I haven’t posted a figure sketch in a very long time, so tonight’s the night. I was working on a painting (agonizing, is more like it) and it’s just not going to be done tonight. So the heck with it! Here’s a figure drawing instead.
I love to draw from life (as well as paint from life) but other obligations have kept me from attending as many figure sessions as I’d like. Hopefully that is about to change soon.
Drawing from life, especially drawing figures (because they’re considered some of the most challenging) is very important to any artist seeking to do representational work. It’s a good idea to always keep your “toe in,” and never completely abandon figure drawing practice. It doesn’t matter if you took the required amount of figure drawing in college, this is something you never outgrow, you never become “too good” for it.
This sketch was done with a simple technical pencil (one of those “clicky” pencils). I love to crosshatch my pencil drawings; it seems so efficient and tidy to me.
On a side note, I was traveling down memory lane tonight, and looked up my first figure drawing teacher, from Glendale Community College, Mr. Brown (aka Robert Brown). He was such a wonderful artist and a great teacher. I just discovered that he passed away several years ago, at the age of 92. I’m going to have to devote a special post to Mr. Brown, because he’s been such a positive influence on my drawing. Thank you, Mr. Brown! [Update: I did an homage to Mr. Brown and several other teachers in this post.]
