Art Diary

I am taking a class in live model portrait drawing.  It has been 11 years since I picked up a pencil or piece of charcoal.  I was shocked when I realized so much time had gone by.  I'd thought it had only been 3, 4 maybe 5 years!  But when I went to get out my supplies from the last time I'd taken a class, I found a receipt from the art supply store. There in black and white, I saw the date, 1996. 

I am not tremendously talented, but I've taken classes on and off since I was a teen.  If I stick at it, I can work up to a certain level of technical proficiency (intermediate amateur), and then I hit a wall, get frustrated and quit; or else life gets in the way and I run out of time to spend drawing pictures.

It's a fun hobby and I do generally enjoy it.  It kind of reminds me of golf in that it takes a lot of practice and can be very frustrating. You can hit a hole-in-one one day, yet never leave the sand trap on the next. There are times when I am energized by it, and other times when I just want to pitch everything - paper, charcoal and easel - out the nearest window.

I began extremely rusty and out-of-practice, but have made some progress. And so far, at least, the art supplies have remained safe.

The first picture was a 1/2 hour study.  The remainder were worked on for roughly 2 hours.  It's hard work to draw so amateurishly.  But there's something very satisfying and enjoyable about it.  Every time I do something wrong, I cringe, but when something comes out right - it's pretty cool. 

Week 1 - Charcoal on newsprint - I was actually not displeased with this, being so out of practice.

Week 2 - Pencil on newsprint - This one left me thinking that perhaps I should stick to photography or maybe take up knitting.

Week 3 - Charcoal on newsprint - Progress.  Not great by any means, but better.

Week 4 - Charcoal on charcoal paper - More progress. Pretty pleased with it - though there's tons of room for improvement.

Week 5  - Charcoal on charcoal paper - The floating lips and nose are a result of the instructor giving me some pointers on the side. This is the most "painterly" drawing I've ever done.  Before, I was more into the detail - including every eye lash and strand of hair.  But blocking in the shading and sculpting the 2-D surface into 3-D is very important - more important than the details right now. Am still having a lot of trouble getting the proportion right.  Hoping that will come along because if it doesn't, it will be the thing that frustrates me enough to make me quit. The nose - it is definitely not right.

Photography is much easier. 

Week 7 - Charcoal on charcoal paper. I missed last week's class because due to icy rain, my daughter's school opening was delayed by 2 hours.  Two weeks off was not a good thing.  I am not terribly happy with this next one.  The instructor gave me lots of positive feedback - which was nice to hear - but I didn't agree with him.   

The thing that bugs the heck out of me the most is the shape of the head. Reminds me of when babies are first born and their heads are elongated from the birth canal. (Maybe I should just claim to have a visual impairment like El Greco.)

I re-did the right eye twice, and the ear about 6 times.  Next time, I want to work on getting myself to slow down and really get the dimensions right before I draw things in too permanently.  I do think I was pretty successful with the mouth and chin.

Below, I used photoshop to make watercolor and acrylic versions of the picture above:

Week 8  Same model as week 7.  Ok, so neither looks completely like the guy. lol. I still feel that I am continuing to make progress, and most important of all, I am having fun.

Here's something very cool. A morphing video of Van Gogh's self-portraits:

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Week 9    We had the same model, yet again. I have grown a bit tired of drawing the same man. This is the last class for this session. In 6 weeks or so when classes begin anew, I am going to take portrait drawing again (with a different instructor) and figure drawing as well. Looking forward to continuing on.

Comments

[soccerdad]

I'm impressed.

I used to have the art bug. But when I took a class at a state university, I didn't realize what "life drawing" was. I switched to design. I wish I had the opportunity to work on art more. Maybe that's why I write, as a creative outlet.

[Leora Wenger]

Nice! I took a pastel portrait drawing class years ago. Your drawings remind me of how fun that class was.

Keep going! And keep posting your pics.

[Gail]

SD: That's funny - I remember signing up for a "life drawing" class in college. I went to GWU and they gave art classes at the Corcoran - don't know if you are familiar with it. At any rate, I spotted a woman there in a bathrobe and still didn't get it. Then she took the bathrobe off. Ohhhhhh. Life drawing.

Leora: Thank you for the encouragement and for coming by, especially since it enabled me to find an interesting new blog to read (yours).

[soccerdad]

I got to draw a guy.
Everyone said that I should have waited for a woman before dropping the class.
:-)

[Shirl]

These are fantastic, Gail!!!!

[Gail]

Gee, thanks Shirl. : )

[Leora]

Nice photoshopping of the drawing of the man's head! I like the darks and lights of the "watercolor" version.

[Gail]

Thanks, Leora. I've never done watercolor before and was thinking of taking a class. It was actually very instructional to see the picture done that way.