Figure

Haven't had time to post on this blog, which I consider a good thing, but I figure it's about time.  Just wanted to throw some thoughts and pictures out there from what's been going on in my head and with my hands in the last few months.

One thing that both Crystal and I have spoke of in the past is the overkill in life room that we experienced while in the atelier at Gage Academy.  Three hours everyday with a model is a great opportunity, but I get the sense that it may not be as beneficial for some and it is for others.  Even the New York Academy, where our friend Jason is studying and where our prior atelier instructor studied, only schedules it's students to work from a model two to three times a week.  I feel like this is probably a more accessible way of learning than daily sessions.  There was a point during each quarter of attending the Atelier that I realized I wasn't actually soaking in any more information; I didn't have enough time to digest everything from the past week.  I feel like it's akin to the difference between short-term and long-term memory - at times information learned long ago seems to randomly pop up from your long-term memory if given the appropriate stimulus, something that would've been impossible minutes after learning it the first time.

This quarter I'm monitoring Matt Buckner's Beginning Sculpture class.  I've taken two classes with Mike Magrath over the two year's I've been at Gage, but have heard a lot about Buckner's straightforward and analytical teaching.  He really is an amazing teacher and full of helpful knowledge and important tips.  It's amazing how much sculpture helps me out with my drawing in the life room.  I guess sculpture uses the part of your brain that works out dimensionality, which really helps with expressing depth on a piece of paper.  Here's some photos from what I've been working on:



This was taken during the beginning of class.  There's a lot of noise happening that I knew I needed to get rid of before advancing the piece.




...And at the end of class.  Clarified and some anatomy issues worked out, but glad that we still have five more classes left...they're going to be needed.


And photos from the cast-making day with Missy and Crystal:













...And finally, if you want to see what I've been working on with my printmaking, I'm keeping with the spirit of separatism and using my Wordpress blog to update the imaginary world of that artistic side.  Click on the drunk bear on the right...should be updated soon.

making casts

We met today to make casts to draw from. We used moulage

that we melted in a double boiler to create lifelike molds of our hands and faces. The material we used is fantastic and shows every wrinkle and fold of the skin. The fingers on this hand mold broke, but it was our first try so I'm sure they'll get better as we go along. Besides, it looks kind of cool this way.

                                      posted by Crystal

barque copies, color studies, and life drawing...

This week i wanted to work on drawing casts. We were going to make our own casts but we don't have a double boiler to melt our cast goo yet so I decided to work on some Barque copies. Jameson bought the Charles Barque Drawing Course - a great book full of cast drawings and mastercopies by Charles
Barque. Its a perfect book for practice on drawing casts. I wish my finished master copy didn't look stoned, but practice makes perfect so I have to just keep at it.

Also working on some  color studies. It helps me get a better handle on how the different colors interact with each other and trying to find what neutrals look good from the different color wheel opposites. Also gives you a little more sensitivity to the graduation of color tones.

And of course life drawing. I'm trying to make it to lifedrawing sessions two or three times a week. It starting to become a little more fun and a little less like having my fingernails pulled out with pliers. The anatomy studies are helping the proportions come a little more naturally.
                              posted by crystal