[PaulDidier]

Hi Birgith,

If you go to the NMA “Images” page, ( https://www.nma.art/images/ ), at the top you’ll see this image;

 

Just click on the triangle. There are, I believe, 34 Sessions.  Also, I’ve downloaded many images from their image library, (Rajiv is particularly good), and then I use Faststone image viewer, (it’s a free program), to view them as a timed slideshow. Great way to start your day. Enjoy!

[PaulDidier]

These are cool. Working from imagination is so difficult for me. You seem to have a gift for it. Josseline suggested a book I was going to mention. “Framed Ink” by Marcos Mateu Mestre is really great.

[PaulDidier]

This is nice! Really solid sense of form. You don’t seem hesitant and have confidence in the your rendering that’s good to see. I also like doing monochromatic studies using white, black and blue paint. Looking forward to seeing how this comes out.

[PaulDidier]

Nice Birgith. You seem to know perspective. I’ve been encouraging several people on their perspective studies. You seem to have your ellipses down. That’s a challenge in a picture like this where you have so many of them. It’s cool watching your progress on this painting.

[PaulDidier]

This is very cool. You work in a completely different way than I ever have. It’s giving me new ideas on how to design a picture. That’s EXACTLY what I need. It’s wonderful getting new ideas and methods from you and the other artists doing this challenge! I’m really impressed that your doing these form imagination!

[PaulDidier]

Good job choosing to do this! You and Shazad are tackling something most people avoid. It will help your art tremendously. Have you decided on an eye level where the vanishing points converge? I’m seeing multiple eye levels from the sketch.

[PaulDidier]

I’m going to enjoy following your progress. I haven’t checked out the Russian drawing videos yet. This will be cool.

Awesome, doing the ellipses. They look good. I’m amazed at how few artists know perspective these days. It’s not just about doing buildings and such. It’s important in doing most art. Drawing the face and figure are much easier if a person knows perspective. Good job.

[PaulDidier]

Josseline, these are fine. Especially the 4th, 5th and 6th pages. The line you indicate for the spine is a good first line to draw just to get a feel for the gesture and movement of the figure. Keep doing these! I guarantee if you do 15 minutes of these each day before you start your regular drawings both will improve.

I know you won’t want to, (at least at first), but if you will do them in ink, particularly with a sharpie pen on a larger piece of newsprint or bond, and move your pen from the shoulder rather than the elbow or wrist, you’ll be amazed at how loose and fluid your drawings will become. I guarantee your gestures, AND tighter drawings, will improve.

I replied to you on my page that I’d post some of the larger warmup pages I do in sharpie for you, I’ll try to do that today.

[PaulDidier]

Thanks Josseline. I used to avoid doing these in ink, but forced myself to start doing it and gradually began to really love it. I also like doing a page of large, really loose, figure gestures with sharpie pens. I found that, since there’s no correcting due to it being ink, I gradually stopped being so cautious and hesitant. I may post a page or two of the sharpie sketches if you think it may be helpful. They’re definitely much looser than the ones I’ve been posting from my sketchbook.

[PaulDidier]

This is a really good challenge. I usually start my day doing gestures, often from the Daily Drawing video as you’re doing. These look good. You’re definitely capturing the gestures. It’ll be great watching you improve over the next 100 days!

[PaulDidier]

Here’s today’s, (Day 07), warmup sketches. Again, from the NMA Daily Drawing exercise.

 

 

[PaulDidier]

Here’s Day six.

Decided to look for some very basic instruction of gouache techniques to try to find some answers to some of my struggles. There seems to be very little on the basics of gouache which is where I’m rather clueless. By that I mean what should the consistency of the paint be? How do you blend gouache, both when it’s wet and when it’s dry? What kind and how large should the brushes be.

I finally remembered where I’d seen something like that in the past. So I checked out my old copy of the Famous Artist’s course. I remember doing some of the tutorials on gouache they had but it was years ago and I either didn’t get into it or was distracted by work or something, but I’m amazed at how good the tutorials are. So I’m going to do those tutorials from the beginning. This is an awesome art course.

Here’s my first effort.

 

[PaulDidier]

These are really nice. Your first post was really excellent from imagination. What books do you have that you intend to study from?

[PaulDidier]

Again, congratulations for finding so many different, (and interesting) , compositions from a single setup. That’s really extraordinary!

[PaulDidier]

Really nice start. I too am doing a sketchbook challenge. It’s nice that several of us are doing this so we can see how we all go about it. I especially like your second day page. Really nice shapes, patterns and texture.

[Author]

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