Periodically people leave things behind in the class and despite my best efforts it’s not always possible to reunite them with their missing possessions. When I found this particular sketchbook, however, I recognised the style immediately. It took only fifteen minutes after I returned home that evening to get a phone call.  This is either my father-in-law I thought, or Chris and Chris it turned out to be. Anyway, here’s a sample from this term with Mr H’s permission which gives a a nice review of some of the great poses that we’ve had this term, and also what a fast worker he is as these are all five and ten minute poses. 

Mark Watkin (see previous post) was talking to me about the recent traffic stopping concert in Bristol by ageing rocker and Ally Mcbeal supporting actor Jon Bon Jovi. Apparently it cost over £50! “…..and your class costs only £49 Will”. If you’re a big fan of what used to be called poodle rock I guess £50 is a snip, but then you wouldn’t get to see Jon Bon Jovi without his clothes on either. Anyway, I like the comparison, even if it is a little obscure
Next term will be starting again in September, whether you’re a Jon Bon Jovi fan or not so as always if you’d like to come along read the About page on this web site then email willstevens@lifedrawingclasses.co.uk. If you’re interested in doing some life drawing over the Summer months I will be running a slimmed down class on Thursdays from 7 until 9p.m. starting on the31st of July at St Gregory’s church in Monk’s Park .  The cost will be £6 per session payable in advance for the sessions that you know in advance that you can do. So, for example, if you’d like to come but happen to be away for two of those weeks you just pay £24. Let me know if you happen to be interested. (It was pretty good last year)

Thanks to Mark Watkin, an all-round nice man and smartest baseball cap wearer in Bristol for these figure drawings. Should you always worry about putting faces on to your life drawings?  I don’t think so.  Particulatly If you’re a beginner (which Mark isn’t) I think it’s much better to take a leaf out of someone like Mattisse’s book and put something very simple in, or leave it blank.  Mark Watkin leaves the faces empty in his conte drawings which gives them a somewhat spooky quality, which if you know me is definitely a good thing.  They also remind me a little of Seurat’s work using the same material.

Here’s another little something for you to watch.  The late Robert Rauschenburg discusses his piece “Erased deKooning drawing”. Hope you enjoy.

Here’s something from this Saturday’s Guardian that you may find interesting.  It shows a view of Paula Rego’s studio with a partly completed painting side by side with a series of home made lay figures.  As I hope you can see in the photograph the painting is based on the arrangement of figures. According to the article they are made from plastic medical skeletons overlaid with cotton wool and stocking material.  In the light of some of my previous posts on Paula Rego and Lay Figures I thought it would be interesting for some of you to see.

“One of the walls has wardrobes full of things to dress my props and models, along with props from other pictures, huge stuffed spiders and monkeys and all sorts.  One box just has wigs in it.  It is like in a theatre.  The case has an accordian in it that was used in another picture; everything is used in different forms at different times.”

You can read more about this on the Guardian newspaper’s website

Apologies in advance to (I assume)non-Portuguese or Spanish speakers because you’re not going to understand a single word of what’s being spoken here! This video clip is worth watching though as it contains some nice images of Paula Rego paintings at an exhibition and some of the figures that she includes in the the paintings, as well as seeing her nattering away in a foreign tongue.

I had a nice email from Jessica Stride the other day

Hi Will,
I thought I’d send you my latest life drawings from your Thursday evening sessions, in case you’d like any of them for your blog. I’ve really enjoyed this term - it seemed to end so soon, and such a long break!
Looking forward to next term,
Best Wishes,
Jess

and here they are………….

I’ve had the chance to use some great models this term.  Try getting your hands into the same position as the model in the sketch below third from left, difficult isn’t it?  Last night Jade and Benita came up to me during the coffee break and suggested the idea of doing some poses where they could balance and lean against each other which they then did for ten to fifteen minutes.  Thanks ladies and I will try and remember the chocolates for next week.  The drawings below are by Chris Cutts, Lyndsey Melling and W. Stevens and will give you some idea of what they came up with.

Just a few images from this Thursday’s class, taken during the coffee break…

I’ve just returned from organising another trip to Auribeau sur Siagne  in the South of France this week.  Click on the link if you’d like to read more about it.  On my return I found an email from Caroline Watson informing me that she will be exhibiting some paintings at the Rainbow Cafe in Clifton Village in Bristol from the 1st to the 31st of March.  There have been a few chances to see examples of her work recently including a show at the Tobacco Factory in Bedminster which I enjoyed enormously.   I’ll definitely be popping along to check that one out and so should you.  I also found out that Katherine Tyrell had very kindly included The Human Form in a roundup of life drawing blogs over at her own blog Making a Mark.  I’ve had some pretty good feedback since I started keeping this blog last year but Katherine was particularly nice.   Her own blog is great to visit both for her own comments and the links to other blogs that she has been able to track down.  I’m just amazed by how prolific she is.  I get tired out just replying to my emails.  To finish here are some circus images by Peri which she kindly emailed me before half term.  See you next week and apologies to anyone who may have turned up inadvertantly this week and had a wasted journey.

 When I first moved into Bristol in the late 1980’s it was great to discover the life drawing class that Sophie Howard used to run at St Werburgh’s community centre.  It used to be run on a drop-in basis and cost something like £2.50 a session but it was really important to me socially and artistically ( I didn’t really know that many people in Bristol at the time it was a chance to practise my figure drawing but it also meant I had a chance to get out on a Friday night and socialise at the same time.)  When I look back I have many fond memories of  the drawings and good times from that period.  Because I happen to run a life drawing class myself I’m well aware that sometimes people haven’t got a lot of money to spend on drawing but I hope the class is cheap enough to encourage people who would otherwise struggle or have to practise working from photo’s or whatever rather than life.  The logistic’s of running a class have become a lot more complicated, but there you go.

I hope you like the paintings by David Gamble.  David was knocked down by a car in a bad accident in the centre of Broadmead towards the end of last term but seems to be making a recovery which I’m very happy about, although I believe he still has some difficulties with his arm.  I love the paintings, the colours on the skull are really well-observed and the self portrait’s really fab as well.  Hurry up and get a website organised David, you’re really talented!