Working with a Live (Nude) Model

Fig. 1: Carly, detail 30 min into session.

We're very fortunate in Hampton Roads to have a quality drawing group that meets weekly to draw or paint the human figure. I attended the long pose earlier this week: our model holds the same pose for about 3 hours, taking breaks every 30-45 minutes. It's a difficult thing to do and I honestly don't know if it's harder on the muscles of the model or the artists going for 3 hours straight! However, it's always an invigorating experience to be surrounded by so much talent. We have a wide range of professional artists, hobbyists, and college students, and media ranging from graphite to oils to clay.

I've recently fallen in love with foreshortening. I'd never really played around with these more unique angles but I find it to be challenging and fun. The model was seated in a chair on a low platform and I was sitting on the floor looking up, so I happened to have this lovely angle where her face is tilted up a bit, in a noble and
classical sort of pose. She has these amazing cheekbones that were almost impossible to capture because I was seated so that her brow bone and cheekbone were separated by the tip of her nose (fig. 1).

Fig. 2: Carly, 2 hours into session.

Figure 2: I'm using sanguine conte lead for the bulk of the drawing, but as I progressed I got a little frustrated that I could only go so dark. I used white conte to highlight the hairs hit by the overhead lamp, and dark sepia conte worked quickly in the background to bring her forward from the blue of the pastel paper. I love the texture the paper lends to the overall look of my drawing, and I'm happy with how the dark sepia sets off the sanguine.

Figure 3: I'm nearly done at this point. Since I opted not to do a full figure drawing, there isn't a great deal of detail necessary for her chest. I did have fun with her necklace - half of it was hit with the overhead lamp so it was quite bright, but had nice shadows that followed the contour of her collarbone. The other side was completely shaded by her head so the chains barely showed. Also note the shading and reflected light not only on her neck and chin, but also beneath her breasts.

Fig. 3: Carly, 2.5 hours into session.

Figure 4: In the finished drawing, I spent the last 30 minutes fleshing out details, making sure my highlights and shadows are as deep as I want.

You might notice her torso (ribcage area) looks a little wide. That's due to the foreshortened angle of my view.

Materials:

• Cretacolor 5.6mm lead in sanguine
• Cretacolor 5.6mm lead in white
• Cretacolor 5.6mm lead in sepia
• Wooden lead holder
• Kneaded eraser
• Canson Mi-Tientes blue paper for pastel, 12x16"

Fig. 4: Carly, 3 hours finished.

Fig. 5: Carly, detail.