Back to school

My teaching responsibilities resumed a couple weeks ago; hence the slower rate of posting on this blog. But today was another back-to-school day: Life class resumed. I decided to ease into things by drawing rather than painting. These first two sketches were 10-minute poses. Sorry about the ghosted lines in these photos; I was using thin newsprint for practice, and I didn’t realize it would be semi-transparent, heh.

Geoff Watson, “Gesture study,” charcoal on paper, 18” x 24,” 2019.

Geoff Watson, “Gesture study #2,” charcoal on paper, 18” x 24,” 2019.

This longer pose turned out okay, except that I had trouble shading smoothly. Partly this was because my first stick of charcoal broke and I had to switch to a different type of charcoal mid-stream. Partly it was that I’m out of practice with charcoal and tried shading by hatching instead of just using the side of the charcoal. Still, there’s some nice stuff going on in this drawing.

Geoff Watson, “Sketch of Dakota,” charcoal on paper, 18” x 24,” 2019.

Gesture studies in oil

A couple weeks ago I posted some gesture studies in watercolor, which I did at the Art Students League in New York. Today I did some gesture studies in oil. The two I'm posting here both took 20 minutes from start to finish. Fun!  I also a did a bunch of quick charcoal drawings. I may post some of those later.

Geoff Watson, Study, "Legs crossed," oil on panel, 11" x 14," 2018.

Geoff Watson, Study, "Standing," oil on panel, 11" x 14," 2018.

Some 10-minute "Gesture watercolors"

I had lots of fun with the watercolors during "watercolor week." I did a few interesting little paintings on the train to and from New York; I may post some of those later.  I also did some 10-minute "gesture watercolors" in a tiny sketchbook.  A "gesture sketch" is a quick drawing intended to capture the general energy and proportions of a pose, not fine detail. So I suppose a "gesture watercolor" is a similar sketch but done with watercolors.

I did these at a one-hour short-pose life-drawing session at the venerable Art Students League in New York, on West 57th Street. Every time I visit New York, I drop by the League for a drawing session or two. The League has a storied history, and it's good to see it's still busy training artists today. Check it out here: https://www.theartstudentsleague.org/

Anyway, I  typically spent five or six minutes drawing and  the final four or five minutes painting.  The results may not be masterpieces, but they're interesting. 

Nude on chair, watercolor on paper, 6" x 6", July 6, 2017, at the Art Students League. I tried to capture the rather defiant expression on the model's face.

Nude with globe, watercolor on paper, 6" x 6", July 6, 2017, at the Art Students League. That's supposed to be drapery on the floor, but I had a bit of a mishap with my blue paint.  :)