Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French Portrait Artist, August 1st 1725 - 4th March 1805

What I am going to start doing moving forwards, is write short entries about artists, both old masters and contemporary artists whose works have triggered an emotional response within me, have influenced my work and approach, and have spurred me forwards in continuing to pursue my aspirations. This, in part, is to begin working towards developing a visual style, as well as to start identifying where I see myself within the creative industry and what role would truly be suited to me.

I would like to begin with Jean-Baptiste Grueze, I enjoy his paintings, but, I adore his portrait drawings. Two of my favorite pieces of his work are, Head of a Girl Looking Up and Head of a Young Woman. The aspects of these works that appeal the most to me are, the soft and light values in contrast with his wonderful hatching that flow across the form of the models. The hatching adds so much to the drawings and rather than distract you from the piece, they are vary subtle and really do make the portraits interesting to look at and study.

I would like to try and implement this hatching style within my artwork; when I have finished modelling the form, I will subtly add hatchings across the surface of my portaits and figures to complete my drawings and try to add texture and variety to my work.

3-Minute Gesture Drawings: Day 55

Gesture Drawing 3 minutes for 30-minutes Day 55 28_10_2020 -.jpg3848x2164 1.27 MB

Portrait Study: 28/10/2020

This is my latest portrait study, consistent observational practice I am working alongside the Art School; focusing on angles and measurement, value matching and tonal shifts. There are aspects I am happy with and aspects I certainly need to be conscious of on my next study; though, I am looking forward to when we are able to attend live portrait sessions again.

Firstly, though the likeness and values are an improvement over my last study they are still off by a country mile; particularly on the (models' left) left side of the models' face and neck, as well as the models hair. I should have gone much darker, but these will be things to consider moving forwards. The likeness is closer, but still off, considerably; I need to spend more time in the planning and measuring phase of the study next time.

The tonal shifts, plane changes and gradations are an improvement over my last study.

I am happy with the progress of my 3-minute gesture drawings, marc's approach with marking the top and bottom of the line of action has helped quite a bit.

Critique is always welcome, and very much appreciated.

Notes

Critique received for this study:

"Beginner here, so take it with a grain of salt: eyes and nose look very good. The lips look shifted to the model’s left a bit, especially the lower lip. I know the neck isn’t a focus, but it looks a bit flat, may have needed more differentiation between the front and the side"

" It sounds like you already know what you need to do next! I love the soft shading on this, the softness of her hair, and the soft shading of the background. There is a definite tone and mood in the drawing, that of a silent contemplation. The one thing sticking out to me is her eyes -- her right eye is a lot darker than her left and it's attracting far more attention. I think darkening a few key areas could help add balance."

"For the portrait, I think you have to make her face thinner, and pay special attention to the contour of the face. Not sure if it's digital but if it is, flip the canvas and reference together and even try overlapping them to check."

Long Portrait 28.10.2020 with Ref.jpg3979x2106 2.66 MB

Ah yeah, I see it now, on the nose there are two sharp angles, where as I have rounded it. I am going to spend more time in the planning stage, and work on being less heavy handed. I tend to rotate between black and white images and colour, as to develop value matching and observational skills; if I was drawing from a live model, I would have to be able to identify these values as I wouldn't have access to a black and white image in that situation.

With that in mind, on my next study I will have a black and white and colour version of the next reference to help me. I would also like to create my own lightsource, so I will draft some thumbnails, and potentially alter the composition and background slightly to begin thinking creatively.

Thanks again for the critique Ascent; it's always much appreciated.

Term 1.2: Nude Figure Assignment 1: Drawovers 08/11/2020

These are my drawovers for term 1.2: Assignment 1. Again, I took my time to properly get to grips with observing the perspective of the cylinders, drawing the cylinders in perspective and properly placing the line of action.

My choice of references were solid, as some of the foreshortening was very subtle which really got me thinking about how I should approach the cylinders.

Drawing ellipses is a struggling point for me; some of the cylinders are solid, with decent cross-contour lines, others are quite shoddy. There is definitely inconsistency in the quality of my shapes that I need to work on.

Journal Entry: 08/11/2020

As of today, I want to start writing the occasional Art School Journey journal entry, just as a way of documenting what I'm up to, what I am thinking and what directions I am taking.

Pursuing art has been as much about strengthening myself mentally and physically, as it has been about developing my skills as an artist. I have been joining in group voice chats in an art Discord server, primarily to meet new people and other artists, but, I also want to build my confidence working with and learning with others. So far, it's going well, I am just taking it slow.

I have been consistent with having my work critiqued; I am also planning on taking on their monthly art challenge, this months challenge being, drawing a self-portrait using a mirror, not photo references.

I feel that my 5-minute figures are improving, and I am starting to think more carefully about my lines and structure.

I have been using various mediums, including digital, fountain pen, charcoal, col-erase, polychromos and water-soluble pencil and wash.

My next steps are to move on to practicing cylinders, continue working on my next long portrait, work on my contest entry, finish my digital portait, continue working through supplementary courses and to continue engaging with various groups.

5-Minute Portrait Studies:

Though, looking at the quality of my work, my pride may be misplaced, I am proud of these studies. Drawing quickly and accurately is a big struggling point for me; it has taken me a few weeks of practicing this exercise to begin to get comfortable with the process, but it is beginning to sink in.

There is a considerable amount to improve upon, but they are a step in the right direction. I will be practicing this exercise regularly.

Term 1.2: Nude Figure Assignment 2: Cylinders 19/11/2020

Traditional Practice 22/11/2020
Easel and Lighting Setup:

Traditional Sharpening:

Traditional Measuring Using the Envelope Technique (Draw the Same Subject in Different Sizes):

Traditional Measuring.jpg3024x3832 657 KB

Term 1.2: Nude Figure Assignment 4—Construct 5 figures from Photo or Imagination (I chose to draw them from imagination) 29/11/2020

Figures from imagination; I drew three poses using construction and two poses using the basic procedure. I prefer using the basic procedure as it feels more natural but I will be continuing to practice construction.

I am not familiar with how these weapons were wielded and used in a real combat situation, so that is something I will be researching; I pulled what I could remember from books and films from memory to draw these poses.

I tried to combine both simple and characteristic shapes; characteristic shapes are still quite difficult as I have just begun to explore anatomy.