Fresh Pasta for the Soul

Here is the Bargue foot as I left it yesterday afternoon. It is basically the outline and the start of the inner features. Compare this to the how it looks after today's work.

I was able to begin the shading process. I have to work on my shading technique which will be demonstrated tomorrow morning. The emphasis here is on the quality of the work, not how long it takes to do it. If you are too fast, even if you are not trying to be speedy, the work will not pass inspection. The maestro said, '... the students are to take all the time they need to really learn and perfect the lesson first, then they can go at what ever pace they want when creating their own work". Most people here at the school are trying to learn everything they can in a short time frame before going back to their homes/countries.

I need to talk about some pasta - fresh pasta. Jay found a tiny storefront that makes fresh, handmade pasta. Spaghetti, fettucini, ravioli..etc. plus,  the owner makes bread daily, brings in prosciutto from his farm (there are photos of the pigs that are in the prosciutto on the wall!) and has sfuso (housewine) available. We had the spaghetti tonight and it was delicious with olive oil ,garlic and tomatoes. It was just what I wanted after the afternoon class!

OK, back to school. The afternoon class was extremely hard. In preparation for the model next week, we were given another exercise drawing the contours of a figure. This time we used a knitting needle to measure points of reference. This should not have been a big deal - I have done this before. However, the stages were different and the directions were not clear. The entire class was in chaos trying to figure this out. Finally, another instructor came in and gave us some pointers. I was able to do the drawing after struggling for two hours. Myself and those around me were frustrated and exhausted by 5pm. We have about ten more to do before Monday. Here is a peek at my drawing. I hope you can make out the line work.

I should explain what this is. This exercise is learning to draw the "construct" or gesture drawing (remember yesterday's exercise?) of a live model quickly - within 20 minutes! It should be done quickly because the model is holding a pose and may move. From this simple line drawing the main features: head, shoulders, hips, arms, legs, and feet are placed in relation to each other. From this drawing, the
artist will build up the volume in the figure to make it realistic.

This evening , we walked around the Palazzo Vecchio in the Piazza della Signoria. The area is different at night : few tourists, lots of families with small children, seniors socializing at the end of the day and street musicians. I snapped a photo before the sun was completely gone.

Till tomorrow....