The Week in Figure Drawings

2nd entry for Jan 17, 2012

2012-01-30T12:46:00.000-08:00

These are three 20-minute studies of C- , and a 15-minute one at the bottom. All are on sheets of 90 lb Maidstone paper.
The top two are on 11 x 22" half-sheets, while the lower two are on 22 x 30" sheets.
The top one is done with soft graphite, and the one below with hard compressed charcoal. both half-sheets are very lightly toned with charcoal powder. The smaller surface area made me inclined to try more close croppings of the figure.
The third one is just hard compressed charcoal, and the lowest one is the same charcoal with a more pronounced charcoal underlayer.
At this point it has been striking me what a difference a very small amount of surface tone makes to the character of the drawing. Even a small dusting away from white really registers as a markedly darker final image.

1st entry for Jan 17, 2012

2012-01-29T21:24:00.000-08:00

On the Tuesday I was over at Artists 25. C- was working there as well. These are a 2-minute, a 5-minute and a 10-minute study, done using hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24 sheets, of bond paper at top, and Canson Sketch paper on the two below.

2nd entry for Jan 15, 2012

2012-01-29T09:08:00.000-08:00

This was a 2 and 1/2 hour study L- , using hard compressed charcoal on 22 x 30" 90 lb Maidstone paper.
I did a bit of light brushing of the tonal areas afterwards, to settle some of the surface texture, without totally losing it.

1st entry for Jan 15, 2012

2012-01-28T10:32:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday, I went the TSA to do some sketching during the day. L- was working. On an oversight, I forgot to pack my little box of various charcoals. I had some of the rectangular `super black' charcoal with me, so I started with that. The top image is a 10-minute study, using that on 18 x 24 Canson Sketch paper.

I observed that I was lacking materials, and one of the other drawers loaned me a stick of Conte compressed charcoal, from an old box she had. The lower two are 15-minute studies on sheets of the same paper, using the Conte charcoal. I liked the texture of it quite a bit- it wasn't a deep black, and had a hard but creamy texture like a cross between General's charcoal and Nupastel. I was intrigued enough that I sought some more for myself.

I was a bit disappointed when I took out some of the new Conte charcoal. The texture was more waxy, the pigment blacker, and the sticks far more brittle than the one from Sang's much older box. It reinforced my sense that Conte's quality has materially changed in the last few years, and not for the better. Too bad, as they were a `gold-standard' art material company for decades. But now package redesign seems to be getting more emphasis than content. I'd be happy with vintage packaging, if I could depend on what's inside to perform really well.

To be fair, it is possible that time alters the nature of their charcoal binder, and my new stuff may come round to behave like the older stick in 10 years, but I doubt it, somehow.

3rd entry for Jan 13, 2012

2012-01-28T10:31:00.000-08:00

I stopped in to try one more study at the close of the next-door painting session. C- was siting, and this was a 20-minute study, using the hard compressed charcoal on 90 lb Maidstone paper.

2nd entry for Jan 13, 2012

2012-01-27T12:34:00.000-08:00

These are two 15-minute studies above, and a 20-minute one below.
The top one is on 20 x 21" Strathmore paper, the middle on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper, and the lower one on 22 x 30" 90 lb Maidstone paper.
All are done using hard compressed Nobel charcoal.

1st entry for Jan 13, 2012

2012-01-26T11:29:00.000-08:00

On the Friday evening I was back at the TSA with my now-accustomed hard compressed Nobel charcoal. D- was working, and these are three 10-minute studies. All are on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper.

Entry for Jan 10, 2012

2012-01-25T13:12:00.000-08:00

On the Tuesday night I checked out the monthly more erotic-themed Keyhole Sessions session. They were working with a black-and-white costume theme that evening. I tried out a material I hadn't used before, Koh-I-Noor Nero drawing sticks, which are like a deluxe coloured pencil.
From the top, these are a 15-minute study of the empty stage, a sheet with 1-minute studies of S- , a 10 and a 15-minute study of S- , two 10-minute partial studies of S- with M- , and a 35-minute study of A- & M- .

The Nero material is nice, and finer than charcoal & conte in texture, but it took a while to build up, so my drawing was slowed down. It is brittle as well, so using it on it's side rather than in its intended holder meant that it broke easily when trying to do dark shading. It's a material I might try again, but not one I fell wildly for.
The top six studies are on 18 x 24" sheets of bond and Canson Sketch paper, and the bottom one is on an 18 x 24" sheet of 90 lb Maidstone paper.

The poses offered a few out-of-the-ordinary challenges. The last long one had a little potential, but the drawing is a bit awkward, and the composition placed oddly. It's not often one gets to draw people in such close proximity. A more partial composition would likely have imparted more of a sense of intimacy.

2nd entry for Jan 8, 2012

2012-01-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday night, I got in for the last 35 minutes of M- working. These are a 10-minute study above, on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper, and a 20-minute one below on a 22 x 30" sheet of 90 lb Maidstone.
Both are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal.

1st entry for Jan 8, 2012

2012-01-24T08:26:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday morning I came in for the latter part of the TSA's session. C- was working there as well. These are two 10-minute studies above, and three 15-minute ones below. The 10's are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper. The lower three are done with the same charcoal on 22 x 30" sheets of 90 lb Maidstone paper.

5th entry for Jan 5, 2012

2012-01-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

I ended that evening a little early. These are three 15-minute studies,. The top two are on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper, while the bottom one is on 90 lb. Maidstone paper. All are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal.

4th entry for Jan 5, 2012

2012-01-22T08:45:00.000-08:00

These are two 5-minute studies above, and three 10-minute ones below. The top two are on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper, and the lower three are on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper. All are done with hard compressed charcoal.

3rd entry for Jan 5, 2012

2012-01-21T20:05:00.000-08:00

I got back to the TSA for the evening session. C- was working. These are 1-minute studies, done with hard U-art charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

2nd entry for Jan 5, 2012

2012-01-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

These are two 15-minute studies above, and a 20-minute one below. All are done with Nobel hard compressed charcoal. The top and bottom ones are on 22 x 30" sheets of Maidstone paper, while the middle one is on 21 x 29" Strathmore paper.

With the topmost study, I was figuring that the rhythm of curved shapes I was seeing would be intensified by the closer cropping. I miscalculated the placement vertically, as to how much foreground would be there, and the blank fabric isn't interesting enough to carry that much of the image.
That, I feel, is one of the big challenges for this year. I have a good paper I'm somewhat liking, I have a good connection to the touch of my drawing, and can readily draw someone full-figure as needed. Now the challenge is to make interesting images out of what the poses presented offer.

1st entry for Jan 5, 2012

2012-01-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

On the Thursday afternoon I made it over to the TSA. N P - was working. and these are a 5-minute study at top, then a 10-minute one and two 15-minute ones below.
All are using hard Nobel compressed charcoal. The top two are on 18 x 24" cartridge paper sheets, the third on 22 x 30" Maidstone, and the lowest one on Strathmore paper.

Entry for Jan 3, 2012

2012-01-18T11:15:00.000-08:00

On the Tuesday evening, H- was at Artists 25. These are two 10-minute studies above, and two 20-minute ones below.
They are all done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal. All are on 90 lb Maisdtone paper; the top two are on sheets cut down to 18 x 24", and the lower two are on 22 x 30" sheets.
It wasn't one of my stronger nights - I was wrestling with scale and materials, but there were alright moments.

4th entry for Jan 1, 2012

2012-01-17T11:57:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of 20-minute studies of A- , done with hard compressed Nobel chatcoal on 22 x 30" sheets of 90-lb Maidstone paper.
Those of you looking for some art instuction, I have a portrait drawing class starting tomorrow at the Toronto School of Art, and I'm only one week into a couple of life drawing classes, and there is still room for a couple more people.
You can get contact info for the TSA here.

3rd entry for Jan 1, 2012

2012-01-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

These are three 10-minute studies above, and a 15-minute one below. The upper three are on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper, and the lowest one is on 90 lb. Maidstone. All are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal.

2nd entry for Jan 1, 2012

2012-01-15T23:56:00.000-08:00

These are two more 1-minute studies, two 5-minute ones below and a 10-minute one at the bottom. All are done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" paper, bond paper for the top four; Canson Sketch for the lower one.

1st entry for Jan 1, 2012

2012-01-14T21:31:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday, the new year began. A- was over at the TSA that evening. These are 1-minute studies, done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper.

3rd Entry for Dec. 30, 2011 (last study of 2011)

2012-01-13T12:15:00.000-08:00

On that evening I was eager to keep testing out the Maidstone paper, so I hopped into the last 25 minutes of the next-door long pose, where it was S- working.
This is also hard compressed Nobel charcoal on a 22 x 30" sheet. Owing to the volume of shadow, I stayed on for a further 10 minutes to add fabric shadows once S- had left.

This was the last study I did in 2011. It was a good year for materials exploration, and a busy one for blog postings. By my count, I've posted 1673 studies over the course of the year. After another couple of hundred images, I'll be up to 5000 on this blog. Which, I figure, will mark some kind of a priority shift for me. But that's still to come.

2nd Entry for Dec. 30, 2011

2012-01-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

From the top, these are a 15-minute, 20-minute and a 25-minute study of B- . All are hard Nobel charcoal. The top one is on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper, the next is on 21 x 29" Strathmore paper and the lower one is on 22 x 30" Maidstone paper.

1st entry for Dec 30, 2011

2012-01-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

On the Friday, B- was working at the TSA. These are a 5-minute study above and three 10-minute ones below. All are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Cansin Sketch paper.

5th Entry for Dec. 29, 2011

2012-01-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

(The Toronto School of Art's Winter term starts this week and next. I teach a portrait drawing class on Wednesday mornings. I also teach life drawing classes Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. There is still room in them, and you can get full registration info here.)

These are two 15-minute studies above, and a 20-minute one below. The top and bottom ones are on 22 x 30" sheets of 90 lb Maidstone paper. The middle one is on a 21 x 29" sheet of Strathmore paper.
All are done with hard compressed Nobel compressed charcoal.

4th Entry for Dec. 29, 2011

2012-01-10T10:19:00.000-08:00

( The Toronto School of Art's Winter term starts this week and next. I teach a portrait drawing class on Wednesday mornings. I also teach life drawing classes Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. There is still room in them, and you can get full registration info here.)

These are a 5-minute study above, and three 10-minute ones below. The top one is hard U-Art charcoal on18 x 24" bond paper; the next is the same charcoal on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper; the lower two are both done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal on the Canson paper.

3rd Entry for Dec. 29, 2011

2012-01-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

On Thursday evening, D- was working. These are 1-minute studies, using hard U-art compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

2nd Entry for Dec. 29, 2011

2012-01-08T10:26:00.000-08:00

These are two 20-minute studies and a 15-minute one at the bottom. The top and bottom ones are done on 21 x 29" sheets of Strathmore paper, while the middle one is on a 22 x 30" sheet of Maidstone paper. All are done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal in woodless pencil form.

The lowest one has awkward proportions; I feel the head is just a bit too large. But the composition is a little more adventurous and the drawing more lively, which give it some life as a drawing than if I've over-determined the figure.

1st entry for Dec 29, 2011

2012-01-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

Following a very relaxed and enjoyable spell of Christmas activities, it was time to start sketching again. On the Thursday afternoon, D- was at the TSA. I had drawn him once before. These are two 10-minute studies above, and two 15-minute ones below.
All are done with Nobel hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

3rd Entry for Dec. 20, 2011

2012-01-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

( The Toronto School of Art's Winter term starts next week. I teach a portrait drawing class on Wednesday mornings. I also teach life drawing classes Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings. There is still room in them, and you can get full registration info here.)

These are 20-minute studies of S- . All are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal. The top and bottom ones are on 22 x 30" sheets of Maidstone 90 lb paper. The middle one is on a 21 x 29" sheet of german 'copperplate' rag paper that was on special at Woolfitt's. That paper is good, but had a surface texture that was a little more coarse than I like. It is okay for rendering up a dramatic pose with strong contrast, like S- `thinker' pose here, but not so hot for fine details. I'm still preferring the finer-grained potential of the Maidstone paper.

I am happy with how the top drawing was evolving. For a little while there were some spare and gentle old-English carol-type instrumental pieces on the radio, and I was finding I was connecting to what I thought of as a 'Holbein' headspace, where the drawing strokes were simultaneously contour line and shading together, and the edges of shaded passages were doing a line's job, and articulating facial planes and light better than usual.
The music shifted into something more classically `challenging', and that dissipated some of that spell & focus. But it was a good night, all the same.

Not that I don't like and respect challenging music. But for maximum drawing contemplation and focus, give me ambient music, madrigals and the like. Where speed and drama are the goal, the Sketchy's sessions disco soundtracks are fine. Plus dance music, for all the speed of the BPM rate, tends to a steady tempo and stays away from really discordant sounds. I find musical monotony and familiarity suits drawing for me as it can be tuned out when desired. I think of it as a bit like processing space on the computer; really focused drawing demands nearly all of my processing capacity, so having to acknowledge or react to outside sounds demands RAM I can't spare, and if I can't tune it out, then the drawing slows down.
But everyone is different, and what I speak of here is most relevant to the `time trial' situation of people posing for short intervals, where every minute counts and every slowdown can mean a limb not set down. Long poses are more like painting- music can enhance and sustain a mood for them, I believe.

2nd Entry for Dec. 20, 2011

2012-01-05T09:31:00.000-08:00

These are two 10-minute studies above and a 20-minute one below. All are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper.

1st entry for Dec 20, 2011

2012-01-04T21:29:00.000-08:00

( The Toronto School of Art's Winter term starts next week. I teach life drawing classes Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings, and a portrait drawing class on Wednesday mornings. There is still room in them, and you can get full registration info here.)

On the Tuesday night I got over to Artists 25. S- was working there as well,so I had a second shot at doing him justice.
The top three are 2-minute studies, and the lower two are 5-minute ones. All are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper. The middle one had some powdered charcoal worked into the paper ahead of time.

2nd entry for Dec 19, 2011

2012-01-03T21:19:00.000-08:00

All of these had a dusting of charcoal powder applied to the paper prior to drawing ( though much less than the previous day's experiments).
The top two were done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper, while the bottom one employs the same charcoal on a 21 x 29" sheet of Strathmore paper.
The upper two were 15 minutes each, and the lowest one was a 20-minute study of S- . The longer one came out too wooden in its posture. I liked the simplicity and physical bulk of S- as a person to draw. He always calls Lucian Freud to mind for me.

1st entry for Dec 19, 2011

2012-01-02T16:39:00.000-08:00

On the Monday night, I went over to the Ralph Thornton Center. S- was working, and these are a 1-minute, two 5-minute and a 10-minute studies.

All of these are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper, into which some powdered charcoal was rubbed beforehand (to provide a slighly random base tone on the paper).

3rd Entry for Dec 18, 2011

2011-12-30T11:38:00.000-08:00

These are three 15-minute studies above, and a 25-minute one below. The top three are done with a lighter dusting of powdered charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper, using a hard Nobel compressed charcoal stick.
The lowest one uses the same materials on a 22 x 30" sheet of 90 lb Maidstone paper. The softer, more velvety top fibers of the Maidstone sheet tended to trap the powdered charcoal particles right where they fell, and resisted any easy spreading. I was using a salt shaker I'd picked up at the dollar store to distribute the charcoal, but it was still quite clumpy on landing, I was finding.
On the second from the top, I did a bit of erasure, redrawing and light finger-smudging after the fact.

2nd entry for Dec 18, 2011

2011-12-29T14:52:00.000-08:00

These are 10-minute studies, done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets Canson Sketch paper. The charcoal ground does afford a subtly graduated random facror underneath the more direct lines and shading of P- 's figure.

1st entry for Dec 18, 2011

2011-12-28T12:40:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday night, I was just wrapping up the cleanup of the TSA's Open House, so I was a little rusty and more muscle over-worked than usual. P- was working. I was interested to see how an underlayer of powdered charcoal might affect the drawing, so I had dusted a number of sheets just prior to the session's start.
The first three 1-minute studies and the head on the left are Progresso woodless pencil crayon on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper. The extra charcoal powder did not render the smooth paper any more toothy, as I had hoped it might. The head study on the right is hard U-Art woodless charcoal pencil, which gave a better contrast, and meshed more with the powdered charcoal.

The heavier dusting of charcoal in the second study down and the lowest one does reveal some of the web pattern of the paper's manufacture, which isn't something I welcome.The head studies are 5 minutes each.

Z- brought an interesting article on life drawing to my attention:
http://slgallant.wordpress.com/2011/09/18/no-bad-poses-or-revenge-of-the-model
Check it out.

6th Entry for Dec 11, 2011

2011-12-27T12:12:00.000-08:00

These are 15-minute studies. All are done with hard compressed Nobel woodless charcoal. The top one is on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper. The next one down and the lowest one are on 21 x 30" sheets of Strathmore paper. The second one from the bottom is on a 20 x 26" sheet of 90 lb. Maidstone paper.

5th Entry for Dec 11, 2011

2011-12-26T10:23:00.000-08:00

These are all 10-minute studies, done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper.

4th Entry for Dec 11, 2011

2011-12-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

These are two 5-minute studies above, and a 10-minute one below. All are done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper.

3rd Entry for Dec 11, 2011

2011-12-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

I came back later for the evening session. A- , who was working on the Monday night, happened to be doing this one as well. These are 1-minute studies, done with Progresso woodless pencil crayon on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

2nd Entry for Dec. 11, 2011

2011-12-22T12:00:00.000-08:00

I stayed for the afternoon, which was one 3-hour pose. The upper study was tow hours, using Nobel hard compressed charcoal on a 22 x 30" sheet of Maidstone paper. The lower one is a 25-minute study, same charcoal on an 18 x 24" sheet of Canson Sketch paper.
The monitor of the session tried setting things up to exploit the daylight, with a little incandescent fill to help. but it led to the lighting shifting quite radically over the afternoon. By the time I had reconciled the longer study, the outside light was dying off, so the shorter study (which is from a slightly different position, ) was almost all lit with one incandescent light. That's the trouble with daylight, unless one has north-facing skylights; the sun swings around noticeably from hour to hour.

I liked the longer study, and was exploring what sort of background to use. One idea I have been exploring a bit lately is having two ground-plane edges meeting a vertical in the background, to infer a 2-point perspective meeting of X,Y and Z axes. The actual space was dark, but I wanted something lighter. To break up the big negative spaces, I tried a Richard Diebenkorn-style set of criss-crossing lines, pushed out close to the edges - so they would demarcate the limits of the picture field, and make the big open spaces of the top half into more distinct zones of negative space. I kind of like what that did.
The shorter study benefited from the hours of warm-up I'd done up to then.

1st entry for Dec 11, 2011

2011-12-21T10:16:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday morning, I got in for part of the drawing session at the TSA. M- was working, and I hadn't drawn her for a long time. These are a 10-minute study above, and two 15-minute ones below.
The top one is hard compressed U-art charcoal on bond paper, the middle one is hard Nobel charcoal on Canson Sketch paper, while the bottom one is medium Nobel charcoal on the Canson paper. All are on 18 x 24" sheets.

4th Entry for Dec 8, 2011

2011-12-20T12:31:00.000-08:00

These are a 15-minute study above, and two 20-minute ones of K - below.
All are done with Nobel hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper.

I do have a tendency to get brief crushes on new materials if they show promise. During that time a part of me thinks "maybe this is the `magic bullet' material that will perfectly realise my desired shading and mark-making. At that point I'm only noticing the things that the material does that I like. Gradually I begin to notice where the limitations of a given drawing material or paper are.

A component of how one handles a material or paper is familiarity. I find it takes time to achieve the muscle memory of just what touch and pressure works best with any given combination, and it is only after some practice that I can have the trust to work most freely with a chosen combination of paper and drawing materials. I've probably drawn upwards of ten thousand studies on newsprint sheets in my life, so it is very much a known quantity. When I find a paper or drawing material with potential, I try to give myself a stretch of time without judgment, just seeing how it behaves, to resist the temptation to think while working, "Is this working really well? How about now? And now?'. Unless I don't like the feel or texture at all, it's worth doing a hundred or two studies, and then seeing how it worked out.
Over the last year, I've been working through a number of different possibilities. I suspect that, barring some magic material, it is in the combination of a couple of materials that a given paper's potential can be best exploited.

In 2009, virtually everything posted here was Conte crayon on newsprint.
In 2010, I started exploring Japanese paper and generic cartridge paper, with super-soft graphite, and Prismacolor drawing sticks
This year, the papers tried have been: more Japanese papers, Canson Sketch, generic bond paper, a roll of Strathmore 300 series acid free paper, and Maidstone 90 lb acid-free paper, plus a few odds and ends of other Canson papers.
Materials tried have been- U-Art woodless charcoal sticks,
Royal `super black' sketching sticks, Nobel woodless charcoal sticks, Progresso woodless pencil crayon, willow charcoal and powdered charcoal.

3rd Entry for Dec 8, 2011

2011-12-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

After a long break, these are some 1-minute poses. I was thinking about holding the charcoal on a flatter angle, and tried massing these gestures, rather than being as linear as I usually draw them.

2nd entry for Dec 8, 2011

2011-12-18T08:22:00.000-08:00

These are 10-minute studies. All are done with Nobel hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper.
I was particularly happy with the top study here - it had an above-average fluidity and confidence of handling, to my mind.

1st entry for Dec 8, 2011

2011-12-17T18:01:00.000-08:00

On the Thursday night, K- was working over at the TSA. These are 1-minute studies, done with a black Progresso woodless pencil crayon, on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

3rd Entry for Dec 5, 2011

2011-12-16T22:28:00.000-08:00

Above are a 10-minute and two 15-minute studies. The lowest one is a 20-minute study. All are done with Nobel hard compressed charcoal. The upper three are on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper, and the bottom one is on a 22 x 30" sheet of 90 lb Maidstone paper

2nd entry for Dec 5, 2011

2011-12-16T08:48:00.000-08:00

These are two 5-minute studied above, and two 10-minute ones below. All are done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper.

1st entry for Dec 5, 2011

2011-12-15T15:40:00.000-08:00

On the Monday I was over at the Ralph Thornton Centre. A - was working, and these are 1-minute studies. Each is done with a Progresso black woodless pencil crayon on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

4th Entry for Dec 2, 2011

2011-12-13T20:50:00.000-08:00

These are a 15-minute study above, and a 20-minute one below. both done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal.
The upper one is on 18 x 24" Canson Sketch paper, and the lower one on 20 x 26" Maidstone paper.

3rd Entry for Dec 2, 2011

2011-12-13T07:53:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of 10-minute studies of M- above, and 15-minute ones below. All are done with hard Nobel compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper

2nd Entry for Dec. 2, 2011

2011-12-12T21:06:00.000-08:00

Above are three 5-minute studies, and below a 10-minute one. All are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of Canson Sketch paper.

1st entry for Dec 2, 2011

2011-12-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

On the Friday, M- was working. I had not drawn her before.
These are 1-minute studies, done with black woodless Progresso pencil crayon on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

3rd Entry for Dec 1, 2011

2011-12-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

These are two 20-minute studies. Both are done with hard compressed Nobel charcoal sticks. The upper one is on a 21 x 29" sheet of Strathmore paper, and the lower one is on 22 x 30" Maidstone paper.

2nd Entry for Dec. 1, 2011

2011-12-10T00:10:00.000-08:00

These are two 15-minute studies of H- , each on a 18 x 24" sheet of Canson Sketch paper, using the hard Nobel compressed charcoal.
The darker values in the upper one were added on another day, whole the background marks in the lower one were done while H- was taking a rest on that evening.

1st entry for Dec 1, 2011

2011-12-08T22:44:00.000-08:00

On the Thursday, H- was working at the TSA. These are three 1-minute studies above and a 5-minute one below. All are done on 18 x 24"sheets of bond paper with hard compressed charcoal.

3rd Entry for Nov. 28, 2011

2011-12-07T14:54:00.000-08:00

From the top, these are a 15-minute, a 20-minute and another 15-minute study.
The top two are on 22 x 30" sheets of Maidstone paper, and the lower one is on 21 x 29" Strathmore paper from a roll.
The top one was done with Conte crayon. There are marks on the left-side buttock area and mid-thigh on the right where grit in the Conte scratched up the soft surface of the paper. I was not impressed by that.
The middle one is the hard compressed Nobel chalk, which behaved much better.
The bottom one was a mix of hard and medium Nobel compressed charcoals. The more coarse 'tooth' of the Strathmore paper is evident, but it did afford a broad tonal range.

2nd Entry for Nov. 28, 2011

2011-12-06T10:20:00.000-08:00

These are two 10-minute studies, and s 25-minute one of D- below. All of them are on 18 x 24" sheets of the Canson Sketch paper ( what I typically call `cartridge paper' here. )
The top two are done with the hard Nobel compressed charcoal sticks. The middle one has a lot of background shading with an HB Conte crayon. With the broader variety of drawing materials and paper I've tried over the past year, I realised that I hadn't given Conte a shot on the Canson or other heavier papers.
The lower one is done exclusively with Conte. Like a litho crayon or coloured pencil, I found it tended to `cake up' in dense areas of shading, and I couldn't coax the sensitivity of mark in dark values that I've come to like with harder charcoals. (examples are the shadows inside his right arm, his hands and where his torso sits on the ground.).
That might be diffferent if I was aiming to do longer drawings and build values methodically. My interest lies in part in having the freedom to set a lot of information down quickly and sensitively, to ideally keep the pose duration as short as possible.
But HB Conte on a smooth newsprint is another story. There, I find its texture finds its fullest flower. Too bad the paper has no longevity...

1st entry for Nov 28, 2011

2011-12-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

On the Monday night, D- was at the Ralph Thornton Centre. I had done some research into the mystery charcoal and determined that it was Nobel brand. While picking some up at De Serres (a local art store that stocks that), I also saw a Progresso brand woodless black colouring pencil which looked quite appealingly dark.
The top two studies - a 1-minute and 5-minute one respectively - are both the Progresso pencil crayon on bond paper. It was silky-smooth, but didn't get much purchase on the smooth bond I'm getting from Aboveground Art Supplies. Nice for gestures; not so hot for how I like to build darker shading, but not too smeary either.
The next 5-minute study below is Progresso crayon with a bit of Conte crayon to help things along in the darker areas, on the same kind of 18 x 24" bond paper as the top two.
The lower one is a 10-minute study with hard compressed Nobel charcoal stick on 18 x 24" cartridge paper.

I might add that what I refer to as `cartridge paper' these days is more specifically Canson `Sketch' brand paper, from their XL series of 18 x 24" pads.
I really wish they would introduce a 22 x 30 or 24 x 36" XXL series of pads for this...

3rd Entry for Nov. 27, 2011

2011-12-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

These are 15-minute studies. The top and bottom ones are on 22 x 30" sheets of Maidstone paper, and the middle one is on an 18 x 24" sheet of cartridge paper.
All are done with hard compressed charcoal- a mix of the U-art and the other mystery bit I had found.

2nd Entry for Nov. 27, 2011

2011-12-03T15:13:00.000-08:00

These are two 15-minute studies above, and a 10 minute one below. All are done with hard compressed charcoal sticks on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper. The middle one was done with the unfamiliar stick, which I must have picked up from the studio floor, thinking it was mine. It didn't have a brand name, just a product number.

1st entry for Nov 27, 2011

2011-12-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday night, after a good rest and a few days' hiatus from figure drawing, I got over to the TSA. T- was working that night, and these are two 5-minute studies above, and three 10-minute ones below. All are done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.
I was interested to note that one of the charcoal sticks that I was using delivered a more smooth-grained shading stroke than others.
(I used it on the second study from the top).

2nd Entry for Nov. 22, 2011

2011-12-01T20:11:00.000-08:00

These are a 10-minute study at top, three 20-minute ones, and a 10-minute one at the bottom. All were done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal.
The top two and bottom one are on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper. The others are on 22 x 30" sheets of Maidstone 90 lb paper. The second from bottom was initially done with willow charcoal, and then hard charcoal drawn on top to add sharpness and bolder dark areas. There wasn't as much time to revisit those darks as I would have liked.

1st entry for Nov 22, 2011

2011-11-30T21:38:00.000-08:00

On the Tuesday I was back at Artists 25, and found R- working. These are two 2-minute studies above, a couple of 5-minute and a 10-minute study below. The top three are on bond paper, the lower two on cartridge, all 18 x 24", all done with U-Art compressed charcoal.

3rd Entry for Nov. 20, 2011

2011-11-29T21:40:00.000-08:00

The top image is hard compressed U-art charcoal on 18 x 24" cartridge paper, and is a 15-minute study.
The middle one is a 20-minute study on 21 x 29" Strathmore paper, with the same charcoal.
The lowest one was 25 minutes, and uses a willow charcoal underdrawing for masses and tonalities, and hard U-art charcoal atop that for contours and details. It is on a 22 x 30" sheet of Maidstone 90 lb paper, which seems to hold promise as a material.

2nd Entry for Nov. 20, 2011

2011-11-28T23:34:00.000-08:00

After a longer break, these are 1-minute studies, done with hatd compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

1st entry for Nov 20, 2011

2011-11-27T21:14:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday night, G- was working at the TSA. These are, from the top, a 5-minute and two 10-minute studies, all done with hard compressed charcoal, all on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper,

2nd Entry for Nov. 18, 2011

2011-11-27T00:11:00.000-08:00

These are three 15-minute studies above, on various Canson papers in the 19 x 25" range. The lower one is a 20-minute study, using 22 x 30" Maidstone 90 lb. paper. I found its' surface promising.

All are done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal sticks.

1st entry for Nov 18, 2011

2011-11-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

On the Friday L- was working. She was someone I wasn't familiar with. These are 10-minute studies. In preparation for a project I decided it would be a paper exploration night. The first one is on familiar 18 x 24" bond paper.
The lower two are on a couple of different types of Canson paper, both 19 x 25". All are done with the same U-Art hard compressed charcoal.

3rd Entry for Nov. 14, 2011

2011-11-24T15:39:00.000-08:00

These are a 15-minute study above and a 25-minute one below. The top one is done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24"cartridge paper, while the lower one is he same U-Art charcoal on a 21 x 29" sheet of Strathmore paper.
For the larger paper, it seems that 25-30 minutes is the optimum time frame; the greater rigidity of the surface means it takes that little bit longer to lay shading down. On a smaller sheet I'm reaching the overkill point around the 20-minute mark - at least for this sort of direct study with minimal background.
...Which is slightly challenging, as almost all the drop-in sessions I get to go no further than 20 minutes at the top end.

2nd Entry for Nov. 14, 2011

2011-11-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

These are a couple of 10-minute studies above, and 15-minute ones below. All are done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

1st entry for Nov 14, 2011

2011-11-22T08:07:00.000-08:00

On the Monday I went out to the Ralph Thornton Centre. S- was working that evening. These are a 1-minute, a 3-minute, a 5-minute and a 10-minute study, all done with hard compressed compressed charcoal. The top two are on 1x 24" sheets of bond paper, and the lower two on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

2nd Entry for Nov. 11, 2011

2011-11-21T21:36:00.000-08:00

Above are a 10-minute, two 15-minute and a 20-minute study. The 20-minute one is done with the U-Art hard compressed charcoal on a sheet of 21 x 29" Strathmore paper. The other four, including the 7-minute study at the bottom, are all done with the same charcoal, but on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.
(It's too bad I didn't do 11 studies that evening. Using my documentation titling, it would have been designated "11111111")

1st entry for Nov 11, 2011

2011-11-20T22:24:00.000-08:00

On the Friday, which was the numerically noteworthy 11-11-11, A- was working at the TSA. These are a 3-minute, a 5-minute and a 10-minute study, all done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

2nd Entry for Nov. 8, 2011

2011-11-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

The Medusa story was better explored later on that night. The upper three studies are two 10-minute ones and a 15-minute one , with B- and N- riffing on Athena's punishment of Medusa, turning her into the gorgon. For 25 minutes, A- joined them to stage Medusa's demise. Finally, after a break, the three of them took a 45-minute post-decapitation tableau.
As usual, the costumes and props and multi-figure groupings were a challenge, and I'm not giving Caravaggio a run for his money any time soon.
I was focused on documenting what was happening with the people modelling in the session, versus shifting the images into more overt narrative versions of the story being represented.

An unfortunate mishap for their rigger meant that the signature quirk of rope harness decoration was absent from the models. I felt in this case, that worked out fine. The combination of rope patterns and snake headgear might have added to Medusa's transformation into something extra-human, but otherwise the ropework would be a non-sequitur.

1st entry for Nov 8, 2011

2011-11-18T22:09:00.000-08:00

On the Tuesday I went over to the Great Hall and sat in on the once-monthly Keyhole Sessions drawing session. Lately they have been branching out from their usual fare into more character and costume-based evenings, which works for me. On this evening, the theme was worked around the Medusa narrative. B- from the Coquettes burlesque troupe was nominally channeling an Athena vibe in a sheer dress.
Drawing a person in draped fabric is a good challenge, though. These are two 1-minute studies at the top,, followed by a 5-minute, a 10-minute and a 15-minute study below. The first four are on 1x x 24" sheets of bond paper, and the lowest one is on 18 x 24" cartridge paper. all are done with U-Art hard compressed charcoal. The softer bond paper is lower-quality, but imparts a finer grain with the charcoal then the cartridge I've been using does. (Sigh.)

3rd Entry for Nov. 7, 2011

2011-11-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

These are a 15-minute, a 20-minute and a 7-minute study, which wrapped up that evening.

The top and bottom studies are on 18 x 24" paper, and the middle one is on 21 x 29" Strathmore paper from a big roll. All are done with hard compressed charcoal (U-Art brand).
I'm liking the larger expanse of the Strathmore paper, but it is more rigid than I prefer, and has a somewhat frustrating tendency to retain a curl once rolled.
(Not to mention the extreme difficulty of `back-rolling this size of thick paper without engendering dents and folds. If I really come to like it, I would likely need to buy one or two large-diameter Sonotube pieces to roll it in reverse on in successive stages, which is a hassle in a small studio. But at under $1.00 per sheet like this, it might yet be worth the bother...)

2nd Entry for Nov. 7, 2011

2011-11-17T21:36:00.000-08:00

These are two 5-minute studies above, and 10-minute ones below. All are done with hard compressed charcoal (U-Art) on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.
I was getting stuck on setting down T- 's likeness (with moderate success), and not drawing especially fast that evening.

1st entry for Nov 7, 2011

2011-11-16T21:24:00.000-08:00

On the Monday, T- was working at the Ralph Thornton Centre. These are three 1-minute studies above and a 3-minute one below. All are hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

2nd Entry for Nov. 6, 2011

2011-11-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

These are three 15-minute studies, each done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

1st entry for Nov 6, 2011

2011-11-14T12:04:00.000-08:00

On the Sunday morning I came in for some practice, and found L- working. He was a new model for me. These are a 5-minute study above, and two 10-minute ones below, all done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

3rd Entry for Nov. 4, 2011

2011-11-13T23:35:00.000-08:00

Above are three 15-minute studies , then a 20-minute one, and a 7-minute study at the bottom.
All were done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal sticks.
The second study from the bottom is done on 21 x 29" Strathmore paper from a big roll, and all the others are on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

2nd Entry for Nov. 4, 2011

2011-11-12T20:05:00.000-08:00

These are three 10-minute studies and a 15-minute one below. All use hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

1st entry for Nov 4, 2011

2011-11-11T15:14:00.000-08:00

On the Friday night, B- was over at the TSA. These are a 1-minute study above, and some 5-minute ones below, all hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

Entry for Nov 1, 2011

2011-11-10T20:46:00.000-08:00

On the Tuesday, H- was over at Artists 25. These are, from the top, a 3-minute, a 5-minute and a 10-minute study. Below that are two 20-minute ones.
The upper 3 are done with U-Art hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24 sheets of bond paper. The lower two are the same charcoal on 21 x 29" sheets cut from a roll of Strathmore drawing paper. I still like the larger size, but am not quite enamoured of the grain of the Strathmore paper, which is a little pebbly for my taste. The lowest one had a layer of willow charcoal worked in initially, but it didn't want to move much from where it was applied (on a smoother paper it would tbe easier to spread more evenly as a subtle underlayer, to help `fill in' the grain.)

Entry for Oct. 30, 2011

2011-11-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

I made it out for part of the Sunday morning session at the TSA. T- was working. She is a very good model, but someone whose likeness I wrestle with.
Some times I can set down images quickly and freely, but that morning was not one of them. From the top, these are a 5-minute study, three 10-minute ones, and a 15-minute one below. All are done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

2nd Entry for Oct. 28, 2011

2011-11-07T20:22:00.000-08:00

These are, from the top, a 10-minute, two 15-minute and a 20-minute study. All are done onm 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper, using a mix of U-Art hard charcoal and Nobel sketching sticks.
I felt I was in fairly good shape that evening.

1st entry for Oct. 28, 2011

2011-11-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

On the Friday evening, K- was working. These are 1-minute studies, done with U-art hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper.

2nd Entry for Oct. 25, 2011

2011-11-06T22:38:00.000-08:00

These are a 20-minute study above, and a 15-minute one below. These were done with the same U-art/ Nobel charcoal combination, but these were a first try at using some Strathmore heavier-weight roll paper, cut to 21 x 29".
The larger-sized paper was freeing after using so much 18 x 24" paper. The smaller sheets are much more affordable, but tend to feel constraining. I wasn't altogether happy with the relative rigidity and greater tooth of the Strathmore paper. I was hoping it would be a bit smoother. But I have some 24 sheets worth of it, so I'll see what I can coax out of it, before writing it off altogether.

1st entry for Oct. 25, 2011

2011-11-06T22:20:00.000-08:00

On the Tuesday, L- was working over at Artists 25. As usual, I was fussing a fair bit over trying to set down her likeness, with slightly better th, from the top,an usual success.
These are, from the top, 3 studies on 18 x 24" sheets of bond paper. The topmost one is all done with a hard U-Art compressed charcoal stick.
The three below are a mix of the U-art stick and Nobel `Super Sketching Sticks' (made with ` special carbon'). Th bottom one is on an 18 x 24" sheet of cartridge paper.
The Nobel charcoal sticks are small, very flat and narrow rhombus-shaped sticks. They are at once hard and more brittle than they ought to be, but do deliver a very fine-grained charcoal mark. I found it helped fill in some of the very light values in these studies.

5th Entry for Oct. 23, 2011

2011-11-05T21:58:00.000-07:00

These are two 15-minute studies above, and two 20-minute ones below. All are hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

4th Entry for Oct. 23, 2011

2011-11-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

These are some 1-minute studies, done after the longer break mid-evening.

3rd Entry for Oct. 23, 2011

2011-11-04T11:31:00.000-07:00

These are two 5-minute studies on 18 x 24" bond paper sheets, and one 10-minute one on 18 x 24" cartridge paper. The background marks on the lower one were done after A- had gone for a rest. All are done with hard compressed charcoal.

2nd Entry for Oct. 23, 2011

2011-11-03T20:09:00.000-07:00

In the evening, A- was working. These are 1-minute studies, hard charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

1st entry for Oct. 23, 2011

2011-11-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

On the Sunday afternoon, S- was working, doing a 3-hour sitting, and I got in for the last 2 hours or so.. These are a 1-hour study above, and a 35-minute one below. Both are done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

2nd Entry for Oct. 18, 2011

2011-11-01T15:25:00.000-07:00

These are 20-minute studies above, and a 10-minute one at the bottom. All done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.
The head study was much to fussily drawn. The latter two, done once a couple of distracting elements were over, were much better. I like the directness and spontaneity of the last one in particular.

1st entry for Oct. 18, 2011

2011-10-31T12:59:00.000-07:00

On the Tuesday I went over to Artists 25. D- was working, and this was the my first experience drawing him.
From the top, these are two 2-minute studies, a 5-minute one and two 10-minute studies below. All are done with hard compressed U-Art charcoal sticks on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.

3rd Entry for Oct. 17, 2011

2011-10-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

These are a 25-minute study above, and a 15-minute one below. These are also hard charcoal on cartridge paper. I drew the legs a bit short on the upper one, so they have been stretched vertically about 20% here. (It wasn't my best night, proportion-wise).

2nd Entry for Oct. 17, 2011

2011-10-29T20:33:00.000-07:00

These are a couple of 15-minute studies. Both are done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" cartridge paper.
The lower one worked out okay, but my drawing of S- 's head was too tall, so I have vertically compressed that portion of the drawing about 15% from the original, to get a better likeness.

1st entry for Oct. 17, 2011

2011-10-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

On the Monday night I went over to the Ralph Thornton Centre's drawing session. S- was working that night. From above these are a 5-minute and two 10-minute studies, done with hard compressed charcoal on 18 x 24" sheets of cartridge paper.