More Gesture Drawings

Twisting
Gesture Drawing - 16 April 2011
Graphite Pencil on Paper (Constrast Digitally Enhanced)
29cm x 35.5cm (11.5" x 14")

I am a few days behind schedule with the exercises from the Natural Way to Draw because I’ve been working in Switzerland for the last few weeks and visiting friends at the weekend (David and Jane last weekend and Paul and Wendy this weekend).

My overall progress may have suffered slightly, but David, Jane and Paul kindly posed for some gesture drawings, which has been helpful.

Gesture drawings are 1 minute scribbles which attempt to capture the essence of a pose rather than a likeness of the subject. I am drawing 65 of these a week and Elaine is posing for 50 of them. It was interesting to draw some different people and Elaine was grateful to get some time off for good behaviour.

The four drawings on this post are all at least partially successful in capturing the essence of the pose.

In Twisting, David is lying on his back with his arms outstretched. He is twisting his bent legs to his right. The picture captures the twist. This is a complex pose because the body is contorted and the view is foreshortened. I’ve noticed that sometimes in gesture drawings when I don’t think about perspective, it takes care of itself.

Balancing
Gesture Drawing - 16 April 2011
Graphite Pencil on Paper (Constrast Digitally Enhanced)
28cm x 35.5cm (11" x 14")

In Balancing, David is stretching his quad while balancing on one leg. It looks like David is trying to balance. His body is leaning slightly forward and to the side. It does not look like a static pose.

Forward Defensive
Gesture Drawing - 23 April 2011
Graphite Pencil on Paper (Constrast Digitally Enhanced)
25.5cm x 30cm (10" x 12")

In Forward Defensive, Paul is demonstrating a cricket shot using a croquet mallet instead of a bat. It is a dynamic pose. (I think it was a forward defensive but it’s a long time since I’ve played cricket.)

Watering the Plants
Gesture Drawing - 23 April 2011
Graphite Pencil on Paper (Constrast Digitally Enhanced)
25.5cm x 35.5cm (10" x 14")

In Watering the Plants, Paul had assumed quite a rigid pose with his watering can. Wendy told him that it looked unnatural so he lowered his arm and relaxed his body. The image captures this - it shows his left shoulder hanging loosely. It also accurately represents his voluminous shorts.