My Drawing in the Getty

Hey, I have a drawing in the Getty Museum! Well, sort of. During my MFA studies, my friends Ron Spears, Mike Wimmer and I had a chance to spend the afternoon at the Getty.

l-r; Mike Wimmer, Ron Spears and me drawing in the Getty

On a whim we decided to sketch for a while in the sketching gallery that they have set up in one of the galleries where you can draw from a selection of paintings and sculptures on display. We all settled in to draw the dynamic marble sculpture of the discus thrower that was in the center of the gallery. It was a fun experience and if you ever get a chance to do it, I highly recommend it.

Me drawing away at the Getty

After 30 or 40 minutes, we hung our drawings up on the display board and left them there for all to enjoy. Since all drawings that are left become the property of the Getty, I technically have a piece of my art in the Getty collection!

Well I suppose it's possible that it was only briefly in the Getty collection before it made its way to the L.A. Department of Sanitation collection, but who knows? maybe it is still there. One can hope right?

Missing Figure Drawing

Life Drawing - Charcoal on Newsprint - 18" x 24"

It's only been a couple of weeks since the term ended and I am feeling the lack of life drawing opportunities. Teaching Life Drawing  four times a week really spoiled me. I will need to make extra efforts in order to draw from life at least semi-regularly. Drawing is the key.. Here's one more drawing from the term. I spent about thirty to forty minutes on this one.

15 Minute Drawing

15 minute life drawing- conte on smooth newsprint

My figure drawing class is winding down with only a couple more sessions left in the term. I was looking back through the pad and found this quick little drawing. This one took between 15 and twenty minutes somewhere between a gesture and a little more sustained drawing and is fairly small, maybe ten inches across. I'll look through the pad from the last half of the class when the term ends and see if there are other drawings I want to show. It's been a fun experience helping the students improve their drawing. Without exception, they have all gained new skills or refined their existing drawing abilities.

Kathryn

Kathryn - 9" x 12" charcoal on gray paper

The other day in our figure  drawing class, I had the sudents work on head studies.  I found that several students are struggling with head porportions and getting the features to turn around the face on the foreshortened side. We will be working more on this in the coming days. I didn't have to deal with the foreshortening since I had a profile view.

One Minute Gestures

One minute gesture drawings- conte crayon on smooth newsprint

In the figure drawing class I am teaching this term, we have been giving a lot of focused effort to capturing the essence of a pose quickly. We usually start with one to three minute gestures and then build up to a more sustained pose by the end of the three hour block. One day recently we spent the entire three hours doing gestures including one minute gestures for nearly a half hour straight. The short time frame gave the models an opportunity to do a few more dynamic poses. At first it felt like no time at all with nothing to show for it on paper. By the end, I was surprised how much you could capture in just a few seconds of concentrated observational drawing. Here are a few of my favorite one minute poses.

Bridgeman's Hands

Drawings From The Book of a Hundred Hands

by George Bridgeman

Details of hands from a few of my paintings

Hands are the second most expressive part of the human anatomy next to the face. I love doing a good hand and work hard to make them look right. I have heard it said that you can tell how good an artist is by how well he draws hands. I learned how to draw hands from George Bridgeman. Sometime around 1988 as a student, I bought a copy of The Book of a Hundred Hands. It became my bible on how to draw a good hand. Bridgeman was an exceptional teacher and artist and had a knack for breaking down the human form and anatomy to it's essence. Whenever I am battling a hand or some other aspect of the human anatomy, I turn to my old friend George and he calms me and sets me on the right track. it's no wonder his books are still around. If you don't have a copy of  The Book of a Hundred Hands or better yet his Complete Guide to Drawing From Life, I would highly recommend picking them up. Here are also a couple of details of hands I have done.