Life Drawing I (Wrap Up)

    Here we are, the last remaining days of Life Drawing I. The opening week gesture drawings brought with it a whole new perspective on how to draw.

    Let us recap.

    Don't let anyone tell you that drawing is just drawing. It's a word that is loaded with so many interpretations and styles that cannot and should not by classified under this singular label. Life drawing is an act of process and fluidity which is most often left "unfinished". The observations made can be thought of as a careful sketch crafted by a confident hand. During the first few weeks of class I began breaking down the walls I had built around the idea of a correctness in technique. This process was exciting and adventuress but soon the work load of the semester crept in and shackled my ability to dig further into the study of form.  

    After a month or so of constantly rethinking how to observe and make marks, I froze up. My patience grew thin for looking and my drawings started to lose the vitality from being in auto-pilot. Other courses of the time brought with them a very different discipline, an almost liner versus ambiguous warfare broke out in my head. Every class period became more frustrating then the last. I closed up. No longer was I meeting the lessons with an open mind or a willingness to shake these lingering feelings of negativity. Combine the above with extracurricular pressures and irregular attendance and I lost all momentum.

    It wasn't until around the day of our field trip that the clouds began to break. Ever since the start of class I had been intrigued to try my hand at drawing animal forms. Unlike humans, animals can represent a universal spirit that I believe to be easier to capture. Along with the yearning to see the natural history museum, I longed for the mental stimulus that the Walker Art Center contained. I left MPLS inspired and ready to apply fresh perspectives inside the classroom and on to my shell drawing homework. Then there was the manikin.

    There's not much to mention on the manikin work except that it required more attention then I could give this semester. I do appreciate the knowledge gained from an inside out study of the muscular systems, but I felt it to be fairly far down on the list of my priorities in reference to the busy workload. Another interesting issue with the manikin construction was the difference between the book's representation of muscles through clay and the actual 3D depiction on VisibleBody.com None the less, it will give me a better understanding of the moving skeletal system for future projects.

    With only a few weeks left in class I found my missing piece, exaggeration. Not in a dishonest sense, but to pull out forms that were once hiding. After adopting this word my work  became what it should have been all along. My forms began to show that "unfinished" vitality that lacked when I was battling what a life drawing should look like. Granted the end time was approaching and I feel my work would have strongly improved if I had only a few more sessions. Though I cannot turn back time, I can continue this progress in my own design realms.

    Check out this semester's work below
       
Daniel's Flickr

Life Drawing Check-Up

November 2nd - Mid Semester Progress

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     If someone were to ask me again what I was looking forward to in class, I would most likely reply with a hint of disdain. Not because of trivial reasons, but that drawing with vitality has been one of the largest challenges I have been faced with thus far. As the semester has progressed, my output has looked something similar to a first quarter stock. Out of the gates was a rush of new information and ways of seeing the human figure, but as work loads have increased, my ability to concentrate on such a great challenge has diminished significantly. No longer do my eyes look deeper, for fear of getting tangled in a singular subject. When I leave, my frustration carries into a different practice. One of technical line making and rigid rules. This back and forth factions my mind into a cluster of selective processors instead of the cohesive network of genius. Walking into the drawing studio has become far more stressful then one would like. But then I reflect on the notion that maybe I help manifest this internal warfare. If I appear withdrawn, this is way. My mind is constantly laying waste to itself in the pursuit of perfection. What the fuck is perfection anyway?

   The examples I choose to capture for progress are part of this initial spurt of exploration. Hopefully, with a bit of spiritual clairvoyance, I can soon return to the state beyond just seeing.

Click to see life drawing work.

Daniel Thiede

Shells

The most recent assignment was initially a difficult task. I found harboring enough focus to observe the complete contour was daunting at times. The form required a state of meditation that came and went with the studio distractions. After spending in-class time reworking the line variation and tone, the shell carried more vitality. This preliminary drawing gave me great insight into the technique I will use for the next.

Drawing From Life

     Over the weekend I have had time to reflect on my experience in drawing from live models. As tricky as most of the techniques may have been, I felt a strong sense of improvement over the three hour period. Immediately, I was uneasy about starting right from contour into life gestures for many reasons. Unprepared as I was, I did notice the mark making became easier and more precise with each session. Along with a slight improvement, I noticed a wave of calm begin to percolate towards the last half hour. This is a meditative state I hope to achieve upon entering class and hopefully through out my entire day. I believe that a study of anatomy will defiantly help engrain a better understanding of the human form, which will carry on into my work.

Daniel Thiede 

Aimlessly we're going to where it's not showing

Out on a walk 

Just out on a walk

Give us this moment a brief and fleeting moment

Leave us this impression to relieve all intention

Out on a walk

Just out on a walk

 

First Post

More to come...