Last class, I really enjoyed this long poses exercise i could have worked on it even longer- with a break in between-
Today looking at it there is plenty of aspect i would retouch to give more dimention and volume, to smooth some contrast that are too strong and emphase other

Thank you to our wonderful teacher always encouraging, leaving me enough space to explore on my own and pointing where to work to improve the piece in development. i have learned a lot of new technique, and it makes me realize that the journey is never over beginner or advence there is learning to be had , good pieces and not so good one.

Wish you all the best , hope to see one of your class again on the schedule, will for sure register.
Danielle

Last Class

Not going to wait even a few days! I missed last week so only got to work last night on the long pose which I did in charcoal on Ingres paper that I first covered with a layer of charcoal (unfortunately ending up with a spotted effect). But I just want to take this opportunity to thank Konstantin again for a great class. It has been decades since I was drawing like this and I'm so glad it was this class that brought me back to it. I also have a lot of new techniques now that I had never used before. I am inspired and plan to do a series using inktense pencils as well as developing my skills with charcoal. Great meeting all of you (blog posters or not) and best of luck.

Worked on these a little more. . .

I finally made some time to do a little more work on the long poses from the last two classes!  The first photos are what they looked like after class, the second photos as they are now.  I was pretty happy with both of these, and enjoyed them a lot!
I also think I will put one of them in the show, and would definitely appreciate feedback on which one I should include!  Thanks!

Class #10 high contrast and the form

Another challenge for the week! The lesson for the class is high contrast! I'm getting pushed even further than last class as far as contrast and different values of greys and blacks. Both of these drawings are longer studies. The last one was continued at home and I may or may not continue working on it. I kind of enjoy that it looks scribbly. Even though I went in on the  lighter parts of the body with a wash of white acrylic paint, I still think I could have given more attention to the blackness of the shadow and the whiteness of the light cast upon the body. I just couldn't look at it anymore...

Last project - Dernier projet

Hello, I hope everyone is well and enjoying these early spring days.

The session is getting close to its end, there are two weeks of class left! Both weeks we will work from the same model and from a single pose. The model will be Jean-Pierre, he is a very experienced model with interesting characteristics. You will be free to use all the time allowed for a single drawing or do more than one. You may use the materials and support of your choice. If you have a question or would like a suggestion, post a comment below.

In this project, you shall try to make a synthesis of what you have learnt so far in the course ( contour, ​weight, ​gesture, modelling, composition, etc.). In addition to that you are invited to attempt a more personal interpretation of the figure.

Take a look at these three drawings I am posting below. Without doubt, there was a model posing for these studies, still, there are plenty of elements that we could recognise as surrealistic or non-objective; Deformed parts, weird perspectives, forms that remind us of other, non-human ones. This has nothing to do with "style" or art movement. Every artist, puts in his work not only objective elements ( related to the event he is observing), but also elements that are in relation to his own personal experiences, his own personal understanding of the facts. This is done voluntarily or subconsciously. This week you may attempt to work with the figure in a similar way. Seeing the figure as a starting point, search for the impulse of the pose, link it to your personal experiences/imagery and translate it into something more personal.

Think of an author who is writing a novel: He has lived many of the things he is writing about, they are objectively true, other people have lived them, we can call them facts. Still, a writer will narrate those facts in his own personal perspective, he will probably make them more mysterious, more funny, more desperate, more worth to be narrated, will link them to his obsessions or to eternal problems…And that's how these facts, through the artist's perspective, they become art.

I am looking forward to see you all this Thursday!

A.Giacometti

P.Picasso

W. de Kooning

Bonjour,

J'espère que tout le monde est bien et que vous profitez de ces jours de printemps.

La session se rapproche de sa fin, il nous restent deux semaines de classe! Ces deux semaines nous allons travailler à partir du même modèle et d'une seule pose.  Le modèle sera Jean-Pierre, il est un modèle très expérimenté avec des caractéristiques intéressantes. Vous serez libre d'utiliser tout le temps permis pour un seul dessin ou faire plus d'un. Vous pouvez utiliser les matériaux et le support de votre choix. Si vous avez une question ou souhaitez une suggestion, laissez un commentaire ci-dessous.

Dans ce projet,vous allez essayer de faire une synthèse de ce que vous avez appris jusqu'à présent dans le cours (contour, masse, geste, modelage, composition, etc.). En plus, je vous invite à essayer une interprétation plus personnelle de la figure.

Regardez les trois dessins ci-haut. Malgré qu' un modèle a surement posé pour ces études, il y a beaucoup d'éléments que nous pourrions characteriser surréalistes ou non-objectifs; des parties déformées, des perspectives étranges, des formes qui nous rappellent d'autres formes non-humains. Cela n'a rien à voir avec le «style» ou le mouvement artistique. Chaque artiste, met dans son travail non seulement des éléments objectifs (liés à l'événement qu'il observe), mais aussi des éléments qui sont en relation avec ses propres expériences personnelles, sa propre compréhension personnelle des faits. Cela se fait volontairement ou inconsciemment. Cette semaine, vous allez essayer de travailler avec la figure d'une manière similaire. Vous êtes invités à voir la figure comme un point de départ, de recevoir l'impulsion de la pose, le relier à vos expériences / imageries personnelles et de les traduire en quelque chose de plus personnel.

Pensez à un auteur qui écrit un roman:  il décrit plusieurs choses qu'il a vécu et qu'ils sont objectivement vrai. D'autres personnes ont leur vécu, nous les appelons faits. Pourtant, un écrivain va raconter ces faits dans son propre point de vue personnel, il va probablement les rendre plus mystérieuses, plus drôles, plus désespérés, il donnera un bon raison d'être racontées, il les reliera à ses obsessions ou aux problèmes éternels, etc …Et voilà comment ces faits , à travers le point de vue de l'artiste, ils deviennent de l'art.

Au plaisir de vous voir ce jeudi!

Projection

Merhaba from Istanbul! This week's class was special with the model covered in different black and white projections. The first 40 minute one had wide stripes on the model which was a little tricky since as she moved, even slightly, would change where the light and dark would appear. In both drawings I prepared some Ingres paper, one cream and one blue, with a covering of charcoal and then worked the drawing with charcoal and eraser. Very challenging class but with interesting results.

10th Class - 10e cours

Hello,
this week we will study how to work with very high contrasts of light and shade.
Remark these drawings by J.Raynes. The artist has particular interest in working with such type of light effects.
Bonjour, 
cette semaine, nous allons étudier comment travailler avec des contrastes très élevés de lumière et d'ombre.
Remarquez ces dessins par J.Raynes. L'artiste a un intérêt particulier pour ce type d'effets de lumière.
Ces éclairages peuvent paraître trop théâtrales, mais en fait, nous les trouvons dans de nombreuses situations quotidiennes: la lumière passant par les grilles d'une fenêtre comme dans le second dessin, la lumière passant par les branches des arbres, etc.

These lightings might look too theatrical but in fact we find them in many everyday situations: light passing from the grilles of a window as in the second drawing, light passing from the branches of trees, etc.
When drawing these situations, its not difficult to end up with a result where the figure looks fragmented and one area doesn't seem to connect with another. Your effort this week will be to keep your awareness of the form intact while playing with the different shapes produced by the cast shadows.

Dans ces situations, on peut facilement se retrouver avec un résultat où le corps semble fragmenté, de façon qu’une partie de la forme ne semble pas se connecter avec une autre. Votre effort cette semaine sera de garder votre conscience de la forme intacte de la figure, tout en jouant avec les différentes formes produites par les ombres portées.

I am also attaching two great drawings that students did at the last session (One is Teffer's and the other one is Zouya's).

by Zouya

by Teffer

As in these student drawings, you might want to experiment with different framings. Zouya did a portrait while Teffer took advantage of the whole scene. Once again, you are free to use the materials of your choice and I would advise you to use different materials or palettes for each study. Bring the paper that is proper to the type of medium you will be using. I remind you that Ingres paper is best for charcoal and powdery materials, although it does accept ink as well as some light washes. For more generous washes it is preferable to use watercolour paper. We will do two studies, one of 40 minutes and one of one hour and a half. See you all this Thursday!

Je joins également deux très bons dessins que les élèves ont fait lors de la dernière session (À droite c'est de Teffer et l'autre est de Zoya). Comme dans ces dessins, vous pouvez expérimenter avec différents cadrages. Zouya a fait un portrait tandis que Teffer a utilisé toute la scène. Encore une fois, vous êtes libre d'utiliser les matériaux de votre choix et je vous conseille d'utiliser différents matériaux ou palettes pour chaque étude. Apportez le papier qui est propre au médium que vous utiliserez. Je vous rappelle que le papier Ingres est le meilleur pour le fusin et il prends aussi l'encre ainsi que quelques lavages légers. Pour des lavis plus généreux, il est préférable d'utiliser du papier aquarelle. Nous ferons deux études, une de 40 minutes et une de une heure et demie.
À ce jeudi!

class #9 composition - parts of the form

This was a good lesson in composition. I feel most of the times when I create a drawing or a painting, composition is at the back of my mind. Hence at times I will accidentally make the drawing too small on the page (the size of the page being my parameters) or so large that I end up cutting important details out. Examples would be my third drawing, the torso, I feel the composition would have been nicer if I had included her neck, her belly, and some of her arms then as well in my last drawing, the portrait, I wish I hadn't cut off her head...not to mention this doesn't even look like our poor Phoebe... also I cheated and continued to tweak the last two drawings outside of class.. hehe..Stuff to work on and habits to cut out!

9th class close ups

Seems I'm first again... Here are the four shorter poses done with inktense pencils where I was trying to do only a small part of the model. I find I still don't know how to handle the inktense pencils properly. Using them to draw is great but once I add a little water they go somewhere I'm not really happy with. Still interesting and I definitely intend to keep using them!




This last one I had prepared most of the sheet before we got to class with a heavy layer of strokes of inktense green which was then washed with a medium brush. I would really like to have had some more time to complete this study although I was able to do some more earlier today, but I couldn't really do more on the face from memory. I was thinking it was too bad I hadn't taken a photo to work just before the end of class, but that probably would not have been very cool (to take a photo of a nude model to work with later...)

9th class - 9e cours

Hello,

This week we will emphasize on drawing parts of the human figure (head, feet, torso etc.) and we will work from a few short poses at the beginning and a single long pose of about 1h and a half at the end. The objective will be​ to make a synopsis of what you have learnt so far about contour, ​weight, ​gesture, modelling, ​etc. and of course, composition. We will work with inktense and inks, so it will also be a good opportunity to further explore these mediums. Bring cartridge paper and a sheet of watercolour paper for the long study​, which you may prepare with an intense wash if you want ( all of it or ​a part of it, since for the long pose​ you are free to make a single drawing or​ more.​) I am attaching below a drawing by Durer for its mastery use of contour, modeling, use of three tones, and superb composition.

See you soon!

Albrecht Dürer 

Bonjour,

Cette semaine, nous allons mettre l'accent sur le dessin des parties de la figure humaine en gros plan (le buste, les pieds, les bras, etc.) et nous allons travailler à partir de quelques poses courtes au début et d' une seule longue pose d'environ 1h et demi à la fin. L'objectif sera de faire un synopsis de ce que vous avez appris jusqu'ici sur le contour, la masse, le geste, le modelage, etc. et bien sûr, la composition. Nous allons travailler avec les crayons Inktense et a l'encre, ainsi cela sera également une bonne occasion d'explorer davantage ces médiums. Apportez du papier cartouche et une feuille de papier aquarelle pour la longue étude, laquelle vous pouvez préparer avec un lavis de intense si vous voulez (la feuille entière ou, une partie de cela, étant donné que pour la longue pose que vous serez libre de faire un seul dessin ou plus.) Je joins ci-haut un dessin de Dürer pour la maîtrise du contour, le modelage, l'utilisation de trois valeurs, et sa superbe composition.

À bientôt!

Drawings by Robert from the 8th class

Two excellent drawings from last week done by Robert.

8th class composition

A fun exercise working with three different shapes, rectangle, triangle and circle.  I tried to make them more abstract with the composition being the most important. It was fun without worrying so much about proportion although I felt I was struggling with the newsprint paper I was working on. The long pose was ok but I find the background too close and maybe I'll be able to re-work it later.

class #7 light values and the form

We had a wonderful model for this class! Loved her poses. I must say, strange enough, that I have never been pushed to explore light as much as this. It almost felt like I had to exaggerate the dark versus the light and the effect really brings out the form - hence the purpose of this lesson! As well, we studied how clothes drape on the human form and how all the folds of the materials play with light. I especially loved how the gravity pulled on the sheets and made the vertical folds.

Class 7!

Hey!

This post may be a little late since class 8 is in 45 minutes but OH WELL

I really enjoyed the work we did last class and it was experimentation for me as well as others, but I used conte (four different colours).

The first one was on a small page so the texture of the board is seen in parts of the background (which isn't necessarily a bad thing I guess).

See you all in a bit!

I enjoyed last week's session quite a lot, especially working with inktense pencils instead of brush and ink. The poses and model were really great to work with as well.

I definitely felt as though I could have kept going for a while- looking forward to longer poses!

8th class - 8e cours

Hello,
This week's class will emphasize on composition, it will attempt to make you more aware of the drawing surface and push further your sense of balance. We will do various studies with charcoals and charcoal pencil on cartridge, copy and Ingres paper (though I don't mind if you prefer to use some other medium instead).
You know by now how important is to begin a drawing by only thinking its gesture, and continue by developing the whole drawing surface gradually and accordingly to what has already been drawn.  In his book "the natural way to draw",  K.Nicolaides says about composition: "You do not start with the rules of composition. You start with the gesture which gives the design. It is wrong to make a plan first and then fill the plan with activity. The activity should come first." This week especially you want to think of gesture as the unifying element of the picture.
I am attaching below a few drawings/paintings of different artists. Observe each image for its gesture, remark how the figure interacts and links to its context, remark how negative/positive spaces are working together, ask yourselves what stands out first and why.
Your comments are always welcome, and sorry for posting late this week.
See you soon,
Konstantinos

Bonjour,
cette semaine nous allons mettre l'accent sur la composition, les excercices viseron a vous rendre plus conscients de la surface de dessin et a pousser plus loin votre sens d'équilibre. Nous ferons diverses études avec du fusain sur papier cartouche, papier a copies et papier Ingres (bien que vous etes libres à  utiliser un autre medium à la place).
Vous savez maintenant l' importance de commencer un dessin en pensant de son geste, et continuer en développant la surface de dessin entiere progressivement et par conséquent à ce qui a déjà été établi. Dans son livre «la façon naturelle de dessiner", K.Nicolaides dit à propos de la composition: "Vous ne commencez pas avec les règles de composition. Vous commencez avec le geste qui donne la conception. Il est faux de faire un plan d'abord, puis remplir le plan d'activité. L'activité devrait venir en premier. " C'est cette semaine surtout que vous voulez penser au geste comme l'élément unificateur de l'image.
Je joins ci-dessous des dessins / peintures de différents artistes. Observez chaque image pour son geste, remarquez comment la figure interagit et se connecte a son contexte, remarquez comment les espaces négatifs / positifs travaillent ensemble, demandez-vous qu-est ce que resorte d'abord et pourquoi.
Vos commentaires sont toujours les bienvenus, et désolé pour poster en retard cette semaine.
À bientôt,
Konstantinos

C.Garache 

G.Klimt

G.Klimt

K.Kollwitz

Raphael

G.Rorris

Picasso

This early work by Picasso was showed up recently at an art fair in New York and I was just so taken with it that I thought I'd share it here with you. Not exactly modeling as we've been doing but related, I think, and done in such a masterly way!

Long poses movement, light and drapery

This week class was very interesting,  eventhought i paint using ink was not as obvious for me since once it is on paper it is a done deal, whereas paint you can scratch, paint over and modulate as you wish.  I still like the results though, would have like more time for the last pose to capture and define more of the form,