I am not alone in my frustration with head drawing

I read this today in Juliette Aristides book "Classical Drawing Atelier." It helped

Daniel Parkhurst wrote," Don't undertake the painting of a head without considering well that you are likely to have trouble, and the trouble you will have is most likely to be of a kind that you don't expect. But, having begun,keep your heart and your grit, and do the best you can. Remember that you learn by mistakes, and failures are a part of every man's work, and of every painter's experience, and not only of your own."

M. Bertin talked of Ingres' frustration "Ingres used to weep and I spent my time consoling him."

Sheep Panel

So I am paneling away. Some better than others. This is a panel from the middle of my story. I worked on it a couple of weeks ago when I was exploring drawing the sheep in Joe's class.

Camels

Working on Camels this week in Joe's class. We had a sub who basically told me I am getting too illustrative and flat and losing the structure.

These are studies from Lawrence of Arabia


These are studies from Tim's pictures at Oasis Camel Farm.

This is an ancient giraffe like camel at the Natural History Museum. It got too slight. I got a lot of criticism on lots of meaningless details and not enough structure.

Think as if you were both Bernini and Sargeant - Head Drawing - Class 9 and 10

Week 9

Glen talked about drawing the pretty girl tonight. He said in drawing the prtty girl you need to suggest construction but leave things out. Leyendecker and Cornwell stress the masculine but when you are drawing a pretty girl you can put too much in. You can't render everything if you are going to make a successful pretty girl.

I liked a book he brought in called "Faces and Features" by Fritz Willis. He also suggested the 1954 - Famous Artist Course hat has a section on drawing the pretty girl.

- Don't make too many bumps
- Design the shape tht shows off the sculpture
- Pull out a mirror and look at your drawing backwards
- Stand back and look at your drawing from a distance
- Think decorative everything is a design challenge
- Make everything in the light too light and everything in the dark too dark.
- Don't overplay it, sneak up on things you are trying t suggest,
- Push 2D shapes to suggest 3D sculpture
- Keep shadows less rendered in the interior
- Group things and then look at the secondary pattern inside
- Don't try to render each area try to design each area
- Render shapes so they are not too broken
- Look for ideal form

This is Glen's correction of my drawing of Malo.


I see here on my drawing how the bottom of the face doesn't really line up with the top of the face on the model's left face. There is some integrity missing.

Glenn liked this quick sketch a lot but I couldn't bring back what I found in this in put it in any of the other quick sketches.

Week 1o
Glen's notes:

- Organize lights and darks

- practice Loomis heads and planes of the head

- think of what the model would look like if they were carved out of stone

- Construction is first calligraphy is second

- Keep drawing inside the shadow to a minimum

- Form Shadow is not the same as Cast Shadow

- Think as if you were Bernini and Sargeant

- Ask yourself if the form is 3d enough

- Ask yourself if your calligraphy needs more attention

- Look for variety so you don't have the same line weight everywhere

This is my drawing of Kwante. Glenn said I had too many curves and not enough straights. I tried to correct it. This semester I haven't done very well in Head Drawing I feel like I need a break. I am disappointed in my lack of progress. But I guess the semester was pretty weird. I missed 2 classes early on. Glen missed 2 classes with all the illness in his family and getting better is not linear. I just have to keep working on it.


This is Glen's correction of my drawing.

Hymn of the Pearl

I started working on the panels for my epic story. These are just roughs. But I am happy I have finally started it.

Skeletons at the Page Museum

These are some skeletons I drew at the Page Museum 2 saturdays ago.



California Short Faced Bear
Dire Wolf Skull

California Sabertooth

Speed Forms

This is the speed forms assignment. This class at Art Center is good but I feel like it is going on forever. I hope it helps my drawing. I would rather be sketching mountains.

Torso Lesson - inspired by Van Gogh

Wednesday night was the torso lesson. I remember it from last year when I was in Cathy's class. This is my favorite drawing of the night. The Torso drawings are inspired by Van Gogh

I have a lot of problems with the lying down poses and foreshortening. I need to work on these.

These are the drawings by Van Gogh the the lesson is based on. Very beautiful.

This is another drawing from Van Gogh that inspired the lesson.

Figure Drawing -

I sat in on Cathy Karol's class today which I took last spring. Tonight was the lesson on the sphere based on Glenn Vilppu's sphere lesson. I missed the lesson because I came in late. Some of it was about finding the bean. I need to check into this more with my Vilppu Drawing Manual.

Cathy also commented that I need to work on my feet. I am going to copy some stuff.

Communication Sketch - Pencil Sharpener

This is the class I spend the most time on. It is a little boring. I am taking it to try to improve the structure in my drawings. Hoping that it will help me able to invent and make my buildings stand up in my graphic novel. Hopefully it's helping. I think it is. I will be happy when I am free of all this work.

Head Drawing - "You are all trying to get better but what does better mean?"

This is my week's head drawing. Glen says I need to work on making the eyes 3d.


Here's Glen's overlay.

Glen's Lecture:

Leyendecker used models but he made his paintings from his sketches. It took him a decade of drawing and painting to come up with the style he is known for. Rockwell was trying to be Leyendecker. Glenn thinks you need a hero that you can practice from so you can get the pieces under control.

Remember spacing and placing.

Squint and Edit the shape

Try Spacing and Placing as if you were sculpting.

Adjusting to make sculpture clear.

Don't overdescribe things in the shadows.

Get the pieces under control.

If it is too messy or confusing fix it.

You should be able to fix it. You are not trying to get this drawing right you are trying to get your abilities right.

If the dark shapes are hard to figure out go into the light shapes.

Try to make nice brushwork, boxwork and tiles.

Get a god underpainting and then try to make each area a gem.

Mileage lets us get ther in three stokes instead of 5. Squeeze a little more sculpture out of each shape. If you are not really sure of an area really squint at it.

Re-establish the poster.

What does a camera see vs. what we know is there.

Incidental shapes have to be second.

Try to do enough construction so you can work on design.

What does eye, nose, mouth look loke and how ti make it cool and idealized.

Lean on sculpture in the student phases.

SHAPE - VALUE

Goal is the craft of your draftsmanshhip/

Try to manipulate the light and dark.

It's o.k. to draw from photographs. Fred Fixler was always pushing Bernin. How to contrl the shapes so we don't mak a mess. Sargeant is about how the paint looks.

The trick is you are all trying to get better but what does better mean

Head Drawing - "Your job is to satisfy the illusion of touch"

This is my Saturday Night Head Drawing. I am frustrated because I can't find the time to practice. My Communication Sketch class seems to take all my time.

This is Glen's correction on my drawing.

Glenn's Lecture:

- look for places to check your math

- hone the design and hone the design and then it's done

- there is the half one going to the dark and the half tone going to the light

- think about light gray and dark gray

- Fill in darks so light puzzles are the star

- Get the big poster established to see what's working and give attention

- Look for rhythms and parrallels to help you design it

- Get your tone under control so you can see where you want to spend your time

- Get your paint (the charcoal) under control

- Watch out for getting to black

- If you are not sure about an area - knock it down

- Look for the crappy xerox

- Think about construction and paint

- Think 1) Sculptural 2) Paint - 2D/Light Dark

- Figure out your weaknesses and work on them

- Watch your drawing and figure out what's going on

- Copy Loomis

- Figure out what it looks like

- 1st figure out where to put everything

- Do a great underpainting by filling in your light and darks and keep it simple

- Don't punch black in nostrils

Recommended Books

- The Figure: An Artist's approach to Drawing and Construction

- An Approach to Figure painting for the Beginner (Howard K. Fosters)

Harold Speed said - "Your job is to satisfy the illusion of touch"

SPACING AND PLACING

Canine Family

We worked on the Canine Family last week in my Animal Anatomy class with Joe Weatherly. In my graphic novel there are 3 distinct dogs - a pastoral dog that helps a shepherdess (maybe a Canaan Dog), a jackal and a saluki. These are the studies of those dogs.

I did these drawings of the dire wolf at the Page Museum.

These are some construction drawings of the Saluki.

Here are my muscle studies and anatomy. Joe doesn't like the way I draw the muscles. I have no idea what I'm doing when I draw them. These studies are based on the Saluki.

Equine Family - The Horse

This is the regular horse I drew at home.


This is the ancient horse with a shorter neck that I drew at the Page Museum.

These are some sketches I did from the Animal Motion Show DVD. Joe says my ears on the left are too long.


Here Joe says my horses are reading like one animal.