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Ilaria in red striped tights 2

Drawings by Steve, Jane and Angela

by Steve

by Jane

by Angela

by Jane

by Steve

by Angela

by Jane

by Angela

by Jane

by Steve

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Ilaria in red striped tights 1

Drawings by Julie, Peter, Maria and Prue

by Julie

by Prue

by Peter

by Julie

by Prue

by Maria

by Julie

by Prue

by Julie

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Ilaria: reference photos

from Tuesday’s modelling session.

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Two views

View through the Dudlow Lane window by Angela (above) and interesting developments by Maria (below) of her allotment drawing. This is working towards a painting.

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Keep the aspidistra flying

We had a quiet New Years Day drawing session for the more abstemious members of the group. They chose a modest subject: an aspidistra in a potty. I love Jane’s ink pic (above) with its nod to Matisse.

Meanwhile, Julie (below) took the colour route. The green pic has a liveliness that an aspidistra can only dream of.  It really is a very ordinary and unprepossessing plant, distinguished mainly by the way the leaves curl up like plumes of smoke on a still day. I thought Julie’s brown study got that conservative character.

And here’s how the camera saw it

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Molly in the park by Peter

As always we are all open-mouthed at the sheer hard work Peter puts himself through with this technique and, as usual, the result is striking and distinctive. This time I like the rhythm of the composition which sets the tree splaying outwards while the model curves inwards. It creates a remarkably still centre entirely appropriate for the subject: the eye comes to rest on the book.

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Patterned fabric references

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Cains Brewery by Steve

Nice bit of urban sketchery from Steve, drawn sitting outside his studio

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Some stripe-drawing exercises

Here’s a few samples of striped materials with a 3D aspect to them. Have a go at drawing them if you have an idle moment.

No need to draw the complete picture: just start somewhere and move outwards, stop whenever you want. It’s an exercise in observation: see how the stripes help to give volume to the form.

If there are underlying soft shadows, it’s worth putting them in first: they help to guide the stripes.

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Eve in stripes

30 minute pose.

(Above) by Julie. (Below) by Angela

(Above) by Peter. (Below) by Nneka

(Above) by Steve. (Below) by Maria

(Above) by David and (below) his second version, done at home.

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Stripey material

This was a very interesting session which clarified for me that a stripiness is not to be taken lightly! Drawn well, stripes on a material can bring out underlying form.

 Woolly jumper in coloured pencils by Angela (above) and David (below).

Although both are well-observed in their stripe-mapping, Angela’s somehow seems warmer and woollier. I suspect her choice of either pencils or paper (or both) helped achieve that soft texture. But it’s also the careful placement of shadows under the stripes that bring a 3d quality that David hasn’t really managed.

(Above) Shirt by David, which really needs more careful mapping of the stripes to get the feel of the form. It is more of a challenge than it might at first seem, to follow the stripes and be aware of the way they are distorted by folds and undulations. It’s easy for the eye to lose its way in this exercise. But if you get it right, the stripes work for you in bringing out the form and giving it volume.

(Below) Crumpled shirt by Prue. Mostly this works well, firstly because of careful mapping of the stripes and secondly because of the underlying shadows. It is let down just by one area, top left. It looks like a dip in concentration, and the result is flatness.

(Above) Cushion with flat fringe by Prue. This works for me, with both stripes and shadows helping to create a bit of volume.

(Above) Scarf by Maria. Patiently drawn and well-observed.

Angela wearing scarf, by Nneka. Somehow I failed to brief Nneka that this exercise was all about stripes. She was all poised to draw a stripey shirt when her eye was caught by this elegant model in her scarf. What can I say? Lovely drawing.

Dressing gown hanging on lampstand, by Julie (above) and Steve (below). An interesting comparison.Both were attracted to the compositional qualities of this set-up. Julie has got life and personality in her dressing gown more from her lively use of coloured pencil than by tackling the pattern of stripes. With Steve’s drawing, it is the careful work on the stripes which give the garment personality and interest.

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Striped Eve  Reference photos 

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Like many cartoonists, Tom Richmond is very aware of the expressive qualities of hands. This seems to be an excellent tutorial: take a look!  JM

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Mario by David

Pretty good, considering David missed the ‘live’ portrait session and had to rely on the photo I posted.

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Joe in a hat

Forty-minute pose

by Peter

by Prue

by Maria

by Steve

by Nneka

by Jane

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Portraits of Joe

Half-hour poses.

by Prue

by Angela

by Jane

by Maria

by Nneka

by Peter

by Steve

by Steve

by Angela

by Jane

by Nneka

by Peter

by Prue

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Quick portraits of Joe

Eight-minute poses from four different angles.

Two by Steve:

One by Peter:

Two by Nneka:

Three by Prue:

Set of four by Angela:

Two by Jane: