1/24/07

Day 2. The model was Ruth, who took some--from my view--very challenging, active poses. Ruth should model for anatomy classes: you can see every muscle and bone; there is not an ounce of fat on her anywhere. The 2-minute poses were largely brain twisters.
The 20-minute pose I should have spent more time drawing ... Ruth does have a largish head--or maybe it's just all that hair--but I think I made her look a little too "caveman" here; the stick she's holding doesn't help!
I'm not a big fan of props as a rule ... they look too contrived.
I'm generally not concerned at all about getting a likeness of the model; I just want a fair facsimile of a human, first, and some interesting painting or paint handling, a close second.
After being not too pleased with the short poses (which usually produce my favorite work), I wound up being pleased with the final, long pose (which I usually dislike doing). The head is not overlarge or coarse-looking (Bonnie pointed out to me that I had her chin too prominent; a very small correction made all the difference!), and, except that it's overpainted (which you can see better in person than here), it's not bad! I especially like the light on the left shoulder, the right shin, and the flat of her stomach. The darks could be darker, but I don't want to fuss with it any further.
As Chris would say, It's good enough.


Missed class 2/1 due to bronchitis; back on schedule 2/8 I hope.