Here are some highlights from the current classes being offered so you have an idea of what we did this week in class. If you missed class, this may be helpful.

All material below ©2011 Annette Compton
unless otherwise attributed.

Sarah and Jackson by Nancy Ross	Sarah and Jackson by Patsy Highberg

We started with eliptical renditions of the aspects of the body. Once we moved to these construction drawings, where we saw how volumes of the figure might fit into "packing boxes," we became better able to observe light hitting the planes of the figure and the overlap of the three-dimensional form. Using 3-5 minute sessions with the model for this kind of schematic drawing improves our overall consciousness of the way the body sits in space. It is better to try an exercise like this in a short pose, rather than to focus on the detail of a contour line drawing since time is limited.

A good exercise for an experienced watercolorist who enjoys working from the life model is to use a 10 minute session with one color, such as indigo. Note how the curves on each leg oppose one another: convex and concave. At the same time, there is symmetry with the second leg. The fascinating aspect of life drawing is that each element of the human body provides a possibility of SYMMETRY because the "bilateral" aspect of mammals. Using this as an underlying tool for "fact-finding" about what you are seeing will keep you from falling into the trap of focusing too long on one area of the figure. Keep your eyes moving and concentrate on the BIG PICTURE at all times.

PAINTING THE FIGURE

10 AM to 1 PM starting
Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Course objective: To explore painting techniques, particularly soft and hard edges. —To understand compositional strategies using these techniques for more beautiful portraits and figurative paintings. —To expand your range as a painter and consider what you bring to a depiction of a human being.
All homework will have either a “Basic” or an “Experienced” exercise. You may choose to do either or both for the week.

Part 1 THE PORTRAIT
January 26, 2011 INTRODUCTION: OBSERVING OURSELVES
In our first class of this eight-week session, we’ll start with the basics of drawing the head and explore some master drawings for exercises. We’ll go over materials. After the break at 11:20, at 11:30 you’ll be introduced to your first model for a portrait.

To the left, you can find a few clues to starting a portrait. Observing the big relationships for proportion are key. To create a three dimensional feel to the head, make sure you create a curved center line to define the dividing line as well as the horizontal line to show the placement of the eyes. It is at this point you establish the orientation of the sitter.

Light affects the planes of the face. Basic hatching (parallel lines in varying intensity and proximity) creates a feeling of light or dark on the planes of the face. In this quick sketch from a photo, only the most general statements have been made. It is s good idea to limit the use of lines on skin surfaces as shading can send a confusing message if it is drawn in a scribbly or haphazard way.

When our model Susan arrived, we had two sessions with two twenty minute segments in each. In the first drawing, we worked on creating the overall relationships of the head to the neck adding the details of the features as we completed the work. In the second drawing, we explored what happens when we establish the details of the relationship of the features first and then add in the larger relationships. Either is a good direction to creating a portrait.

We also considered what makes a portrait show the likeness of the sitter? We agreed that the details of how eyes or the set of the mouth can greatly influence a likeness. More of these clues will be observed next week when we get into color.

HOMEWORK: Choose one project for homework from either “Basic” if you feel you need some elementary work and “Experienced” if you need a challenge.
BASIC: Take your sketchbook to a diner or café. Draw 3-5 heads of people around you in either pen or pencil. Feel free to explore your own style of drawing: caricature, value study, contour line or wash drawing. Do one head per page provided that you have a reasonably small sketchbook.
EXPERIENCED: Do a self-portrait in pencil, watercolor or oil: the medium of your choice.

February 2, 2011 THE PORTRAIT
We’ll start with some warm up drawings and paintings from our model, working on placement of features. Color mixtures will be covered and how to get a likeness. After our model departs at noon, a few will get the general feel of what it is like to be a model. You may work in your chosen medium.

We started with a couple drawn portraits, fifteen minutes long. Our model commented on how much you each accomplished in a short amount of time. Good work!

When we first got out watercolor, I suggested you work in a dark, high pigmented paint such as Indigo, Prussian Blue or Thalo Blue to get the most out of a value study. First, I asked you to paint the background around the subject, noting how the light shifts. Often the background > face > background progresses from light > shadow on face > light on face > dark on background. The light from the side shoots light across the head, casting the larger amount of light against the darker part of the face. You can exagerate this "trick" to help your viewer understand the volume of the head.

I drew Matt with a contour line drawing for the most part and then mapped in the background colors of indigo, thalo green and permanent alizarin crimson to give the feeling of the black cloth behind the subject.

Once I established the large form, I was able to use the three primaries to look at how light hits the features and the sculpture of the head. Note, I used Aureolin first, added Cadmium Red to warm it up and used Cobalt judiciously in the shadow areas.

For the shoulders, I used Quinacridone gold and some of the shadow colors to show how light affected the wardrobe. Features such as the mouth, nose and eyes can be described in light and value and temperature rather than in edges when working in watercolor. I used my pencil to draw and my brush to build up the form.

HOMEWORK: Choose one project for homework—
BASIC: Take a sheet of watercolor paper and create 12 heads lit from one side only. Show us 12 different directions and/or skin tones. Show basic shadow shapes for the eyes or planes of the nose. Light an egg or a tennis ball to consider the variety of possibilities.

We'll start our next session with this exercise to get familiar with mixing color. I'll go over what I discussed in class in more detail and provide a handout that you may find helpful about mixing.

OR EXPERIENCED: Invite someone ‘dangerous’ to tea and ask your guest to sit for you. Keep breaks frequent (every twenty minutes) and be sure to see if you can capture the essence of their personality in an hour-to-two-hour-long drawing or painting. If you decide to paint, keep the palette to no more than six primaries and keep it very simple.

February 9, 2011 LIGHTING AND THE SITTER
We’ll start with value paintings to warm up and understand color mixing. We will also explore the basics of the facial features and how light affects these distinctive attributes. At 11:30, we’ll work from the model for a color portrait under dramatic lighting.

We had an exceptional opportunity to work on a "Madonna and Child" today—Sarah and Jackson, a young mother and her six month old baby joined us. I think you'll find it a wonderful challenge. The camera provides two dimensional visual notes so that a painting begun in class can be finished at home. However, painting a portrait from a photograph alone often flatten the planes of the face because of the way the lens of the camera accepts light. Notice in these photos how "flat" the lighting becomes, even in the dramatic profile of the fourth image.

Sarah and Jackson have transparent, light skintones. A delicate palette such as Aureolin/Rose Madder Genuine/Cobalt Blue can be more effective for the skin tones. However to get the strength of the hues in the clothing, you may have to support your palette with the sedimentarly or staining colors: Quinacridone Gold/Alizarin Crimson/French Ultramarine Blue would be helpful in this case.

Note how Sarah is holding her son. Though she had to move him at points during the 15 minutes sittings, they always returned to a similar place. As a painter, observe your sitter and see what is their natural posture. Try to allow them to sit in a way that is comfortable to them.

We also looked at combinations of colors to create light, medium and dark skintones. Likely combinations for both watercolor and oil include a simple palette:

Light Skintones:
Aureolin/Rose Madder Genuine/Cobalt Blue

Medium Skintones:
Aureolin/Cadmium Red/Cobalt Blue

Dark Skintones:
Quinacridone Gold/Permanent Alizarin/French Ultramarine

Here's an example of one student's work from this challenging subject.

HOMEWORK: Choose one project for homework—
BASIC: Find a photographic portrait. Paint it in a value study of one color, perhaps indigo, burnt sienna or ivory black and do a one-color study of the lighting. EXPERIENCED: Consider a location for a portrait in your house that provides dramatic light. Perhaps you’ll work at night? See if you can have a family member sit for you or ask a friend to visit. Work in black and white or burnt sienna and white. Do a portrait in one color and show us how the lighting affects our feeling about the person.

PART 2 FIGURES
February 16, 2011 THE BIG PICTURE
Starting with the underlying structure of the human form, we’ll observe the figure as an overall unit. How is the spine related to the head, rib cage and hips? Getting the big picture is critical to composition and proportion. We’ll start with short poses and go to longer poses as the day progresses. Work will be in charcoal and watercolor or oil depending on the medium you’ve chosen.

Four basic approaches to the nude were covered in class today:

1. Elipses: Volumetric "Sausage" drawing
2. Boxes: Three dimensional planar drawing
3. Linear Under-Structure
4. Symmetry

We started with three five minute drawings to help us see the proportion of the figure. The average human is "seven heads" high. Note the faint lines I used in the drawing here to show how that proportional break-down appears in almost all standing figures. Using the entire page on which we work helps keep us as physical and agile as the model we are drawing.

Once we worked through about forty-five minute poses, we began observing the underlying structure of the human form. Three basic lines need be addressed in the artist's consciousness to effectively render a figure in action. They are: The horizontal line of the hips related to the vertical line of the spine related to the horizontal line of the shoulders.

This "I" formation bends, angles and flexes based on how the weight of the model is taxed by the pressure of gravity. For our skeletons to stand against gravity, relative weight shifts occur. One can usually see how the shoulder counter-balance against the hips to keep the body flexible and in motion. In class, we focused on an exercise to help us understand how this works. It is critical that the artist be as "active" a participant in the drawing as the model. Never underestimate the term "LIFE drawing!"

Notice in this fifteen minute watercolor on bond paper how the "I" formation of the shoulders, spine and hips allows us to see how "Symmetry" moves against that underlying structure? Without that curve in the spine, the curve of the shoulders and the straightness of the hip line, we would not understand how gravity is affecting the body.

As you approach your homework assignment (Basic) consider the simplicity of these underlying structural forms. The 25 drawings I mention should basically be the "I" formation as it relates to that "pose" you find in the magazine picture. Add a few details such as the head, feet, maybe a few contour lines to fit it together, but overall keep it very, very simple. A good understanding of underlying skeletal structure cannot be overstated.


HOMEWORK: Choose one project for homework
BASIC: Go through a fashion or sports magazine and do 25 different drawings of the underlying shoulder/spine/hip relationship to the ground plane. Show us how gravity affects the human form in each one.
EXPERIENCED: Bring in three drawings or paintings from a local open studio with a model. In each one, show us the weight distribution and the effect of gravity on the figure.

February 23, 2011 CONTOUR LINE: THE OVERLAP OF MUSCLES
Today we will work on a longer pose—how the overlap of muscles helps us define volume and show the rhythm of the human body. We’ll explore the concept of value and negative space with paint. Work will start in pencil on Penny Bond or Bristol paper and move into our paint of choice.

This week we will have a male model who will offer us a new chance to observe how the underlying structure can help offer us the foundation for an exquisite contour line drawing.

In most cases, artists approach the "edge" or contour line of the artist. While this is clearly one of the most beautiful aspecst of the human body, It has its limitations as a starting point for good drawing. The sinuous rhythmn of lines connecting the body are actually the "skin" of the drawing and like the skin of the body do not provide the necessary information for believable work.

For a drawing to appear that it has weight, mass, the ability to move in space and three dimensions, it is critical for the artist to work on understanding the underlying structure for a long time before embarking on these more complex issues of rhythm and line.

Watercolor has a unique ability to offer the opportunity to provide one stroke to describe these rhythmns of symmetry. Convex and Concave curves are what make up the form. The "overlap" of each line suggests the volume, so as we work today, we will look for ways to show the beauty of these layered forms.

HOMEWORK:
BASIC: Using a schematic handed out in class, of a “flayed” body showing muscles in action, draw and paint a realistic image of a nude body. Do two of these in if you have time.
EXPERIENCED: Using the techniques in class, paint a nude that shows not only proportion and the effect of gravity, show us the rhythm of the body and the volume of the muscles. Show us the beauty of the human figure.

March 2, 2011 LIGHTING AND THE NUDE
How lighting affects the temperature of the pigments chosen. Working in watercolor or oil today, we’ll focus on warm and cool palettes.

Today we started with ten minute value studies in one color. The important direction to take when working in value is to relate the background value to the model. The light on skin emerges out of shadow to create a bit of drama. This dark background also offers opportunities to leave white areas clean so that your value scale can progress from white to a 50% tint to a 100% dark.

After working in one color, we expanded to two colors. Using a warm color (yellow or red) to denote the area light hits the body, a cool color (cool red or blue) turns the body in space.

As we expanded our palette, we expanded the time frame to 15 minutes. There is no need to mix heavily when working on location with a model. You can achieve the variety of warms and cools by making decisive marks with your brush throughout the painting.

Utilizing a strong, direct light on the body helps us see three dimensions more clearly. In the last three poses we focused on three different aspects of light and the model:

1. How gravity affects the model and the distribution of weight.

2. How the rhythm of lines and forms show the connectivity of the model

3. How light shows what is advancing towards us on the model.

The third approach is often the most challenging for the artist as a subtle twist in the model's torso can make a shoulder more important than a hand. Observe the distribution of weight carefully in your model before starting. Drawing for the first five minutes helps establish symmetry, rhythm and proportion. Painting in warms and cool colors and establishing a background against the model will help white shapes emerge.

HOMEWORK: [For all abilities] Do a painting of a nude that shows a light source on the figure. You can use a photograph of a sculpture, or a live nude model from one of the open studios. Explore color and temperature to give us a feeling of light on the figure.

March 9, 2011 DETAILS OF THE MODEL
Now that we have focused on the main tools for figure drawing: underlying structure, symmetry, rhythm, form, value and color, lets see if we can establish the beauty of the human figure through the emphasis on different forms.
HOMEWORK: [For all abilities] Take one of your drawings from class and see if you can use the study of the figure in a final painting of this figure as it might relate to a landscape or interior that creates an interesting painting.

March 16, 2011 CONCLUDING WITH FIGURES IN THE LANDSCAPE
Today we’ll work on figures in the landscape and how they create a narrative in your work. Multiple figures provide additional challenges for the artist. We’ll work from photos and the model to create some reference for our work.
HOMEWORK: Consider your spring schedule for another class.

Materials List for Painting the Figure
COMPTON ART           
January 12, 2011

For each class, we’ll be staring with some drawing warm-ups and then moving into longer poses to be done in color. You may either choose to work in watercolor or oil, but because of the brevity of the course (eight weeks), I would suggest sticking to one medium or the other. You may want to work in watercolor in class and do the homework in oil, if you have your own space to work.

BASIC DRAWING SUPPLIES:
Conte Crayons in black, gray or burnt sienna
Willow Charcoal
HB and #2B, #4B and #6B Pencils
Penny Bond Pad or Bristol Drawing paper; somewhere between 11” x 14” and 18” x 24” depending on whether you stand or sit. Penny Bond is less expensive and you’ll be more willing to practice on it:
No newsprint paper, please.
Sketchbook for note-taking if you wish; a small portion of each class will include discussion with handouts, so you may want to keep notes from the class. You may also want to carry this book with you through the week to work on drawings of people wherever you go.

If you plan to paint in Watercolors
1 Wash Brush, preferably sable, at least 1” wide also one that is wider of a week exploring a large painting
1-2 Round Brushes, sable or a combination acrylic sable in sizes 8, 10, 12 or 14
Water containers—I use two; one small inside a larger one. We have some at the studio, but bringing your own will allow you get comfortable with your set-up, if you like. I use a larger Tupperware with a smaller one inside.
Board: You can use Gator Board, 1/4” plywood, or Plexiglas in a 13” x 17” size or so.
Paper: Cold and Hot Press paper in 140 lb. We will use mostly Cold Press. Five to eight full sheets of paper should get you through the whole class.

EXTRAS:
Artist’s Tape (available at Cheap Joe’s)
1 roll Bounty Paper Towel (yes, it matters what brand it is!)

COLORS: The objective is to have nine primaries (three of yellow, red and blue respectively) in the three values: Light/Medium/Dark. We will discuss the properties of the paints throughout the class so that you can make more educated decisions about your palette. Use ONLY professional grade pigments: I prefer Winsor & Newton, Sennelier, Daniel Smith or M. Graham. Note the word “or” below: you really only need 9 though its always fun to have more!

YELLOWS: Aureolin or Lemon Yellow
New Gamboge
Quinacridrone Gold
REDS: Vermillion or Cadmium Red Light
Rose Madder Genuine or Permanent Rose or Opera
Permanent Alizarin
BLUES: Cinnerous Blue or Cerulean Blue or Peacock Blue
Cobalt Blue or French Ultramarine
Thalo Blue or Prussian Blue or Indanthrone Blue

If you plan to paint in Oils
10-15 hog bristle brushes of various sizes from sizes 4-10. Traditionally a new brush is used for every color mixed
4-6 small sables or white sables for fine detail work
Palette knives (2-3) for mixing
Wooden palette that’s portable
Folding easel
Odorless mineral spirits such as Gamsol
Containers for keeping all solvents closed and portable. No solvents may be left on site.
Fels Naptha or brush soap to clean your brushes before you leave
Paper towels or rags (must be taken with you if you’re using solvents)

COLORS: The objective is to have no more than nine primaries (three of yellow, red and blue respectively) in the three values: Light/Medium/Dark. For most portraits in oil, I keep my palette to six or fewer colors. Use ONLY professional grade pigments: I prefer Gamblin, Sennelier, Daniel Smith or Rembrandt. YELLOWS:
Cadmium Yellow Pale
Naples Yellow
Yellow ochre or Quinacridone Gold
REDS
Burnt Sienna
Vermillion (or Cadmium Red if you feel you can afford it)
Alizarin Crimson
BLUES
Cobalt Blue
French Ultramarine
Thalo Blue (red shade) or Prussian Blue

Black
Large tube of White.

Please be aware that ARTistree is a public art space at which many children’s art classes take place. Oils are particularly toxic and can be messy. Each student is responsible for his or her own clean up so please allow enough time to be sure the floors, tables, chairs and counter spaces are free of paint and solvents. ONLY ODORLESS SOLVENTS MAY BE USED. Please consider Gamblin’s product line as they are the least toxic.