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Charles Bargue Drawing course
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Message
Posted
You're making great progress, David - even though you're obviously working your socks off: wish I had your energy, but then, I'm not in my first fine flush of youth. Still - keep doing what you're doing, take the rest you need because pushing things too far and too fast is the enemy of artistic progress; even so - I see no signs of flagging in your work, and this course has done you the world of good.
Posted
Doing well - don't know what paper you're using at the moment, but of course you'll be aware that there are many of them to choose from: some help your technique along, some can fight with it. I like a paper which is 'dry' to the feel, and with a bit of tooth. Others get on better with smooth, slightly creamy, glossy paper. I understand how much work and everyday life gets in the way of trying new things (while perhaps also helping you to afford them) but have a go with as many surfaces as you can, and drawing implements.
Mind you - also get your sleep!
Posted
Its in a sketch pad which is spiral bound with a hard cover and no indication of the type of paper (I think there was on the cellophane wrapping which I discarded when I got it open) 200 gram medium or something or other.
I could still tinker on with this but now perhaps I am over working the paper which has started to go smooth in places as I have rubbed away at it... this means I cant get as dark as I want in a couple of areas as it is no longer gripping the pencil. OH well, I think it turned out pretty well anyway and I quite like this one.
Posted
This is excellent work - by any standard. You should be proud of it. 200gsm is a good, thick paper; the medium grain suggests it has a fair bit of tooth, but not so much that it breaks up your pencil or charcoal work. If you find another pad like the one you've been using, do let us know what it is. It always pays to keep a note of the surfaces that work best for you.
Of course, the secret of your success here is you, not your paper - you have a good eye for proportions: some haven't, and really have to labour at it - but I'm all in favour of using the materials that come most congenially to us. Years ago, someone told me not to use carbon pencils, as 'they flatter your technique': oh goody, I thought! My technique needs all the flattering it can get - and I still use them.
Posted
My "good eye for proportions" is simply the technique that this course has taught. The use of a skewer to measure, the use of "sight size" in having the two images side by side at the same scale for easy comparison between the two. The use of continual refinement in order to make corrections until the image produced matches the other.
This paper is very similar to the heavyweight Daler Rowney sketchpad I was using previously, though that is described as fine grain a comparison seems perfect.
Thanks for the kind words :)
Posted
As Robert said quite rightly; "The secret of success is you." They are not kind words, just a statement of fact. Although we can only see of your work what the Internet and the quality of our devilish viewing machines allow us to see, your work is nothing short of astonishing. This drawing course is definitely on my radar, and I hasten to add I would be very proud indeed if the outcome was only half as good as that.
Please let us know how you get on with your charcoal pencils. That would be very interesting to know.
Edited
by Meunier