Life Drawing: Not quite finding the image
A look at my drawings from a session where I struggled to capture anything quite right.
The following are drawings from my last life drawing session of 2023. It was one where I was a bit tired, and I think on this occasion it really showed in the images produced.
As ever, my local group of choice favours shorter poses (as do I), so we started with some quick two and five minutes. Normally I feel by the end of the very quick poses I’m in the drawing mode, but this time the slightly longer five-minute poses seemed to mostly allude me still.
I eventually decided I found the most interest in the model’s face, and so started to focus my attention there in most of my remaining drawings (poses permitting, I prefer to draw what lands in front of me rather than move to find something I like more).
The last two five-minute poses (above) I’d have enjoyed going on with for longer as I was feeling more focused and pleased with what was finding its way to the paper.
The next two ten-minute poses (below) though I once again struggled. I think this is partly because I simply enjoyed the prior two positions more, and so wasn’t getting as into these next two drawings as much. But I was also just struggling to translate reality onto the page with much success; the drawing with the stick being held seems particularly weird with proportions!
The final few longer fifteen-minute poses (including the one at the top of the page) landed better for me. I enjoyed once more focusing on the face, and while the proportions overall still seem a bit off in places, I’m happier generally with these last few efforts.
It’s been a while since I’ve really felt a struggle to draw like this occasion. Normally even if I’m not entirely satisfied with all my drawings, I feel I’ve made a good effort and have some nice results in this mix. I do still have some drawings I like from this selection, but I was tired and it had a real impact on both the final pieces and the pleasure of drawing in the moment. So I guess, have a nap before you draw if you’ve had a long day!!