Life Drawing Semester Review

It’s an odd thing to think of two conflicting ideas at the same time. One, that this semester has flown by in the blink of an eye, and two, that the beginning of the semester seems like ages ago. Yet, here I am, looking the end of the semester in the face. I think part of what makes it seem like it has been ages is that I have felt myself grow as an artist so much that it seems so long ago to be back at the start. And the way it feels like it has flown has been because I’ve enjoyed every bit of it!

In this post I want to take some time to review how this semester has gone, starting with charcoal portraits, then to wildlife sketching, urban sketching, and finally plein air painting. It has been a sweet journey, one worth pondering.

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Charcoal Portraits

I had never done a charcoal portrait before starting in this class, and seldom ever had I even touched charcoal! When we started out in this class with our first live model I nearly cried because of the pure joy I felt at the fact that I was a true art student, being classically trained in the arts by a master artist. 

Practicing with live models each week really helped develop good observational skills. My professor repeatedly told us that we take in so much more visual data in person than we do through a picture, and he is 100% correct. Studying a real live face in front of you offers so much more in terms of form, light, shadow, and depth that a photograph doesn’t live up to. There are so many more details that come into focus in the real world. Kind of like playing a game of telephone. The clearest and most accurate information you can get is at the source, in this case, that is our model.

During this section of the class I was taught for the first time how to use plumb lines and how use your arm and tools for measuring and capturing angles. This helped so much in the accuracy of proportions and planning out the composition!

Looking back through my portrait work, here are a few favorites!

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Wildlife Sketching

After our portraits we moved to animal drawings. This was also a fun new experience, as I haven’t drawn animals quite as much in my own personal work. I tend to enjoy drawing people and characters a lot so animals have taken a back seat in my own study. It was a good exercise to be able to practice gesture drawing and learn how to quickly capture the lines of action and movements. This section of class helped shift our focus from observational techniques to interpretive techniques. Where we had to quickly assess what shapes and forms make up the animal and put it together while our subject was moving around. My favorite part of wildlife sketching was being able to go to the aqua zoo together as a class!

Here’s a look back at some of my animal drawings:

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Urban Sketching

Our next section of class got us outside to explore urban sketching! This was a challenge for me because of the use of perspective that is required for your drawings to look accurate. Still, even with the challenges of perspective it was good to get the practice and grow in that area as well. I did a couple 1-point perspective projects and one 2-point perspective project. I also really enjoyed using watercolors and pens during this section of class, I always find that style so pretty!

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Plein Air Painting

Finishing off our semester we entered into our plein air painting portion! This was also a dream come true because I got to paint on a French easel and work with oil paints like the classic masters! I’ve never really used oils before this class so it has been such a joy to jump into! Though, I did do my first plein air paintings in watercolor before I accumulated all the oil supplies. I’m pretty accustomed to watercolor and gouache so it was a good time to keep practicing those techniques as we started this portion. While I love watercolor, learning the oil painting process has been so fun. I get to start with an underpainting, which is super helpful. It's great to be able to paint out your composition underneath, then work with all your values, going dark to light, blocking in your basic shapes and then adding details. It’s a whole different experience and I greatly appreciate how forgiving oil paint is. You can just keep working with it over and over and cover your mistakes with more layers! My favorite part of these weeks has been painting together as a class out and about on the town! It’s so sweet that we all get to work together, encourage one another in our skills, see each others’ processes, and offer critiques! I also love it when passerbys see us and are delighted to witness artists in their natural habitat. Practicing plein air has helped me grow in observational skills as I am studying my subject in real life and it has helped me grow in compositional skills as I’ve had to hunt for good locations!

Here’s some of my plein air work from the last couple weeks!

What a sweet semester this has been! I’m so blessed to be able to be here and study the arts at a school that trains champions for Christ. I love that no matter what vocation or skills you are pursuing, the leadership at Liberty University strive to help you glorify God in your pursuits. Everything has been so inspiring and influential in my life. I have been so spurred on with all this and am ready to keep learning and practicing these skills. I’m excitedly devoted to practicing with oil paints over the summer, as well as continued practice in watercolor, gouache, and charcoal art! I’ve found some really helpful videos on YouTube that go through quick poses for gesture drawing so I’m looking forward to refining those skills too! There’s so much to practice and so many new things to try, but I’m so pumped to start!

Well, here's to a great first year!! Looking forward to the next, after a well needed rest over the summer lol. Thanks for reading!

Jesus Bless You Abundantly,

Christina