I didn't have a model available when I worked on this exercise and I wanted a good variety of poses and creative compositions. I set up lighting and took photographs of myself in a chair, then worked from the reference material. I hope this is satisfactory...Besides one or two other sketches, this is the only exercise I didn't work from life.
Maintaining focus
Comparing the more rapid approach to the hour-long pose in the last exercise, I found that simple reference points like my elbow to wrist to finger, became larger shapes like strong cast shadows and negative space. There was still an element of line-drawing involved, but facilitated nicely with blocks of tone. I thoroughly enjoyed this exercise and it was nice to play with the conte crayons, which isn't a medium I would normally choose for life drawing.
Sense of pose
My favourite drawing was made in charcoal. The composition is unconventional, the pose a little awkward and I like the overall atmosphere and enigmatic quality. However, it took a little longer to render this pose with charcoal. I love charcoal, but I love it because I can spend a long time enjoying and manipulating it. I created this drawing with charcoal, putty rubber and a little added grey conte for mid-tones; to give it more form. I didn't stay within my allotted time-frame, which is why I think my two smaller drawings in soft pencil gave the best sense of pose in a short time.
These drawings give the best sense of pose because the medium is more diverse. I could block in very dark cast shadows, handle mid-tones and softly glide the pencil over the surface to suggest a limb or item of clothing. I found it much easier to quickly capture form and pose.
My drawing in charcoal...
Summary
My aim with this exercise was variety. Variety in gesture, composition, medium and mark-making. I am especially pleased with how these depict gesture, light and a sense of mood. I would like to experiment more with conte, and perhaps on a larger scale.
No comments:
Post a Comment