Figure Drawing

-

Last night's figure. We haven't had a male figure model for a while, and it was a little tricky to get his proportions down (one of the other students laughed out loud when I mentioned that, but I'm serious, ha). After a while, you start to get a mental representation of the proportions in a figure, and not having drawn a male figure for a while, I think my mental rubric was just a little rusty. I spent a while chasing this pose too. This guy was trying to relax into one hip, but it ended up being more of a whole body lean, which shifted quite a bit.

I've been reading a few Steven Pressfield books lately--The War of Art, Do the Work, and now Turning Pro. He talks about any artistic pursuit (or pursuit of a dream) as being a war, in that there are always multiple levels of resistance you're working against. And isn't that true? Resistance from society and circumstance, from the people around you, and most importantly, from within yourself. Artistic pursuits never make sense. They're always risky, and usually involve a lot of sacrifice in other parts of your life. There are zillions of little nuggets of wisdom, but I liked this quote I read yesterday afternoon:


Half the time I'm doing this stuff, I'm thinking, "Why?!!?? What do I think I'm doing!?!?!" But here's to giving it a shot, regardless.

Comments

  1. Arena ShawnNovember 11, 2016 at 6:28 AM

    So true.

    The entire modern industrial society's ethics involves being functional, productive, and "useful". But art simply is not. So we are left feeling guilty everyday for pursuing such a frivolous dream. But in your case, I think you truly have a passion and you feel it as a calling. You can not breathe without it. It is part of you.

    I loved drawing growing up but never felt that I was talented enough, and never permitted myself to seriously pursue it. I took the science track and finished my ph.d. In physics, took a job in the Silicon Valley as an engineer, but could not pull myself away from it ultimately. I wish I had taken atelier training earlier. It was the best gift I gave myself. I still feel inadequate and guilty of not being productive everyday. But when I am in front of the easel these thoughts no longer bothers me. It's just me, the charcoal, the paper, and the figure in front of me. It is a great feeling and despite of the agony, a great reason to start each and everyday.

    I know you love this and I want to say: there is a point. You cannot suppress or resist the fundamental ways of who you are, Stacy. I am so happy you are embracing it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. StacyNovember 11, 2016 at 7:18 AM

      Thank you, Arena. Yes, I took a different path initially too, and I actually have a master's degree in speech therapy! I enjoyed it, but you're right. Art is fundamental to who I am and I really can't not include it without feeling like something huge is missing. So I'm embracing it, and pushing myself as hard as I can. Thank you so much for your comments :)

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

April News

-
Image
I'll admit I've been less than diligent in caring for this blog lately, but it's for good reason--life! Life, for me, is always full of more to do than could ever be done. Maybe I have too many interests. Or maybe I'm too interested in the interests I do have. Whatever the reason, I'm always busy and rarely bored! Anyway, I'm happy to announce a few updates here for my handful of readers ;) 1) I've recently accepted a role as the Utah Ambassador for the Portrait Society of America. It's an organization I absolutely love being a part of. I look forward to becoming more involved with the Portrait Society as I act as liaison for a state full of incredible artists. 2) Although I may have seemed a little quiet in terms of production lately, it's because I've been working on a complex, multifigure commission that won't be released for public view until 2026. So... stay tuned for that one! 3) I'm painting full time now. Side gigs disbanded, I
Read more

Yellow is not a happy color.

-
Image
  6x6, 6x6, and 6x4" I've been trying to paint this poor yellow lily for the past few days--I'm not doing it justice. I've decided that yellow is just the most difficult color to paint. It's the shaded part of the petals that gets me... what  is  that color? Greenish? orangish? brownish? nothing-ish? Whatever that shaded stuff is, I'm not getting it. When you add black to yellow, it turns green. Blue, it turns green. Red, it turns orange/brown. So what is it? Probably something in between (or maybe a little of both). I'd like to figure this out, but today apparently isn't the day ;) On the first two, I had a white background, and on the third one went for a gray for contrast (and actually tried to paint it sight size--teeny tiny--thinking it might help me simplify all that yellow. and maybe it did. but still...). I've read it takes miles of canvas to make a good painter, and I certainly haven't filled miles yet, so it's fine. Mayb
Read more

June

-
Image
June really snuck up on me this year—but I’ve been making the most of the beautiful late spring weather/cooler temperatures to get outside and paint. It’s always a challenge to find the time during the summer months with the kids home from school, but they’re getting old enough to manage themselves for a little while and that’s nice. This lilac study was painted very quickly—I had only been painting 30-40 minutes when the park landscapers informed me they needed to plant a tree right where I was standing :) It’s always an adventure painting outdoors!
Read more