Life Drawing Off The Telly

In May, TV channel BBC4 had a lockdown Life Drawing special. Thanks for that – what a great idea! It had a few different models with a variety of poses and varying lengths of time to draw them in. I liked the link to classic art pieces in their poses and the inclusion of some kind of clothing in some cases to give a theme. This is the kind of thing I want if I'm life drawing these days, to inform my own art a bit more. As this was taking place in the living room, I wasn't going to risk paints and pencil and charcoal (firmly staying in my hand) were the main tools here. It's great to see more arty programmes the last few years – particularly Sky Arts' Portrait Artist of the Year. 

In between the human life drawing, I also had the privilege of a smaller life drawing opportunity in the form of a cat (later, also another), and so amongst my human drawings below are a few cats. 

The usual 'I'm really out of practice!!!' start with a bit of a duffer. This wasn't helped by not realising the camera was going to turn away from the pose just as I started, and then a frantic working out how to access the red button on the new remote control. So unfortunately the initial short poses were missed – aside from the scribble above. 

Screwed up the arm and just couldn't pull it back. I'll be honest about it with the blackened scribble.

Messed up proportions, but what a great pose with instrument!

When I remember what self-admiring Greek myth art piece this is based off is, will edit. 

Pose choice based off 'Liberty Leading The People' by Eugene Delacroix.

So I certainly felt out of practice with it, but nevertheless found it fun to do. Fortunately we have the earlier non-lockdown programme recorded, as well. (The way the show is edited, it is much better to do it 'live' – too late! – but I reasoned I can just pause the TV when it goes to the model and still draw for the length of time they suggest.) I will be able to do some more again soon.

Armoured And Ready

Life is so strange... I think I need to get lost in art more to keep some peace and sanity. Anyway:

Finally we got another version of His Dark Materials: Northern Lights after the troubled film of 12 or so years' back, and in series form — all the better to tell the story by Philip Pullman. My picture actually combines the versions; the series much fresher in my mind, but Lyra is more like in the film and book. (Too late I remembered that these kinds armoured bears are meant to have thumbs to really work it into the image.) My ideas changed quite a lot in colouring this image and it's not entirely what I was originally envisioning to do... but I'd say going in the right kind of direction. In the end more 'simplicity' felt right for this particular piece. 

And here's a version in black and white, just 'cause it looked quite fun:

And the following sketch again links with armour: here, a female knight. A little experiment I started last year and came back to this year, to draw a slightly more life-like human than usual (life drawing aside) and also to draw some armour, with the hope to create more historically-themed pictures in time. Kept as a fairly rough sketch and a simple colour job. When I first drew her I realised she looked familiar and couldn't quite put my finger on it. It's later I realised she looked a bit like Eleanor Tomlinson, the Poldark actress, so I worked with that a little... The armour comes across flatter here suggesting I had more fun with the face, but in time I want to get the armour to stand out more with more detailed, refined pictures. The 'noise' effect in Photoshop was my friend both here and the above picture for said armour to help lift it a little. Oh - and the weird horses at the top were just really scruffy doodles to use up an old pencil on the same piece of paper, which I never got around to erasing in the scan, and just became part of the picture.

Excuse the poor writing... I just couldn't quite get my head around what I wanted to say.

Life drawing to come soon.