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Wednesday 22 July 2015

Life Drawing 21.7.15

Random Fall, continuous line drawing

After a bit of a break it was really good to get my Life Drawing sessions restarted this month. I enjoyed being back in the Prism Arts studio with a clear focus and time just to draw. Although I love drawing and regard it as a really important part of my practice it can sometimes be hard to fit it in, other (usually mundane) activities seem to take priority so I appreciate the life drawing sessions as time set aside specifically to draw and nothing else.

Continuous Line

Continuous Line

Continuous Line

It was also good to see my regular attendees as well and a model who has been with us from the start but since the change of day has been unable to sit for us. It was great to see her again and I particularly enjoyed the chance to utilise her 'random fall' modelling approach (it is exactly what it sounds like, she falls randomly and we draw the results!)

Practising drawing the face

Practising drawing the face

Practising drawing the face

Although during the sessions we are mostly quiet, with us all focused on our drawing, part of the appeal of life drawing is the social side; being with other people doing the same thing. I think this is probably one of the reasons that it was identified as one of the best ways to keep dementia at bay, according to a recent BBC radio programme (and a growing body of scientific research.) The other critical factor is the hand-eye-brain co-ordination that life drawing involves. As I have mentioned many times before life drawing seems to demand a certain type of focus, it improves your drawing in a way other drawing doesn't seem to. It is, for me, a kind of meditative process that allows me to almost bypass the concious brain and allow my eyes and hands to 'talk' directly to each other.

Continuous line

Continuous line

Despite having had a not great day I found that once I'd got to the session and got everything set up I was looking forward to drawing and as soon as we started I immediately relaxed and began to enjoy the session and drawing. I like the sound and the feel of the pen gliding across the paper, seeing a tangle of lines arrange themselves into something resembling the human body.

Continuous line

Drawing is seeing and creating at the same time, expressing and recording what's in front of you. When I'm life drawing I don't think about the outcome, I try and just enjoy the process and not concern myself with what it will be or look like. I think this approach actually improves my drawing as it relieves any pressure and as I'm not expending energy worrying I can use that energy to create my drawing.

Random fall

Random fall

Hanging off a chair

Recently, in the spirit of facing up to challenges, I've been trying to draw faces more as this is my weakest point. I did several face studies this evening, with varying degrees of success. Overall though I think I am improving and I'm certainly feeling more confident about not cutting the heads off my drawings! Next session I may even try some different media...

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