Male life model holding stick up against the celiling (back view), 2-minute pose © Janet E Davis 2011
Week 18 was the sixth in the third block of once-a-week sessions. It was the last session, and might be my last session for the year.
Having been late for the start of the previous week’s session, I made sure that I was early for this last one. Having done some very unsatisfactory drawings the previous week, I was keen not to make the same mistake of getting anxious to produce something ‘good’ because it was the last session. I kept trying to remind myself that I wanted to focus on the process, not the end result.
I did not make a brilliant start. and am not entirely pleased with the drawings I did. I didn’t allow enough space for limbs. I have almost always been able to place a life drawing well within the boundaries of the page since I was in my teens. I am not sure whether it indicates a lack of forward planning on my part, or the subconscious desire to stray beyond the boundaries, get out of the box.
For some strange reason, I kept drawing the model’s head too small. Giacometti’s drawings kept creeping into my mind. It is quite difficult to get the proportions looking right when there is little distance between model and artist. One tends to look most at the area that is at normal sight level.
I tried drawing on watercolour paper for those the longer poses at the end. It had potential but was not that suitable for using as a support for pencil or Conté sticks. I continue to look for the ideal drawing paper.
Male life model sitting on stool with left leg crossed, 15-minute pose © Janet E Davis 2011
The drawings were probably not as bad as the previous week’s, but they were not great. Looking at them again, the drawing of the ten-minute pose is possibly my favourite, apart from the head, which I neglected in order to concentrate on everything else. I think that I did capture the sense of the model leaning back on his arms.
As ever, there was simply not enough time for the last two drawings to get where I wanted them to be. I did not need a lot more time, but another 10 or 15 minutes would have got them to a point that I would have found more satisfactory. I had gone into this last session thinking that I would do tonal rather than linear drawings, using light and dark to find the figure.
This session might have been my last life drawing at least this year. I could not afford to book a place on the sessions starting in September and I heard this week that the places are already full. I am not sure when I will be earning enough money to have some to spare for more drawing materials as well as life drawing fees. I shall miss the people. Something I have not said much about is how much I have enjoyed the company for two hours a week of the others. Everyone has been nice. I have enjoyed talking to people in the minutes before and after the drawing, and during the teabreak in the middle.
Female life model in 2 poses - kneeling with twisted torso, and balancing on hands and feet. 2-minute poses © Janet E Davis 2011
The models are interesting people and I have appreciated the fact that they think about how they pose. It is more interesting when there is a proper dialogue with a life model about how they pose. A life model who dictates the limits of poses to just a couple of the same lying or seated poses week after week, and manages to look lifeless in those poses, is not great. Fortunately, I have only come across such models a couple of times, a long time ago. Almost all the life models I have met (including the two this year) have been interesting people, often doing something unusual or even unconventional in their lives.
I admire people being able to cope with being looked at without any cover or disguise of any kind. I have sat for portraits a few times, many years ago, and felt very self-conscious about being looked at for such a long period. The idea of being looked at without the protection of clothes? It scares me. I am far too uncomfortable in my own skin to do it. This means that I appreciate so much more that there are people can do it. I continue to think about the issue of what it signifies to be clothed or unclothed in our society today, and how that compares with other periods. My overall impression is that Victorian painting had a lot more focus on unclothed or sparsely-draped figures than painting today.
Setting aside the question of whether I can afford to do more life drawing this year, where do I go from here? I feel that I have not finished my exploration of the process of drawing the human figure. I would like to do some half-day or full day life drawing but I am not aware of anywhere offering that in our region. If I could afford to get down to London again this year, I would book a place at the Art Lab at Heatherleys.
Male life model recumbent with right knee raised, 15-minute pose © Janet E Davis 2011
I would like to have a proper studio at some point, in a building where other creative people are working. It would be wonderful if there were a facility for an art school type of space that one could pay a fee to use for a limited amount of time over a year, or quarter of a year (I’m thinking of something like the office spaces where one can use them a few hours per month). There would be a life studio with different models on different days of the week. Maybe it could be a place where occasional creative thinking workshops for non-artists could be held.
I am getting urges to try portraiture again. I have always wanted to do portraits, but trying to get someone to sit for them is even more difficult than finding a life class. I should return to drawing other things, but I still find the need to understand fellow human beings (and, maybe, thereby myself) is too strong, and I do take photographs of other things that interest me. My camera is failing, however. It is possible that too much exposure to high winds on beaches and standing next to the sea has not been good for it.
Female life model lying on back, 20-minute pose © Janet E Davis 2011.
Life drawing has been very good for me this year. It has helped me. Being in a space with other people all engaged on the same activity, doing his or her own thing but having to cooperate with everyone else to be able to do his or her own thing, is something everyone should experience. I am still unsure about what I should do with the pile of drawings that I have created during the past months. I am filled with panic at the thought of having to face the rest of the year without either life drawing or photography.
Perhaps the thought that remains uppermost in my mind after completing 18 weeks of life drawing this year is that I need to be creative.
Do have a look at all the drawings I did in week 18, and comments are welcome (especially if constructive). It is good to get some kind of feedback.
Further reading and more images
Links to pages of life drawings
More of my posts about life drawing
Life drawings 2011 [week 1] post
Life drawings 2011 week 4 post
Life drawings 2011 week 5 post
Life drawing weeks 11 and 12 post
Tags: drawing, life model
July 31, 2011 at 10:15 am |
Hi Janet,
In response to
‘There would be a life studio with different models on different days of the week.’
this is very much what we run at our Open Studio here,
http://www.heatherleys.org/open.html
It is based on the Parisian atelier system of the 19th century, and something Heatherleys have kept up since 1845.
What a shame you are so far away….
July 31, 2011 at 6:39 pm |
Your Open Studio sounds excellent. It is a shame I live so far away – but I was looking at the Art Lab workshops at Heatherleys on your site, and hope I might possibly be able to do one of those on a visit to London in the future.