challenge

This is from a figure drawing class I've been taking at Flicker Street Studio.  Drawing a model is like uncovering a treasure trove of the basics - line, form, color, texture, volume, mass, etc.  When I give myself the gift of observing the nuances of the human form, and actually let go enough for my hand to make marks that reflect what my eyes see, what comes out is a culmination of every mark I've ever made.  I know that for a lot of artists once they  get out of school and find their niche they turn their back on drawing form life.  But for me, drawing form life helps keep my abstractions loose.

Admittedly, it's not easy.   I've got a lot of work to do on drawing the face and hands, which is why of all the drawings I did in the class, this is the one I actually like.  2011 will be the year of "plumbing the head". (Check out the excellent series on drawing from the NY Times.)

Working on doing this better never ends.  Ever.  Which is why when I'm 80 I'll probably be hobbling into some art studio with a person in a robe milling about while a group of people are gathered and setting up to get lost in the challenge.