Figure Drawing Technique - Mixing Watercolor and Pastel Media when Drawing from the Live Nude Female Model

Figure drawing group was a lot of fun, as usual! Everyone was hopped up on left-over Easter candy (of course we balanced this out with some Red wine) and we had one of our favorite models. I say that a lot...I love all of our models!After a series of gesture drawings, we set up this lovely pose that really showed of our model's long limbs. It also had wonderful shadows and light. I started with watercolor on a piece of Colorfix pastel board (board meaning mat board, not masonite - there are both versions available). I just aimed to wash in the major details and composition, being sure that I was going to utilize my page effectively. I did not want perfection - I wanted an interesting first layer. Next I used light purple and blue Nupastels to start blocking in color, checking my proportions and starting to really see areas of light and shadow. I occasionally grabbed my brush again, dipping it in water and washing away areas of color that were too strong or needed re-shaping.

I continued to add color, including fuscias and pinks and oranges to warm up her skin tone. If i needed to re-define an area, I used the watercolor to create a line or my black charcoal pencil.

It was very handy to use the watercolor brush when needing to make a change - I actually took off almost 3/4 of an inch on her backside because it was too long, just by softening the area with a wet brush. The same for her head - the scale was a bit too large for the body, so a quick wash over the hair and i easily adjusted the mistake.

I like the colors, the mix of the media, and the variety of definition - the detail in the upper knee, but the simple outline of her left foot. I don't feel that the point of focus is clear yet, so I may make some minor adjustments. I am glad I experimented with this paper and mixed media...I look forward to trying it again!