Drawing from the model

Since I do a lot of figurative painting - although admittedly I aim for expressive figures rather than accurate ones - I decided it was time I went to a life drawing class. I discovered the Wellington School of Drawing, and it was like stepping back in time to my days at art school. A small studio full of easels and the walls covered in nudes. It had been a while, and I was pretty rusty!

Drawing from the model is a really good way to get your ‘eye in’, to see proportions, perspectives, and contours. Referring to the Old Masters, the teacher introduced a number of drawing strategies. For example, using contour lines around cylinders to describe the form and whether it is coming toward you or away from you. A bit like the network of lines on Spiderman’s suit. Or, drawing the model’s main movement lines, and then find the key angles of the torso, before adding the details of head, limbs and so on.

Here are the results: Bottom right a quick drawing with willow charcoal (a 2-minute pose below) and top right a longer drawing of the same model (an hour).