September 14th

Blind contour exercise

The blind contour exercise with my shell was intriguing in how loose I was able to let my utensil wander. One student commented at the critique that my line was very whimsical and lent itself to the atmosphere of the beach. What I appreciated most about this exercise was my ability to find the shape of the shell with lines that I was not looking at but feeling instead.

Blind contour exercise 30 minutes

Continuous Contour line exercise

Continuous Contour line drawing exercise I felt was more contrived and harder to maintain the distance that I had while drawing in the blind contour exercise. When my mind gets in the way my lines get more trapped and thought out. I enjoyed the quickly rendered quality I achieved with the blind contour drawing.

Continuous Contour Drawing 30 minutes

September 16th

Gesture drawing with the figure

After standing at my easel in painting for 3 hours doing an observational exercise from the same subject matter this was a nice chance of pace. Although my arms and feet were exhausted I pushed through it. After a few minutes my mind forgot about how my body was feeling and tried to keep up with the constant movement of the m

odel. This was an interesting and overwhelming task to work so quickly on the figure. I feel uncomfortable with my skill level and self-conscious about how my drawings turned out. The shorter the length of time the more confident my lines were. It seems like right now the harder I try to control my lines the more I dislike the way they turn out. I also tried rotating my pencil to draw more like a paintbrush, which feels uncomfortable, but something to work up to to help with the movement of my body.

Gesture of the figure 1 minute

Gesture of the figure 10 minutes

Gesture of the figure 5 minutes

Overall the first week of drawing and drawing the figure has opened my eyes in how I look at the figure while brainstorming for painting. This week has made me look for the way the body is moving underneath the skin instead of just the surface. I feel like Life Drawing is already building my knowledge of the body and strengthening my painting skills. I look forward to how this shows through in my Senior Show and beyond.