I finished plate 4 of the Bargue Drawing Course!✨ This one took a while — had a big gap midway as other projects pulled me away, plus working on the family kitchen table means frequent teardown/setup. Feels good to finally wrap it up. A strong early morning win! #Bargue #Charcoal #Charcoaldrawing

I took my first ever drawing class yesterday. Thought-provoking instruction from Kan Muftic - my goodness what talent! These are the best of the day. I hope I can continue to develop the ideas from today. #lifedrawing #figuredrawing #charcoaldrawing

This was my first life session in a few weeks and I felt a little rusty. Here are my favorite 3. Not fabulous, but not awful either. I used some new-to-me shiny print paper which accelerated smudging in an interesting way. #Lifedraing #figuredrawing #charcoaldrawing

Bargue plate 3. More challenging curves on this one. Mostly pleased with my attempt. I've just bought new paper which I think will make plate 4 easier both to erase and draw fine lines. 🤞 #Bargue #Charcoal

I was pleased with some of my composition choices last night - this is the best of them. I think time spent on Bargue copies this week has allowed me to see the model a little differently. #LifeDrawing #FigureDrawimg #Bargue #LeytonstonLifeDrawing

Bargue plate 2. More curves and variation in line weight. I've used cheap print paper so far, but for detailed charcoal work I'm beginning to reach its limits. I can see a positive difference between my first and last mouth. So enjoying immersing my self in this. #Bargue #Charcoal

I've just begun the Charles Bargue Drawing Course. These classic 18th century copy lessons get progressively more challenging with each plate. Here is my first attempt at plate 1. Apparently Van Gogh did all 197 at least twice. I hope a little of his inspiration rubs off on me. #Bargue #Charcoal

Last night was so encouraging. I can see real improvement in my expression of light and shadow and the proportions came together fairly well too. It makes me so happy when I glimpse how it must feel to draw confidently and competently. #LeytonstoneLifeDrawing #FigureDrawing #LifeDrawing

Last night's class gave me 3 drawings I didn't hate. Mostly due to the small improvement in shading. Each one has elements that show promise despite none of them being very good as a whole. It's encouraging. Fab life modeling from ModBodAdrian #LifeDrawimg #FigureDrawing #LeytonstoneLifeDrawing

I tried new charcoal on Wednesday. Here is my best pencil sketch - which tells you all you need to know about that experiment. #LeytonstoneLifeDrawing #LifeDrawing #FigureDrawing

A new occasional Monday class with longer poses allowed me to grapple with shading and facial features with mixed results. The proportions and likeness are tolerable, but my shading is still a bit of a car crash. It's all good practice though. #LifeDrawimg #FigureDrawimg #LeytonstoneLifeDrawing

A fun exhibition at Electric Dreams yesterday. www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tat...

I thoroughly enjoyed trying to capture this pretzel like prone twist. I do wonder if sometimes the complicated poses force me to pay more attention, resulting in a better sketch? #LeytonstoneLifeDrawing #LifeDrawing #FigureDrawing

I experimented with the camera lucida for the first time last night on some of the shorter poses. Fun, but much practice needed. Excellent modeling from @steveritterlife #lifedrawimg #figuredrawing #cameralucida #cameralucidaart

Prepping for tonight's class I realize that I didn't post any sketches from last week. I definitely saw more relationships between angles during this class. I wonder and hope if this is how I will master proportions eventually? #lifedrawing #figuredrawing

Attempted to focus in on the torso last night. Not amazing, but it's all practice. I think my proportions are improving if not my shading. #lifedrawing #figuredrawing

I was fairly happy with my progress last night. Even my 3 minute warm up sketches are sassy and more confident. I tried larger compositions than normal and focused on tone for the longer 20 minute poses. Both feel like small steps forward. #lifedrawing #figuredrawing

Six hours of life drawing yesterday. Mixed results with some small progress in shading, particularly in the longest pose. Time spent drawing was completely in flow. Good for the soul. looking at my actual drawings afterwards though is inexpressibly frustrating. #LifeDrawing #FigureDrawing

"I used to sometimes try to catch her, But never even caught her name." Can we all just take a moment to appreciate how beautiful and whimsical these Cure lyrics are. Thank you. #Thecure

A frustrating evening followed a petty, frustrating day. This last sketch was my only tolerable work from the session. Yet somehow the grumpiness worked its way out of me in the process of drawing badly, so I guess I got exactly what I needed from it. And so it goes. #lifedrawimg #figuredrawing

This morning's family walk by the Long Water was breathtaking.

I managed good proportions for this 20 minute pose last night. The anatomical markers I've been learning about came in handy. Not my best night, but small steps in the right direction. #Lifedrawimg #Figuredrawing

Given the difficulty of the foreshortening, I'm not mad about how this came out. Fabulous poses from @azlifemodel #Lifedrawing #Figuredrawimg

This is how it's going in my corner of London. How about you?

During the week I learned a little anatomy. Clavicles, the long muscle that runs from the top of your rib cage to behind your ears (sternocleidomastoid - thanks for asking) and front shoulder arrangement. Only relevant to one pose last night, but hey, small steps. #lifedrawing #figuredrawing

Week 5 - a few glimpses of shapes and planes, rather than limbs and body parts. The moment I realized I was seeing that way, it vanished. But I'm encouraged by the brief perception shift. The model's beautiful prone pose was a huge challenge. All that foreshortening - Maddening!

I took my old easel with me last night and really enjoyed the increased freedom of movement it gave me, drawing more from the shoulder than the hand. These are my best. 2x3 mins 1x10 min #lifedrawimg

This was my best sketch of the evening. However, even some of my 3 minute gesture drawings came out looking fairly human, which is encouraging. For me, week three was less of a panic but with more swearing under my breath when the timer sounded at the end of every pose. This is progress.

At life drawing last night nothing really came together for me on paper, despite the brilliant model. But it is so absorbing, so engaging. I can only look forward to the joy of improving a little each week. Always longing to be the person I am not quite yet.

Tonight's best sketch. 10 minutes. Charcoal. Model: Dwayne/ DMAC @dmaclifedrawing

Tried out a great new life drawing class this evening. Buzzing with the joy of it. Here is my best sketch of the night. 20 mins. Charcoal. I can't wait to see the difference regular attendance makes. SO much to improve on.

This morning, despite a surprising* number of side quests and nested sub tasks, I finished this small kitchen project. I keep casually walking past and opening the draw to admire its well ordered calmness. *to absolutely no one but me.