Life Drawing with Zoom

I have long been a fan of the Croquis Cafe on Vimeo, however I tend to stop that video! I recently signed up for a Life Drawing session with the Bay Area Models Guild (BAMG) on Zoom. It was a three hour session. There were 20 participants. I was the only participant from Australia and from overseas.

There was no option to stop the video as it was a live session. My drawings were a combination of Procreate for the 2 minute poses and paper for the 5 and 10 minute poses. 10 minutes was my limit. I am a quick drawer and not one to get into great detail.

I have another session on Valentines Day. A five hour marathon, with 20 different models, starting at 5 a.m. Queensland time.

The first drawing is on cartridge paper (drawing paper) colored pencil and the Pentel pocket brush pen and the second is Procreate with a 6B pencil.

Colored pencil and the Pentel Pocket Brush Pen

Procreate with the 6B pencil

Still here!

Life just got too busy. We went for a road trip up the central Queensland coast to Yeppoon.

I made it half way through Sktchy portrait challenge of 30 Faces in 30 Days before we left. I will try to go back and look at some of the other days I missed.

Early January I started a four week Zoom Workshop with Suhita Shirodkar – People Alive. It has been an inspiring workshop on capturing people with energy. I have really adjusted to attending workshops on Zoom. While it is fun to interact with people when attending a live workshop, you normally only see and hear something once. You can see a replay on Zoom. It is surprising what you miss the first time something is covered.

I especially liked the last session of the workshop on drawing crowds. I quite often draw crowds However, they don’t necessarily tell a story. They are just groups of people. Now I know to pick my central characters to build a story. Something simple but often overlooked in the scurry to capture a person before they leave the scene. I am very lucky to have a Sunday market nearby.

People

If you draw faces, people are not far behind.

I started an online workshop with Suhita Shirodkar titled “People Alive” through the magic of Zoom. I have been following her blog for a number of years, so the opportunity to do a four week workshop on my favorite subject, people, was an opportunity not to be missed.

Below is a part of the homework from week one where the focus was painting shapes. I hope I can put this into practice when I go out sketching. This technique is for placing people in your sketches in the distance. Working in gray wash to master your values is the first step.We later moved on to adding color with the addition of pencil or ink to complete the figure, if needed.

Staying inspired..

Once a week I sketch with a friend, however most of the time I sketch by myself. The closest Urban Sketching Chapter is in Brisbane approximately 80 miles to the south of the Sunshine Coast. I used to enjoy taking the train to Brisbane. It is a ninety minute journey offering a wide selection of people to sketch. On arrival at Central Station is Starbucks on Edward Street. More people to sketch. Hopefully those days will come back soon.

A quick sketch in a coffee shop in Woombye.

Although Urban Sketching has suffered during 2020 there has been a wealth of activities available for any one seeking inspiration. Studio 56 Boutique have interviewed an array of Urban Sketchers – James Richards, Ian Fennelly, Felix Scheinberger, Steven Reddy, Paul Heaston to name a few. You can view these interviews on their Utube Channel

Etchr Labs also has a Utube Channel. They offer hour long demonstrations and interviews with a variety of artists. Urban Sketchers has moved Season Two of Usk Talks to their Utube Channel. Paul Wang has a great selection of videos on his Utube Channel If you love Podcasts..Sneaky Artist.

You don’t have to go far to be inspired!

Faces

I decided to fill January with Faces!

I have signed up to do “30 Faces/30 Days in January” with Sktchy. This workshop/challenge has 30 different artists sharing tips for drawing faces or portraits in graphite. Sounds easy, although it has been years since I have worked in graphite.

I tend to get distracted when there is timetable and someone else is selecting the muse. However, I will try to stay on track. The good thing is if I don’t finish in January, you have life time access. It really is a good deal. I will say, I am missing Procreate. I could draw with a pencil brush in the App. That may happen at some stage but I am resisting the temptation. If you want to find out more about Sktchy (yes, this is how they spell Sktchy) and their online Art School…click Here.

Below is Day One from the challenge in Graphite and a recent portrait in Procreate.

Graphite

Procreate