George Twice

 Color Pencil, 15"H x 22"W

Sometimes, at the Open Drawing sessions, I find the model's face more interesting than the whole figure. When this is the case I focus on the head. The fact that I don't have any control over the pose or the lighting adds to the challenge. In this drawing I really pushed the intensity of the colors and values.

René -Two Minute Poses

Pen & Ink with Wash, 15"H x 22"W 

At the Open Drawing sessions (see previous post), I usually use a pen and ink with wash for the shorter poses, and I make a number of sketches on a single sheet of paper. Each of the figure studies in this drawing was done in two minutes. 

Paula 2 Poses

Color Pencil, 15"H x 22"W 

Whenever I feel the need to get back to basics I try to draw using a model. Drawing or painting the figure from life is definitely a challenging visual exercise. There are several schools and groups in the area that provide the opportunity to work from the model. This drawing was done at one of the Washington Studio School Open Drawing sessions. They hold evening sessions twice a week with short and/or long poses. There isn't instruction, but there is a monitor who sets up and times the poses.