As a man thinketh in his heart; so is he. Proverbs 23:7

"Rejoice in the Lord alway: [and] again I say, Rejoice.

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord [is] at hand.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things. " -Philippians 4:4-9


Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Stars on my figuritive gestures!


A 20 minutes drawing on newsprint with vine charcoal.

I received a star on my drawing last night from my instructor. He doesn't give them out often.

This drawing is moving toward artistic express. I was given a star for the artistic line and achieving what he has been drilling for the last five gesture classes.

I am truly at a turning point now. This is what I have been working for; not that I think for a minute I have "arrived" rather this is a break through. From this point forward Glen will be emphasizing artist expression and aesthetic beauty of the figure...and likenesses.

I'm more energized than ever. How fortunate I am.



The following drawings are 45 second gestures. My instructor says "you must learn to achieve the figure in less than a minute. It should be in proportion, the figure balanced, and it should have movement showing exactly what the figure is doing."

I got stars on these drawings.


The second figure especially. This is not about a finished drawing ... it is getting the structure solid. As you see, you have to draw quickly.





These are all good.


Here I use simple pink sidewalk chalk and have 15 seconds to first gesture the figure using the flat side of the chalk. Then I drew the figure in the remaining 45 seconds with as few lines as possible the figure ... achieving the same three criteria as stated above.

These are a total of one minute drawings. See how they read as a complete figure allowing your mind to fill in.





My instructor, Glen Thomas, says this to his student artists, "If you do not gesture first you run the risk of having to keep correcting your figure because the gesture assures that your figure will be convincing in the end because it will be balanced, in proportion, and dynamic ... that it will show exactly what the figure is doing regardless of whether the figure is still or in motion. Even a motionless figure has weight."

He is right. Now begins working on likenesses, aesthetics, and not in just getting the features correct and recognizable but in showing the real person and intent of the figure.

2 comments:

JonInFrance said...

Nice! It must be lovely to feel your drawings going places... ! Jon

Does it matter? said...

Jon

I give my instructor most of the credit. His method is demanding and after five classes I am just now starting to get some significant results but I knew that this discipline would work for me. Now onward and upward to the next phase.