Life Drawing Project

Working in charcoal became my favourite medium to use in life drawing as I really appreciated the way that it can be manipulated to give different textures and shades. In the piece above I explored the ways in which transparency could be achieved through reduction and layering from different poses. I really like that the second pose is cast in the shadow of the first pose.

Sometimes I felt that the background needed to be changed in order to better compliment the figure. Adding a darkened background emphasises the contrast of the image and brings depth to the image. I am really happy with the proportion of this pose and the way the cloak is wrapped around the body.

I tried painting from life  which was a really interesting experience however the room was fairly dark which made it hard to see what exactly I was painting. I think the angle of this pose is quite interesting however including the model's surroundings may be helpful in order for it to make sense in the mind's eye, as he is lying on a table facing away from my point of view.

This particular charcoal drawing is actually life-size which means that proportions were quite difficult to determine. However I found it an excellent and exhilarating way to reach out of my comfort zone. Another challenge I encountered was selecting where to place five different poses on the page. The black background really brings out the figures and was also used for a reductive method of highlighting a pose from the black background.