Life Drawing, Gestures

[Patricia Joyce]

Thanks, Julie (she has sat next to me in life drawing,and experienced my frustrated drawings!) It is getting easier I think because I no longer need to "perform". I now view life drawing as play time.

David, I fully expected one of our acutely aware artists to notice my feet and comment on them! Cute aren't they?!! the longest pose of these is five minutes. My 20 minute sketches always end up trashed.

Thanks Jean!

[Alexandra Tyng]

Very nice, Patty!

[Thomasin Dewhurst]

Excellent line work, Patricia. Such lovely fluidity, and you express, especially in the centre two, the bulk of the body very satisfactorily with varied strengths of the line.

[Mary Cupp]

Pat, These are very nice drawings. I do understand how frustrating it can be when you don't have time to develop your drawing.

I notice that you seem to feel the need to complete the figure and therefore in some parts the line is left rather soft (for example the foot of the top middle drawing). It might be better to try to finish only a fragment and to really see the structure of that fragment, than try to finish the whole thing when you don't have time. Focus on the way the figure balances itself and where the weight is being borne, and the dynamic directions taken by the body parts. If you focus on these things you may not be able to get to the whole thing but you will make the most of the opportunity presented by a quick gesture.

Gesture poses have the potential to provide the opportunity for far more dynamic poses than longer poses, and to observe the body under tension as the model does not have to hold them as long. Keep that in mind.