Groping at the Human Form..

Looking at this photo you can clearly see i spent the most time trying to grasp the torso, as the feet are laughably disproportionate. I am taking the soreness in my arm as a sign that things are going well and that I am drawing as I should in class, trying really hard to grasp the gestures and put the gestures into the work. These two drawings are ones that we worked on in class for approx. 30 minutes. The one on the right is my most recent long sitting drawing, as I unfortunately had to miss class on Thursday. It will be hard for me to start drawing again tomorrow but I am excited to get back into it. Last week we also had our first large assignment (I will upload the pictures on here!) I was disappointed with my work, although I put a lot of time into it (7+ hours!) I felt was way too busy and the contours weren't going the right way. I need to train my eyes to do it, and I am glad I have three more chances to be able to get it right. I was really really frustrated with the contour drawing last week so I am glad I got a week to break from it. Onwards...

Inspiration

The Ribcage

I have never thought about a ribcage being round. We started investigating the middle section of a person, in my eyes I have always seen people as having this flat torso as a middle. These perceptions were quickly replaced as Amy lectured about the oval egg shape of the ribcage. I started googling pictures as well as (once again) feeling my own ribcage wondering what is going on in there. I was really pleased as we started drawing to find out that K has a wonderful ribcage to study. After a series of gesture drawings (and REALLY trying to get at drawing the figure using my arm and not my hand) we settled into a half an hour session of focusing on the torso of the model. I have always been visual, but staring at human flesh I realize how much it helps translate into the picture, knowing where the bones are- and seeing it in real life.

Here is a quick drawing of a human skeleton ribcage and then the ribcage as it is now in my head, instead of a square.

September 29, 2010

There is a lot for me to process, and my mind is being opened up to the wonders of anatomy. Amy said something that really resided with me, she told our class that it's not just doctors that get to be empowered, but we do too-because we can learn how our bodies work. It sounds simple, but in reality most people don't understand how their own bodies function, it just is, and it IS empowering to understand what is going on. We have begun working on our mannequins and although I need a lot of work understanding anatomy, I am very interested and willing to commit. I find myself feeling for the bones in my body or muscles while at work, I'm sure people are like what on earth is that girl doing...

We have also begun working with a live model, which is honestly the most fun I have ever had as an art student in drawing class. The human form has always been my favorite subject, whether it's painting or contemporary work-I feel most connected when working with the human form.

Here are a few short gesture drawings I worked on in class, we were given very little time and this is just the start...

This other drawing I started working on for a longer period of time with the model.

These will hopefully improve with time.

September 21, 2010

• Art has always been something that I just knew I loved. Just like when you're little and you know you love playing outside--it's kind of that simple. When I came to college I had applied to a couple of schools with the intention of majoring in art there, but decided to major in Apparel Design at Stout. I quickly realized although fashion is something I will always love, designing wasn't what I wanted to do. It felt like I was cutting out something important, and I was. I declared my major in Studio-Art (and kept some credit for my fashion design classes by working towards a business retail minor.) One of the things that I have found most captivating is studying other artists, and I enjoy a wide variety of art history-anything from Baroque to Contemporary. It would be incredibly hard to pick which course within the art program has been my favorite, Art Since 1950 has been one of the most inspiring-along with Sculpture I-which led to my interest in contemporary art. I am taking Life Drawing to get a better grasp on the human body, and to learn skills that will better my practice in art. I think I will learn more than I even realize in this class. Being able to visually see the structure of the inside of the human body, and study it inside and out will help me immensely.