Tag Archives: figure drawing on toned paper

Figure Drawing, October 15, 2018

The model tonight was a regular, but one I personally had not seen in awhile. In the interim a brunette became a blonde. She’s a good model, with lots of nice tattoos.

Anyway, a good night. I was reminded while drawing of footage I had seen recently of surfers attempting a 25 foot wave off the coast of Portugal. They insisted that the only way to attempt something so massive was to become one with the ocean: that when that sense of oneness slipped away, things tended to go wrong.

I would say that the same is true with figure drawing (only it’s much less dangerous). Feeling connected to the model, the chalk, the paper and what is happening on it, the music, the other people in the room: it’s all one experience which, most especially when I forget myself, tends to go well. So, for me, drawing is not about taking credit, rather its about getting the me out of the way and letting experience itself speak.

Here below five fifteen minute poses. 32.5 x 50 cm or 13 x 19.75 in. Conté crayon touched up with conté pencil on tinted Canson pastel drawing paper.

Three four minute poses. 35 x 50 cm. or 13.75 x 19.75 in. Black charcoal on tinted sketching paper.

Figure Drawing, October 2, 2018

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The model tonight was a large, overweight woman. I find these kinds of bodies really exciting to draw. There is a massive quality to the form, weighted, earthy, the groundedness stimulates the muladhara chakra. So here below, the evening’s catch.

On the fifteen minute poses, I think the most successful are those in which I had the time to add in a few touches of extreme highlight. These white highlights do not need to be many, but they function in important ways to set the dynamic range. But these extreme highlights can only be correctly placed after I have already set the figure and begun to suggest some of the chromatic values on the toned paper: there is not always enough time for all that in fifteen minutes.

Four fifteen minutes poses: Conté crayon on toned Canson pastel paper. 32.5 x 50 cm. Or 13 x 19.75 in.

Three four minute studies: Black charcoal on tinted sketching paper. 35 x 50 cm. or 13.75 x 19.75 in.

Figure Drawing, September 24, 2018

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Our model tonight, Lisa. She is one of our regulars. Turns out, she works as a nurse and the days that she models for us are long days since she has to get up at 4:30 to get to work(!). We had a nice chat at the break as she puffed on her electronic cigarette. Here below a few fifteen minute poses and some four minute ones, too.

Fifteen minute poses.Conte crayon on tinted Canson pastel paper. 32.5 x 50 cm. or 13 x 19.75 in.

Four minute poses. Black charcoal on tinted sketching paper. 35 x 50 cm. or 13.75 x 19.75 in.

Figure Drawing, September 17, 2018

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Tonight, with Eva, one of our regulars, the Indian girl (whose skin color I find challenging). But this time, she had a more challenging night than I and was a little dizzy during some of her poses. So we all had to slow down and adjust, to accommodate her situation. It’s just like that sometimes. We are no slave drivers (thankfully so). And yet some figure drawing session organizers can be more stern and unforgiving. But certainly not Bruno. So we had a nice chat at the break as she gobbled down a quick snack to help balance her energies. Hope you feel better, Eva!

Two fifteen minute poses. Conté crayon on tinted Canson pastel drawing paper. 32.5 x 50 cm or 13 x 19.75 in.

Three four minute studies. Black charcoal on tinted sketching paper. 35 x 50 cm or 13.75 x 19.75 in.

Figure Drawing, September 3, 2018

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The model tonight was fantastic. The second time I remember drawing him. He’s really good because he seems to know intuitively what to do. However, even though the model can be fantastic and I resonate with him/her, I can still have a mediocre evening. Tonight was that way, principally, I think due to my own state, as I was not feeling very well. Even in such cases, it’s always good to go out and try, and see what happens.

Two fifteen minute poses. Conté crayon on Canson tinted pastel paper. 32.5 x 50 cm or 13 x 19.75 in.

Four four minute sketches. Charcoal on tinted sketching paper. 35 x 50 cm or 13.75 x 19.75 in.

Figure Drawing, August 27, 2018

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Tonight a new model. I think it was her first time ever modeling. She was very good. Sometimes it seemed she realized – a little too late – the difficulty of something she had committed herself to, but stuck with it anyway. Bravo!

Below four fifteen minute drawings. Conté crayon and conté pencil on tinted pastel paper. 32.5 x 50 cm or 13 x 19.75 inches.

Three four minute gesture studies. Black charcoal on tinted sketching paper. 35 x 50 cm. or 13.75 x 19.75 in.

Figure Drawing, August 20, 2018

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Tonight we had one of our regular models, Lisa (or possibly Melissa?, I might have previously misheard her name). Anyway, she’s a good model – and was in her chops tonight. What makes a model good? A feel for interesting poses – and of course – the ability to hold them. What makes for an interesting pose? Well, a little bit of twist goes a long way. It’s not necessary, but if over an evening of about 15 poses there’s not some definitive variety of movement in the torso I have a hard time. (You’d be surprised, some models just move their hands a little for a new pose and think it’s sufficient for generating interest!).

So Melissa was on. She has exceptionally thick hips and thighs (the elephant woman!) and always wears her glasses (the glasses lady!). And I had a good (chakra) night too – the tactile warmth and energy of chalk and pastel on the paper fed into my searching circles, allowing the figure to slowly emerge. I definitely had some throw-aways but amazingly, many of the drawings turned out well. The final drawing of the evening is the featured image here at the top of the page. From my position, it involved direct foreshortening – which is always a challenge – but tonight I just let the chalk follow the sensuous curves. Hooray for bio-feedback!

Five fifteen minute figure studies. Conte pencil and conté crayon on tinted pastel paper. 32.7 x 50 cm. or 13 x 19.75 in.

Four four minute gesture studies. Black charcoal on tinted sketching paper. 35 x 50 cm or 13.75 x 19.75

Figure Drawing July 23, 2018

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Tonight we had Eva again. One of our more regular models. I find her challenging because her skin tones and hair tones both veer towards the cool range chromatically, and for me, drawing the figure is all about creating warmth on the paper.

Tonight (as last week) I experimented with using basic charcoal on the 15 minute poses to very lightly sketch in the figure on the paper first. The point for me experientially is the tactile experience of charcoal on paper. It conveys far more sensation, creating a sort of virtuous (tactile) circle. Once the circle is warm – and the figure has started to emerge – do I segue into the pastels: conté pencils or crayons. Don’t get me wrong, they are tactile, too, just not as intense feeling-wise as plain ol’ charcoal.

Below four fifteen minute poses. Conte crayons and conté pencil on toned pastel paper. 32.7 x 50 cm or 13 x 19 3/4 in.

Below three four minute poses. Charcoal on brown tinted sketching paper. 35 x 50 cm. or 13.75 x 19.75 in.

Figure Drawing July 9, 2018

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Tonight we had Lisa as our model. She’s one of our regulars, distinctive by her glasses (which, for the most part, I did not include tonight). She also has a distinctive body: thin in her upper torso but large, thick buttocks and thighs.

Here below three fifteen minute studies. I’m still experimenting with pastel chalks for the highlighted skin tones. Conté pencil highlighted with conté crayon on pastel paper. 32.5 x 50 cm or 13 x 19 3/4 in.