The black and white of it

Back at it!  Pictured here are two of the regulars who often show up at the same life drawing session I prefer:-- Thursdays, 10 am to 1 pm.  When these sessions are at their best, the model is inventive and steady, the room is silent, and we're all so focussed we're almost breathing in unison.  I love these kind of days -- so do my compatriots and it shows in our happy anticipation beforehand and good moods afterwards, whether or not it's been a "good day" or a "bad day". 

I've referred before to my bible -- Kimon Nicolaides' "The Natural Way to Draw."   A close runner-up is "The Art Spirit" by Robert Henri.  Nicolaides and Henri were hugely influential early 20^th-century teachers at New York City's Art Students League; Henri, the elder by a generation, an accomplished artist.  Their books are still read and revered now, almost 100 years later.  Some timeless excerpts: 

   

"There is no such thing as starting where Cezanne left off. You have to start where he started... at the beginning." -  Kimon Nicolaides

  

"All real works of art look as though they were done in joy."  - Robert Henri

Maybe in some other lifetime, I'll be able to hit the Art Students League when one or the other is there teaching.  For now, I'll dip into my recent drawing sessions...just for the joy of it:

I've found it worthwhile to focus on just a part of the model if I'm not quite in synch with the pose.  Can you interpret this one? --

Just coincidentally, I hadn't worked with a male model in months so I was glad to see this guy show up -- someone with meat on his bones!

You might have noticed that I'm working on hands.

Now, in the coming two weeks, I'll be able to again attend the noontime drawing sessions that are offered free at the performance site of Vancouver's International Dance Festival.  It seemed like a good omen when one of last year's wonderful models returned for the first session I attended this year.

 When I got home, I took a couple inches off her head!  But this one, one of the last, was just about right:

I don't know if she's a dancer (often they are),  but she certainly models with joy.  These free sessions are only an hour long.  As our time came to a close and I began to dismantle my drawing board she said, "Okay -- there's one more minute.  How about this?" -- and  went instantly into a kind of yoga pose, balanced on one leg, arms outstretched.  I slapped my paper back in place, grabbed my charcoal, and captured this impression by the time the minute was up.   Forget the oversized head -- it was an exhilarating conclusion!