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.

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.