2nd Entry for Dec 12, 2010

This was a 25-minute pose. It finished that morning, and was the only one I really felt in gear on. though it is not a spot-on likeness of M-    's face.
(but a very good likeness of his torso...)
This is done on 18 x 24" Japanese paper using 9B graphite.

1st Entry for Dec 12, 2010

I made it out for part of the Sunday morning, but my focus wasn't as good as it might be, owing to the TSA's impending Open House preparations, which were to start the next day.
These are a 2-minute and two 15-minute studies, done with Prismacolor art stick on 20 x 30" cartridge paper.

4th Entry for Dec 10, 2010

There were a couple of standing poses that finished the evening. On the first I didn't get as far as I had wished. The pose that followed wasn't one that I felt I could do anything extra-resonant with, so as an experiment I put it on the other side of this 18 x 24" sheet of Japanese paper. You can see the ghost of each image on the opposite side.
There is potential for exploiting the translucency of Japanese papers, but this didn't do anything too remarkable. I prefer the larger image appearing as more of a background element, in the side shown in the lower image.

3rd Entry for Dec 10, 2010

These are 10-minute studies of L-    , all done with prismacolor art stick on 20 x 30" sheets of cartridge paper.

2nd Entry for Dec 10, 2010

These are 5-minute studies, done with Prismacolor art stick on 20 x 30" cartridge paper.

1st entry for Dec 10, 2010

I was back out doing some more straight-forward life drawing on the Friday night. L-   was working, and these are some 1-minute studies, as I was getting warmed up.
These were done with Prismacolor art stick on 20 x 30" cartridge paper.

6th Entry for Dec 6, 2010

These three 10-minute poses finished the evening, and I spent an extra 5 minutes or so adding the seat to the bottom one.
All in all it was a challenging change of pace from the usual life-drawing situation, but not categorically different, either.
These are all done with very soft graphite on 18 x 24"  sheets of cartridge paper.

5th Entry for Dec 6, 2010

 The last ensemble that B-  had brought was two layers of ripped bodystockings. I chose to try to document her whole figure in these 5-minute studies, but in many ways the costume would have generated a lot of interesting semi-abstract detail studies. By the same token, it would lend itself well to photography, as a camera would readily capture the difference between skin tones/textures and the fabrics.
I read an interesting book from the Seventies on `creative' figure drawing, which advocated costuming along these lines - ripped fabrics, or fabric tubes, to create abstract shapes.

These are all 5-minute poses.

4th Entry for Dec 6, 2010

 

The models work through a couple of costume changes over the course of an evening at the Dr. Sketchy's sessions. I have a sentimental fondness for older pin-up imagery, and this ensemble tapped into that territory.
My stylisations are much more influenced by the art school experience of Robert Markle and Graham Coughtry than by comic artists and illustrators. When I look at what I make given this situation, I am aware of how raw & loose, as opposed to crisp and linear they are, but it is fun to try.


Above are three 5-minute poses, and below is a 10-minute one, all done on 18 x 24" cartidge paper with soft graphite.

3rd Entry for Dec 6, 2010

Above is 3-minute study and below are two 5-minute studies.  the textures and surfaces of B-   's outfit were a challenge to try to depict, and required all my familiarity with figure drawing to set down the shapes of the pose.
A body can represent many things, but this ensemble definitely pushes the body's forms into the context of desire.
The outfit also reminded me of the look of Weimar republic cabarets, and Marlene Dietrich's character in "The Blue Angel".

2nd Entry for Dec 6, 2010

These were also 3-minute poses, as I recall - 5 minutes at the outside. 
Perhaps because I was ready for it, the music playing that night was loud and dance-y, but I was able to work with it rather than trying to shut it out.  There were quite a number of tracks, like Gil Scott-Heron's "New York is Killing Me" that were new to me, but I liked enough to look up later.

1st entry for Dec 6, 2010

On the Monday I went over to the Dr. Sketchy's drawing session. B-  was working that night, and she is a local burlesque performer.  The poses she took were not so far removed from a lot of the sessions where no clothes are involved, but the choice of lingerie & heels really colours how the poses appear.

These were 1.5-minute and, I think, some 3 -minute poses.  With the amount of trouble people there  put into their costumes, I feel it would be a bit churlish not to draw them, but in a minute or two it is an extra stretch to set down any of the details of what she was wearing.  In trying to draw these I alternated between sketching clothes over quick scribbly gesture drawings, and working with fast contour lines.
The less time spent scribbling up front, the more time to add surface information.

These are done with soft graphite on 18 x 24" cartridge paper.

Entry for Dec 5, 2010

It was the week for model mix-ups. On the Sunday I found P-   ,  sitting in his briefs to fill in for someone who didn't turn up. It was that kind of week, and interesting to get to draw P-   , as I have known him  for decades, but only sketched him once or twice before.
Above are some 10-minute studies, done on 20 x 30" cartridge paper, using Prismacolor art stick. P- held the poses well. Their body language was fairly natural, which suited the boxer briefs. In one I tried to shoehorn the pose into a domestic narrative by adding a bed.

Perhaps as a response to the ordinariness of the poses, for the last couple of 15-minute poses he got more loaded in the body language and settings. I found it really striking, and regretted that I had to slip out a few minutes early. 
The stretched-out `corpse pose' was done on the cold cement floor of the studio, and  the resultant starkness and vuknerability made it one of the most dramatic visuals in a long time, for me. It is such a simple, flat pose, and as such tends to get vetoed in favour of poses with more variety in where limbs are placed, and what angles they are at. But unlike many of the images  post here, this one says `human being' more than it says `nice pose', and I find the former ultimately more compelling.

The lower two are also done on 20 x 30" cartridge paper, but I had to add an extra bit for the feet.

2nd Entry for Dec 3, 2010

The top image was done on 20 x 30" cartridge paper with a Prismacolor art stick.
The lower three are all using soft graphite sticks on 18 x 24" Japanese paper, and were in the 15 - 20 minute range. The seated figure was all right, but the two head studies were much less successful. They have a bit of the shape of G-  's face, but I have done a lot better.

That happens - a stretch of drawing flames out and the results are weak.  Two days before was a really good portrait day, so these stood in particular contrast. But as always, I enjoy the trying - even if the results don't pan out.

1st entry for Dec 3, 2010

On the Friday, G-  was working. These are 10-minute studies, done with Prismacolor  art stick on 20 x 30" sheets of cartridge paper. They worked out all right, I felt.