Drawing from Life
 

I received some great advice during my last post. I was given the suggestion of working from life. Since then I've drawn stricly from life. This has been a great learning experience. I've been going to a Thursday Night Sketch Group at the Cincinnati Art Club, whenever I can make it. I've also drawn some of my family members who are willing to sit still for a half hour or so. I enjoy drawing from life so much, I can't see myself drawing from photo any more. It seems rather pointless. Why copy a photo when you can be the camera.

Anyway, I want to post some of the drawings I've done. Any feedback will be greatly appreciated.

This first one is of my wife. It took about an hour and a half, and is done with charcoal on paper. The size is approx. 7"x8".

Next one
 

This is one of the models from the sketch group. I spent about an hour and a half on this one as well. It's done with charcoal on paper and is approx. 5"x6".

Another
 

Here is another model from the sketch group. This one is graphite and charcoal on paper. I spent 2 hours, and it is approx. 7.5"x10".

Family Model
 

This is my Mamaw. It took me about 35 minutes to do this one. It's charcoal on paper, and is approx. 9"x10". I'm going to do a finished color piece of her, so any input regarding that would be great.

Too many?
 

Somebody please tell me if I'm posting too many images. I've just been anxious to share these.

This is another model from the sketch group. I spent about an hour on her face. It's charcoal on paper and is approx. 5"x5.5".

Last but not least
 

Here is my Grandpa. I spent about a half an hour on this one and used charcoal whith a ChinaWhite pencil. I have a concern with the pencil. It seems to blend in with the charcoal instead of laying on top, making it more of a grey than white. I want to be able to improve this technique of using a white chalk with the charcoal on a grey medium. Any advice on that would be great. This drawing is approx. 8"x11".

Nice work, Nathan.

I love your work; and your energy-level and commitment. In the first portrait you posted, I love how you

Another great lighting/structure-of-the-head lesson from Sargent:

Nathan,

What a pleasure to see your enthusiasm!

Regarding the problem with the whites, try this: when the dark and midvalues are established, first lift any stray charcoal with a kneaded eraser from the areas you will declare as lights, and highlights. You can use the kneaded eraser to lift out passages in the charcoal areas, too.

Next, spray the charcoal lightly with fixative, then use white Nupastel, lightly. I have found that the whites tend to disappear when you spray, so you can go through several iterations in this fashion. When the last white strokes are placed, do not do a final spray.

Nathan, I have some suggestions as to how to best pose and light the portrait you plan to paint of your mother. The most flattering light for a woman "past a certain age" is close to frontal. That is, almost directly behind the camera or artist, if you're working from life.

I say "almost" directly behind because you want some shadows to establish the form, unlike light from a flash which is absolutely directly frontal, and would not be recommended.

Also, the larger the light source the better (a large window, for example). That will reduce the contrast ratio and be the most flattering.

A good pose for someone with a full chin is to have them leaning forward slightly with your viewpoint slightly above them.

Thanks for the advice
 

Mari,

Thanks for the response. I looked more into the 3-Value Massing Theory from Peggy's posts. I've seen it mentioned here before, and I will pay more attention to it in future pieces. It does seem to be a great tool, in simplifying the composition, that doesn't get used as much these days.

Chris,

That's sounds like a good suggestion. It seems I get a little impatient when there's a model in front of me. I feel like I have to finish in a quick amount of time. I'll give this method a shot next time I do this technique. I've seen you handle it in a very convincing way. Thanks.

Michele,

Thanks for the input. There is actually a window right where we sat. The lighting on this was from a lamp. If I go there at a certain time I can get a good natural light coming through. I understand what you're saying about the light direction. This portrait isn't a flattering one, although, I would like to keep some of that roughness to her face. It adds character, I've been told. But, at the same time, I don't want to over-do-it creating too much contrast and hard lines.

Dear Nathan,

You are an artist on a roll, which is terrific to see. One of the things I like about your work is that you're really making an effort to discover what makes a face truly individual, and that you're not giving everyone the same nose, eyes, etc.

You are experimenting with different mediums and light sources, which is great. Eventually you'll discover that some light sources work better than others for certain people, and the same is true for different mediums and papers. (By the way, I think you are working very small. My suggestion is to get a bigger piece of paper and plan on making the head closer to life size. You'll be able to get more detail in there.)

Keep experimenting with natural light, artificial light, light direction (don't forget overhead light) and harsh vs. diffuse light. (I like Wendy Caporale's chapter on light in her book "Painting Children's Portraits in Pastel".)

As far as colored paper is concerned, be sure to check out the post under Drawing Critiques titled "Sally Study". There's a good discussion of the work of the French artist Pierre Paul Prudhon, who worked on a blue-gray paper, and some good photographs which show his style. If you find that you really like his work, check out this site by the artist Rebecca Alzofon:

www.art.net/~rebecca

She gives a very detailed and wonderful step by step method showing how Prudhon worked. (Thank you, Chris Saper, for showing me this site.) (And if you haven't already, check out Chris' terrific drawings which William Whitaker posted in the Unveilings section of the Forum.)

Drawing from life will help you see subtle modeling and value changes which can be very hard to find in a photograph. (Tony Ryder calls this aspect "fullness" in his book on drawing the figure in graphite. This is a great book to have in your library.) It is also a wonderful way to learn to see the relative softness or hardness of edges. A couple of ways to see value differences in drawing from life is to squint (you already knew that) or to hold a piece of red acetate in front of the subject.

Mari,

I agree with you that photos are still a very good idea. For one thing, subjects tend to move around a lot, unless they're professional models.

Photos help you find the boundaries of your subject, but working from life will help with all the subtle things that happen within the boundaries that give your paintings a sense of life. (Incidentally, I find that photos are very valuable tools for composition purposes.)

I agree that Morgan Weistling takes stunning reference photos. However, I've taken his workshop and his work from the model is equally breathtaking. (And having seen Peggy B.'s tapes and watched her work from life, she can also produce stunning work from life or from photos.) Possibly, the answer is to alternate working from life with photo work, as well as learning how to take better photos.

Michelle,

Thanks for the double chin/looking down tip, I'll use it soon.

Best regards,
Linda

Bigger is Better
 

Wonderful work!

I notice the size of each piece is rather small. A lesson I learned in the ateliers of Paris is that large sheets of sketch paper help liberate the hand to capture the action. Try multiple sketches (10 minutes, then 20 minutes each) before developing one image. Avoid holding the charcoal like a pencil.

Let it fly!

Nathan these are wonderful, please keep them coming!

I need help trying to figure out what to use when drawing live, charcoal is so messy the way I do it. I tried the lifting as Chris suggested, but since I am a smudge-aholic I think the paper was stained and wouldn't lift well. :thumbsup: