Open ended second drawings have been a little trying. I do a lot of gesture drawings on my own because my focus in art is usually figurative or narrative, so I have sketches lying around all over my apartment. It is a little frustrating doing quick gesture drawings and then not having the time to develop them, even though I love doing them I can't wait to get to the meaty part of the course.
My shell on the other hand ended up as quite a pleasant afternoon in Phelan Park. A nice afternoon outside and Bob Marley on the i-pod did the trick for letting that loose. I also enjoyed the critique with Amy. Check In's are always a good thing. No direction home and all that.
The Mannequin is going along swimmingly. Working the muscle structure in clay is like a 3-D gross neato lab where I get to build my very own person. "Well BoB that thigh is coming along quite nicely. " "Could ya' hurry it up a little bit Tim." is usually the response I get. But besides Bob being a little testy things are good. Nothing can put a damper on your day like an uppity mannequin. I think he looks pretty good though. Thank you August!
What I feel I've learned so far this semester are consequently aspects I returned to school to learn. A fine tuning if you will. Looking at perspective and absolutes for anatomical construction will help my style redevelop with a more classically trained eye that will hopefully come to fruition in future works, with the right amount of time. Specifically when we looked at the curvature of the spine and the four points, as well as the "why" of anatomical structure that is invisible to the naked eye, but the effects of what this information can do when deciphering body planes and form. The upturn of the pelvis, the way the muscles of the leg curve and form around the knee, and how to find landmarks on the body like the C7.
What I would like to learn more about is perspective views, and detailing, and layout design leading into the specifics of an individual. What lines to pay attention to in order to give the figure personality. I would also like to study a simplification of the body in order to tone down my mark making, so I will be able to bring out lines better and add definition to my drawings. In essence continuing what we've started and re-applying these concepts to what I've been doing outside of class.
