April 23, 2008

Figure Studies 080420

This week I only had 2 1/2 hours of figure drawing vice the normal 5 1/2 hours so I'm going to post most of the image that I created in that time period. Generally the poses are between 10 and 20 minutes. Short poses seem to force you into a more concentrated thought process while studying the figure. There's no time to let your guard down. All your decisions need to be important, quick, and add to the overall success of the image. Working in this manner has helped me recognize what I find asthetically important very quickly and I use that to help guide myself through each drawing / painting (it's kind of like allowing the image to tell you what it wants to be). Each pose may call for something different and you'll notice that in how I handled the 3 standing poses. The more I play and explore different types of asthetics the greater my language becomes and the more enjoyable I find the process of creating images……Image 1: I chose this image because it was a struggle for me. The medium tried to get in my way but I fought with it and it turned out to have some really interesting textures in it. I like the lines that are scratched back into the image through the top layer of paint. I dont think this is the most successful image but some of these asthetics will filter into future drawings for sure…

Image 2, 3, 4: Here's the three seperate standing poses. The first is done with pencil, the second with oil pastels, and the third with acrylic paint. I like them all for different reasons but I especially like them together. I think the best thing about them is that each one has it's own mood or personality and for that alone I feel I was successful with each one…..

Image 5: I think this image had great potential but I lapsed a little in the way the distortion came out. This pose was very dynamic and strong and I feel that I captured that essence in the forward hand and leg but lost that quality in the head and the back leg. There are a lot of things I like about it though and one of the main things is the underpainting of colors and how they read through the image. I'm sure this will show up in some future images as well…..