Concentrating on ten minute poses when you haven’t drawn for a while, can feel brutal, like threshing around in sub zero water. Or else you want to tune out, focus on where to go after it’s all over – maybe an espresso, maybe pho. I try to remind myself to think about the distance from arm pit to arm pit, nipple to nipple etc – obviously no time to give a second thought to ratio – the Japanese music so and so just put on is soothing – come on I say to myself, concentrate dammit!
recent charcoal drawings, 18"x24" manilla
Marcia, these are great especially the top drawing.
ReplyDeleteNice line quality and proportion. I just came from this exact
scenario except the music was provided by the model. Head bangin
is not my idea of soothing music. Your drawings have a wonderful quality.
Doug
Thank you Doug! It's wonderful what you're doing with the figure with the use of color in your work.
ReplyDeleteMarcia
I think 'brutal' is a good way to describe the experience Marcia. When I get to my life class and 10 minute poses have been decided upon my heart sinks but then I know it is brilliant practice. I see you use the side of the charcoal as well as the tip. Beautifully expressive drawings.
ReplyDeleteHI Sheila
ReplyDeleteI use the side of the charcoal because I feel I have to get something down quickly and then I can push it around and make adjustments. But then before doing that I often spend a minute or two walking around to get the over all feel of what the model is doing. And then if there's time I may repeat that process if I feel I don't understand something. I guess that is a pretty standard thing to do but I may take it to a neurotic extreme - joking, sort of.
Thank you so much for commenting - I have tremendous admiration for your work!
Marcia
Dear Marcia,
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't read your text, I'd just sit here astounded and certain that you feel at least as talented as Michelangelo. But I do read (an addiction) and I think whoa girl. Why is everyone else's idea of perfection, your bad moment? These are gorgeous. Please step into your own talented shoes.
Love Barbara
You really, really know charcoal! I love all of these drawings and am in awe of the sense of ease with which you rendered these.
ReplyDeleteLoved, too, how you let us inside your head with those distracting thoughts. ;-)
Oh Melinda! Thank you for tolerating my random distracting thoughts and putting a name to it! That's exactly what it is. If I had a shekel for each distracting thought I'd be rich but then perhaps if I didn't have those thoughts I wouldn't have anything to ramble on about as I do.
ReplyDeleteAs for charcoal, it's the most forgiving of material - it kind of let's you fake it, second guess yourself as it were, if you know what I mean.
Have a wonderful, wonderful show this week end - I'll be thinking about you!!!
xoMarcia
Hi Barbara, I assure you, I'm not as negative as I sound - just a touch now and then to put the positive into relief. Actually I don't always read the text, word for word - Sometime I skim. As for my shoes, well I just gave a pair to my beautiful, talented daughter. Her feet and mine are exactly the same size. They look great on her, I'd say even better than they do on me and they looked pretty good on me, too!
ReplyDeletelove, Marcia
Tremendous figure drawings!
ReplyDelete"Brutal" is a good word for that experience..."befuddling" too, like how is it possible to do what one is trying to do?
natural instinctive lines... ten minutes drawings? don't ever under-estimate what you do:)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jala! - you understand this particular circus act from first hand experience. 'Befuddling' is also a good word, I looked it up in the dictionary - it's a great word.
ReplyDeleteYou put the car in first gear, push the pedal to the floor, and then gear up to make all those crazy hair pin turns that all those wild, contorted, mannerist poses call for. And if you don't crash, and even if you do, you build up stamina along the way.
And then when it's all over, you head over to Tuscon, to Melinda Esparza'a open studio tour, where she'll likely serve her amazing, hallucinatory, green tea with prickly pear syrup and special chocolate chip cookies. Well that's a stretch I know, but it would be nice!
Thank you again so much your visit and for commenting!
Marcia
Thank you Rahina for what you say and how you say it!
ReplyDeleteYou are incredibly kind and encouraging and a boost to my easily inflated, deflated ego - if in fact there are such things as egos - I've been told there may not be - nevertheless thank you!
I never take for granted this kind of encouragement or thumbs up.
Thank you!
Marcia
Lovely drawings, Marcia! My favorite is the top one - there is such a sense of movement here!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment Connie and stopping by as you would say!!!
ReplyDeleteMarcia