Mike Seated Painting

From a session in North London, this seated piece featuring model, Mike, encompasses everything I like about figure drawing. The pose itself is interesting as it combines twisting & leaning, creating dynamic lines of action that flow through the spine to the top of the head and across the arms. We feel the weight bearing of his left arm through the straight line of the forearm, making the form feel solid, strong and believable. Volume is suggested through the use of tone, shadows, negative space and Chiaroscuro - the folds around the midrift on his left side are felt becasue of how these aspects are applied to the painting. Working more in a specific area & leaving other areas looser, leads the viewers attention to the point of interest & in the case of this piece, the legs are left with minimal detail to draw the attention to the weight and volume of the upper body. The piece is done with black gouache on brown, textured craft paper (the reverse side of which is smooth). I used the freshly applied gouache for the intial mark making and strong shadows (darker areas of black) and then would add the softer shadows with a dry brush effect once most of the paint had come away from the brush (lighter areas). I would then repeat, intertwining and working line and shadow work simultaneously in a way that makes them feel unified and not two individual processes that can usually render a life drawing 'stiff'. All of my figure drawings are from life - no photos were used at any point in their fabrication. The model is in front of you and you have a definite amount of time to get down as much information as you can or see fit. Because of this, each drawing is truly unique and a complete one of a kind, containing a spontaneity that can never be duplicated through photo inspired drawings/paintings. For more peices like this, please look through my other works.

Painting:Gouache on Paper

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:14 W x 19.5 H x 0.1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.