There is something really quite fulfilling spending half an hour doodling and sketching with brushes. It is totally inconsequential which makes it so much more rewarding. Life is far too short not to have a bit of fun every now and then. Here is my bit of fun this morning.
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I have found this photograph of a well round woman on the Internet – this is actually harder than you might think as most nude women tend to be undertaking degrading behaviour. Anyway, I am fascinated by this woman and I am not sure why. The more I draw her the more I realise that I am attracted by her curves and these are leading to a more abstract result.
In This drawing I have used only curved lines. This was a deliberate decision on my part and for a state I couldn’t understand why. Then I realised that it may well have been the curves that attracted me. Everything is curved. I have called this series of drawings ‘modern women’. I suspect this is a reaction of the depiction of women you see on TV, film and all other media. There seems to be a rejection of what is real in favour of some strange emaciated figure that has no real relationship to the modern world. This is hardly radical, I know, but you can’t help what motivates you.
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Well I’ve let myself go and this the result. I’ve no idea where she came from and I’m sure many art historians can point to the influences and they may be right. What I do know is that she makes sense me.
Having store back and looked at the drawing I think I will remove the face – it doesn’t add to the work which is turning into mother earth.
I’m on line at:
www.flickr.com/photos/guthlacDay two working on the female form. I have christened this drawing ‘Modern Woman’. The idea behind this today was to mKe as realistic drawing of the woman as I could. However what is real? I am not sure now as having spent the day trying to create the most realistic drawing I realise that this is controlled by your technique and the materials you are using. In this case I am using charcoal and try as I might I can’t get the control I vet with pencil. I could, of course, use charcoal pencils but I enjoy the tactile feel of charcoal in my hand so I have decided against this.
So how real is she? Well in one sense very real but in another not. She certainly isn’t a photo real drawing and I am glad of that. I have seen many such drawings and paintings and I always come away thinking why? I think there is a wold world of difference between drawing and photography, both bring something special to the experience but they are not the same. Is she better than yesterday’s attempt? Again yes and no. In short she has a life of her own – indeed I am referring to her as ‘her’ rather that ‘it’ which probably says more about how real anything is.
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Well I spent two hours this ,owning with amply proportioned young women and things are coming along a treat. I am deliberately taking my time to see how that might improve things. So far this is proving to be a worthwhile tactic.
I am using my new easel and this has also proved to be a great success as well. All in all considering everything else that has happened today it could have gone a whole lot worse.
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So I am drawing fat ladies today. God that sounds patronising – especially as I am a fat man so am in no position to say anything. Well yes and no. The no because I am fascinated by the folds and curves – perhaps it is very primeval as most fertility goddess would not be considered models for any Milan fashion house yet they were seen as the embodiment of womanhood and renewal.
Anyway, before I disappear into pseuds corner back to the drawing. This part of an expansion of the portraits into full figures. As a first step this isn’t top bad. I also find taking a photo helps me see things that I may have missed – such as one of the hands – although I am not so sure! So to Wagner. I like to listen to classical music whilst working and at the moment Wagner is my composer of choice. The only problem with this is that will always associate him with Hitler and the third reich. Still I am not sure that the valkerye were fat ladies but rather amazonians – but that is another story.
I’m on line at:
www.flickr.com/photos/guthlacWell I managed to make the likeness. It was hard work – this took the best part of two hours to draw – but eventually I have achieved what I set out to do. Well almost – I’m never happy with the exults and no doubt I will work on this a bit more but it is a great improvement at the first attempt and this, of course, is a really good lesson in itself. I couldn’t have produced this without the earlier sketch. Producing art appears to be much the same as any other exercise – the more you practice the better you get. You always strive to improve, whatever that might mean to you.
So I am happyish with this and the Secretary of State is reunited with her nose. Now you the next phase of this mad cap idea.
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As part of the search for the missing nose I decided to trace out the photograph to see if I could learn anymore about the face. I didn’t but I found the whole thing a bit of funI have just noticed that this makes her look like Mrs T – now there is something to ponder!.
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I’m on line at:
www.flickr.com/photos/guthlacWell I’m back on portraits and I am trying to make a likeness of the former first lady and now Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. This is part of an idea I am working on which, if it is like many of my other ideas, will never get finished! Be that as it may, the first part is that I need to make a portrait of the afore mentioned Secretary of State. I have managed a reasonable first stab at it apart from the nose – I just don’t seem to be able to get nose right. This is really frustrating – I know I will eventually find the nose but at the moment it is nowhere to be found. Wow when did that happen? I feel confident that I will find a solution, not I will never find a solution but rather it is only a matter of time. Now that is progress.
In the meantime I will search forlornly for Ms Clinton’s nose – now I bet that’s not to be found in the Wikileaks documents. Sent from my iPad
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