Eye training - a series of cast drawings

[Paul Foxton]

Steven, that's exactly what I've done. Thank you for putting it so much more clearly than I could.

[QUOTE=Steven Sweeney] There

[Steven Sweeney]

Yeah, there

[Paul Foxton]

This drawing is finished now, which is a bit of a relief. Owing to life being busy (I got married last month,) and to me taking longer over the measuring, this set up was in place for a fair while, allowing time for mishaps like tripping over the easel and the cat taking a fancy to the plumb line. That, coupled with the drawing board angle distortion, makes me less than confident with the accuracy of the result, but the eye training is good regardless.

One of the main things that concerned me during this drawing was where I was putting the dividing lines between the shadow and light areas. I'm not convinced I've done such a great job of it. One session I'll think I've got it pretty much right, only to think it's entirely in the wrong place on the next session. I guess adding tone will be the real litmus test, which should start to happen on drawing four.

This one took about twenty hours I think. As with the last one, there's a fuller write up of it on my web site.

[Mischa Milosevic]

Paul:

My sincere congratulations on your marriage. May you find joy in every moment together and may you both notice many a God's blessings even in times of intensive discussions.

I see that your exercises are coming along quite well and that you are getting a hang and importance of the Bargue exercises. Each stage that you do you should notice how important the presiding stage was. If you have not made that observation you have cheated your self.

Many a artist of today do not realize the painstaking task of learning to draw. Some would rather go for the quick fix for one reason or the other, finance or whatever. All the shortcuts are understandable but what a joy it is when you get on that road to master your craft.

The Bargue exercises, when done properly, are a wealth of information. This information is essential when working from life.

One example: working a Bargue sample drawing and later using the same method for the cast will teach one not only to see but to understand the relationship between line, shadow, half-ton and light. With the sample B. drawing and in cast work if all is set up correctly gives one total control of the work area. Working from nature and natural light, especially natural light, one must have a complete grasp of the previous lessons in order to proceed at a reasonable pace.

Copy the Bargue line figure drawings, the comparative method. They in them selves have a wealth of information.

Wish you all the best

Steven:
grate set up demonstration explanation. How much pain would one endure if they did not know this and to think, Paul was ready to trash his camera. :-D

[Paul Foxton]

Thanks Mischa, "intensive discussions" - I like that.

Thanks also for the encouragement, it's nice to know I'm on the right track.

I couldn't agree more about the progression in the Bargue plates. It is, after all, a drawing course, and certainly seems to have been envisioned that way. The next cast drawing will still not have tone, but will correspond to the second Bargue plate, where he begins to refine the outline a stage further from the even-width straight lines he uses for the schematics in plate one.

I need to get back to the Bargue plates soon, because my general plan is to stay one step ahead with the Bargue plates of the cast drawings, so I get to see how he does it first.

I confess, I'm a little apprehensive of adding tone, when I get to that stage. I'm not convinced that my charcoal technique will be up to the job. I've recently started a series of small tonal still life drawings to try and whip myself into shape before I try doing it on a cast.

I have a question for those of you who have done the Bargue exercises: On many of the plates, especially in the darkest darks, I can see parallel lines running through the tone. At first, I thought that this was the grain of the paper showing through, but the more closely I look at them, the less sure I become. It looks to me like Bargue may have used these (almost perfect) parallel lines to fill in the tone blocks, followed by smoothing with a stomp or some other implement - am I right?

[Steven Sweeney]

Originally Posted by Paul Foxton

I confess, I'm a little apprehensive of adding tone, when I get to that stage. I'm not convinced that my charcoal technique will be up to the job.

You might reduce some of the anxiousness about this by not worrying at first whether the value you put down matches

[Paul Foxton]

That sounds like a good way to approach it Steven, thanks for the advice.

[QUOTE=Steven Sweeny] toned in relation to each other, rather than each to an