Week 5: A break from ugly Romans

Week 5 and then a break.

Week 5 had us working on our ugly Roman (Plate 1,3). Sam brings us back to the essence of the Bargue, what we are drawing does not explore our creativity as an artist, it's aim is to teach us to observe and copy accurately. Developing this key underlying skill then lets our creativity produce what we wish to achieve. And so we spent a good part of the evening working on our Roman.  By the end the large block shapes where beginning to form a face.

Big blocks and little blocks

The approach, having established a plumb-line as reference, is to start with the largest dimensions in terms of height and width, so the top of the head, the chin, nose and outer most point at the back. Then mark the next most important reference and keep refining.
The big temptation is start with the eyes. The window the soul, eye contact is hugely important in human communication and so its tempting to start there. Well unless its a key reference it may be way down the order in this context.
The other temptation is to start putting in the curves, eh no, not in this case, that'll come. Many artists I've seen will start with quite blocky preparatory sketches, in order to mark the main dimensions and then refine the drawing or keep it as a reference for the main piece. Man, this is like Jedi training, patience young Padawan, agh, but I want to use The Force Master Yoda!

When negative is good

Each week there is usually a brief history of art lesson. This weeks artist of choice was Cezanne (yes, post-impressionists are a recurring theme!) Sam showed a series of paintings and sketches demonstrating balance in composition and the use of negative space. No, negative space is not a Stephen Hawking theory about black holes. Its about shapes created around the image. Here's an example by Cezanne. In this preparatory sketch for 'The Large Bathers' note the diamond shape formed by the bathers and the bow of the tree. This shape is not an accident, there's a clear, if invisible, line that runs from the tip of the branch to the third bather on the right. It gives the drawing a sense of balance, our eyes find that comfortable even if we're not consciously aware of the shapes presence. In the final painting note the triangle in negative space formed by the trees, the out stretched arms of the centre-most bathers and the triangular shapes of both groups.  In fact the whole painting is really a series of triangles.

Mid-term Homework

We had a break from class for a week, but there was no sitting on laurels we had homework! So on a sunny afternoon I set up my outdoor studio and got to work. 

This time I had my camera handy and produced a time lapse of the process, hopefully showing the progression from an outline of blocky images to a fully finished image.

Swatting up

Normal classes resume tomorrow evening but before the week was out I skipped ahead and did one of the sketches that can be found later in the Bargue. Actually this is part of a series of 'classic' poses, anyway it was good practice and didn't take long. The image may be a bit small but note the triangle that's formed between the mans legs and the floor. Its a good reference to check the accuracy of my copy.

Talking of copies

Now that I'm over my 'copying is bad' phobia I don't feel so bad showing the following painting.

My reproduction

Conan of the Fianna by Jim Fitzpatrick

Side by side

One of my favourite paintings is Jim Fitzpatrick's "Conan of the Fianna". Fitzpatrick's style is a blend of Alphonse Mucha's Art Nouveau and Celtic Art. Back in 1989 in my post-leaving cert summer I spent a lot of time drawing and painting - must have been some sort of post-traumatic-stress-syndrome therapy. The highlight of that summer, for me personally, was the reproduction I did of this painting. One of the reasons I'm doing this course was to get back to this level, and hopefully, beyond it. I recently liberated the painting from my parents house and took back home, where its hanging the wall behind me as I write this. It inspires me to keep going with the Ugly Roman.

Week 4: To the Barque at last

Learn by copying

I'd always thought that copying other peoples drawings was kind of cheating, after all it was their idea, their composition and so on. Copying it and then trying to sell it as an original is of course fraud, and wrong, but copying to practice and learn, that's ok.

"Keep good company - that is, go to the Louvre" - Paul Cezanne. 

Cezanne used to go to the Louvre to copy other works of art and even promoted the idea. So I didn't need to feel guilty about copying other artists work (are you reading this Jim Fitzpatrick - copied loads of your stuff in the past). In fact copying is the very heart of Barque Cours de Dessin.

Actually, Jim Fizpatrick's Che Guevara, is probaby one of the most iconic (and copied) pieces of art from the 20th century. But even this image is based on a photo; everyone copies someone it seems.

So this week we actually got to put a Bargue 'plate' on our easel and start copying. What's more we skipped to Plate 11. I felt like Neo in The Matrix when he skipped the 'intro' programs before being plugged back into the Matrix for the first time - too basic you don't need them, his operator stated! (What do you mean you haven't watched The Matrix!). Moving on; all the exercises from the previous weeks were being brought to bear as we began the process of making an exact copy using the observation and accuary techniques from the previous weeks. Sam wanted to give us something a little more interesting, but to be true to the course you should start at Plate 1, even if (like van Gough) you've done it several times before.

Plate 11 

So what's on Plate 11? I thought you'd never ask, its a profile of a rather ugly, but important, Roman person. Sam, did mention his name, but if you've read this far and haven't fallen asleep you probably don't care either. Our A2 sheet consisted of the top image (with the guidelines) located on the left side of the sheet. On the right of the sheet were 4 small pencil marks, 2 at the top and 2 at the bottom, Using these points we first to drew the guidelines with a ruler. Once guidelines were in place we had to then mark, by eye, the highest, lowest parts of the image. Everytime we marked a reference point we stepped back, assessed and verified. Then we moved to next most prominent point, like that mighty Roman nose, and so on until a rather blocky but accurate image started to emerge.

So where's my completed picture for this weeks blog? Well first this process took a long time and in truth there wasn't much to show at the end of the evening - and em - I forgot to take a photo.

"The Sterile Struggle"

Before

This all seems rather slow and uncreative! Van Gough called the Barque "The Sterile Struggle", he struggled with its dryness and yet did the entire course serveral times because he knew the value in its discipline.

So has it helped me? I think so. I was stuggling with getting the eye right on my Batman profile drawing from a few a weeks ago so I worked through one of the plates that focused on the eye, and applied what I learnt. I hope 'After' is better!

After

Week 3: Squinting at squares

Squinting and pointing

Did you ever see artists hold a brush or pencil at arms length while squinting with one eye and pointing said arm in the direction of a person or object. It has something to do with measuring stuff everyone knows that, right. Ever wonder how it works, ever think it was made up? No, oh oh ok. Anyway that's what we learnt about in week 3 and was the focus of the nights exercise.

Squaring up

Sam had prepared a piece of paper with a perfect 7cm x 7cm square on it. Our mission, that we choose to accept was to draw an identical square free hand. The two squares had to have exactly the same space between them as the width of the squares. And no we didn't have a ruler.

This is were the pointing and squinting comes in, we had to step back from the page and start measuring using our pencils to calculate the size and spacing. Our objective was to achieve "Absolute exactness of size" and "Accuracy and purity of line" Again we entered into our Zen states and began the process.

Giotto and the pope

Way is this purity and accuracy so important, well in the 14th century the artist Giotto was approached by an aid to then pope to 'pitch' for business. Other artists would send samples of their best work, Giotto instead took a piece of paper laid it on the ground and poured a circle of chalk on it. He then presented it to the aid. The aid took this as an insult but delivered the sample to the pope, explaining what happened and expecting Giotto to be ex-communicated. The pope looked at the circle and awarded Giotto the commission. Why, well the circle was a perfect circle, and pope recognised the skill. If you can draw a perfect circle free-hand, their is little you can't do with a pencil or brush, so accuracy and purity of line was the theme of the evening. And accuracy comes from understanding how to measure something with your eye.

 

Doodle of the week

We were set some homework, do more squares and dividing up lines by sight, did the squares but will need to cram the rest. Anyway all the this talk of the classics inspired me to try something different to superheros. I stumbled across this study by Herbert Drapper and decided to gave it a go. Apart from getting the composition right I took the time to focus on the line and accuracy and that squinty eye thing, it certainly helped but you can be the judge.

My version

Drappers

Week 2 : Learning lines and Batman

In week 2 we focused on lines and I was struck by parallels between acting and drawing, so I decided to do a comparison in this weeks blog. Our task for the evening was to do a drawing of Batman!

Actually, I'm joking it was more basic than that. I just wanted an excuse to include Batman.

Drawing is all an act

Anyway back to Week 2. In recent years I've become quite involved in acting, mainly with a local theatre group and the odd TV commercial. I love the creative buzz you get from acting, working on your character, collaborating with others and of course the unique combination of joy and terror of actually performing. Acting requires you to explore and push yourself. Even when playing a small role its up to you to bring some truth and authenticity to the part you play.  Coming back to drawing I thought the process would be a completely different, but actually its remarkably similar.

Lines tell the story

Drawings, paintings, theatre performances, and movies exist to tell a story, its their sole purpose. And for the most part the building blocks of the story are lines. As an actor I must learn my lines, reading them over and over, extracting their meaning, and working with the director and other actors to bring them to life. Drawing is no different, an artist must know his/her lines, be confident with them and deliver them to the page with meaning and purpose.

So in Week 2 we got to pick up a pencil and work with lines. It seems like a very simple, almost elementary task. Stand at the easel and draw a series of straight lines. But they need to be level and of the same weight from start to finish. The line should not make a heavy imprint on the page and leave no "ghosts" if the line is rubbed out. This required a surprising amount of concentration.

After the line exercise we wrote our names in script form (joined-up-writing). Then came the twist. Sam had us continue on from the last letter and draw a mirror of our signature - try it, it'll wreak your head the first couple of times you do it, unless your name is Bob or Ian. The idea is to look at something that's very familiar but from a new perspective.

 

Blocking and Stance

I had never used an easel before so standing and drawing at the same time seemed foreign to me (I am a man two things at once and all that!), so it took me some time to get my head around this 'style'. Your physical position, its seems, is as important in drawing as it is in acting.

Actors don't just wander around the stage for no reason. Each move is planned in process known as blocking, an actor most have some motive to move and not just move for the sake of the script. Even with improv there should be a reason to move, its just hasn't been rehearsed. In the same way drawing a line must have intent, a reason to be there (or not be there), otherwise it will look wrong and the viewer will spot it. Take Picasso's "Weeping Women with a Handkerchief" this may be not to everyones taste and its not a 'real-looking' face, but the grief of the women is obvious, something about the way the lines are drawn tells our brains how to interpret the story. Picassco planned each line, there is nothing random or accidental.

The second lesson of the evening was stance, how we approach the easel. A lot of actors have a crisis about what to do with their hands, its an FAQ in all 'Learning to Act' courses. An actor learns how to be aware of their body. The lines, the blocking, the study of the character you play and the director contribute to the how an actor moves (or doesn't move), your body and hands follow. In the same way how we stand and approach the easel will affect the drawing, in general we need to be relaxed and in a comfortable stance. Picasso, a fan of Bull fighting, used to approach his easel like a bullfighter with respect and ready to do combat. I think I'll develop a more laid back approach.

 

A different vibe

The key difference between acting and drawing (painting etc) is the vibe. Acting creates both an internal and external energy. The external energy is felt between the actors, theres a comradeship that develops through a shared experience. This is transmitted to the audience in a performance.  The internal energy develops as you work on the character you play.
With art the energy is internal, it was an almost Zen like experience, as each person in the class became deeply absorbed in process of carefully drawing lines and related excercises. At one point I was completely unaware of anyone else around me, the rest of life banished, there were only the lines to focus on for those few hours.

 

So back to Batman

So I decided to put some of that line drawing practice into, well, practice. I was in the mood for Batman, so I collected a few movie stills and added them to Pinterest, then I picked one I liked. As I worked on the picture I concentrated on the precision and weight of the lines. Hopefully thats reflected in the final drawing.

Roll on Week 3.

Week 1: Not drawing yet

Sam our tutor introduced us to the Barque Cours de Dessin with a brief history lesson, to put some context on what we were going to be working on over the next few weeks.

An example of a Braque plate

Derek Zoolander school for kids that can't draw good

In 1865 the French Inspector of Fine Arts commissioned a draftsman Charles Bargue and an artist Jean-Leon Gerome to create a course that would provide master drawings and models for artists to use as references for their work and to use as a learning tool. It was felt at the time that there was no complete or comprehensive collection of drawings accurately depicting the human anatomy and as a result the quality of artistic work was falling short. Basically there was a need for "The Derek Zoolander school for kids that can't draw good". But where would this pair find material to serve as a set of master drawings, a baseline and set of exercises that an artist could work through to improve their technique. Well that's were the Leonardo da Vinci, Michaelanglo and the Renaissance comes in. Much, although by no means all, the material comes from this period.

The Renaissance - oh no I'm back in school snoozing at the back of a history class

An example of pre Renaissance art - mmm!

Ok I'll be brief and focus on the art bit. The Renaissance began around the 14th century in Florance and other parts of Italy as Europe emerged from the middle ages. Why Italy, well it was the home to some the richest merchants on earth (like the Medici family) and a very wealthy Catholic church that had significant business interests and poltical power. One little enterprise, for example, was to get rich people to pay the church large somes of money so they could get early parole from Purgatory. Purgatory was like a full Ryanair flight to Spain or Portugal during the summer, if you were rich you could pay for Priority Boarding, its still a miserable experience but the misery ends sooner, then your on your holidays aka Heaven.

Merchants and the church sponsored most of artists of the time commissioning them to paint, sculpt and decorate the ever more elaborate homes and churches - think MTV Cribs. In addition ancient artifacts like the Belvedere Torso and the Laocoön were unearthed which depicted anatomically accurate statues created by mainly Greek and Roman artists over a thousands years earlier. These became the master models for artists like Michelangelo. It inspired them to create paintings and sculpture that had a sense of realism.

The Belvedere Torso (1st Century BC) - Rome - 2012 and Michelangelo's David

Over the centuries the Belvedere Torso has become a sort of right of passage for many artists famous and not so famous, from da Vinci and Rembrant, through to post-impressionists like van Gogh and the founder of Cubism Picasso. Its no surprise then that the Belvedere Torso is included the Barque drawing course, in fact it was the Belvedere Torso plate that van Gogh and Picasso used. Yes they both used the Barque Cours de Dissin - van Gogh was known to have done it three times.

An example of a plate from Barque's course

Drawing eye's - Barque plate

Kitsch and naff - now get to the point

OK back to Bargue. Today all this classical art is largely considered historically interesting but its basically tourist fodder and artistically naff; like having Romanesque columns on your house. Exhibitions with spray painted toilet bowels with dead cats hanging out of them now that's were all the cool people hang out. 

 

But this misses the point, the course is intended as a training manual with a series of increasingly difficult exercises that need to be completed. Each page, known as a plate, requires the artist to make an exact copy of the drawing or painting, including shading and so on. The idea was to copy not intrepret - something van Gogh really struggled with. By laying a good foundation the artist is then able to go away and express their own style and idea's like Picasso or toilet bowel artists - well may be not the last group. 

For me I just want to be able to draw super heros like DC Comic artist Jim Lee, only joking - well sort of. To do what they do artists like Lee really need to understand human automony just as much as fine artists like Shane Wolf . The point is to develop a good foundation and go from there.

Next week we should start drawing stuff. I'll post up my efforts. Hopefully there'll be less words and more drawings I hope.

 

My old pencil case and the Cours de what?

A long time ago...

After a long absence from drawing and painting, (1991 was the last time I wielded a paint brush or pencil with any intent) I decided to pick up my pencils and find some blank sheets of paper to ruin. After a bit of research and to help me get back up to speed I've started a 9 week course using the Cours de Dessin method, the Cours de what, ah got your interest now, read on. This blog will track my progress, successes, failures and observations over the next 9 weeks. The first 3 paintings and drawings were done in the late 80's and early 90's. The last few sketches are more recent. I want to do a compare and contrast as each week goes by and share it.

Cú Chulainn and Lugh from the Táin (Gouache)

Restarting

With all that elapsed time I was a little rusty - to say the least! But with the Internet (which was 2 years from existance in 1991) and YouTube there are now lots of online courses and tutorials, and then there's Pinterest to save reference material. But I was frustrated and struggling with getting the time and the discipline to sit down and work my way through the material. And, if I was to be honest, I've always had issues with my figure drawing, having had no formal training I just winged it. For the Leaving Cert Art I had simply applied the exam, sat it and got a good result. After that life got busy in college, girlfriend, marriage, mortgage, kids etc.

Cú Chulainn kills Ferdia (pen and ink)

What is the Cours de Dessin?

So, April 2016, I started looking around for art classes. I didn't want to do a general art or painting course and I knew I'd struggle and get frustrated attending any of the life drawing workshops around the city. So what to do? After a bit of research I came across The Drawing Studio in Merrion Square, Dublin 2. Its focus was on promoting drawing skills of the human body using the Cours de Dessin method. Drawing skills thats what I want, but what the heck is the Cours de Dessin, sounds French must be high-brow, like the art version of Opera or something! Oh yes, ask Google (sorry Bing). It turns out during the 1860's in France the Inspectorate of fine arts (yes this was a government department in France) was appalled at the low standard of basic drawing skills that were on display at a major exhibition. To rectify the problem the department appointment Charles Barque and Jean-Leone Gerome to create a course based on the works of great masters from the Renaissance and else where that could be used to teach artists how to draw the human form. Cours de Dessin simply means The Drawing Course.

A non-celtic mythology sketch

All signed up

Ok I'll bite, so I signed up for a nine week course and as I said at the beginning I'll use these posts to track my progress.

Some more recent doodles

More recent doodles - April 2016

Practicing 2 minute "gestures" April 2016

Noses, dam tricky, eyes are worse