I have been working in my studio on this 3-day weekend (Caesar Chavez Day), trying to finish up my drawings from last Tuesday night. I have also made a few entries in my Figurative Sketch Book. This is my introductory page for the month of April. If I can remember, I thought I would draw a self-portrait at the start of each month. Will my face start to look thinner as I loose my next 20 pounds? I guess I will find out. I also included a pressed flower that I had, though I can't remember where I picked this particular bloom.
This weekend, I still had one drawing to finish from the 22nd of March. I reworked both the drawing and the background, completing the negative space in multiple layers of brown pastels until it was rich in appearance. I had to readjust the proportions of her body just a bit, especially the left breast as it was up too high. It wasn't until I was finished that I realized that her head was proportionately too small, hence the title, "Nude with Small Head".
Last Tuesday night I started 4 drawings. Our model was Sita, an older woman, just slightly plump. I hadn't drawn her before and really enjoyed her figure. I began with this black, gray and white drawing on 18" x 24" white charcoal paper. I had decided that I wanted the simplicity of the neutrals and didn't want to have to think about color choices in the beginning. The one thing I managed to capture was the posture with head stuck out slightly to the side and to the front. It looks a bit weird, but it shows the attitude of the pose. I got Sita's figure in place and had just started the background during the 20 minute pose. Once home, I didn't change the figure much, but I did layer in the black pastel, with workable fixative between the layers until it looked like a rich black velvet. In fact, I titled this one "Black Velvet".
I like working with the soft pastels when the poses are just 20 minutes in length because I feel like I can get a lot of information down on the paper in a short time. I was trying to work more abstractly with this drawing, similar to the way I worked the week before. This was a more difficult pose for me and I am not sure if the proportions of her head are accurate. The backwards tilt of her head was a challenge! I chose to work in warm colors, mainly orange and yellow, because it was different than I had the week before. I titled the drawing "Sunshine". It is 22" x 26" soft pastel on pastel paper. The colors are very intense and 70's feeling to me. Definitely not my favorite color scheme, though I used it twice during the evening simply because I didn't want to clean up from the pastel dust to switch to a different color. Call it laziness.
This drawing, "Sunset", was also completed in a warm color scheme. I prefer this drawing to the one above mostly because I liked the pose, the roundness of her bottom. Again, I treated it in more of an abstract style as I completed the background. The halo of darkness around the figure creates a striking contrast that is appealing.
The fourth drawing of the night was done in natural skin tones, but I am not sure if I like it well enough to come in and finish it. This is a dilemma for me. Are my drawings worth keeping? I have a closet full of completed drawings that no one sees. What do I do with a drawing that is not finished? What is wrong with the drawing? The dimensions/proportions are off a bit, but that hasn't stopped me before. Am I just tired of working in soft pastels? That might be the answer. I think I will sleep on it.
