Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Portrait and Figure Studio, Molly, October 10, 2013


This is the model we worked from.  Molly was a great model, able to sit still for twenty to thirty minutes at a time.  We give our models fifteen to twenty minute breaks before they return to their pose.  Have you ever tried to sit still in the same position for twenty minutes?  It can be harder work than a person might suppose.

After the first half hour this is what I had on the 140 weight cold pressed watercolor paper.


I started by drawing the figure with a Deep Vermillion Revel Derwent Water Soluble pencil.  Next time I will use a paler color since when I painted over the lines with a wash of Permanent Orange the Vermillion mixed with it to create a brighter color than I wanted.  I also could see that the features of the face needed to be downsized a bit.


During the next twenty minute session, I wiped out some of the redness from the vermillion and started the downsizing process.  I refined the body shapes and also that of the shape of the chair.  I could see that the waste basket that Molly was using as a hassock needed reshaping.


This is the final sketch.   It is about 11 by 9 inches. ( 27.94 by 22.86 cm)

Back home, I wanted to see if I had the head proportionately close to what Jack Hamm suggests on page 27 of his book, Drawing the Head and Figure.

Tracing of the sketch head.
Tracing from the Jack Hamm book.                                                                                                              

I did decide that if I had continued to work on the sketch, I would have adjusted Molly's jaw line a bit and changed the shape of the back of her head just a little. Overall, I was pleased with the sketch.

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