gRAPHICaNATOMY

See the roundness of the figure and the space it occupies. The roundness is presence of life.
Suggest the forms as they turn in space; in front and behind each other.
People aren’t ovals, dots squiggles. You can’t put a fence around whatever threatens to burst from the subject.
1st we consider the completeness or neatness of our drawing then we advance to expressing the energy against the containment of lines.

Lines are a trajectory curves, the arc of a thrown ball. Crescendo physically stroking the arc of the muscle we look at.

Clothing: involves wrinkles and softness different from the smooth taughtness of skin.
The more you draw the more it will increase your curiosity.
Draw into the image what you find so dull about it.
How much anatomy knowledge do you need? Anything will help.
Draw with an alert posture. Direct your attention toward the model. See clearly without strain.

The quality of the figure is its rhythm. How beautifully the parts cooperate

Beginning drawing should draw as many standing poses as possible. Best shows the dynamic expression of rhythm.

Experiments with rhythm
1. describe the strength of the body with no lines connecting.
2. Just hands & feet.
3. Evoke angles where they exist.
4. Ignore face. Draw from neck down

there is a growing trend in all the trendy cities called "drink & draw".

see years ago i predicted that the more popular computer graphics (flash, photoshop, etc.) with everyone the more the old- fashioned fine arts would populated by the "purists".

drawing is hard. so the people who draw are the ones that really WANT to draw.

and colleges/ universities are cutting back on their old fashined fine art classes to make room for webdesign, 3-d animation and flash classes.

but some people still want to draw.
bars, galleries and clubs are now starting to offer figure drawing sessions for a small fee (to pay the model) and to bring the trendy artist types into the club.
there's been a drink & draw club in garfield's brillobox for a few months and I finally had the time & money to attend.

i was hyper nervous. its been a while since i've drawn from live models. I've been using photos for a long time. it took me a few drawings to warm up.

anyway,
I'm sort of getting bored with all the portrait drawing. i'm ready for something new. i started thinking of fetish portraits. and not the leather and chain stuff. fetishes my way... like girls in protective gear (football pads or catcher's gear) or those really big watches. or maybe girls kissing. not those plastic pretty straight girls kissing: REAL lesbians. flannel shirts and dyke hair cuts. so if anyone wants to model, get the word out

Notes on high focus drawing ~ James McMullen

Do something with the figure- blow it apart

Take proportions of figure and reassemble to express some notion of modern life.

The figure in and of itself has been exhausted as a subject, to make it relevant to psychology of today it has to be manipulated somehow.

There is nothing of pleasure in the figure itself, so exploit it quickly as a motif for your own ideas.

Change the model into a design

Observational drawing is a struggle to take in something new not to create a graphic product.

Engage in a sense of celebrating the subject by drawing a sense of “here & now”.

Understand the model with a creative synthesis. Shift emphasis away from the model and toward ourselves and you learn nothing about the model.

The paradox of self expression: we express ourselves more powerfully when we put aside thinking about self-expression and concentrate on the problem. We become revealed in our work by our choices.

A useful way to make progress: devote yourself in drawing. Entirely take in the model. Make the model the true center of activity & draw as an exploration of the models meaning.

What is tit about the human figure that makes it so unique? Physically & psychology alive.

Merge analytical thinking with intuitive. Multi standard receptivity to model- possible you make sense of complex interplay between body parts.

Mechanics too complicated to see in action of seen w/ logic alone. Be responsive to the model. In a state of high focus, accept the risk.

Drawing lads to the edge of what is seen and understood. Get rid of the space between head and the hand. Direct linkage between seen & felt the hand expressing it on paper.

Construction lines eventually become unnecessary. Intuitive perception creates specific forms of the model

Fell & draw as much as you can.

Start drawing where it is important to you.

Nailing down specific body & mood of model like time travel.

Multi stroke attack = low focus.

It can be tough to transition. Once you get invested in a particular style can be tough to let go.

Style is often a substitute for real ability

High focus = gives fewer facts but organizes it powerfully

Sink into the presence of the model and learn something you didn’t know before.

Drawing becomes a meditation.

What is the real in realistic?