Home | Ink Sketches | Life Drawing | Graphics | Paintings | Digital Art


      
About Artist | About
      Art |  Links


      


      Figure Drawing


      
I've always loved to draw the
      human figure.

      
It took me over ten years of
      going to a drawing session almost every weekend and trying different
      drawing materials and techniques to finally find the look I've
      been searching for. It all started with a drawing paper that
      enabled me to achieve certain effects that I really liked. The
      papers I've been using before didn't allow me to blend or smudge
      the charcoal well enough to achieve the results I wanted. But
      once I started using this paper my drawings started to come together
      till one day I did a drawing that I realized was the style or
      look I've been trying to achieve all those years. I was able
      to go on and experiment with other types of drawing paper and
      still be able to maintain this look.

      
 

      
Sunday
      Drawing Class


      
This drawing class starts every
      Sunday at 9:30 am. A different model is hired and scheduled every
      week and money is collected from the artists to pay for the model.
      A usual class size is about 20 people and it can sometimes go
      past 30. There are no instructors. You're on your own. I rarely
      go to this drawing class now but when I do I have an established
      routine that I follow. The drawing sessions starts with a warm-up
      set of 10 two minute poses. I'll draw with a sharpened chopstick
      dipped in sumi ink and also use a sumi brush with sumi ink diluted
      with water for the washes. This allows for quick sketches since you can only do so little
      with only 2 minutes. It's my favorite part of the drawing session.
      After a rest break, the model resumes with a set of 2 five minute
      poses and 1 ten minute pose. I'll switch to charcoal pencil at
      this time. I try to get the feel of the charcoal during this
      set because I'll be drawing with charcoal for the rest of the
      day. After another rest break, the model starts her long 20 minute
      pose. It's amazing how those models can hold their poses. There
      were several occasions when a model wouldn't show up and the
      artists would take turns modeling. I would take my turn and pose
      but after about 5 minutes my body would start twitching and shaking
      and it becomes almost impossible to hold the pose. There are
      4 twenty minute poses, with rest breaks in between, before we
      break off for lunch. The rest breaks are usually occasions for
      everybody to socialize and look at each other's drawings. I can
      get a more detailed and finished drawing with these twenty minute
      poses but I rarely can take it to the point where I want to.
      The afternoon session is where I can really focus on getting
      that drawing to that point. The afternoon drawing session starts
      at 1pm. By this time, the size of the class has dwindled to about
      7 people. The model does only one pose for 2-1/2 hours with rest
      breaks after every 20 minutes. This allows me to really focus
      on my work since I don't feel rushed. I use the first 20 minutes
      to map out the drawing then take the drawing to a finished state
      for the remainder of the afternoon drawing session.

      

    

      
 Painting | Computer Graphics