Green Lady

I went to my figures charcoal class today. I was surprised by how quickly the three hours went by. The last two hours of class are divided between two - one hour draws. Boy, I really struggled. Because I'm new to all this, the teacher kindly selected the places where she wanted me to set up my easel. The point of it all was to help me work on perspective, foreshortening, all that jazz. But let me tell you, I STINK at this! The teacher left me a note at one point that said, "Draw what you see, not what you know." Good advice, yes -- but incredibly difficult for me to do.

At any rate, here's a drawing I'm willing to share, though it's clear I still have lots to learn. For this one, the result of the second hourlong draw, I decided to revisit a technique we used during "warm ups". First, I shaded the basic shape of the figure on my page with a colored chalk pastel. Then I went back in with charcoal, amending dimensions and adding highlights. I have to say; I had such a tough time with the model's leg. You really can't tell it here, but her right leg was outstretched and is supposed to be coming towards us. Feet give me trouble, too. Ah well.

At the end of class, we all lined up our easels with our final drawing so we could discuss and compare techniques and results. That was intimidating, to say the least. There is incredible artistry in the group: real mastery of the art form in a variety of styles. I'm curious to discover what sort of style I'll end up with. For now, I think I'm going to buy myself some colorful pastels so I can continue using the technique I learned today.

Comments

Karen L R said…
Such progress you are making!!! We missed you and Natalya at SAQA tonight....
Judy Alexander said…
This looks pretty good to me. I am sure your will be an expert before to long!
silvercat said…
Wow! I love it!To me your off to a good start!