Life Drawing

I found a group that meets in my area for life drawing sessions every two weeks a couple of months ago, and I finally made it to my first session. I haven't done life drawing in so long (a couple of years) that I was both frustrated by my initial rustiness and invigorated by the challenge.

I got a lot of practice in foreshortening today, as I chose to set up at a strong angle to the model stand. The challenge of the whole experience put me in a good mood. We did several quick poses of around two minutes and then one long pose.

Long Pose

A New Year Provides Fresh Inspiration

Mother and Daughter Seated, Francisco Vaniga

Mother and Daughter Seated (Detail), San Diego Art Museum  

Statue Portraits

I Surprised Myself

Lingering Contemplation

I used to hate drawing statues. That went along with my oblique feeling towards setting down lines to represent architecture. I want a subject with some life, so maybe he/she/it tilts their head to the right a bit oddly or has the most awkward stance, that is exactly what kept me absorbed.
Gut vs. Mind
I'm still not sure that I love to draw, paint, or otherwise represent statues or anything inanimate, but I am more and more drawn to them. Creating 2D art from a statue is more to me now than just drawing something static. There is something to be said for doing portraits of statues.
Plans
I'm sure more thoughts, and deeper insights about statues will be coming. Right now I don't trust my written thoughts on that subject to really get full ideas across. Of course, part of the point of visual art is to convey what can't entirely be said with the written word. :)