Recently I took a drawing course at http://www.tosettiandson.co.uk/# in Tunbridge Wells High Street, which is owned by the talented Daisy Whytock. This was the second time I had attempted life drawing since leaving school. Actually I should amend that, the second time I have ever attempted life drawing. Holding hands with boys was against school rules so life drawing would certainly go against the grain.
However, I digress.Always frustrated at not being able to draw the human body I decided to remedy this with some trepidation , but it turned out to be such a treat. Through a wonderful Aladdin's cave of a shop, past papers, brushes, paints,beautiful handmade cards, eclectic vintage tins and pencil boxes, I forced my acquisitive self up the stairs to the studio. The first week I experimented with charcoal the second with pencil.
It all seemed very relaxed and non-judgemental. The 'Sight-Size' technique taught in great detail by Francisco Centofanti, is a method I wish I had been introduced to at school. So I was observing, screwing my eyes up, measuring with a plumb line , moving my easel and then making my mark. My shoulders were tense, I needed to relax as I was then taught how to hold my pencil properly. Years of doing the wrong action in one day rectified.
I am not going to post my drawings for two reasons. I am very critical of my work and also I don't think it is fair to the model. However, she was beautiful and it made my finished results more acceptable . If Dante Gabriel Rossetti had seen her with her titian hair he would have drawn her.
I was never given a knife to whittle wood with as a child and so using a knife to sharpen pencils was also a new skill which is proving very cathartic. If you look closely you will see the long leads carved today whilst I have been recovering from a nasty bout of summer flu.
Daisy is offering a new course lead by Francisco starting in September . But even if you are unable to commit to that then do visit this lovely emporium. It is a delightful way to unlock the artist in you.
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