I am thinking of a cold glass of mint sweet tea, ice clinking, lounging here on the sofa, feet swung over the back, one hand cradling my head, the other kissing the hardwood floor. The glass is foggy, sweating with cool, clear drops, contrasting with the stickiness of my own. Heat wave. Ninety-four degrees outside and the single overworked, underefficient window unit is struggling just to keep the air inside bearable.
Drawing/painting the figure – pose 3 June 11, 2008
The drawing/painting class is finally painting! We spent two drawing days on the third pose blocking in the figure and the division between the shadow and light shapes. Yesterday, we transferred that block-in to a canvas. I have never done a transfer before.
1. Trace the drawing on acetate with a sharpie marker. (this preserves the original drawing.)
2. Layer the acetate, transfer paper (we used Saral brand – white is best on the medium gray toned canvas), and canvas.
3. Draw on top of all three layers with a ball point pen or other sharp implement so the lines of the drawing transfer clearly.
After we transferred our drawings, we began a black and white oil paint block-in, mixing three to four grays of dark to lighter values to start giving the figure a sense of form. The black was made by mixing 1 part burnt sienna with 2 parts lamp black; this was mixed with Titanium white to make the grays. We keep paint coverage thin on this initial block-in.
After the initial block-in, we gradually build up the lighter areas and deepen the shadows. Here’s my painting after the last day of class.
