From the Sketchbook: Gesture Drawing

When I first began studying art, I hated gesture drawing.  I'm kind of a tight human being and had such a difficult time with gesture (I still kinda do).  But, I think gesture drawings is a important practice.  Being able to represent the primary sense, shape, and weight of a pose is always crucial and being able to spot and capture it quickly is both a good way to "warm up" and a great way to help train the eye.  

I've been drawing 30 second. 1 minute, and 2 minute gestures for the past year randomly.  Sometimes just from photos on Facebook or friends or random people (aka free model coffee drinker - haha).  Sometimes I get the chance to work with a live model.  I also stumbled across an excellent website for gesture work.  http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7Ro2Ht/www.pixelovely.com/gesture/figuredrawing.php  You can set the time, the type of model and just go.  It keeps track of the time and switches out the models.  You can also pause and take more time if you wanted or needed on a particular reference.  I don't think they're public domain or anything, but it's a great practice tool!  

Below are two pages of gestures from my sketchbook.  I was using the figure drawing website set at 2 minute, nude models.  I took one of them further, I think 5 or 10 min?  The drawings are a bit jumbled.  These are all just practice for me and they've been drawn with the sketchbook at all angles.

2 minute gestures

2 minute (and a 5-10 minute) gestures

Anatomy Studies: Muscles of the Head and Neck

Since the primary subject in my work is often the figure, I'm big into the study of anatomy.  I think understanding how and why the body is shaped and moves as it is/does can only elevate my ability to represented it (and take liberties with it).  My first mentor, Mike Molnar, was also a proponent of anatomy study and introduced us to a great book by Joe Sheppard, his mentor: Anatomy: A Complete Guide for Artists.  http://www.amazon.com/Anatomy-Complete-Guide-Artists-Dover/dp/0486272796 (check it!)  It's a great tool, and I totally recommend it.  I think I have studied and copied just about every page in the book.

My interest in the figure and anatomy has also hugely guided my decision to apply to the New York Academy of Art for my MFA - and only the NYAA.  Their program is phenomenal, and, at this point, it's NYAA or bust!  Their philosophy: "At the New York Academy of Art, we believe that the world of visual art is built upon the essential cornerstones of figurative drawing, painting, and sculpture. Mastering these disciplines is critical to the development of an artist's personal vision and, ultimately, to the creation of vital contemporary art."  I'm sold.  Haha.  http://www.nyaa.edu/nyaa/index.html  Did I also mention the faculty?  Yeah, Jenny Saville teaches color workshops and shit.  I could die!

Muscles of the head and neck study referenced from Sheppard's Anatomy book.

Muscles of the head and neck study referenced from Sheppard's Anatomy book.

From the Sketchbook: Studies of Art I Love

So, in my down time, I love doing sketches of art I love.  It's a fun way to really study the work.  I'm especially interested in how other artists approach representation of the figure.

Below are my sketches of two of Alex Kanevsky's paintings.  My drawings come no where near doing the work justice - at all; so, check him out cause his work is in-freakin-credible!  One of the other things I love about him is that he doesn't include a bunch of information about his paintings and doesn't do bios on them - at all.  He wants to let the work speak for itself and stand alone.  I'm not a big fan of works/artists that (who) need to have a bunch of verbal communication to explain/justify a visual work.  Art is a visual method of communication, and I really believe that, if it's good work, it requires no other methods of communication other than the visual.  

I did, however, find a great interview done with him. http://rtspot.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/alex-kanevsky/ 

Sketches of Alex Kanevsky's paintings

From the Sketch Book: The Dead Layer Group

So, myself and 3 artist friends (well, one fiance and two friends) get together (fairly) regularly to make art, shoot the shit, play games, drink wine and sometimes eat whiskey apples.  :)   

We also double as extremely convenient (although sometimes reluctant), cheap models.  Ha.   

Kevin

Rob

Michael <3

If you ever see Rob, give him a whiskey apple.  

Inadequacies :)

So, apparently, I'm terrible at blogging.  Haha.  There just seems like so many different places on the interwebs where I am responsible for posting new works and sharing information about my exhibitions that the blog definitely becomes low-priority.

Then it hits me.

I'm doing it wrong.  Haha.

I update so many different sites with my finished works and shows, but no where do I really share my process or sketches or all of those great (and not so great) things artists do before the finished product is revealed.  So, I'm hoping to use my blog as an outlet for those things.  I think the "artist genius" myth is still very much alive and well.  I try my damnedest to dispelled it.  Great art is not the result of just some innate genius, but rather of hard work, practice, trial and error, learning, and failing!

No one really wants to display their failures to the world, but art is a challenging field - certainly so for me.  I'm very much wholly invested in it - emotionally, physically, philosophically, mentally, etc...  Art making, for me, has such highs and lows, and some of the things that have comforted me the most along my journey is knowing that I'm not alone - especially in my failures.  Knowing that other artists - even the "greats" have bad days.  I was once in a video chat with Jeremy Lipking and Tony Pro, and Tony was breaking Jeremy's balls about a drawing he did that day that he wasn't happy with and had crumbled up and thrown away.  (Tony actually pulled it out of the garbage to show us - ha!)  The point is, I idolize Lipking (I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a representational figure painter who doesn't), and even he, with all of the incredible work he produces, has a shitty art day.  So, I, too, will share all my failures - along with other "behind the scenes" stuff - here with the hopes that both the layperson and the artist will connect with the "humanness" of the artist's work and process and allow myself an outlet for my own "humanness" as an artist.  :)

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New Domain Name!

Web page update!  So, I finally acquired my domain name, and my web page has officially moved.  You can now find Alison Schmidt, Fine Art at www.AlisonSchmidtArt.com!