Saturday, December 17, 2011

Drawing and Painting the Female

Another wonderful night of drawing this week!  I quick 25 minute drawing in charcoal.  Mostly blocking in bold sections of light and dark.


It was challenging to draw from this angle, looking right at her extended legs - the foreshortening was pretty severe.  I also wish I hadn't tried to indicate the features of her face - just used the light and shadow to show which was she was looking.  But I like the bold lines and dramatic values.

Our long pose was really beautiful.  She took a reclining pose accented with a beautiful turquoise robe on top of a deep aubergine blanket.


I was so absorbed in my painting that I forgot to take a picture before this stage, which would have been good to show you.  I actually did everything BUT the model when I started.  Her pose was very complex - reclined with lots of angles.  So by blocking in the large ottoman, the drapery, and the background, the model became the last piece of the puzzle - in the correct size and position.


I was painting on a Clayboard designed for watercolor.  I can't remember when I first tried this, but I like using the surface for quick oil studies.  The paint soaks in pretty quickly, so I can apply a couple layers without getting too muddy.  However - it does reach a saturation point pretty fast - you end up just moving paint around rather than applying paint layers on top of one another - if you do too much in the first sitting.

I was lucky to get a reference photo and I look forward to finishing up this painting.

Another beautiful drawing from that night by my friend Shane...


A lovely pose from multiple vantage points!

2 comments:

Danno said...

Beautiful work Kristina. The compositions are very compelling and I love the vibrant color of your painting! Can't wait to see the finished work.

Lisa Graham said...

I have Twitter to thank for finding you...love your work! It's absolutely beautiful...it contains all that draws me to art, rich color, elegance, beautiful forms...I could go on. Look forward to following you! And greeting and Merry Christmas from Wichita, Kansas!