Way before I ever imagined it happening, some of my figure drawings are hanging in a gallery. Colleen Duffley has covered one of the walls in Studio b with drawings by the participants in the weekly figure drawing sessions. The fact that our drawings are being shown at all is pretty exciting, not to mention the good fortune to be shown at Studio b, the premier fine art gallery and venue for creativity. Italian artist Sergio Poddighe will be showing his work in the main gallery starting with his opening reception on Saturday, 3/27/2010, from 6 to 8 PM. Our figure work will be in the back gallery. Our prices will be nominal, because our drawings are not matted or framed.
This week instructor Heather Clements had us draw the folds and gathers of fabric partially covering the model. A plain light-colored sheet gave us plenty to work with. The drawing sessions have been well-attended the last few weeks, with 10 or 12 artists there. As always, the energy was very high this week.
Each session becomes an experience: the scratching sound of chalk and charcoal on paper, the instructor’s soft encouragement and tutoring of the individual artists; one of the artists singing a parody of a mournful selection in the background music, with everyone laughing afterwards. And spoken aloud, the questions all artists struggle with (but usually don’t verbalize)… “How do you make a foot look like a foot? Why does mine look like a flipper?” And the groans of protest when the timer goes off, ending a particularly good pose. And then the hurried removal of drawings from drawing boards and the setting up for a new drawing, quick, hurry, we’re starting another 8-minute pose…
None of my drawings were “keepers”, but I’m posting a few anyway. I experimented, even using some color. I rarely use color for color’s sake, preferring instead to draw monotone value studies using only one color or a neutral. I may not turn out any masterpieces when I experiment, but I learn a lot, so I never count the effort a waste.
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