These were two 20-minute studies. I realized after it was finished that I had inadvertantly given C- my bodily proportions, despite his being several inches/centimetres higher than myself, so I have stretched this image approx 10% from the neck down. Photoshop is great for testing out where one makes proportion errors...
In drawing the sitting pose C- took, I decided I wanted to convey more of the surroundings. The scene struck me as quintessentially `art studio': here is C-, sitting steadfast, looking into middle distance, arm propped on an interestingly engineered selection of stool, pillow and footrest. Behind him is a swath of fabric with a dubious floral pattern from the eighties.
This to me is a good example of one of the challenges in drawing from a model in a studio like this. Time limits the possibility of drawing the background, so usually I skip it. But the surrounding space is sufficiently random that either one has to find a way to depict it with love, or use something else as a background. My instinct suggests the latter route, as C- is a very interesting-looking and intense person, and in this case I don't think the environs underscore or heighten that.
I'm interesred in what others do about surrounding space. Commeents please- what strategies do you like to use in terms of seetings for figure studies?
