Part 4: Project 2: Exercise 2: A Longer Study

I had to overcome my sense of empathy for my sitter who, as you may notice from his expression, wasnt entirely comfortable with sitting still for much longer than 10 minutes at a time. Therefore I got the main markers in place: the top of the head, the forearm and elbow on the right of the picture, the tip of the extended foot, the hand on the knee as soon as possible. Once these were firmly established my sitter was rewarded with a break.

I am very pleased with the outcome. I think if I were to work it any further I’d perhaps introduce more depth to the sofa and cushions in contrast with the paleness of the figure. I chose to use a 3b pencil on A3 cartridge paper as it is my favourite medium for life drawing. Perhaps next time I’ll choose something a bit more challenging and colourful. My main criticism of this image is that is a bit too dependent upon line work and there is less in the way of shading in evidence. I pick up on this because, as I’ve done life drawing classes in the past, this was the most frequent comment I received by way of feedback from peers.