Maintaining Tonal Zones

Among concepts that were learned or solidified at the Bill Perkins workshop I attended over the weekend was the principle of maintaining value relationships and patterns. In his explanation, Bill focused on identifying major values and then translating them into separate value ranges. Using my painting for this first exercise as an example, I will try to break it down simply.

First Bill had us analyze the values on the model and then define within our study those specific ranges. Each tonal block was kept separate from the next, but also allowing for variations of tone within it's own block . As the diagram  I created above shows, all other values that did not fall into one of the value ranges or tonal blocks were eliminated.

This process allows each value range to stand as a separate and distinct shape that cannot be confused by competing values from another tonal block. The result was a painting that held together strongly  because it made a clear value statement.

I had heard variations of this theory explained before but never with such clarity. I then focused my efforts for the rest of the workshop on translating this tonal zone concept into the color studies that we did.  Most of the 16 studies we painted were done in 40 minutes or less and since we were focusing on capturing a color statement, likeness and drawing accuracy took a back seat. It was frustrating to not have time to "draw", but overall a very valuable three days. More about Bill's color theory explanations in another post.

Bill Perkins Workshop Day 1

I am off to day two of Bill Perkins painting workshop. Me and 20 of my closest friends (the room is pretty tight) are enjoying working with Bill Perkins (former Disney artist among other things) painting in oils from life and learning more about color theory and application.

Yesterday we produced five different studies from different lighting and color situation. I will post more on that later. All the studies are between 30 and 45 minutes so we really have to work quickly. Needless to say, I am not getting them to a finish level that I enjoy (yet), so they really are more color impressions for me.

Bill started us with black and white and kicked off the session by doing this study in 30 minutes. More to come later including thoughts from the notes I took.

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.

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.

Stefan

Stefan - Conte on rough newsprint

life drawing by Greg Newbold

Last fall in the figure drawing class I taught, we frequently had a terrific model named Stefan. He claimed to not be an athlete but did admit to "working out some". He was so much fun to draw and was great to teach with since you could use him to identify practically every muscle in the body. I wish we had him this term, but I think he went home for the summer- too bad. This drawing was done in under an hour on rough newsprint. I was trying very hard to only put down marks and not do any erasures. It was a challenge, but I like the way the drawing turned out.

Life Drawing

"Mei" -18" x 24" - Conte crayon on smooth newsprint

Life Drawing by Greg Newbold

I am back teaching figure drawing as well as head painting this summer term at BYU in the illustration department. It's a lot of fun to be able to draw from life every day so I am looking forward to drawing alongside the students. Yesterday we had a terrific Asian model named Mei. She was rock solid holding the poses while simultaneously giving really good lines. She was a lot of fun to draw. We are concentrating on short drawings right now in this class with lots of gestures and poses under an hour. I really want the students to learn to capture the essence of the figure and pose in a short time frame. It's so disappointing when you see a drawing that someone obviously spent a lot of time on but is lifeless or the anatomy is all wrong. The philosophy in this class is to capture the life of the figure rather than laboriously rendering the figure. I spent about thirty five minutes on this drawing.

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.