In this video and blog post Lancelot Richardson will run through some of the most important qualities of Conté Crayon. You can use the videos for reference, skipping forward using the time stamps to find the information and demonstrations most relevant to your work - you'll find the themes picked out in the video play bar. You'll also find some extra material information and inspirational arti...
2021-08-23 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
A huge bouquet of helium balloons contrasts with weighted, heavy limbs, there is the sense that despite this tension, our model could begin to float away, lifted by the balloons whose unique essence is the miracle of levitation.
Contemporary painter Justin Mortimer paints unsettling nuclear landscapes wher...
2021-08-20 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
This video is a recording of a live Zoom portrait session, aired on 16th Aug 2021. It is shared here so that you can catch up and draw from the session if you missed it, or continue to work on a portrait if you attended live. As this is a recording of a live Zoom webinar the quality is limited by Zoom and will be a much lower resolution than our our tutored sessions which are recorded locally a...
2021-08-17 08:29:52 +0000 UTC View Post
In this video and blog post Lancelot Richardson will run through some of the most important qualities of charcoal. You can use the videos for reference, skipping forward using the time stamps to find the information and demonstrations most relevant to your work. You'll also find some extra material information...
2021-08-16 09:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
In this photo set, Urte’s long hair floats upwards, offering interesting ways of presenting the back of the head and the nape of the neck, areas of the human figure that are less frequently explored in drawing. The genre of magical realism guides the essence of Gravity, the rich glossy upwards floating hair is dreamlike and phantasmagorical, the flowing hair lends itself wel...
2021-08-13 09:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
This video is a recording of a live Zoom portrait session, aired on 9th August 2021. It is shared here so that you can catch up and draw from the session if you missed it, or continue to work on a portrait if you attended live. As this is a recording of a live Zoom webinar the quality is limited by Zoom and will be a much lower resolution than our our tutored sessions which are recorded locally...
2021-08-09 20:51:35 +0000 UTC View Post
Over the next four weeks we'll be sharing a new series of material introduction videos, focusing on graphite, charcoal, conte crayon and water-soluble drawing media. You can use these videos for reference, skipping forward using the time stamps to find the information and demonstrations most relevant to your work. You'll also find some basic material information, materials facts and inspiration...
2021-08-09 14:52:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello lovely patrons! I'm going to start posting a monthly update to give you an idea of what to expect from the Draw Patreon as well as an overview of how we spend the money you pledge each month. In addition to the usual programme of live, online sessions here's what to expect this month:
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We're releasing a new series of material-focused reference blogs ...
2021-08-08 14:34:40 +0000 UTC View Post
This photo set explores themes of presence, memory, place, storing memories, object permanence and the passing of time. Our model Mark flows through a series of repetitive interactions with cardboard boxes, actions characterised by their bizarre nature - this is a surreal and dreamlike set of photo reference. What forces are stored in these boxes? We store memories on digital devices, on (now r...
2021-08-06 14:59:43 +0000 UTC View Post
In Summoning, modelled by Priss, our character interacts with a floating transparent orb, this dreamlike scene is shifting and strange. I was drawn to this painting by Michael Borremans and the possibility in art for characters to have traits of levitation, telepathy or telekinesis. It is a phot...
2021-07-30 12:41:43 +0000 UTC View Post
This video is a recording of a live Zoom portrait session, aired on 19th July 2021. It is shared here so that you can catch up and draw from the session if you missed it, or continue to work on a portrait if you attended live. As this is a recording of a live Zoom webinar the quality is limited by Zoom and will be a much lower resolution than our our tutored sessions which are recorded locally ...
2021-07-27 19:01:12 +0000 UTC View Post
I take a sketch book everywhere I go and always begin a weekend-off with great intentions, but without the (joyful!) pressure of a posing person to draw I struggle to find my focus. Baffled by the immense possibility of the landscape as a subject, more often than not I return from a long drawing-walk with a meagre handful of sketches that come to very little. After a week with Lance, powerhouse...
2021-07-26 09:23:50 +0000 UTC View Post
This second 'Smudge' photoset contains a simple series of sequential hand/face interactions - our model Ellie gazes fixedly at he viewer, her fingers smudging lipstick down her face, pulling her lower lip down and stretching the skin. This unconventional and surprising portrait reference offers fresh opportunities to to draw the human face, and tackle challenging hand and face interactions. The...
2021-07-24 09:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
Hello all,
I'll be launching my new book tomorrow (see more details about the book here) and I'll be holding some bonus ETC talks tomorrow as part of the launch. Over the day I'll be speaking live to three different artists about their relationship to figure drawing - they are free online events an...
2021-07-20 15:06:23 +0000 UTC View Post
This video is a recording of a live Zoom portrait session, aired on 19th July 2021. It is shared here so that you can catch up and draw from the session if you missed it, or continue to work on a portrait if you attended live. As this is a recording of a live Zoom webinar the quality is limited by Zoom and will be a much lower resolution than our our tutored sessions which are recorded locally ...
2021-07-20 09:07:20 +0000 UTC View Post
In this drawing demonstration Lance shares an approach to drawing a 30-minute portrait in conte pencil. Tis demo will be ideal to watch if you're coming to the Wednesday daytime life classes, which involve a 30-minute full-figure pose and could be applied to a 20-minute poses. Feel free to dip into these videos, skipping to any demonstrations that are helpful for you.
In this video:
These abstracted references are perfect for making loose gestural drawings from, rich textured watercolour splodges will work well in the shadows, and inky painterly marks and drips to describe the pose. The contrasting light and dark forms appear and emerge through abstract shapes, a landscape of bulges, smooth skin and mottled surfaces.
Recommended:
This video is a recording of a live Zoom portrait session, aired on 12th July 2021. It is shared here so that you can catch up and draw from the session if you missed it, or continue to work on a portrait if you attended live. As this is a recording of a live Zoom webinar the quality is limited by Zoom and will be a much lower resolution than our our tutored sessions which are recorded locally ...
2021-07-13 09:51:38 +0000 UTC View Post
In this weeks drawing demo Lance shares his preferred approach to drawing a 10-minute portrait in pencil - these are ideal to watch if you're coming to the Wednesday evening life classes, which involve a 10-minute portrait pose, or if you're planning to come to Thursday night Portrait Club! Feel free to dip into these videos, skipping to any demonstrations that are helpful for you.
In thi...
2021-07-12 08:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post
This photo set, in which Ines is pictured smudging her lipstick, eyes gazing fixedly at the camera, seeks to answer the question: What makes for an interesting portrait?The squashing and pulling of skin and facial features, the tension between fingers, pulled down lips and facial features, adds just enough of the unexp...
2021-07-09 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
This video is a recording of a live Zoom portrait session, aired on 5th July 2021. It is shared here so that you can catch up and draw from the session if you missed it, or continue to work on a portrait if you attended live. As this is a recording of a live Zoom webinar the quality is limited by Zoom and will be a much lower resolution than our our tutored sessions which are recorded locally a...
2021-07-05 20:13:05 +0000 UTC View Post
This summer we're upgrading our recording kit and taking the opportunity to improve our video editing skills in time for launching an expanded set of tutored life drawing demonstrations in September. In response to your requests, we'll be sharing a new recording from Lance each week to show you how he deals with life and portrait poses of different lengths. This week Lance tackles short poses! ...
2021-07-05 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
A huge bouquet of helium balloons brings a surreal and dreamlike essence to the scenes in this photo set - it's almost as if Priss is about to become weightless and float away. Perhaps she is already levitating and it is only us that can perceive the floor. High-contrast lighting presents a challenging opportunity to create a powerful graphic image, since each piece of differently shaped puzzle...
2021-07-02 09:01:00 +0000 UTC View Post
In this post you'll find a run down of everything we'll be releasing this month, but first I wanted to share some really exciting news! This month I'm going to be releasing a book that I have been working on for over 2 years. It is called Figure Drawing and is the most comprehensive book I've ever written. It lays out my approach to life drawing in 288 pages with a combination of obser...
2021-06-30 11:04:15 +0000 UTC View Post
This video is a recording of a live Zoom portrait session, aired on 28th June 2021. It is shared here so that you can catch up and draw from the session if you missed it, or continue to work on a portrait if you attended live. As this is a recording of a live Zoom webinar the quality is limited by Zoom and will be a much lower resolution than our our tutored sessions which are recorded locally ...
2021-06-29 09:29:20 +0000 UTC View Post
In this third instalment of Laura Ryan's three-part mini-series Laura will be looking at drawing from movies. This is a topic briefly touched upon by Lance in this earlier blog post; if you're ever stuck feeling creatively bereft just hop onto the Draw Navigator and take your pic...
2021-06-28 09:04:28 +0000 UTC View Post
These incredibly gestural and varied poses, informed by the notion of possession, will be great subjects for timed, gestural drawings as well as longer and more detailed studies. The idea of a force or spirit (which is supernatural or other) taking over our physical body is both enthralling and terrifying but possession does not always have to be malign, it also describes the mom...
2021-06-25 09:01:01 +0000 UTC View Post
This video is a recording of a live Zoom portrait session, aired on 21st June 2021. It is shared here so that you can catch up and draw from the session if you missed it, or continue to work on a portrait if you attended live. As this is a recording of a live Zoom webinar the quality is limited by Zoom and will be a much lower resolution than our our tutored sessions which are recorded locally ...
2021-06-22 09:27:45 +0000 UTC View Post
In this article, I'll be proposing five approaches that I use to help me explore, play and re-focus. These creative strategies are methods, exercises and good habits which help me to be efficient as well as adventurous in my creative practice and they are all things you can try yourself to stimulate new work. To help to create unique work, your will need to develop a light-hearted and ...
2021-06-21 09:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
This atmospheric photo set explores themes of mysticism and ritualistic folk lore and was the photo set I most enjoyed directing - it’s not every day that you get to put together such a strange scene. In this set my philosophical and literary interests in greek tragedy and the ceremonial death rites described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead are dramatically explored in the interaction between...
2021-06-18 10:12:06 +0000 UTC View Post