tomwoodartist

Life Drawing Thursday 17 May 2012

Like the stately swan we glide gracefully onwards with barely a ripple on the untroubled waters and yet beneath the surface our big fat feet are pedalling like the clappers. You may think our weekly life drawing sessions have come to resemble the swan, and yet each week the well oiled routine swings into action but for that to happen urgent phone calls need to be made, frantic exchanges of emails, biscuits need to be carefully selected and bought, cups washed, sugar bowls filled, tables wiped and teabags lined up like little plump soldiers. All this loose talk of clothed models and short poses has not gone unheeded, beneath the surface, high level negotiations have been taking place and prior to the press conference I am able to leak that on Thursday 31st May we will unveil our first clothed model. The session will have a surprising model in the form of comedian Martin Mor. I kid you not, Martin will pose for us as part of a project he's undertaking to assemble as many portraits of himself as he can, these portraits will then form a crucial part of his forthcoming tour. I will let him explain the rest, I daresay you will have plenty of questions and Martin will be ready to answer them.

Roger our ever loyal and inspiring model will be our first short pose candidate on the evening of Thursday 19th July, another date for your diary. This will make for an interesting evening as old buffers like myself will be confronted with a whole set of new challenges, in a strange way I'm very much looking forward to it.

Last night we played hosts to a rare visitor, Julie from Nottingham and Mike. I like Julie's hair, her short bob frames her head perfectly. Somewhere at the back of my mind I had the image of Maurice Lambert's beautiful portrait bust of Edith Sitwell where the hair almost coddles the face. Also Julie rather miraculously managed to keep a gentle beatific smile throughout her ordeal, the mark of a true professional where the smile doesn't fade into a grimace. Although I (as usual *yawn), focused on the head, others went for the not altogether easy pose. Cathy with a fine marker pen, undaunted confronted her large sheet of white paper and like Stanley Spencer she started at the top and just worked her way down. It's an odd way of drawing like a distracted doodle gone ballistic and yet it works most of the time and even when it doesn't she just draws a little addition to be added later. The last time I saw someone draw like this was when I watched an archaeologist record a burial site, the pen objectively tracing each stone and twig meticulously without an ounce of emotion or apprehension. I wonder if under that warm exterior Cathy has a heart of ice, the gimlet eyes and trained fingers of the professional assassin somehow betrayed in each drawing, I think she's a sleeper and I'm going to watch her very carefully from now on.

Haydn did a sterling job on the head but struggled with the subtlety of the pose. Ivan went into wide angle mode with some interesting distortions from his seated viewpoint. I really like the way at times Ivan's work flirts with caricature without committing whole hearted-ly to it. His line is sensitive and thoughtful in a way we don't often see these days, with the cornucopia of materials available to us it takes the ascetic rigour of a monk to restrict themselves week after week to pencil, eraser and white paper. Steven is also monkish-ly inclined but he's sneaked a plum bob into his devotions to ensure accuracy and a touch of flagellation in those quiet moments. I like the way almost imperceptibly Steven's drawings are getting looser, the occasional scribble, stray lines meander now in a way the austere Steven of yore would not have sanctioned. I think the drawings are lovely, I defy anyone to say otherwise but now a little something else is sneaking in, a willingness to follow and not always lead and that surely is a mark of growing confidence. And the notorious plum bob served him well as Steven captured the subtle thrust and weight distribution of the pose beautifully. Russell was another one who got it right, look at the work as a thumbnail  before clicking on it and note how well that elbow juts forward. In the bigger image it's not so obvious as the marks and forms separate but the thumbnail creates the illusion of a view looking at the work across a room. Which brings me neatly to an opportunity to do just that at the North Yorkshire Open Studios where Russell and Bren will be showing their work. I urge you all to pack a picnic and have a day out visiting the studios of our talented friends, I promise you won't regret it!

I would write more (I can almost hear the sigh of relief) but I have high blood pressure and a pounding headache at the moment, the doctor has advised me to rest and avoid stress so I'm going to do just that and lie down with a good thriller featuring a spy called Katia, codename Cathy. Thank you all once again for coming along and joining Tony and I in having fun and making art in the company of a fine model, we couldn't do it without you.

Paintings and drawings by Cathy, Hadyn, Ivan, Mike, Neil, Peter, Roger H, Roger S, Russell, Sandra, Steven, Sue, Tom and Tony.

Life Drawing Thursday 10 May 2012

GREAT SCOTT by Chris Fallowfield

Few of us, I imagine, would choose to be challenged by Scott (he’s a big lad, isn’t he?). But then he was relatively unchallenged by us, with a pose about as anodyne as he could expect: his massive back unbent, shoulders and torso untwisted, hands and feet relaxed. He was faultless in what he was required to do, sitting motionless for a naked portrait opportunity. And the portraitists were once again to the fore. Roger H grimaced and expostulated his way towards a very passable likeness. Neil  (our very own Douanier Rousseau) made his usual charismatic contribution. Tom allowed glimpses of his laser-display like under painting to sparkle amidst his adventurous mark-making; Russell followed him in a similar orbit. Tony produced my favourite of the evening. Unseduced by watercolour’s inherent promise of Serendipity, he applies it with the same spartan rigour as his pencil. The result was entirely in keeping with the steely determination in Scott’s eyes, the firm set of the mouth and jaw.

And so to life-drawing. Sufficient challenge, you might say, to represent the human form in as accurate a manner as possible: about as hard as it gets? Well, a foreshortened leg can certainly present one with a challenge of a sort (quite apart from an unwanted limp). But what about that other sort of challenge that can accompany us to the studio: an awareness of our own mortality, a concern with the transience of our associates, the model, the light, time passing? It could be argued that we should put all this to one side and be objective in our work, but I object to Objectivity. From the ancient sages to particle physicists, from Carl Jung to the perennial infestation of darts on the telly, all are telling us one thing: objectivity is a dangerous illusion, desist! It requires us to somehow put aside our feelings (that which we most prize about our humanity) in order to be, well... objective (i.e. desensitised). Admirable if you’re about to service a lawnmower, but of little use to an artist. We must all have favourite works which affect us emotionally, whilst being technically far from perfect. Similarly, “perfect” work may leave us unmoved. I should confess that Michelangelo’s drawings leave me cold. But accuracy in itself differs from objectivity when it is a means to an end, a tool amongst others (composition, colour, texture...) in our ways of expression. Sorry, I’m rambling, I know I am.

As so often, in a quite inexplicable way, elemental weather outside made its presence felt in our work (and not just through the roof). I was ill-advised enough not to tone down the white paper before starting, and finished with a hastily-constructed tornado brewing behind Scott. Barry had it lashing down in front of him, and Roger S obliged us to peer through a rain-spattered window to make out Scott, and Tony with his own watery reflection. Roger is currently juggling with at least three elements: the geometry of Cezanne, the palette of Mondrian, and the aesthetics of Robert Rauschenberg. Each week he comes closer to a complex amalgamation in his own vision. Sandra again challenged herself by working onto a colour that would enrage a bull, and the resulting powerful image is evidence of physicality versus finesse, finely honed. Incidentally, she must by now have a major collection of unrecorded quickly-executed works which somehow fire her up for the main task, and which are often very beautiful in themselves. Steve continues to be impressive. He has the left leg and arm less detailed, less realised tonally, which allow them to occupy a space of their own. The single line describing the underside of the thigh is a dream. Cathy, Fiona, Ivan, I should not have lumped you together at the end, because your strong, honest work is the very stuff of which a life class should be made.

I’ve finished! OMG!!! (Opprobrium More-or-less Guaranteed!)

Paintings and drawings by Barry, Cathy, Chris, Fiona, Ivan, Neil, Roger H, Roger S, Russell, Sandra, Steven, Tom and Tony.

Time for a Laugh

Life Drawing Saturday 5 May 2012

Life Drawing at Redbrick Mill with our model Sue

Abide with Me by Russell Lumb

 I fondly remember the days when the FA cup final appeared to hold the nation’s attention for the entire preceding week and then from breakfast to bedtime on the glorious Saturday; irrespective of the teams involved. My presence at Redbrick Mill yesterday was a tiny indicator of just how far from our collective affections this sporting occasion has fallen. I therefore make no apologies for insinuating football into my review of Cup Final Day at Redbrick.

Arriving late onto the playing surface, only moderately wetted by overnight rain which had missed the buckets, Bren was forced to take up position as a very deep-lying sweeper, behind a midfield five, marshalled by the evergreen Tom Wood, the Dave Mackay of the Life Room, returning from a debilitating bout of Nobby Virus, but still able to control proceedings without moving out of the centre circle. I gratefully accepted the number 2 shirt, playing overlapping right back, outside Emma’s more conventional right winger. This hitherto unwanted position suddenly presented great opportunity for attacking play, as Sue settled into her defensive formation, rotating her head to the left to present a compact and inviting target.

The first half was tight, professional but subdued, with few chances created by players taking no risks, but, as the kettle’s whistle signalled the break,  The diminutive Emma made a trademark mazy run to produce the single quality move of the game; silky-smooth, balanced yet powerful, bringing the best out of Sue. Imagine the stunned shock when the heartless Anne Hutchison, flame –haired manager and tabloid favourite, withdrew Emma at half time and transferred her  to York City, without so much as a medical!

The game was over as a credible celebration of sublime brushwork, although the team gave 150%, with notable contributions from Bren, shoring-up the defense  like a woman with two heads, and Tony “Xavi” Noble who’s countless sliderule passes were often wasted by off-colour  colleagues.

For me, it was a thrill just to take part, although how I missed the communal baths of the old Wembley stadium, and I wasn’t to know that the imaginary blue vase which I had slipped into my painting  foresaw the lifting of the famous old cup by the Blues of Chelsea within two hours. Spooky or what?  

One sore buttock and everyone else more or less like wet dishrags by Sue Vickerman

Modelling at Redbrick Mill is a cut above. There’s a podium. There’s a cushion. There’s heating. There are breaks with abundant tea and coffee and even choccie biccies.  And there’s a community. It is a favourite life room.

My musings when in today’s comfortably  seated pose turn, eventually, as always, to ‘What is going on in this room?’ The dynamics of the life room: a big subject.  I have taken it upon myself to create an online forum for its discussion, sukithelifemodel.co.uk, and would love Redbrickers to add their views to those already there:  ‘Bloody hard work, scary, frustrating, stressful, and you never get it right,’ says Grassington artist Helen Wheatley, while Doug Binder’s adjectives range through ‘vital’, ‘challenging’, ‘addictive’ and ‘exhausting’, and the life room is ‘an examination chamber [where] an individual can feel totally exposed, suffering anguish should the work be failing or run-of-the-mill… many becoming resigned and bravely turning up week after week, only to suffer much of the same.’

 At half-time today, Tom the great man himself says his painting is a duffer. Oh, the heartache of the life room. Though Tom is not one of those who you think will chuck himself in the Calder. A friend this evening quoted  Tom as saying that ‘he likes to take risks with his paintings and so the occasional clanger is inevitable’. ('And welcome', Tom says through gritted teeth with an unconvincing grin).

 Some punters leave after the morning session, and it feels like those remaining are the stalwarts. Roger H starts to sound as though he’s nearing the end of a marathon. My left hip-bone is boring through my flesh, but no matter, because underlying any suffering is my sheer delight to have accidentally got into this line of work. It so feeds my own creative life. I so enjoy this company. The context for Suki’s next autobiographical saga, THE LIFE ROOM,  will be Yorkshire’s life-rooms and studios, their inhabitants, the interactions between artists and the model, and the works being created. Suki will be collaborating with a photographer for this book – her big 2013 project. Suki? I am Suki The Life Model’s manager/ promoter/ muse and indeed creator.  

 The day ends with my one sore buttock and everyone else more or less like wet dishrags. I have not commented on the paintings. I will leave that to others. Though Suki made some notes in her little black book.

The impressionist's impression of an Impressionist by Tamara Wood

An inspiring model adopting a wonderful pose, the odalisque incarnate, what could possibly go wrong. Well you could stand too far away for starters, in the famous photograph of Matisse with model, he's almost upon the poor girl, proximity seems to be the thing. Now I'm not talking about a closeness so that people talk or models feel uncomfortable, I don't want to violate anyone's personal space as we say nowadays. I don't want to be the man in the lift who's just that tad too close for comfort that would be uncomfortable, no I'm talking about a situation where model and eyesight find a happy medium, detail is seen but pores are not inspected. I needed to be closer and not kid myself that my myopic blur was anything but a blur, you see the problem is I dwell on detail and when I see the impressionist poem that Chris seems to weave from air I look on with envy. The blur seemed like a good strategy to force the impressionist out of me, today Matthew I will be Monet sadly I never will never make the final with this sub standard impressionist's impression of an Impressionist if you see what I mean. So we strive for clarity when really we need artful obfuscation in a good way.

Bren is a natural, the model a medium to tap into those inner spirits, a conduit allowing another self-portrait of the emotions maybe, we won't know but the words might give us a clue, echoes tantalizingly whispered out of earshot, we know they are there but we can't quite decipher their meaning. Russell posits that meaning in a blue vase, the vessel in which a thoughtful composition is held in balance. Roger creates a crystalline watercolour of great beauty, the head delicately poised with eyes of sadness and intelligence, a sore buttock nowhere in sight, it's amazing how a craft so dedicated to truth is capable of such big whopping lies. I think so often when confronting the model we paint and draw ourselves, the cliche of all art is that it is always at some level a self portrait but it's hard not to revert to the Penguin book of Psychoanalysis when looking at this lot. We have the hard edged rationalists vs the dreamy other worldly types, the positivists vs the doom mongers and the flamboyant cross dressers vs the masochistic leather lovers - I might have made the last lot up but then maybe not, you know who I'm talking to Russell or should I say Rusty Springs, doyen of Bridlington's Bingo Hall's.....!

We're all allowed one duff one but it's so frustrating when all the circumstances and stars align to tell you this could be a good one and it just doesn't happen. I would like to try again,I thought the pose was excellent (well done Tony) and the model perfect, maybe a few more shadows would have helped but all in all I got it wrong and wasted a great opportunity, I'm just off for a stroll down to the canal, I may be gone awhile............

Paintings and Drawings by Anne, Bren, Chris, Dick, Emma, Hadyn, Ivan, Roger, Russell, Sandra, Steven, Tom and Tony

 

 

Life Drawing Thursday 3 May 2012

Steven's pencil drawing of Joanne

Calm and equilibrium--- or do I mean Valium? By Sandra Cowper

Once again, primed card in a strong colour, acrylic paint and two palette knives. I’m getting into a rut, producing the same sort of painting, using the same techniques, same materials every week and getting a bit too comfortable and it is not progressing. That direct two way connection of empathy with the model which gives a piece of work freshness, spirit, truth and energy has somewhat dissipated and there feels to be a dis-connect between what I see/feel and what I do.

Is this where I change tack and embark on something completely different, search for other different styles and materials with more immediacy or shall I stay the course and expand on my present position. I am not asking for any solutions, that might confuse me even more, but I find that bouncing it off the screen in front of me, knowing that others will be reading it, enables me to find some of my own answers. I also know that, mostly, there are no easy answers, you have to keep searching and exploring until you find the map where X marks the spot where the treasure is buried. Then only to find you are completely in the wrong part of the island anyway, especially if you are ‘Up North’ and not a ‘member’ of this or a past ‘president’ of that or you don’t know someone with enough millions to buy ‘The Scream’ and you have to do all your own screaming yourself. Oh Heck! Bitterness has just crept in, I’ll just do five minutes Tai Chi to regain some calm and equilibrium--- or do I mean Valium?

Anyway less of the angst and back to last night, Tony organised a well thought out elevated pose which was interesting from all angles and Joanne as ever was such a good still and composed model.

The task of getting the whole figure on to the page is a real challenge and Steven shows how this is done by meticulous and patient measuring, checking and re checking proportions and angles. The result is more than just an accurate drawing, there are construction marks and relevant markers, it’s not a moment in time, as in a photograph, it is a description of the time spent by the artist in commune with his model.

The other side of this coin is a drawing which shows just part of the figure but still fills the page. Ivan’s drawing bravely sets a horizontal only just slightly below halfway, using the stretched out arms, whilst most of the bottom half is blank white paper while still giving the impression of that blank being space filled .It makes a strong yet delicate statement using well seen accuracy of hand and eye.

Tony’s watercolour shows his mastery of the medium with such a lovely choice of colour palette and using almost abstract shapes he defines the form and focuses on the varying shades of light falling on the figure.

Roger uses a different method of applying watercolour; his paintings are lively and loose yet accurate and appealing.

Joanne has such a strong attractive and interesting face and this is shown to full effect in all the portraits.

It is clear to me from the rest of the drawings and paintings that the twist and tension in Joanne’s upper back and the thrust and weight bearing of her shoulders and elbows was an important and compelling feature for those artists.

I have written this after a two hour taster session of crown green bowling, another activity I am thinking of taking up, good for hand - eye co ordination, fresh air and fun. So I now need to lie down in a darkened room to conserve my energy as we have an all day life drawing session tomorrow. I don’t know when I will get time to decorate my front room.

Paintings and drawings by Cathy, Chris, Fiona, Ivan, Neil, Patrick, Roger H, Roger S, Russell, Sandra, Sue, Tony and featured drawing by Steve.

 

A Three Day Intensive Oil Painting Workshop at Redbrick Mill, Batley

Follow the link below for further information or read the QR code.

THREE DAY OIL PAINTING WORKSHOP

 

Life Drawing Thursday 26 April

Steven and Hadyn drawing Richard

I don't know about you but certain models are good luck models, they just seem to bring double happiness and for me, Richard is one of them. I think I've drawn/painted him about four maybe five times and on each occasion I seem to manage OK, that is apart from last night, when finally my luck ran out. Was it our constant companion, the rain to blame. From staccato to kettle drum, it rattled the roof all night long, many soaked survivors arrived with breathless stories of daring do involving canoes, gushing rapids and traffic lights, a mighty flood seemed upon us. Could this be the reason my good fortune and Richard's talismanic status waned, was it wilting in the downpour or was it something else? I scrutinized my options and decided logically it had to be Richard's fault as I had rigourosly followed previous procedures all successful to a degree and yet tonight it was different. Surely without doubt he was the culprit. The evidence began to mount, for example his notorious Vulcan Death Stare terrifying our youngest artist, Kate. Under great duress as his relentless eyes bore into her, she managed to portray her nemesis, Mesmo the Mesmerist, the terror of delicate ladies, the scourge of the weak and feeble-minded and guarantor of the Mesmo Quit Smoking Course. It had to be the staring eyes and yet others strangely coped. Patrick also captured by the laser like beam coped admirably in a sculptural drawing of great authority. Roger H nearby also coped by recording the phenomenon in great detail. Whereas Russell fresh off the bench after a Tevez like absence playing the crazy golf courses of Scarborough seemed to struggle with the one eye, however it's a game of two halves and a long season and he may well score the winner yet. So my conclusion was whilst the eyes were undoubtedly demanding, they were not impossible.

Was it the mouth maybe? Subconsciously possibly, I appear to have created my very own personal tribute to Frank Lampard (Sandra, he plays for Chelsea for heaven's sake, keep up, honestly some people.....) the tight lipped hero of the Nou Camp, meanwhile everyone else seems to have coped well with Richard's distinctive mouth, so it's just me who couldn't get it right.

OK let's move onto the stance, what we professionals call 'the pose', don't be frightened by the jargon, it gets easier. There was something about the angle of the shoulders that looked strange, a certain twist or bend, a kind of double jointed optical illusion sort of thing but again nobody else seems to have spotted it. Barry in his best 'Visualizer'* mode ignored it completely creating a work of fine proportions from a whiplash line. Cathy seemed to capture Richard mid stride, a man on a mission, determination writ large, Fiona in a quirky and strange (in a good way) little piece seems to be capturing a person striding past, it reminds me of those glimpses you get as people race past you on the station platform, faces that seem familiar and yet are not. Haydn has drawn with greater assurance this week as though the solidity of the stance has encouraged a greater confidence in the line. Ivan's drawing is odd, I think it must be that claw like hand and the odd focus on hands and face, for all the world it reminds me of some bleached out early film where no mid tones exist just the black and white, all very odd, eerie and strangely compelling.

Peter has gone for the cheeky bathroom door shot with a very fleshy post shower version of Richard, surprisingly it really works visually in a way that words describing it never would. Roger S is on a hot streak, week after week producing good work, his restless vibrant watercolour method really matched the subject investing the figure with real movement. It's a triumph for the white paper as all good watercolours should be, they should glow and this one does. Sandra very sensibly opted for the reddish background which combined with the proportion and pose added a suggestion of gravitas, like a Roman Senator, Richard listens intently, the light sculpting his statuesque form, (am I being a little too fanciful maybe, I'm not sure). Steven continues to rigorously apply his sight-size method employing his trusty plum bob and mirror at every available opportunity. It's interesting and some of the results are lovely, as a process I'm sure it feels re-assuring but at some point surely the plum bob has to go and you have to fly solo, or am I wrong, a misguided old romantic with his muddle headed ideas about creativity and risk taking, is that all nonsense in this new rational world, I wonder? I took Sandra's advice and opted for hot colours, word has it that in Barnsley, Red is the new Black! Tony gave the old pencil it's weekly run out with a lovely rendition of subtle perspective at it's best, from a low viewpoint the figure gently ascends to reveal Double Luck Richard at his finest. I forgive him, clearly it's my dodgy drawing that's at fault, his presence will continue to grace my pantheon of Good Luck Models. Thank you Richard for a splendid night's modelling, it was lovely to meet your wife, I'll try harder next time.

 *Do you remember Visualizer's, they were the people who visualized an idea in a Graphic Design Agency, in a pre-computer age they were the highly prized wizards of the chisel tipped felt pen. To an art bedazzled young naivete like me they were the glamorous gods of the dark arts of advertising, how I envied their neatly stacked array of subtle toned felt tips, ten different greys at least, they could draw anything and make it look fabulous.

Paintings and drawings by Barry, Cathy, Fiona, Hadyn, Ivan, Kate, Patrick, Peter, Roger H, Roger S, Russell, Sandra, Steven, Tom and Tony.

Artwork of the Week No.8

Art comes in all shapes and sizes as we know but it still gives me a thrill to come across something I've never seen before especially when it's this simple ,daft and charming. I wish more stuff was this innocent and joyful, see what you think, here's the LINK

I wish they would come and do some in Batley but I think they might need a bigger bag of Lego.

Life Drawing Thursday 19 April

Whenever I refer to our regular gatherings at Redbrick Mill I'm careful to use the word 'sessions', hence Life Drawing sessions at Redbrick Milll etc. I never use the word 'class' because that implies teaching or workshop which also implies a taught element, we don't teach and yet we learn. We learn by doing and looking, comparing and discussing, we're practical learners, like a crafts person we hone our skills and tune our perceptions to the task at hand. I know this because by putting this blog together I look at the work a lot and I can see how progress is being made by everyone and I mean everyone with no exceptions. We all occassionally have an off day when things go awry but on the whole the trajectory is forwards and upwards. Why is that, how has it happened? Well my theory breaks down into two parts, the time to do and the time to think.

Having one pose all evening allows a bit of extended learning, you can really engage with the subject, I'm no fan of short poses. In my mind they just produce facile sketch's akin to cartoons where the line merely approximates the truth, the long pose is both more satisfying and a more effective learning experience. My mantra is you need time to get it right, wrong and right again without that how do you learn? So the time to do is a key element in learning, talk to the two day participants if you doubt that theory and listen to their exaltation's of how good it was to have so much time with the subject. Talk to any artist and once they've finished moaning about money they will bore you rigid with a diatribe on how there is just never enough time and boring as it is, it's true.

Many of us work at times with music on, myself included and I've heard of life sessions where music is played, no doubt to short poses! Music is a good method to energize an activity, to give it pace and momentum, it's also a good way to drown out distractions but it becomes the distraction when focus is required. Life drawing with music seems analogous to steak with custard, it's just wrong because to draw well you need to have the space internally to process and reflect on really quite complex thoughts, music fills that space and is therefore unhelpful. When we draw at Redbrick Mill the silence is ferocious, it's almost palpable in it's intensity but it's not an empty silence, paradoxically it's a silence filled with decisions, fraught with the intense energy of attempting to make something significant, vibrating with the passionate desire to succeed in that task, it's a silence filled with the making of art.

I suspect we've all progressed because as regulars we've committed time to these sessions and as mature adults we've reflected and thought about what we've learnt and how we can learn more. This week notable amongst our learners were Patrick and Sue. Patrick created a really effective grisaille study taking full advantage of the light modelling the form, a simple but really well observed and executed study. Sue's task was a little more complicated, the light source not so obvious and the forms quite complex. Her drawing had to be right, which it is and her restricted tonal range and pastel colours also had to be correct which they are, two fine pieces by two artists who get stronger each week. Finally I'd like to mention Sandra's head and Barry's body. The head that Sandra has painted in oils with a palette knife is a tour de force combining subtlety and boldness in equal measure, a really, really good piece of work. When you look at Barry's drawing, cover up the head and see how well the body works, it's almost Kitajesque in it's line, just on the right side of stylized it makes a powerful and confident statement.

My drawing/painting whose method was inspired by watching Chris Murray at work in one of our previous sessions has turned out not at all like Kay our lovely model but sadly more like a Latvian Bouncer after a hard Saturday night - sorry Kay!

Paintings and drawings by Barry, Cathy, Chris, Fiona, Hadyn, Ivan, Patrick, Peter, Roger, Sandra, Steven, Sue, Tom and Tony.

 

 

Life Drawing Saturday 14 April and Sunday 15 April

Abi

Anne

David -

It was for me a really stretching two-day session - a challenging pose and set up - the flat lighting on alabaster pale skin set against the powerful chrome colouring of the background drape and the intense blue of the set covering. I chose to tackle the whole context of the model and see if I could adjust the components to each other. The first lay-in of a linear structure to find the related rhythms and dynamics worked OK and then the struggle to develop a full treatment without losing this skeleton. And it was a struggle right to the end - losing it and desperately trying to recover it in as painterly fashion as possible. Once or twice coming to a standstill to sort out what was happening and where it could go. The old cry of despair of the painter - "That which I do, I would not... That which I would, I do not ..." was heard loud and clear. Anyway, it was a great experience and did me the world of good to have to buckle down to the problems with no chance of escape.

 

Dick-

Mistakes. Wilde said that experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes. Bon mots Oscar mate, but mine are just simple mistakes, well-rehearsed and oft repeated, and a two day paintathon is time enough for a plethora of them. My composition was iffy with a full profile that I don't handle well and a flexed white knee protruding out of the blue of the chair arm like an iceberg in-waiting. (It had to be amputated in the end). I deliberately limited my palette, a euphemism for boring, with a marked tendency to slip from pastel to mud - my signature mudslide. And, of course, many mistakes from poor technique. Working amateurishly in oils can be unforgiving if there is no time for drying and overpainting, so mud it is in many areas. Oh, but I did love the bits where I could apply great sensual globs of paint with a fully loaded brush..Mmmmm.. (whilst wishing I had my book of Lucian beside me as a crib of how it should be done). By coffee time on the second day things were definitely deteriorating so I left it unfinished and spent the rest of the time attempting a portrait head. Both pieces show the undeniable evidence of my many mistakes and I like them for it. We are honest with each other. I actually felt as though I had learned a bit from them this time, though obviously they won't be going away just yet. Thanks Tom and Tony and indeed everyone. It was a blast.

Fiona

Martin -

My aim was to draw the model as accurately as I could and having borrowed a measuring device (plumb line) I spent about an hour trying to establish shapes and proportions before adding tonal values and details. Unfortunately I didn't spend enough time on this initial stage in order to achieve a good result as now the mistakes are very clear to see. At the time I thought the drawing looked fine but over the last day it's morphed into another clanger. However there are parts I'm pleased with and it was great to spend two days in the extremely pleasant drawing environment of Redbrick Mill. I learnt that I need to improve my knowledge of anatomy and spend more time looking/measuring/redrawing before diving into the details. Thanks for organising this weekend, I really enjoyed it and am looking forwards to the next one.

 

Sandra -

A lesson learned from the two days is that I must be more prepared in terms of materials. I wasted too much time preparing the surface and waiting for it to dry. I then spent the drying time doing a small water colour, got drawn into this instead of dashing it off, so wasted even more time and then the water colour was more than disappointing. It is now torn up at the bottom of the re-cycling bin.

I thought two days was plenty of time but by half way through the first day I had only minimal marks laid down and I was not sure of the direction this painting was going to take. I had not bonded with it. I knew I wanted both hands to be expressive in the painting, I wanted to include the background for context and I had decided to work in oils with palette knife.

In the event I got bogged down in several places time and again because I was being fussy and detailed and was not taking the usual risks. By the second day I was way behind where I thought the painting should be and knew it would not be finished. This does not usually bother me as I quite like unfinished paintings which leave the viewer to decide in which direction it should go next but for some reason it bothered me today. However an invaluable lesson learned, it has fired me up for the next session where I shall devote more energy, attempt some reckless moves and try not to waste valuable time by watching the base coat of paint dry.

A great two days, good company, some really interesting pieces of work, a lovely, relaxed and experienced model with all the stamina needed for a two day pose, so many thanks to Tom and Tony for organising it.

Steven

Tom -

The pose was good, Suzi our model did ever so well over the two days. I used my usual materials of ink, emulsion and pastel on card only this time I added a piece to the left side in theory, to accommodate the outstretched arm. I also left a gap at the top for most of the two days but in the last hour after lots of internal deliberations I decided it had to go but in an interesting way. I enjoyed the colour a lot as I don't often get to use blue so the blue with the grey and dirty yellow ochre was both a change and a stimulus. The shapes started as a vague reference to a Mondrianesque structure but these became too predictable and clunky so by the end of Sunday morning I felt reckless and determined to stop the whole thing being so polite. The very last act in the final half hour was to create the curve on the left side in a couple of big swooping marks with a large fully loaded brush - for me it's the best bit of the painting. Good weekend really enjoyed it, especially seeing all the different approaches and superb results, thanks to everyone for your support.

Tony -

Having the luxury of two full days I decided to paint, using acrylic on the first day and oil on day 2. I painted on a piece of primed MDF which I had found in my studio. It was a lovely hard surface to work on having the perfect balance of tooth and smoothness. Tom and I had worked out the pose and adorned the set on Friday, so we had the advantage of knowing what to expect. I hoped to make use of the mirror in the background to include a self portrait, but that didn't work out. Instead I ended up with a very sketchy rendition of Tom in the guise of an undecorated version of Mr Potato Head, otherwise known as a potato! Sorry about that, Tom. He would have ended up with facial features if only he'd have kept still for more than ten seconds. Well, that's my excuse!

The pose worked well and had some beautiful details which I would have loved to have had more time to exploit - the delicate structure of Suzi's hands and feet, and the strong, well-defined muscles in her legs. My favourite bit of my piece is the painting of Suzi's right knee - I liked the delicate colours, though I feel that the transitions from one to the next could have been handled more delicately, and felt that I captured the tension within the muscle structure quickly and economically. Shame about the rest! Looking at the set I have to confess to disliking the blue cover on the chair which I found too loud, too brash. I'm a quiet, delicate creature at heart!

I thoroughly enjoyed the two days and thank Suzi for sitting so well, and everyone else for making the weekend a success. What's not to enjoy? As always, too much time is never nearly enough.

 

Life Drawing Thursday 12 April

Pencil drawing of Jannine by Ivan

Pencil Heaven by Tom Wood

Sometimes all you need is a pencil, a piece of paper, and an eraser, combine that with a good pair of eyes and literally Bob is your Uncle, a fine drawing is possible. Ivan made a fine drawing last night, he looked hard and he recorded well, sounds easy but there are two parts to that statement both of which require commitment and honesty.

Let's have a look at 'looking hard'. What do we mean by looking hard, it's a phrase I know I use often, habitually assuming we all know what it means. When we say 'look' do we really mean stare, well probably no as stare suggests a possible glazing over of the eyes , we certainly don't mean glance as this is the briefest of looks. What we actually mean is to perceive with intelligence, to be alive to the sights before us, to scan and analyze the objects in our field of view, to understand and be atuned to the information our eyes are recieving. 'Hard' doesn't mean tortuous, it doesn't mean straining, it means focused, concentrating, to be singular and not distracted. So to look hard means to look with intelligence and to believe the information collected by your eyes. How many times have you heard the phrase, 'Draw what you see, not what you know', the mantra of a million art teachers but it's true.

Second part, to 'record well', this isn't quite so easy. What do we mean by 'well', do we actually mean accurately or do we mean appropriately (a tricky one, the can of worms option, what is appropiate to one isn't necessarily appropiate to another). To record well is one of those things hard to define but we know it when we see it. It feels right , it sits on the paper with ease, it has a kind of 'rightness' about it without it being too easy or ingratiating. Does it need to remind us of 'Art' or should it bypass that stuff, (but is that possible after a life time of contact with culture) and just get straight to the subject, well maybe that's down to your preferences, some of us like a poached egg on toast with no fancy bits, others amongst us crave the odd bit of parsley, we feel flattered and valued. Is our recognition of the art we mediate through in effect the parsley on the plate, do we need it?

I really like Ivan's drawing as much because it's a parsley free zone and because as I said earlier, he's so obviously looked hard and recorded well with honesty and clarity and he's demonstrated to the bloated, baroque, whack it all on artists like me, sometimes all you need is in fact a pencil.

Paintings and drawings by Barry, Chris, Dick, Fiona, Hadyn, Neil, Patrick, Peter, Roger H, Roger S, Sandra, Steve, Steven, Sue, Tom and Tony