My travails at Baths Artists Studios in the first five sessions were as nothing compared to the most recent ones. I was tempted to consign this report to the dustbin, but will instead don sackcloth and ashes and try and explain all. Basically Week six was a disaster. We were presented with a lovely nude black model who was posed against a backcloth of drapes and cushions. However the purpose was `tone' from black to white using - I think - eight steps in between. and I've yet to really understand what I was supposed to do. Was the model the main item or the drapes and cushions? We were first told to darken the paper using charcoal or other mediums like Conte. I had some charcoal but this was my first mistake, so we have a black model on a black background. The idea was to use an eraser to lighten areas, in some instances back to white. The model and the background are connected and you mustn't draw one or the other in isolation. I failed to grasp the essence of the thing and after a visit from Saied, who said I wasn't doing it right, I eventually gave up and sat out the final 45 mins. If you've heard of writers block then I certainly suffered with artists block. Block in large areas of tone and draw negative shapes when in trouble. That was the advice but I'm afraid I couldn't separate the model from the background. The others all worked away and Pat, ever the optimist, kept going and said it all became clear at the end. Unfortunately I'd had enough before then. At the end I went back in and looked at the other drawings, which we are constantly exhorted to do. This doesn't help one bit as they were all different and for the life of me I can't see what is supposed to be good and what isn't.
As you may imagine I left in a very frustrated mood and for a time questioned the whole point of my being there, as I was not clicking at all and was starting to question everything I'd done in the years prior to this course. However I determined to try again and went to the next session which was week seven We had the usual talk prior to drawing with the History of Art, the interpretation of drawing through various phases of it and an explanation of what he wanted us to do. This was again to do with tone, shadow and light. He talked about art and artists and basically said very few artists attained real artistry, most didn't and that included professionals. I'm not going into any more detail as it is too long and complicated. To sum up he sets the bar very high and not many of us can aspire to be a Rembrandt or Leonardo.
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As you may imagine I left in a very frustrated mood and for a time questioned the whole point of my being there, as I was not clicking at all and was starting to question everything I'd done in the years prior to this course. However I determined to try again and went to the next session which was week seven We had the usual talk prior to drawing with the History of Art, the interpretation of drawing through various phases of it and an explanation of what he wanted us to do. This was again to do with tone, shadow and light. He talked about art and artists and basically said very few artists attained real artistry, most didn't and that included professionals. I'm not going into any more detail as it is too long and complicated. To sum up he sets the bar very high and not many of us can aspire to be a Rembrandt or Leonardo.
A new nude female model was the subject but again the background featured as you are supposed to tie her to it. She did two different poses but one problem is that after she has a rest the pose is never exactly the same and this can throw you , especially when he comes along and starts dissecting what you've drawn. Pat made the same comment. He did make some rather pointed remarks about whether people wanted to learn or not because if they didn't he was wasting his, and they there, time. In the first pose she was standing facing away. Saied did not come near me during this period and as was I trying to concentrate so much I was oblivious of what he was saying to some of the others. Pat said most were going through the rack as usual.
This is the result of my endeavours, not very successful but at least I finished it or rather stopped when we were told to do so. I should add he stopped me using my normal mechanical 07 2B pencil as he said it produces too thin a line. I changed to a Castell 2B standard pencil, using charcoal for the shading.
Below is my second effort which at one stage I was quite pleased with but again he said I was drawing objects and the proportions were incorrect and should be more carefully drawn. Funnily enough he says measuring shouldn't be assumed to be the be all or end all. You should check all the time to ensure proportions relate to one another and get the spacing correct. I basically get what he was saying but as he doesn't demonstrate you have to absorb everything from the verbal instructions. He also said my line drawing was wrong in that I need to vary the pressure more and he talked about me pushing instead of pulling - or was it the other way around?
Unfinished - It looked better before I started shading.
I don't know what readers will make of this as I realise it doesn't reflect all that well on me, and I wouldn't wish to imply the fault is the teachers because he has been doing this for many years and has a high reputation amongst people who know what they are talking about. Is is a case of being `in the wrong place at the wrong time'?
In any event there are three sessions to go and as we tend to arrive early I intend to ask him to clarify certain things where I am not all at clear what I am supposed to be doing. Bit late in the day with only three to go but.....I think I'll leave it at that and you can draw your own conclusions.