This was the 8th session of this 10 week course, and things not going well I decided to ask Saied for clarification on a few things prior to starting. I almost wish I hadn't. My first thought was `C****t he's read the blog. I was given a real going over and basically told I didn't listen to what he said and instead did my own thing. Did he use the word `braindead', no actually he didn't but he made some remark questioning my thought processes. I can only conclude two things. Either he sees me as a dead loss or thinks there may be something to rescue from the wreckage and shock therapy is the best tactic. We were warned prior to the course that it was `demanding' and there were well-documented stories of participants being reduced to tears - and that was just the men! I'll leave it at that.
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The model was posed on the usual raised platform with adjacent lighting. In this instance the students were arraigned around the platform in a circular manner so everyone had a different viewpoint. The model was posed standing up and leaning forward with his hands resting on a stool. The initial instruction was this was a 20 minute drawing. In the event this extended well beyond as progress was just too slow to complete in this short time. I think in the end it could well have been closer to 90 minutes. We were again told to stop on occasion and study the drawings of others. One of his earlier criticisms of me was that I just glanced at the drawings in a casual way and didn't study them. He also said that I wasn't listening to what he was saying to others, but fails to understand that when I am engrossed in doing something I shut everything else out. This is a complaint I regularly get from my wife.
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After a break for tea or coffee we resumed with the model posed lying down. One thing Saied often says is that what he is asking is difficult, possibly as a source of reassurance to the strugglers.
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Eventually we got to 5 o'clock and the session was brought to a close. We looked at each others work and identified what we thought were good . Not all are of the same standard. I didn't notice it but Pat told me one participant was making furious noises she was so frustrated. For a three hour session the above drawings don't look much. Actual drawing time is nearer two hours.
That was it we left saying goodbye - Saied and I are still speaking - and got the bus to the park and ride. I felt this was a much better session than the last two weeks, but that is a personal view and it's relative to what has gone before.
We had another nude model, a young coloured man with a splendid physique. I have to say the selection of models on this course have been outstanding. Saied began with his usual talk which extended quite a while. He made some quite pointed remarks and they may well have been directed - partly at least - at me. Am I being paranoid? Pat thinks I'm taking the negatives too seriously and is not the least fazed by it. Incidentally the third newcomer was missing this week, why I don't know. Pat will miss the final session as she will be on holiday. I don't wish to recount everything said but covered much of the ground he'd spoken of previously and recounted his own career - 7 years at art school. One remark was that much of current teaching is useless and an awful lot of art was lacking in content, although I'm not sure I'm expressing his views absolutely accurately. He is very dismissive of much of what is happening in the art world. He did say many of his fellow students left Art School having learned nothing.
This was taken at the close but you can see setup where the model was lying down, his head towards the top. This isn't my actual view when drawing.
The instruction was to fit the model to the paper and not separate him from the background. This is what he always says. The lady on my right had previous experiences of his courses, as had all the others except Pat and I. I glanced over at how she was approaching things to see if it would help. I also started very slowly - we were told to look for some minutes before starting - and tried to get an accurate representation drawing shapes not objects. This involved much use of the eraser. One problem is that when the model is given a rest, however hard they try, they never assume the identical position with subtle differences that tend to throw me. Pat has the same problem. I don't remember Saied coming near me on this one and he made no comment on it when we were finally told to stop. I think the idea is that you should draw and shade as you go along and I tend - in his words - to draw objects.
A3 Unfinished
Again we were told to relate the model to the background and ensure the whole figure fitted on the paper. I took in three prominent verticals, one slightly to the right of his head, another in a corner of the room behind him and a door on the right hand side. Where I went wrong was in the horizontal and was criticized for not finding some horizontal lines. This resulted in my not getting the angle quite right so I had to make several adjustments, again much use of the eraser. On this occasion Saied looked at both Pat and my drawings and made several observations where he considered they were wrong. He also told us to swop over and critique each others work.
A3 Unfinished
That was it we left saying goodbye - Saied and I are still speaking - and got the bus to the park and ride. I felt this was a much better session than the last two weeks, but that is a personal view and it's relative to what has gone before.