Raphael

2/21/2010 08:56:00 PM Posted In , , Edit This 12 Comments »
We had a bit of a birthday party here last nite for our son Andrew and Carrie, his wonderful wife.  Their birthdays are just a day apart, so we celebrate them together.  I've spent the last few days shopping, wrapping, cleaning,  planning and cooking, so I haven't had the time (or energy) to spend making art.  Also, since I'm not in the habit of staying up late, I must admit that today I was a tad slower than usual.  Oh, and in a non-art aside, I got a treadmill delivered on Friday, and today was the first chance I've had to give it a go.  I have to say, I do love having it here .... now all I have to do is develop the habit of using it!  No easy feat for a person of my athletic persuasion ... that is to say, I really have a strong dislike for working out.   Enough of that, tho.

I finally decided on my next attempt.  Rafael wins the day!    The name of it is "Study for a Soldier, His Leg Repeated", done in black chalk.  I found the drawing in one of the books I recently bought, and it's filled with really complicated, difficult, sketches.   Part of the challenge of this project for me is that each artist has his own style and "hand".  Switching from one to another has been hard for me.  This is the first one I've done that involves the whole body, and I'm finding  the position of this body especially difficult. I don't know if I'm going to include the second sketch of the leg in my version of it, but I'm thinking probably not.  As in my previous drawings, I'm using pencil.    As you can see, I've only just started it, and even tho there's almost nothing to look at yet, I'm going to follow my practice of posting the day's outcome, no matter how small.

12 comments:

Janet Ghio said...

Wow! This looks like a difficult drawing to attempt. Good for you!

Sarah said...

There's some tricky foreshortening in that one! Can I be bold and offer a tip? If you lightly sketch in the whole figure first, without shading, you will find it much easier to both see where you are out and to get each bit the right size in relation to the whole.

You're doing really well with tihs series of drawings!

Unknown said...

Curiouscrow & I think alike, as I was going to suggest the same thing.

A good start of this very difficult position.

Johanna said...

Wow! I look forward to seeing your progress with this one!

Unknown said...

I really admire the way you challenge yourself. Raphael? Phew! Those are some big boots to fill! Regardless, you have a great beginning. As the others say, it is best to lightly sketch the whole then add the shading etc. Mainly because it is easier to see where you go off-course, and also easier to make the corrections! Another tip that I just learned from Matt Archembault, is to use vertical and horizontal lines to see where things line up with each other. For instance, the eye horizontally lines up with the indention of his left bicep. And your drawing lines up as well so you know that it correct.

Anonymous said...

After a week away from home, I am just catching up with the new posts on EDM. Glad to see I have caught the start of your next drawing - how brave you are!

Krista Meister said...

Way to go on the "next assignment", Nancy! It's coming along nicely. Sounds like you had a great weekend too.

Unknown said...

oooo your line quality is exquisite! Love it:)

Vicki Holdwick said...

Hi Nancy,

I am so impressed with the art you are doing and I think I may want to emulate (copy) you, if you don't mind. I didn't do any drawing at all while I was away and don't even know where to begin.

I have the baby all day today, so won't get a chance to draw until this evening. I might look up a drawing in a book and try to make a drawing from it.

I'll try to post tomorrow so you can give me pointers (if you would be so kind).

Can't wait for Sunday,

xoxo

Timaree said...

You are doing great so far. This looks really difficult. You are certainly jumping in with both feet! What a lot of learning you will bring to your own work when you get back to it.

Anonymous said...

You're off to a good start, but I agree with others about sketching in the whole figure first. You will save yourself a lot of frustration. I look forward to seeing the outcome. You sure like the challenging ones, don't you? :) Keep up the great work!

Lesley Purcell said...

This does look like a really difficult drawing to attempt but so far so good Nancy!! Impressed!