admin – Page 9 – Lewis Boughen

Exercise 1: Quick studies

This exercise called for a series of quick sketches based on a seated model. the first instruction was to familiarise myself with the pose by drawing some 2 minute sketches.
I worked with my large graphite pencil, I am increasingly leaning towards this tool for quick studies, preliminary sketches and just to capture some energy before moving on to detail. I tend to do the exact opposite of what the exercise text suggests, I don’t start from the middle but work more gesturally, I may put a curve in to suggest the forward arching torso or a bending hip, I then normally mark out my proportions for the head, and work in the rest of the gestures for the other parts of the body. I tried to change my approach to working from the middle but it was quite tricky to break my habit, I will try to force this more in my upcoming sessions, it may bring on some positive changes.

I outlined the gesture with repeated marks, trying to feel out the form and the tension points keeping the pose in one solid mass, i could see there was tension in the arms as they pull the back towards the tightly gripped hands, the pulling force opposite the arched back was really what was going to sell this image and its representation of the pose.

Pre sketch 1

I remember my first mark on this sketch was actually a quick line to suggest the backs curvature and then an upward mark from the ankle to the knee, this first sketch while using more exploratory lines offers less impetus, the pose seems passive and relaxed, indeed the model did move slightly between the two pre sketches but i wont use that as an excuse, I want to be more mindful of the weight and direction of my lines, especially where a point of tension, or stress is involved, it stands to reason that the energy used in making my mark, will lend itself to the drawing.

Pre sketch 2

This sketch seemed to have less marks than the first, I feel it also has more information, the stretched material at the points of stress seem to offer an extra layer of tension in the pose. This could be that I have entered the correct mindset to be analytical of my subject or it could even mean that going through the motions once I have a greater understanding of the pose. I do tend to work my drawing from a sketch to refined sketch to finished piece, getting into the habit of making these preliminary sketches seemed to be most fruitful and should be incorporated more into my workflow.

10 minute drawing 1

I did this larger sketch with the thick graphite pencil, again feeling the gesture and form with quick marks. it is in fact made up of two layers, a lighter tentative under drawing and then thicker strokes.

10 minute drawing 2

The second drawing I decided to use charcoal sticks, selecting quite a large short stick, as I wanted to deliver bolder marks with blocks of tone, the smallest lines accomplished with a flat edge. I did quite enjoy using charcoal, I don’t often use it because it is messy and cumbersome, it always looks very energetic and appealing, and seemed to fit the idea of a quick study, so seemed a suitable choice for this exercise.

I was also asked to make some other sketches with slightly adjusted poses. i wanted to try to do these with a brush pen, I suspected it would offer a good range of line weight, would be permanent and force me to correct the drawing without erasing.

Again I enjoyed the impulsive feeling it added to the drawing, I did several of these sketches, and stuck with the brush pen, it was very liberating freely throwing lines over the drawing adjusting my pressure from hard to slight, I had a lot of fun. there was plenty of flaws in these sketches and I didn’t mind at all, they wasn’t supposed to be refined or finished, but as an exercise I felt they had served their purpose. In fact I think I some of these were indeed my favourite of the exercise.

Exercise 2: A longer study

This was by far the most tedious exercise, I wanted to get a sense of perspective in the figure, its one of the skills I would like to work on, I find it hard as the slightest mistake either way to long or short, small or large and it throws the drawing off. I tried, and I tried and tried some more. Even our dog Hugo was bored half way through and decided to sit in his bed. I tied making adjustments to the pose, I couldn’t get the length and sizes for the lower half right, I lifted the subjects leg up hoping to bridge the gap but no luck, eventually I got there I feel. I was sick of the pose and it didn’t seem, to be working, I didn’t let it beat me though, I changed both the pose and position and carried on afresh.

My alternative pose seemed to be a bit more candid and closer to the subject, with that in mind I was more than happy to change. Sometimes if things aren’t working it is best to just start again rather than make do with something that is off. After all its these events that teach us some of our most revealing lessons.

I was happy with my final image, Hugo had gone to take inventory of his toys and hidden dog treats by the time I started the drawing, I was tempted to add him in from memory but as a lot of the figure was obscured I decided to use the remaining forms to describe the slumped and relaxed pose.

Exercise 1: Basic shapes

I managed to acquire my stepson Mason to sit for this sketch, the caveat to this was he wanted to lay down and watch a seemingly endless stream of mind numbing drivel on TikTok, It didn’t seem to be a bad way to get him to sit still for a duration so I agreed to his terms, his diplomacy in his debate club seems to be paying off. I completed three drawings for this exercise, the first two being preliminary drawings, this was a great way of understanding the pose and the position of the body. The angle of the head the arms relaxed over the trunk and the legs crossing over and locking at the feet, the second drawing was all of the above but with more of an emphasis on the composition and atmosphere.

Sketch 1

Basic shapes and their relation to one another, I was careful to try consider the weight and downward force that came from the reclined pose.

Sketch 2

More background and interaction with the soft furnishings helped to describe the weight and mass from the subject as he absorbs some annoying visuals and grating sounds. This was also a good lesson for me to remain focused throughout polluting distractions.

Final drawing

With the form explored, understood and committed to muscle memory, I selected a larger sheet of paper around A3 size, I followed my normal process and selected my 5.6mm mechanical pencil, I am aware that this is almost becoming a crutch to lean on, it seems to be working so while I am reluctant to change things up I will try to change my process in the spirit of experiment. I loosely and lightly outlined the forms onto the page, I am conscious to not make the pose mechanical or too rigid, I introduce the background at this step too as this will be directly affected by the model, if the background was a lamp or a bookcase for example I would probably imply it is there on the sketch and work that up once my anatomy seems successful.
This drawing needs to have weight and the sofa needs to show that, it needs to wrap, distort and change its shape to follow the subjects form. The hatched lines on the material added to the compression effect on the soft material.

Using both linear and tonal value to describe the influence each form has on one another. The exercise notes did suggest that the model be prepared to sit for an hour, we didn’t sit down for more than 35-40 minutes in total including a toilet break half way through the final drawing, luckily I had all the information needed to pick up the pose where we left off. I don’t know how I would have used the extra 20 or so minutes, I feel I had enough time, I may have spent the “free” time to work into the sofa some more, really describing the forms with a little more intensity, although this may have detracted from the pose overall so I am not too concerned.

Exercise 2: Essential Elements

This exercise asked for a sequence of six different poses lasting 10 minutes each. I didn’t have access to a model at the the time, and I did want to complete some studies of the unclothed figure. Due to lockdown I was unable to join a life drawing class, the only alternative was to work from photographs.
I did have several books on poses for artists, these while wasn’t as good as a real model was quite useful, every pose was photographed from various angles surrounding the model, from this you could get a better sense of the forms of the body, it was an acceptable middle ground.

I set a timer for 10 minutes, my aim was to use blocks of tone, I used the edge of the pencil to make my strokes broader, covering the space and rendering the forms quickly, refinements being sparred until the end.

\All but two of the studies showed a slight lean from the models central axis, that was the seated figure and the standing arms crossed. I have marked below where I believe the models centre of gravity and weight distribution would be calculated.

I found it hard to choose a preferred drawing, they all felt like the poses had a sense of distributed weight and mass, and I was pleased with the forms I described in the 10 minutes allotted to the task.

Exercise 3: Stance

This was an exercise comprised of quick 2 minute sketches with the emphasis on balance and observing the figures centre of gravity. I have marked on the image where I believed each central axis was during each pose. I noticed how much more confident I had become drawing the figure, especially ones that are off balance. I feel this section has definitely given me a greater understanding and the start of some good practices to draw a successful figure.

Exercise 4: Energy

This was another round of quick sketches focusing on energy, I used a brush pen, I enjoyed working this way on the loose sketches of Exercise 1: Quick studies and wanted to use it in a similar way to capture the motion of the subject. I asked my subject (Kathleen) to stretch, lean and pull in various poses, everything seemed to affect the poses, if my placement of the feet was off slightly then the poses intensity was reduced. I refined my lines until I was happy they conveyed the correct amount of force, weight distribution and any other physics that applied.

A reaching stretch, a pulling force with the right arm against the left

leaning backwards on the door handles, the tension in the arms taking the majority of the backwards force

cross armed lean, the weight on the subjects left foot, countered by the extension of the right leg

leaning over the counter reaching for the computer mouse, weight on the left leg and supported by the stool on the right leg.

Exercise 1: The structure of the human body

I used this exercise to get a greater understanding of not only the shape and form of the body parts but their function as a mechanical object. I tried to cover the whole body and picked out some of the more complicated structures and their relation to each other not only in position but size also.

Research point: The underlying structure of the body

When I first read the text for this research point I immediately thought Leonardo DaVinci, I’ve seen incredibly detailed exploratory sketches involving the human body and he certainly is the most well known, but thats not what research is about, I want to discover some new artists who study the body. I decided I would do some investigation and look into several historic and contemporary artists who’s style resonated with me.

Leonardo DaVinci 1452 – 1519

As I mentioned above the first artist who sprung to mind was Leonardo. He was not only an artist but also a student of anatomy, astronomy, botany, cartography, and palaeontology. As you can imagine he was a naturally curious person, and longed for understanding of the curiosities of the world.

Andreas Vesalius & Jan van Calcar

I have had to put two names down for this entry, as the author seems to have left the artists name uncredited. Andreas Vesalius was a anatomist and physician, he was alive between 1514 – 1564 he will often come up when you search for anatomical drawings, he was the author of the “De humani corporis fabrica libri septem” a series of illustrated books comprised of in depth anatomical drawings. The Illustrations are believed to be the work of German born, Jan van Calcar, they are actually very detailed woodcuts. The work while being intended as descriptive really is quite delicate and beautiful, offering a strong style, the work posing the skeletal subjects in day to day ordinary poses.

Egon Schiele

I was really quite taken by the works of Egon Schiele when I researched the changing nude, you only have to look at his work to see that beneath the exaggerated and distorted figures in Schiele’s work is a thorough understanding of anatomy, particularly in terms of bone structure.

Jenny Saville

Any fans of the Manic Street Preachers, will already be familiar of Jenny Savilles work. She works at a very large scale with broad strokes of colour. The overweight figures she paints cited to have been the result of watching a surgeon perform liposuction procedures gave her a greater understanding and influenced the way she approached the human body. The hard structures of the body draped in the softer jelly like fat layers meticulously described in her images.

Nunzio Paci

I stumbled upon Nunzio Paci while searching for Jenny Saville, and I’m very pleased I did. His images feel like they are almost vandalised anatomy books. The detailed anatomical drawings are embellished with a secondary drawing, normally botanical in nature.

Exercise 2: Three figure drawings

This exercise required me to complete three drawings with different tools ;

Standing, I chose brush pens and chisel markers
Seated, this drawing used charcoal
Lounging, I chose oil pastel for this image (mainly because I found my set and wanted to experiment)

I carried out 2 sketches for each larger image, I have found this useful for several reasons, it helps to understand the figures form, its mass/force distribution highlight any weakness in the pose and composition, I think it also serves up as a warm up or a dummy run, going through the motions once or twice before the main piece of work seems to inform your approach

Standing

Using a brush pen I marked out the pose, taking consideration of the subjects stance and where the balance was distributed, the left side of her hip turned upwards and her leg bent supporting her mass with a slight forward lean. I had a stubby Pentel chisel marker, I really like these markers, they are quite expensive and I tend to keep them past their prime, they take on a nice scrubby feel leaving a broken texture, the last of the wet ink clings tightly to the dry felt head, the pen squeaking in pain as its head is dragged against the paper. It means that I can get a mid tone from the black ink, and I like the effect.

Seated

I thought I’d give charcoal a whirl again. It is imprecise and messy in my hands, but thats probably due largely to my lack of exposure to the medium. Again I was happy with the way I had captured the pose, the weight of the model shifted to her right side, her right leg anchored to the floor. As I had expected the image was starting to get a little muddy, I decided to pause there and seal the drawing, unfortunately the lacquer seemed to react strangely with the paper, the lacquer picked up the pigment and made some water colour like wet edges. it also took the more delicate marks on the face and washed it into one grey tone. Im not sure what caused this, too heavy with the fixative or maybe the paper and charcoal had created a barrier that made the fixative pool on top. I did try to fix the drawing with a white conte crayon but it didn’t seem to make it much better. I decided to leave it as is and put it down as a lesson.

Lounging

Again I was pleased with the pose and the way I captured the figures lean and relaxed arms versus the strong triangular shape of the legs. The oil pastel was thick, the large A2 sized paper allowed me to add a little more detail in, I would like to complete a drawing with oil pastel at a larger A1 size, just to see how far I could push the detail with the stubby greasy stick.

I worked tonally, using a grey pastel to mark the subject and than adding in darker and lighter tones with black and white oil pastels, I like the way the pastel acts as a blender as it passes over a neighbouring marks space, I tried to use this to sculpt and render the shapes such as the arms and legs, following the rounds and flats of the subject on to the paper, pulling and curving the pigment to delineate the desired form.

Exercise 1: Single moving figure

This was an ongoing exercise and one that I undertook out of order of the syllabus, I actually contribute the majority of my favourable outcomes from drawing the figure to the loose and confident approach that this exercise taught. Using a chisel marker, I carried out each image with a 3 minute timer, detail was sacrificed for the pose, I wanted it to look natural, the result is almost like concept art for a video game or a film, capturing essence and movement over minutia.