Last week I felt that my quick warm-up sketches were stronger than the longer poses. Week 2 at life drawing seemed to have the opposite effect.
Judging by the splintered mess left on the floor around the easel, I think I was bit more heavy-handed with the charcoal as well.
We’ve been considering negative spaces to help structure our drawings. The triangle of a folded arm against the stomach, or the shape that is formed from the empty space around the line of shoulder, neck and chin.
It really does seem keep in check some of the instinctive errors that we make when drawing the human form. The main one I want to keep an eye on is accidentally straightening up the figure which became evident in some of the reclining poses tonight.
Something different to my previous life drawing classes is that we are pretty much discarding comparative measurement, or the sight-size method (where everything is measured out in comparison to a reference point such as the head). This lends itself to much looser, fluid drawings and so far, this has proven to be a great alternative approach (for me).
We don’t entirely abandon this useful process, but I think that I previously relied on it far too heavily to compose a drawing.
Our model tonight was called Eve.
Giving me guidance, my class tutor is Frank Gambino, trained as a graphic designer, however in recent years his main practise is in portraiture and figure studies.
Frank’s studio is in Belsize Park, London, where he works on commissions and runs popular life drawing classes. However, conveniently for me, he is also running classes in East London, at the Tokarska Gallery.
The Tokarska Gallery, a contemporary art gallery run by emerging artist Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska.