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LIFE AFTER LIFE DRAWING
Life drawing is
traditionally an academic activity which develops seeing and
drawing skills. The concentration needed and the intensity of
the experience often means that people learn quickly. Life
drawing is essentially about the quality of observation and the
sensitivity of the response, the vitality of the mark making
that takes you that one step beyond simple accuracy.
Many people
understandably simply enjoy the life drawing process as an
isolated experience and are content to develop the work no
further. However it is good to be aware of possible ways in
which you can develop your work if you choose to do so.
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Artists over centuries have painted the nude
figure for quite specific reasons and it is useful to look
at the different genres to be aware of your own preferences.
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Focusing on the formal elements of colour and
composition etc is a logical and practical line of enquiry
which helps you clarify what interests you. It leads to
basic understanding of the elements and possible further
development of your work on a sound basis.
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Being open to experiment as opposed to being
too conservative in your drawing can be exciting and
productive. Simply trying different media or combinations of
techniques can lead to a fresh area of investigation which
in turn can suggest further development. At the very least
it will expand your repertoire and improve your life
drawing.
ARTISTIC GENRES
Romantic
Many artists choose to draw and paint the figure because of
its beauty. This has been the case for many centuries and there
has been nothing happened that has changed this basic perception
of the human form. Some painters have idealised and others have
romanticised the figure. There are many examples.
Leonardo Da Vinci – high Renaissance accurately observed but
ultimately idealised beauty often depicting themes from
mythology.
Rubens – High Baroque, extravagant sumptuous nudes
Ingre - classic beautiful and idealised interpretations mainly
of the female figure
Lord Leighton – Grand master of high Victorian Neo classicism
Realism
Realistic images, as opposed to romantic or
idealised, can be found in the realism of Velasquez,
Delacroix or the gritty realism and social statements of the
kitchen sink painters of the 1950’s like John Bratby or
they can be very direct objective observational studies like in
the work of Lucien Freud.
Modernism
Throughout the 20th century there has been a series
of Art movements from impressionism to abstraction. Certainly in
the early part of the century, paintings were still based on
traditional subject matter like landscape, still life and the
figure. Consequently we have many examples of the nude
interpreted though these different modern art movements. This is
a great source of information on the very diverse approaches to
interpreting the human figure and understanding the original
thinking behind them.
Impressionism
Impressionism represents the break with academic
painting marked by the use of colour theory, painting in the
open air and a search for a new way of expressing reality. The
understanding of their rationale and use of their varied
techniques is accessible and useful.
Manet, Degas, Gauguin, Toulouse Lautrec,
Fauvism
A post Impressionist movement that pushed the boundaries
of colour beyond observed natural colour and particularly in the
work of Matisse the relationship between shapes and colours.
Matisse, Bonnard
Expressionism
The person you
are painting is a real person with a character, emotions and a
history. Your reaction could reflect your own emotional response
to the subject as in the work of Van Gogh, Kokoshka, Otto
Dix, Egon Schiele.
Cubism
A short
lived movement but which still influences many painters work 100
years later. It is basically about the reduction and
fragmentation of natural forms into abstract, often geometric
structures. They believed that the reality of an object is not
accurately expressed by only one view and the artist is
responsible for selecting and representing a new arrangement of
shapes that better describe the subject.
Picasso, Braque…
Surrealism
An attempt to record images of the subconscious and
characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition
of subject matter. The actual movement was influenced by the
psychoanalyst Sigmund Feud and consequently often sexual in its
interpretation of the figure. The term surreal can now be used
to loosely describe images generated by the subconscious.
Dali, Magritte
Abstraction
When we observe the figure there are other visual
possibilities to apart from the challenge of realistically
representing the human form. We actually see a complex
collection of shapes and forms and there are a number of
starting points that can logically lead to semi abstract images
and possibly total abstraction.
We might decide
that we want to be selective or even rearrange the shapes to
produce something totally new.
Picasso, Braque, Giacometti, Francis Bacon…
The figure
could be moving and we would have the challenge of trying to
represent this. Marcel Duchamp – Figure descending stairs.
Conceptual
For more than forty years now we have moved on from the
‘isms’ of modernism into the post modernist period. Artists have
gone freestyle and always on a search for the individual
approach characterized very much by the Brit-artists like
Damien Hirst and Tracy Emin. It can be a wonderful
thing to throw away the rule book and look for new ground.
Jenny Saville and Ron Mueck are perhaps the artists that are
most closely related to the figure.
THE FORMAL ELEMENTS
It is no
coincidence that the experimental art movements of the 20th
century first of all investigated the basic elements of colour,
composition and techniques.
Colour
It is wonderful to be free of the restrictions of
representing exactly the natural colours we see in the figure.
It was over a hundred years ago in the work of the
Impressionists that we see whole new palette of possibilities
and the complete liberation that took place with Matisse and
the Fauves. We can use the knowledge we have as painters to
find new exciting colour combinations either suggested by what
we see in the model and the surroundings or completely from our
imaginations. Bonnard is a wonderful example of a
celebration of colour.
Composition
In a life class with the usual time restrictions the drawing
often takes place in the centre of the paper with little thought
to the relationship of the shapes of the figure with the sides
of the paper. The figure itself is made up of shapes and angles
with endless combinations. Considering how they fit into the
rectangle is the starting point of composition. Moving in and
selecting only a part of the body can be interesting and forces
you to make decisions about the composition. In a studio there
are often a many interesting lines and shapes, colours and tones
which can be used to compliment the shape of the figure. You can
be selective and move these lines around so that they work well
with the figure. Freud makes good use of the simple lines and
proportions found in his studio.
Form
The practice of life drawing is naturally focused on form.
To develop this idea further one might logically tend towards
sculpture and there are many superb examples. Michelangelo,
Bernini, Rodin, Frink, Henry Moore. However there are many
painters for who form is an important element if not the main
focus.
Cezanne, Picasso, Lempica’s slick stylized
figures which owe much to the cubists…
Classic life drawing
Life drawing has become an academic activity with its own
traditions and disciplines. The degree of observation is usually
intense so the results tend towards realism rather than idealism
or romanticism. It is the process of recording with the hand
what is seen by the eye. As a result elements of this process
can become central to the artist’s intentions; the actual act of
drawing or mark making or maybe the interpretation of form.
Euan Uglow – a 20th century, English academic
painter who focuses on the precision and accuracy of measuring
during the drawing process. The result has the beauty and
simplicity of mathematics rather than a depiction of a
photographic or expressive reality.
TECHNIQUE
The techniques
from oil painting to charcoal to etching to sculpture can be
central to the reason for producing the work for some artists.
Different techniques can certainly help determine the character
of a piece. As a logical step forward from life drawing, varying
your media can have very positive results and alone help you
find a new direction.
Pastels - Degas
Pencil, pastel plus watercolour wash – Rodin, Egon
Schiele
Wax resist and watercolour – Henry Moore
Collage – Picasso, Muñoz, Valdēs
Photography – Cindy Sherman
Video – Bruce Nauman
Varnish, charcoal, wire brush and basically anything that
was in his dad’s garage – young Philip Brown……..
this
page printable as pdf
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