Tag: nude

Coeur d’Alene Figure

figure 20230403Coeur d’Alene Figure Drawing get-togethers have started again at Terry Lees studio, and I am so happy. There is nothing as greatly inspiring to an artist as drawing with other artists. Practicing from a live model really improves my art skills significantly. This week was drawing from a nude figure. The human form changes with even a slight shift in weight distribution or a little change in the direction of gaze.

Last night we did a few 5-minute and a few 20-minute poses. I am obviously a little rusty after three months of no practice. Or, even a lot rusty. By the last 20-minute pose I was able to say, okay it is coming back. So, on the way to improvement always.

I’d be glad to show you the way, or carpool, if you are interested in trying this out. The next life drawing session is on

Monday, April 10th

It will be a clothed portraiture 3-hour session. You bring your own supplies, to draw or paint. As a group, we ask that you use odorless spirits if you are using oil paints. There are benches and easels in Terry’s studio to borrow. The cost is $15 for each session (to help pay the model), and it goes from 5:30 to 8:30 pm on select Mondays… Terry lets us know about the dates he is able to schedule a model via email. With good attendance, we have even had a class each Monday night before, so spread the word.

Figure & Portrait Drawing

Figure Drawing Dec 2022Practicing figure & portrait drawing or painting. Driving down to Coeur d’Alene ID to Terri Lee’s studio last night I experienced another evening with fellow artists, painting and drawing from a live model. This is actually an alternate definition of “Heaven” to any artist. Figure drawing always improves my art.

Our model normally does nude figure poses in multiple positions allowing quick impressions and sketches. This evening she remained clothed for three hours, taking the same pose each session for 20-minutes with breaks between. The increased time enables us to get up close and concentrate on her facial features. She is a young lean gymnastically active figure. Her features include dark hair, smooth soft pastel skin, and beautiful green eyes. We all loved her bright red Christmas turtleneck sweater and her charming personality. I look forward to figure-drawing with her again.

Since Terri is off taking care of sculpture work in Montana, you can see a cool video about his sculpture process here. It was an all-female group this time and some gorgeous work came out of this last winter session along with friendly chatter about the ways of life for an artist.

Onward

I will miss these Monday night drawing sessions so I plan on getting more involved so Terri doesn’t have to handle all of it. Having this kind of opportunity to meet others and improve is absolutely priceless. I love my artist dates hanging out with “birds of a feather” as I strive to improve my individual art skills by hanging out with people more talented than myself. It is so inspiring to talk and share secrets with like souls in this creative profession. Every time I make the effort to set up my supplies and drive down to Coeur d’Alene ID to make it to this my soul comes home with lasting a smile. It is an infusion of hope and inspiration with contact with other artists.

Studying Figures

I began studying figures again this week. This is my first 7″ x 10″ watercolor on 140lb paper from this life-drawing class that started yesterday. I was worried but found that I am happy with the lighting in the rendering because it does appear like it was, on the model.

So, what is the news ? I attended a session on life drawing on Monday night. Wow, what a refreshing exercise that is for me. Drawing from a live human being really brings the drawing skills out to play.

The model can’t hold still forever, so you have to get those pencils to move fast enough to get the image down before the timer goes off. It feels a little stressed but so creative at the same time. I left feeling almost as if I had just had group art therapy and was ready to tackle the world. Well, at least tackle the art world anyhow. I had forgotten how much fun this is and how great it is to work on our skills with other artists.

Birds of a feather… really love to hang out together. There is absolutely no jealousy or negative criticism, just helpful suggestions. I love it. An artist needs time with birds of the same feather. When I surround myself with creatives just like me, I can verify that other artists have the same crazy logic as me. We look at where we want to draw from and analyze the lighting and positioning of the model. Then setup to try and get what we see down on our canvas or paper as fast as we can. We all like to dress comfortably. We have an abundance of pencils and lots of paintbrushes in our tool bags or boxes. It is a part of our art addiction.

Hopefully, this kind of study will improve my figurative renderings in the future.