable fixative and repeated applications of the powdered graphite are required, but the result is acceptable. I think I’ll try in on paper with more “tooth” next time. Also did a little sketch of three pears, using water-soluble pencil. This completes the first “personal” sketchbook (in which I primarily do work not directly related to the course). My pocket sketchbook work is much less impressive in volume.

Total time: About two hours (89 ½)



Comment: I am now three months into the drawing course. I can tell that my work is more confident, and that I can produce equivalent work in a good bit less time than formerly. My interest level remains high. I am about two weeks behind my originally-planned schedule, in part because of my mother’s illness, and in part because of additional effort required on some of the figure exercises, but have done almost 200 hours of work (actual drawing and reading) through today. House guests next week will set me further behind my plan, but I confidently expect to finish Assignment 2 before the end of next week.

Friday 13 November 2009




Felt unwell; did nothing useful today.



Saturday 14 November 2009



Course work: Did three little sketches of people seen on the street in Washington, Georgia. I am not pleased with my progress on this “Moving Figure” exercise. Did a third self-portrait, charcoal with touches of white pastel on buff paper 22 x 28 cm (8 ½ x 11”). Although I am not entirely happy with this piece, I think that I have, overall, now done a reasonable job of fulfilling the objectives of the “Self Portrait” exercise.



Reading:



David Bayles and Ted Orland Art and Fear

Image Continuum Press, Santa Cruz, Californian, USA, 1993

Pp 93-118

(The subtitle, “Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking”, describes this book rather well. This is not a book of “how,” but a book of “why.” I’ve read it before, undelined in it extensively, expect to read it again, and have recommended it to friends who are having difficulty finding their way. A worthwhile book.)



Tom Coates Creating a Self Portrait

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1989

Pp 7-129

(This would have been a more useful book had it been twice as long. The author does well at getting so much between the covers, but one wishes for so much more. I wish that this book had resurfaced two weeks ago: I might have approached the self-portrait exercise somewhat differently.)



Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of part of the book-case in my office-studio.



Summary Observations on the Self Portrait Exercise (Check and Log): Many years of seeing myself in a mirror and in photographs did not prepare me well for this exercise: my early attempts were very poor indeed, but I improved gradually as time passed. I plan to do more self portraits in the future. I think that I can see the head and neck as basic shapes, and the head and face appear solid and convincing in at least some of my drawings. Asymmetry is present primarily in my age wrinkles, eyelids, and the different appearance of my ears. I think the shadows are adequately placed. Head size had to be readjusted often as drawing progressed. This was a good exercise: I learned a lot from it.



Total time: About 2 ½ hours



Sunday 15 November 2009



Today was almost entirely consumed by a trip to Atlanta, Georgia to see the da Vinci exhibit at the High Museum (report in museum and gallery visits section).



Monday 16 November 2009



Course work: I found the instructions for the “Portrait from memory” section confusing and contradictory. One can hardly “…repeat the sketches until you feel you have gained enough information…” if one is to “…draw someone you have seen momentarily…” I chose to approach the exercise by spending twenty minutes collecting information from three photographs I have in which an individual I see primarily at local social events happens to be included. I then put the photographs away and worked from my notes, sketches, and memory. The process was, as expected, difficult: perhaps the most difficult part was getting a reasonable approximation of the unusually-shaped skull, which in a lateral view is quite strongly dolichocephalic. This, the subject’s chronic squint, and his complete baldness, are the three most important features in obtaining a likeness here. I found trying to imagine shading challenging, and finally omitted most of it.



Reading:



(No author listed) Techniques of the Great Masters of Art

Quantum Books, Ltd., London 1985

(Enjoyed browsing in this book for some time)



Personal Sketchbook work: A sketch of several foil-wrapped chocolate candies



Summary Observations on the Portrait from Memory Exercise (Check and Log):

This is a difficult exercise: one learns that memory is frail indeed. Converting my sketches to a portrait was a challenge, especially considering the paucity of my original reference material. If I were to do a similar exercise (with clearer instructions) in the future, I would certainly endeavor to collect more information and draw more initial sketches.



Total time: About three hours



Tuesday 17 November 2009



Course work: Drew two quick sketches of people walking in town, both very unsatisfactory. Started work on the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2: tested several slightly different seated poses, did a number of small sketches, and provisionally selected a pose to begin work on tomorrow.



Reading:



Rudy De Reyna How to Draw What You See

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1972

Pp 69-102



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 19 (pp 301-324)













Personal Sketchbook work: A manikin drawing in the pose I have selected for my first assessment drawing.



Other activities: My painting group met today (time not included)



Total time: About two hours



Wednesday 18 November 2009



Course work: Got much of the pencil block-in done for the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2. I hope to be able to start inking in tomorrow.



Reading:



Russell Hart Photographing Your Artwork

Amherst Media, Inc., Buffalo, New York, USA. 2000

Pp 12-57

(This book, though only nine years old, is essentially obsolete, as it deals only with film cameras. Some of the information in the first half of the book, which is all I read, remains pertinent.)



Personal Sketchbook work: A drawing of a leek.



Total time: About 1 ½ hours (87 ½)



Thursday 19 November 2009



Course work: A sketchbook page of figures in motion or at rest in the parking lot of the grocery store. A bit more work on the pencil block-in for the first assessment drawing for Assignment 2, and the first few ink lines.



Reading:



James Horton Composition and Perspective

Quintet Publishing Ltd, London, 1994

Pp 4-64

(This small and slender volume could well be a transcript of a single lecture on the subject. I thought it rather basic, but a good review of the high points.)



Deborah Haynes Art Lessons

Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado, USA, 2003

Pp ix-xvii, 1-16



Personal Sketchbook work: Some further experimentation with powdered graphite, this time a drapery study. As noted on 12 November, workable fixative and repeated applications of the powdered graphite are required, but the result is acceptable. I think I’ll try in on paper with more “tooth” next time. Also did a little sketch of three pears, using water-soluble pencil. This completes the first “personal” sketchbook (in which I primarily do work not directly related to the course). My pocket sketchbook work is much less impressive in volume.



Total time: About two hours (89 ½)



Comment: I am now three months into the drawing course. I can tell that my work is more confident, and that I can produce equivalent work in a good bit less time than formerly. My interest level remains high. I am about two weeks behind my originally-planned schedule, in part because of my mother’s illness, and in part because of additional effort required on some of the figure exercises, but have done almost 200 hours of work (actual drawing and reading) through today. House guests next week will set me further behind my plan, but I confidently expect to finish Assignment 2 before the end of the month.

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)

Thursday 22 October 2009




Course work: Drew the first drawing for the “Structure” exercise. I was unable to complete the drawing in the 60 minutes suggested, and was forced by model fatigue to finish, not from life, but from the placement photograph taken yesterday. Graphite pencil on A3 paper was employed, and a total time of 80 minutes was required.



Reading:



Keith Micklewright, Drawing

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York (2005)

Chapters 15 & 16 (pp 148-162)



Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course

Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993

Lesson 12 (pp 96-101)



Total time: about two hours



Friday 23 October 2009



Course work: Did the preliminary sketches for the standing drawing in the “Structure” exercise, using graphite. Started work on the larger drawing on A3 paper, using Conte’ pencil, in two fifteen-minute sessions: this standing pose is somewhat difficult for my willing, but untrained, model to maintain for very long.



Reading:



Betty Edwards, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Penguin-Putnam, New York, 1999

Chapter 10, in part (pp 194-204)



Burne Hogarth Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1992

Pp 62-109



Personal sketchbook work: Two manikin drawings with shading. A drapery study after a catalog illustration, perhaps a bit over-ambitious. An exercise from The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, (done in the companion workbook).



Total time: About 3 ½ hours



Saturday 24 October 2009



Course work: Continued work on the standing drawing for the “Structure” exercise, using Conte’ pencil on A3 paper. Progress is rather slow, as I’m finding it challenging to reposition the model precisely after breaks, and Conte’ pencil is more difficult for me to work with than is graphite.



Reading:



Sherry Camby Art of the Pencil

Watson-Guptill Publication, New York, 1997

Pp 7-142

(I wish that I’d had this small book available at the start of the course. It contains clear, concise descriptions of most drawing media and their uses, with demonstrations and descriptions of techniques. Oddly, ink is omitted from the discussion, although water-soluble graphite, water-soluble colored pencils, and water-soluble crayons are included, as the use of various solvents.)



Personal sketchbook work: A Conte’ crayon version of the Willendorf Venus.



Total time: a bit over three hours

Sunday 25 October 2009



Course work: finished the shading on the standing drawing for the “Structure” exercise. Total time required for this drawing was about 1 hour 45 minutes, but I could not have done it in less time.



Reading:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 14 (pp 202-216)



Personal sketchbook work: A sketch of a manikin, a sphere, and a cube with water-soluble pencil, in an effort to learn a bit more about this medium. I have trouble getting the desired tonal variations, but it does seem to be a useful way to get tone on a sketch in a hurry. I plan to do some further work with it.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: This has been a less-frustrating week than last: I have a clearer idea of what I am supposed to be doing. The suggested times for completion of the exercises continue to elude me, but I think that the quality of my work continues to show improvement: proportions are clearly more accurate than in my earlier work in the course. I’ve spent some time this week (not included in my time accounting) reviewing muscular anatomy in some of my old medical textbooks, a useful intellectual exercise if nothing more. Sketchbook work has been pretty good this week: I did miss one day, but compensated for it on a subsequent day. Most of my recent sketchbook work has been related to the figure.



Total time: a bit over an hour



Monday 26 October 2009



Course work: Did some preliminary sketching for the third (recumbent) drawing in the “Structure” exercise.



Reading:



Burne Hogarth Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1992

Pp 110-142

(A fairly useful book, although the illustrations seem quite exaggerated, and in some cases the divisions between the different categories of folds and wrinkles seem rather forced.)



Mari Le Glatin Keis The Art of Travel With a Sketchbook

Design Originals, Fort Worth, Texas, USA, 2007

Pp 9-95

(I was disappointed in this short book: I had hoped for more “how” and less “why.”)





Personal sketchbook work: Two simple, quickly-executed drapery studies done in water-soluble pencil, as a further exploration of the medium.



Total time: about 1 ½ hours



Tuesday 27 October 2009



Course work: My model was unavailable today, so I jumped forward to the next exercise and did a 15-minute line drawing of a garment hanging on a chair. I found the line drawing a good bit more difficult to do convincingly than the several drapery studies in tone that I have done recently.



Reading:



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 6-33



Michael Woods Drawing Basics

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 2000

Pp 4-92



(This little volume has a nice introductory section on materials and techniques, but, in my opinion, many of the demonstrations that follow are a bit too advanced for the fairly-inexperienced student for which the book was apparently intended. Nevertheless, the demonstrations and exercises deserve careful study, and one can learn from them even without the ability to duplicate them.)

Personal sketchbook work: Done on a separate sheet of A4 drawing paper, a ¾ view of a human skull, drawn from a real skull. This turned into an absorbing project, and I eventually spent over two hours working on it, and could easily have taken it further.



Total time: Over 3 ½ hours.



Wednesday 28 October 2009



Course work: Started on the third drawing for the “Structure” exercise; got the general outline done, but little more. I will try this one in water-soluble pencil, a medium over which I as yet have only limited control, but for which I have some expectations as a useful sketching medium.



Reading:



Bridget Woods Life Drawing

The Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marwood, Wiltshire. 2003

Pp 154-190



(This book has a great deal of useful information for the “solo” student, but was obviously written for the classroom and the studio. I would enjoy taking a life class taught from this text.)





Personal sketchbook work: A quick sketch of the pose I’m working on (after the work I’ve done so far) with application of tone with water-soluble pencil. Then (since I had a little room left on the page) a partial manikin sketch, also done and shaded with water-soluble pencil.



Total time: About 1 ½ hours



Thursday 29 October 2009



Course work: Completed work on the third drawing for the “Structure” exercise. I have encountered a good bit of difficulty in getting my model back into exact position, even with a digital photo for guidance: as a partial solution to this problem, I have made additional sketches of my model’s visible hand and both feet (by error, I made these in my personal sketchbook, not in my course sketchbook), which I used for guidance rather than struggling with exact positioning of the hand and the feet for the remainder of the “Structure” exercise. After having completed the dry pencil work, I was almost sorry I had committed myself to water-soluble pencil, and took the precaution of photographic the drawing in this intermediate state. However, after carefully applying water with an almost-dry brush, and making a few corrections, I was satisfied with the work I had done and the medium I had selected. Total drawing time for this drawing was a bit over two hours.



Reading:



Sarah Simblet, The Drawing Book

Dorling Kindersley, London 2005

Pp 142-173



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 168-189



Personal sketchbook work: Drew four little sketches of a manikin moving through a single stride, and revisited a frequent topic: a towel hanging from a hook.



Summary Observations on Structure (Check and Log): These three drawings took considerably more time than the one hour apiece suggested in the text. I used three different media, and think my handling of each was satisfactory for my present level of ability. I identified the central axis on the sitting and standing figures: the issue didn’t arise with the recumbent figure. I think that I managed the proportions fairly well, and also the foreshortening. I think that the sense of structure and form is reasonably well conveyed by these drawings. Overall, I found this an interesting and challenging exercise.



Total time: about three hours



Friday 30 October 2009



Course work: Drew the second line drawing for the “Clothed Model” exercise, using charcoal. Again, I found the line drawing impossible to do convincingly: the soft pencil used for the first drawing in the exercise and the charcoal used in this one both seem to demand addition of tone. A browse through several of my books and a look on the Internet suggests that pure line without a suggestion of tone is pretty uncommon in drapery studies. A third attempt at drawing a purely linear drapery study, using ink, proved no better.



Part of the text is omitted from the second section of the exercise. As a guess at what was desired, I divided an A3 sheet into six squares, and drew a section of material with folds and shadows in the first three of the squares, using charcoal with a few white pastel highlights.



Reading:



Allan Kraayvanger Secrets to Drawing Heads

Sterling Publishing Company, New York, 2005

Pp 6-36



Personal sketchbook work: Drew a pint jar of pickled cucumbers: enjoyed working out a way to suggest the seeds without actually drawing them.



Total time: about two hours



Saturday 31 October 2009



Course work: Drew one more 15 cm square of folds in a dropped towel.



Reading:



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 193-215



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 34-51





Personal sketchbook work: A sketch with graphite and colored pencil of a carved pumpkin slipping quickly into decay. This could easily have been turned into a larger project.



Total time: A bit over 1 ½ hours



Sunday 1 November 2009





Course work: Did the final two squares of randomly-folded fabric on my A3 worksheet.



Reading:



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 218-247

(This book was written for a more “formal” course in figure drawing than was Bridget Woods’ Life Drawing. History, movements in figure drawing, anatomy, perspective, etc. are all dealt with in greater depth…but I think I’d enjoy a course with Bridget Woods more.)



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 52-61



Personal sketchbook work: A bowl of mixed varieties of apples. Not very inspired, but the best I could manage today.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: This week’s work brings to a close the work on the nude figure, and shifts emphasis to the clothed figure and the portrait. Most of this week’s effort was devoted to the recumbent figure, the most difficult of the three drawings in the “Structure” exercise. Although the 100+ figure drawings I have done as part of the course, along with a number of sketches from a manikin, certainly do not qualify me as even a beginning figure artist, I feel more comfortable with my ability to set something on paper that at least resembles a person, and have a better grasp of human proportions.



Total time: something over an hour





Monday 2 November 2009



Course work: Did two preparatory sketches for the “Clothed Figure” drawing, then started work on the drawing itself.



Reading:



Lucy Watson The Artist’s Sketchbook

North Light Books, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA, 2001

Pp 62-79



Other related activities: Designed and cut a linoleum block for a project of my wife’s (time not included).



Total time: just over two hours

Saturday 3 October 2009




Course work: Three 10-minute drawings, each with proportional errors. The drawings measured 7 ¾, 8, and 9 heads tall (the model is 7 ¾ heads tall). Arms seem to be harder for me to get “in proportion” than legs, though I am by no means satisfied with the legs. One of today’s drawings was done with a ballpoint pen: it is the worst of the three. I think I see a bit of improvement in the two pencil drawings when compared with earlier work.



Reading:



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 36-60



Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)

Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)

Chapter 7 (Pp 195-208)



Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course

Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993

Human proportions (Pp 94-95), Lesson Fourteen (Pp110-117)



Personal sketchbook work: Another drapery study, in preparation for the forthcoming exercises.



Total time: about two hours



Sunday 4 October 2009



Course work: Drew one more 10- minute standing figure with water-soluble pencil in hopes of improvement. I managed a 7 ½ head figure, with improved arm proportions, but was otherwise not pleased. I then switched to A3 paper, and moved on to the one-hour pose, where the time pressure was a good bit less. I was startled to find that I was having more trouble with drawing the large chair than I was with drawing the model. I think that I got the proportions and angles reasonably accurate, but my hour ran out before I finished the shading or the details of the chair. Having been pretty dissatisfied with my other work in this assignment, it was a relief to be able to produce something with which I was moderately pleased. Thinking it would be interesting to try a pen and ink drawing similar to the one on page 6 of the course material, I had a try at it, first doing a pencil sketch for positioning. I don’t think this experiment was very successful: shapes and proportions appear fairly satisfactory, but my hatching started off too tight, and ended up too loose, resulting in an inconsistent mess.



Reading:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 11 (pp 155-166)



Bridget Woods Life Drawing

The Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marwood, Wiltshire. 2003

Pp 35-66



Summary Observations on Proportions (Check and Log):

My two-minute poses were weak, with a range of head-heights from 6 ½ to 9 heads. The ten-minute poses were somewhat better proportionally, but only slightly. The one-hour seated pose was satisfactory and made a reasonably complete pose, with a solid-appearing figure. My main problem with much of this exercise was capturing the essence of the pose in the minimal time allotted: I am by nature a fairly careful worker, and do not do my best work under pressure of time.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: Completed work on Assignment One and started on Assignment Two, thus transitioning from work with which I was beginning to feel comfortable to a new and challenging set of exercises at which my performance was quite poor. I realize that this I will do better as time passes, but at present I am quite frustrated.



Total time: About 2 ½ hours



Monday 5- Saturday 10 October 2009



(An emergency 800-mile round trip drive severely curtailed my drawing during these dates. I did manage a drawing of an unmade motel bed, and two small sketches in the motel breakfast room, but learned that hospitals and motels are highly unsatisfactory places to sketch.)



Total time: about 30 min



Sunday 11 October 2009



Back to work at last!



Course work: Twelve 2 ½ minute stance drawings done from CD “Nude Female Model No 3” © 2001, Glenn Vilppu, Acton, CA USA. (This CD contains a series of poses in which the model has twisted, turned, and bent herself into quite difficult-to-depict positions.) Although I found it relatively straightforward to determine the central axis (line of balance) trying to draw anything resembling a figure in such a short time was challenging, and I did not do well. I followed this up with four three-minute stance drawings from life, of which two were arguably a bit better.



Reading:



Bridget Woods Life Drawing

The Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marwood, Wiltshire. 2003

Pp 67-93



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 61-116



Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)

Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)

Chapter 7 (Pp 209-235)



Sketchbook work: A wild persimmon, sketched in the field, color added later.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: Since I was only able to work on the course for one day this week, there is not a lot to reflect upon. My attempts at sketching in public places were not very satisfactory. My sketchbook work for the week as a whole was very poor, and my reading was very limited. My coursework did not please me. I will do better next week.



Total time: about two hours



12 October 2009



Course work: Not a good day. Did two stance drawings (2 ½ minutes each) from the source referenced on 11 Oct. They were so unsatisfactory I drew no more.



Reading:



Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)

Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)

Pp 239-258



Total time: about ½ hour



13 October 2009



Course work: Did six stance drawings (5 minutes each) from the source referenced on 11 Oct.



Reading:



Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)

Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)

Pp 259-282



Bridget Woods Life Drawing

The Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marwood, Wiltshire. 2003

Pp 95-113



Sketchbook work: Two drapery studies done on A4 blue-grey paper, one with charcoal and chalk, the other with graphite and chalk.



Total time: A bit over three hours



Wednesday 14 October 2009



Course work: Four “stance” sketches from life. (I found it particularly difficult to determine in this exercise just exactly what was wanted of the student: every figure drawing book I own has a somewhat different definition of “gesture”, with wildly variable techniques: none of these definitions is congruent with the limited description in this section of the course. The second part of the exercise, titled “Energy,” seems a bit more like what I think of as gesture, and, rightly or wrongly, I have so interpreted it.) I then did eight gesture sketches from life, two each with charcoal, marker, graphite, and ballpoint pen. I found these difficult to do, as they seemed contrived (I’m sure that I’m overlooking some simple explanation or technique that would make them more straightforward). I lost track of the process at several points and ended up with some distinctly non-gestural drawings.



Reading:



“Spot” reading in several books, trying to come to grips with the concept of gesture.



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 12 (pp 167-182)





Personal sketchbook work: A tiny sketch done in a coffee shop. (These are challenging to do locally, as our only coffee shop has only five tables, and it is difficult to sketch inconspicuously, especially so as I know most of the patrons.)



Total time: About two hours



Thursday 15 October 2009



Course work: Drew eight more gesture figures, possibly a little better than some of yesterday’s. After searching through an almost-forgotten box in the attic, I found an old VHS tape on gesture ( Ruth Block,Gesture , Artists interactive Video Productions, Berkeley, California, 1989) that was quite helpful. I then drew 32 more gesture sketches, with times from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. I think I understand it a bit better now.



Reading:



Claudia Betti & Teel Sale, Drawing, A Contemporary Approach (4th Ed)

Thomson Learning, Inc. (1997)

Pp 283-314

(I am glad to have finished this book. The authors appear to have written a textbook of drawing for those students who prefer politics and polemics to learning how to draw: I am surprised that the book has gone through four editions. Although the text contains a useful overview of “contemporary” (i.e., primarily nonrepresentational) drawing, the authors’ political opinions so infect and infest the text that it is no more a pleasure to read than would be a book of contemporary politics heavily laden with ongoing discussions of the role of art in political discourse.)



Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course

Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993

Lesson 13 (pp 104-109)



Personal sketchbook work: Tried to do some drawings of one of the cats, but she became suspicious and left before I got very far along.



Summary Observations on Gesture (Check and Log):



After finally getting a fairly clear (I hope!) idea of what gesture is I did a total of 74 sketches for this exercise. Many were pretty unsatisfactory, but they improved toward the end of the series. I was able to keep the figures fairly well balanced, even though in some of the more challenging ones the balance line was mostly outside the figure. Some of the sketches from late in the series do appear to capture the energy of the pose fairly well.





Total time: About 2 ½ hours



Friday 16 October



Course work: Started the “Form” exercises, with three drawings from life of the seated figure, (one almost frontal, one almost lateral, and one a fairly steep anterior oblique) paying particular attention to careful measurement and foreshortening. Even with this care, I think that the thighs on the frontal view may be just a bit too long, making the figure appear to be almost half-standing. In one drawing, I added a highly simplified chair



Reading:



Keith Micklewright, Drawing

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York (2005)

Chapters 13 & 14 (pp 130-146)



Clint Brown and Cheryl McClean, Drawing From Life (2nd Ed)

Harcourt College Publishers, Orlando, Florida, USA, 1997

Pp 117-167



Sketchbook work: Two pencil sketches of a manikin in my A4 book. Then, just for entertainment, I sketched a third and added muscles.



Total time: About 3 hours



Saturday 17 October 2009



Course work: Drew the final three seated figure drawings for the “Form” exercises, two anterior oblique view in different degrees of obliquity, and one posterior oblique view, in which I added a simplified chair (that didn’t quite work out correctly). Each drawing was carefully measured, usually using head height as a standard, but occasionally using some other body part more closely proportional to that I was drawing. I think that the foreshortening came out fairly well on these drawings.



Reading:



Betty Edwards, The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain

Penguin-Putnam, New York, 1999

Chapter 9 (pp 162-191)



David Corbett, Walter Sickert

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, 2001

Pp 7-39



Personal sketchbook work: Two drawings of a manikin, strongly lit, with shadowing hatched in, as partial preparation for the next part of the “Form” exercises. An exercise from The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, (done in the companion workbook).



Total time: about 3 ½ hours.



Sunday 18 October 2009



Reading:



E.H. Gombrich, The Story of Art,

Phaidon Press Limited, Oxford 1978

Chapter 13 (pp 183-201)



David Corbett, Walter Sickert

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, 2001

Pp 40-53



Sketchbook work: After the longest wet spell in several years, the mushrooms are numerous and diverse: I sketched ten in my pocket sketchbook while out walking, took color notes, and added watercolor later. In my A4 sketchbook, I did a study of the muscles of the upper extremity, and a manikin sketch with particular attention to foreshortening.



Weekly thoughts on learning experience: After floundering around with uncertainty about gesture for several days, I think I finally got a reasonable grasp of this somewhat elusive topic, and drew a substantial number of sketches, some of which I thought were satisfactory. I was better satisfied with my work on the first part of the “Form” exercise. After the disruption caused by my mother’s emergency surgery, my sketchbook work is gradually improving.



Total time: About two hours



Monday 19 October 2009





Course work: Did three drawings in the “Essential Elements” portion of the “Forms” exercises. I was unable to complete the work even superficially within the ten minute time requested: the three that I did required 12, 14, and 15 minutes respectively, and even so I had no time to strengthen my lines or my shading.



Reading:



David Corbett, Walter Sickert

Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, USA, 2001

Pp 54-73

This too-slender volume provides a very brief overview of the life and works of Walter Sickert. I must confess that I like little of his work, but I admire his persistent dedication in the face of frequent adversity.



Personal sketchbook work: A sketch of a semi-prone manikin, with special attention to shadowing.



Total time: About 1 ½ hours. Two months into the course today. Feel like, overall, I have made a good bit of progress: have worked about 135 hours on the course through today. Most work has been uploaded to the OCA site, though several days of sketchbook work remain to be photographed and uploaded.





Tuesday 20 October 2009



Course work: Three more drawings in the “Essential Elements” portion of the “Forms” exercises. Again, the time limit of ten minutes seemed unrealistic: to even minimally meet the goals of the exercise required ten minutes for the pencil drawing, 14 for a pencil sketch overworked with pen and ink, and 18 for a water-soluble pencil sketch.



Reading:



Bridget Woods Life Drawing

The Crowood Press, Ramsbury, Marwood, Wiltshire. 2003

Pp 115-135, 149-53



Personal sketchbook work: A hasty sketch of a man in a baseball cap, fumbling for his cell phone in the coffee shop. A drawing of the superficial muscles of the back and shoulder.



Other activities: My painting group met today (time not included).



Summary Observations on Form (Check and Log):

Form most of the work in this section, I think that I got the feel of each pose, balanced (or nearly so at least), and, especially in the final six drawings, produced the impression of three-dimensionality and weight. The proportions appear correct or nearly so. I think the best sense of the pose is captured in the standing pose with the model looking somewhat upward, with the semi-prone pencil drawing a close second. This latter pose also had some axial rotation (the shoulders are more nearly prone than are the hips), and I think that I was able to capture this.



Total time: About two hours. (28)



Wednesday 21 October 2009



Course work: Drew several small sketches in preparation for the seated drawing in the “Structure” exercise. The pose was then photographed so that I can return the model to it more easily when I start the actual drawing.



Reading:



Burne Hogarth Dynamic Wrinkles and Drapery

Watson-Guptill Publications, New York, 1992

Pp 9-61





Personal sketchbook work: A drapery study.



Total time: About 1 ½ hours



Thursday 22 October 2009



Course work: Drew the first drawing for the “Structure” exercise. I was unable to complete the drawing in the 60 minutes suggested, and was forced to finish, not from life, but from the placement photograph taken yesterday. Graphite pencil on A3 paper was employed, and total time of 80 minutes was required.



Reading:



Keith Micklewright, Drawing

Harry N. Abrams, Inc. New York (2005)

Chapters 15 & 16 (pp 148-162)



Ian Simpson, The Complete Drawing Course

Running Press, Philadelphia, PA 1993

Lesson 12 (pp 96-101)



Total time: about two hours (31 ½)