Gesture drawing

     Gesture drawing is a good way to capture and show life in a figure drawing. If you don't know what gesture drawing is, it could be described as quick controlled scribble like drawing which is targeted on action. The subject of the drawing is the action of the pose, what the model is doing, rather than the model. This type drawing is focused movement and proportion.
     Gesture drawing is also a great way to warm up. My Drawing from Life class begins with a few minutes of very short poses, which artists work from in order to wake up the creative and artistic machinery.
    The artist is working to become a more active observer, to see what is there and break through preconceived ideas about the human body. The artist is also working to strengthen the connection between the eyes and the drawing hand, so that the eyes drive the hand.  Also this exercise helps bring the artist in the present moment. The quick nature of the process also helps to develop intuitive and graceful movements where the artist is working subconsciously with out conscious thought.
     Gesture is also a the drawing itself. A gesture drawing is useful for setting the tone for the rest of the drawing or process. Through the use of a light and loose gesture drawing an artist can assess composition, placement of the drawing on the page and proportions of the figure. I like to do a quick drawing which lasts about 5 to 30 seconds and check to see if the I was able to capture the life and vitality of the pose. Is the gesture weighted and balanced correctly? Do I have the main shapes of the figure lined up to depict the action? If these look close, then I proceed with the drawing in progressive stages. An accurate or precise gesture drawing can save a lot of energy devoted to fixing proportional and compositional problems.
      Gesture drawing is a valuable process for practice and skill building, while a gesture drawing is a helpful tool which can make the process of figure drawing a little less difficult. Through my experience as a figure artist and figure drawing instructor, I've come to understand that gesture drawing is a skill which is most effective when done well. There many levels to understanding the gesture and the more you know, the more natural your drawings will look. Look for more on the gesture in future blogs. Until then happy drawing. https://www.facebook.com/TheAlvarezSchool/

Suck to succeed.

I have been reluctant to publish more of my blog posts, because they need a lot of work. You see I'm not really a writer and good writing doesn't come as easy I'd like. The drafts that I have in the works are okay,  but I'm not ready to post them. However, this is not intended to be an excuse. I am telling you this to let you know that I am experiencing the "suck to succeed" process as it relates to writing.  It relates to any learning process, really.

The "suck to succeed" or "fail better"process as I like to call it, could be described like this. When you start to pick up a new skill, you can count on being bad at it for a time. That time could last a long time or less, depending on several factors. They could include personality, environment and background which I won't discuss in this blog. They definitely include determination, discipline, open mindedness and practice which I will talk about especially practice.

I think that everyone is born with a certain amount of bad work in them and the only way to get that bad work out is to execute it, execute as in perform it, write it, draw it, dance it etc. Also a guide or teacher will help shorten the process. As the bad work is produced it is gone at least that particular piece is. As the bad drawings are drawn, the bad songs are sung and bad blog posts are written, they are exorcised. The bad work begins to improve with a set backs interspersed, which is typical. Eventually the bad work becomes better than previous good work.

The bad work is never completely banished. It is diminished and the scale of the bad work is raised and continues to improve as long you continue to practice, work and study. Study is important to shape the skill more efficiently. When the process of practice is interrupted the bad work that is still within you will replicate until the habit of practice is reestablished. Then depending on the length of the break in routine the "suck to succeed" process will revert to an earlier stage.

Everytime I step in front of the easel I keep this idea in mind. Whether I am painting a commissioned piece, producing work for a show, giving a demonstration or making art for fun, I tell my self that it is all practice, practice in order to keep the skills sharp and not lose any ground, so I don't have to suck as badly as I have in the past. I think I'll take this approach to writing and see where it gets me.   https://www.facebook.com/TheAlvarezSchool/

Telephone

    Acurate observing is a main focus of the Drawing From Life Course at the Alvarez Art School.  The process of drawing begins with seeing and ends with marks made by the hands. One of the biggest struggles is to learn to believe what we see and not see what we believe. Our fixed beliefs  influence information acquired by the eyes. The information is changed to conform to what we think we "know".
     A good analogy for this phenomenon is the game of telephone. The game starts when the first player whispers a message to the next player and the process continues to the end of the line.  Along the way, the message is misinterpeted so by the end of game it has been corrupted to the point that it means something different.
     The process of seeing and translating what was seen to paper is much like the game of telephone. The eyes gather the information which is relayed through the optic nerve and neural pathways to the visual cortex where it is processed. The infomation is reinterpreted to conform to our inacurate expectations. The drawing will be a misinterpretation of the initial message.
     In other words what we see and what is there are not the same thing. However; the good news is that this can be unlearned. The brain or the mind can be taught to "listen" better so the message recorded by the hand on the page will be more accurate. You can learn to become a better and more active observer.  With practice you'll see in new ways. You'll also draw more accurately, because you'll see more accurately.   www.alvarezschool.com

Process over Product

I teach drawing and painting at the Alvarez Art School. My favorite classes to teach are the figure drawing classes.  I like to call the classes, Drawing from Life class, because in addition to learning to draw and see, the students and I explore and contemplate the philosophies of being an artist and art making. These discussions often end up translating to the process of living. And the process is where we start in our classes.

The process is the focus of the class. The act of making art, the act of learning and practicing takes priority. It is the art. The painting or the drawing is a record of the practice. Although it would be considered to be art by everyone else, we understand that it is the "result of art" as the character Chris Stevens, from the show Northern Exposure, once said. Also we've found that good process results in good product, most of the time.

The product should give evidence of the artist at work. We should see a struggle that has either been won or lost. When I look at art, I imagine being in the studio with the artist and it's fun to be transported to the time of its making. I try to envision the construction of the piece from blank canvas to work I'm viewing. I get tingles looking at the work in four dimension, the fourth being time. It is my hope that my work could evoke similar experiences in at least one of the viewers of my art, my process. www.alvarezschool.com