Back to Work

Alright, it is back to work on the Bargue and figure drawing. Here are today's efforts with the young girl. I am just about finished with the second layer of  HB pencil. It is very slow going because I take out the darker dots, halos and imperfections as I go. The time spent on it now will pay off later. This time, my layering is much smoother and even. I can see some changes that need to be done now that the dark shapes are in. The head may be too wide, the bottom lip a little too plump, the dark edge on the base too narrow, and I need to check the eyelids. It really is amazing how things change or move around! My measurements are checked by the instructor before I can move to the next step, but , somehow, as the drawing is worked on, things change.

Our figure drawing in the afternoon is progressing towards a shaded figure. It is still done in stages. The darkes -dark shapes are drawn within the figure and shaded in. We have one pose each afternoon now. Here is today's pose taken from the construct (loose, thick strokes) to articulation (short, straight strokes over the construct) and then shading in of the darkest shapes.

Here is the still life painting in progress. Again, I am working with the school program and things progress slowly! I am open to the new procedure and hope to learn from it. The campitura is raw umber and white. The drawing was done with raw umber and a very dry brush. I was not allowed to dip into turp. This scrubbing in of the outline produces a loose, thick line - similar to a construct line. See how everything eventually ties together? The next step will be to refine with a small, fine round brush - the articulation. Raw umber and a little turp will be used with this brush.

We are at the halfway point in the school term!