THE ANGLED CURVE - TOBIAS ALLEN WOLF: angels gate cultural center

Showing posts with label angels gate cultural center. Show all posts

Monday, August 7, 2017

Pushing it further—Mark Session Back Pose 08/05/2017

For the curious—I went to the trouble to make a animated gif (it may take a bit to load) which illustrates the progress of this life drawing that has been furthered beyond the time with the model. The original is what was achieved with the model posing for 25 min. The image with the additions was completed in about 40 extra minuets. So about an hour in all.

Although I still use Newsprint for 2-15 minutes poses, I've moved on to using a higher quality paper for most of my short pose work in the range of 20-25 minutes. Because of this, I've felt compelled to take these a bit further with additional work. As many may know, Newsprint doesn't take reworking very well at all. So it's a pursuit I've never really gotten into with short pose drawings. But it's a lot of fun to push the notation inherent to short pose work into something more fleshed out so to speak. It really allows you to think a bit more about what you want to emphasize and what you want to play down while still attempting to keep it all tethered to reality somehow. Oftentimes I wind up liking the original better, but as always—there is progress in the destruction.

Mark Session Back Pose 08/05/2017 - 25 Min. Pose (image 1) - 25 Min. Pose with additional work (image 2) - 18" X 24" - Carbon Pencils, Vine Charcoal, and White Pastel Pencil on Charcoal Paper

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Untitled 46

9" X 12"

Oil on Paper

2 Hr. from Life

2014

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Untitled #36

22" X 30"

Charcoal on Paper

2013

Male models are infrequent at many of the workshops I've been to, so this 1.5 Hr. drawing completed at Angels Gate was a nice change. The male form lends itself much more easily to the way I work in general. This made the process of form interpretation a much more straightforward effort.

Friday, March 13, 2015

Camille Seated

12" X 16"

Oil on Canvas

2014

This is a four hour Alla Prima painting from life completed last year at Angels Gate. I used quite a few very large brushes throughout the painting. Especially in the background. Using these can be a bit tricky sometime as it is a very simple thing to ruin prior carefully laid in strokes.

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Untitled #64

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2012

This 1.5 hour pose was a great set-up and is a good example of my working approach. I've squared off all of the forms on the figure to a somewhat extreme degree. The lighting was a bit tricky as it was behind the model so she was mostly in reflected light for my view.

Although I believe it's important to accurately observe what is going on with the model, sometimes this can lead to a record in physical discomfort. Especially as you gain more empathy with models through experience. Granted it's difficult to judge, but I don't think most individuals would understand the kind of pain the model is feeling in the leg she is sitting on just by looking at the pose.

The most common experience with the creation of visual imagery for people in the modern era is via photography. Snap it and you're done. This can really lead to a corrupt understanding of just what goes into making a work of art. Not only on the part of the artist, but all parties involved in the creation.

Perhaps that is one of the greatest gifts of painful experiences, whether they be physical or otherwise - they provide a way of empathizing with others in a more meaningful way. When things are too easy or simple, you lose this reference frame, which robs you of deeper connections to the people and the world around you. No pain, no gain. Even for artists and models.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Untitled #48

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2013

I used an atmospheric perspective approach on many of the forms in this 1½ hour pose from life. I've found it useful for conveying a sense of depth for poses that are very foreshortened.

I've squared off many of the bony landmarks just under the skin as well as they were quite prominent on the model. Especially in the knees, and at the top of the humerus - or arm bone. The model's features were a good fit with my approach to simplification and exaggeration.

Friday, February 6, 2015

Sara Streeter Portrait

14" X 18"

Oil on Canvas

2014

This portrait of Sara Streeter will be a part of a group gallery show on display at the Angels Gate Cultural Center February 8 - March 27, 2015. It was completed Alla-Prima from life in about 4 hours last fall.

She modeled on her birthday, on a Saturday morning, and stood for a four hour pose. The woman is a pro.

Monday, February 2, 2015

Untitled #149

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2013

This 60 min. back pose of Sara Streeter is a classic example of contrapposto. She was a professional dancer for quite some time and her ability to hold a pose like this is rather legendary. Most models do not stand for poses over an hour. This one was about two hours- with 25 min intervals (I drew this during two of those sessions). Although, I've seen her stand for four hour poses.

Many new life models who are unaware of the challenges of posing at length will oftentimes attempt poses that are beyond their ability. This isn't the case with a seasoned model. Notice that straight line going from her left foot all the way up to the back of her head. This line acts as kind of a pillar that takes most of the weight of the pose.

The contrapposto stance has been used in figurative sculpture for centuries for it's stability. The same sound principles of stable weight distribution goes for a multi-hour length pose as well. This model knows what she's doing.

Saturday, January 31, 2015

Untitled #38

24" X 36"

Charcoal on Paper

2012

This 40 min. contour study was completed the week after I went to see an exhibition of Klimt drawings at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. He was such a master draftsman with pure line, and he had this amazing knack to be able to capture subtle turns of the human head with such sensitive accuracy. As in this study of a child's head:

The head is tilted along every axis in this study, and all of those small shapes on the child's left side are very carefully placed. Unless the head is propped up against a wall or other structure, this kind of head tilt is typically very difficult for a model to hold with any real accuracy over the length of a session as the muscles in the neck usually get sore. This is another favorite:

All of these angles are very challenging when drawing from life because even the slightest movement can cause the perspective to shift, which can lead to problems of coherence. This is especially important in drawing out the angle of the eyes, mouth, jaw, and nose. One can imagine if the models head in the bottom study even turned the smallest amount you would no longer see the edge of the eye. Models are always moving in the slightest so these studies must have been a real workout for his visual memory and patience on his part, and the models.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Untitled #14

22" X 30"

Charcoal on Paper

2012

Around 2010 or so I began to use some of the Pan Pastel Sofft Tools when working in charcoal from life. While they do have their limitations with respect to getting a tight hard edge; nothing comes close to the way they leave a mark. Another idiosyncratic distinction is that it often takes a bit of work to fill the tooth of a paper with them, which is a good thing.

The Sofft tools are very much like sponges or make-up applicators. This softness makes them the perfect tool on a delicate surface like Stonehenge paper. Also, when working larger, you can cover a substantial amount of area in very little time without a lot of vigorous effort. Which is a real virtue when working within the time constraints of a posed model.

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Untitled #110

22" X 30"

Charcoal on Paper

2013

Models aren't always into being naked in front of a room of strangers, as one can imagine. Although, there was an opportunity in this pose to add some emotional depth by way of how the shading was handled. So I used the charcoal edge to give emphasis to the main force of the forms. Vertical in the torso, radial in the legs. This brings the focal point to the collection of shapes at the center of her pelvis, which tells the story of the model's mood just as much as the expression on her face.