This week at Studio b., we had a new model. I get better at drawing any particular model after I have drawn him or her a few times. The first session with a new model is difficult for me. The week was no exception — I struggled. And as if drawing a new model wasn’t hard enough, Heather also directed us to draw the background in our pictures, to give a sense of environment.
In my first drawings, I drew a hint of the studio room, and the drapes covering the model’s support boxes. There was not enough time for me to draw the model with much accuracy, and also to draw the studio as well. I grew increasingly frustrated. So on my last drawing, I gave up with the studio background, and instead I put my figure on a porch near the ocean. Heather is always telling us to draw what we see, not what we know. But all I had was what I know, so my porch siding and shadows might be a little unconvincing. It’s all part of the learning process.