No new prints to show yet as I haven't been able to spend much time in the studio recently, plus I've been demobilised by flu for the past dew days. I'm recovering now though, so hopefully I can get back to the big monotypes soon!
Before the sickness I had been grabbing half an hour some evenings to draw Polly in charcoal and chalk. I used to do quite a lot of these (examples here and here), having been inspired by Nicola Hicks's big animal drawings on brown paper, and I was reminded again recently of life drawing's importance by the great Louise Pallister's work.
My model remains my dog. Partly because she's the only animal available, but also because she's a lovely shape. I love her muscular legs and long nose.
Beautiful Janey! I love the sleeping polly! X
ReplyDeleteThanks Carla :-) x
DeletePolly looks great (I'm not great!!) but Nicola Hicks is always worth checking out. I love brown paper for the instant tone and warmth it gives.Was the animal anatomy book any good?
ReplyDeletehaha, don't be so modest. Yeah, the animal anatomy book is really good (I left a comment on your blog about it a week or so ago, but I was late to your post so you must've missed it). It's so good to know what's going on under the skin after seeing the lumps and bumps but not really understanding them. And how all animals are basically the same.
DeleteAah yes I just saw it, glad you're finding the book useful, I love it. It's true working from life does give you such good information even if its only brief - then I rely on photos to top up that information. Seeing something firsthand and doing a few sketches definitely pays off.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever find yourself getting stuck copying too much when using photos? I do, especially with detail. It's like the opposite to life drawing where the focus of getting the whole thing down makes you see what's important and what to leave out. I lose that ability with photos. But I agree, they are very helpful too.
DeleteI know what you mean. You keep having to remind yourself that you're drawing the whole thing, not just the little details. I draw quite large so maybe that helps. Although also doing small sketches first helps you decide what are the important bits. I only use photos I've taken myself or was there at the time too; I don't think I could work from other people's, I just wouldn't have a real idea of the animal, if you see what I mean.
ReplyDeleteYeah that makes sense. There are a few horses and bulls in fields near here so I'll have to take my sketchbook out one day. I've taken photos of them before but haven't used them. I wasn't sure why, I felt like the photos didn't connect enough to my work somehow, but it's probably that drawing them first is the vital step!
DeleteThat's a good plan, let me know how you get on (cows are the weirdest things!)
ReplyDelete