Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Beginning a new study project...

work space
{setup to start copying from Bridgman}

With the start of winter break at the Art League, this week I am beginning a new learning project to take advantage of the multiple days of uninterrupted time to focus on human anatomy. My goal is to intensively study anatomy and how it functions during this time to kick start a specific focus area to grow for the next year.

The plan it so copy from several resources and to share the process with you as the project progresses.

The books I am using as references are:

1. Anatomy and Drawing by Victor Perard
2. Bridgman's Complete Guide to Drawing from Life
3. The Human Figure by Joseph Vanderpoel
4. Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters by Robert Beverly Hale
5. Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists by Joseph Sheppard
6. The Artist's Complete Guide to Figure Drawing by Anthony Ryder
7. Drawing Course by Charles Bargue and Jean-Leon Gerome

stack of figure drawing books

When planning this project I decided to use the order presented in the Vanderpoel book as my guide in how to sequence the study. So beginning with the head and its features, I will read and copy from each of these books, sharing with you the progress. The reason to work from so many different books is to learn from the various viewpoints, thus becoming familiar and comfortable with the different ways each artist presents the subject matter.

Anatomy book - focus on skull
Anatomy book - focus on features
{layouts from the Perard book}


So I began with copying from Bridgman'sbook, and during that time Slim insisted in sharing my lap with the drawing board, it made the drawing a little difficult, however it was particularly special having her purr and cuddle in my lap...



2 comments:

Virginia Floyd said...

What an ambitious project!

Seeing Slim made me smile. Cats always want to be in your business. Mine would sit right in front of the computer screen.

eLIZabeth Floyd said...

Yes, it is going to be a big project, but this will be the best time to start it, when I am getting ready for all the new year's resolutions....

Slim says hello :)