November in the South Studio

This past month we followed Patrick Byrnes as he created a figure drawing in the south studio.  Although the month ended early for the Thanksgiving break, Patrick was still able to produce this beautiful piece.  After the pose was completed Patrick shared some of his thoughts on the progression of his drawing throughout the month.

Week One

"Consistent with previous drawings, the first few days in November were marked by a nearly constant state of frenzy as I tried to establish Maria's basic proportions and the gesture of her pose.  The advice from instructor Scott Waddell to imagine my drawing shifting or rotating on the page was especially helpful in troubleshooting poorly constructed areas.  My goal is typically to have a fairly refined block-in after the fourth day, then proceed to the much slower process of modeling form."

Week Two

"With 'A.B.T.' (Always!  Be!  Turning!...nod to Glengarry Glen Ross) as an occasional mantra, I moved carefully across the figure.  Frequently I would revert to a more optical approach and find myself trying to copy light/dark contrasts.  The reminder to think of volumes rather than values helped me return to a more conceptual frame of mind, as did the advice from Josh LaRock to continue finessing those first few degrees out of a form shadow, i.e. the area in which the most gradation occurs."

Final Drawing

"I continued to move across and down the figure, stopping at one point with the aid of Ten Minoff to address a drawing issue in the right arm.  Another illuminating (Literally!  Zing!) critique from Jacob Collins helped me find more light in the model's face by considering the relative transparency of flesh around the nostril.  It has become increasingly clear that these kinds of investigations in to the physical properties of light and surfaces completely underpin a deeper understanding of form."

"Although I wish I could have rendered more of the drawing, I feel that most of the volumes are generally round and that I have captured something of Maria's insouciant grace.  I learned a great deal on this drawing and I'm looking forward to improving on the next one!"