margaret

Strathmore drawing, 250 gsm, 14" x 10". 20 minutes.

sources of drawing distortion have become a focus of interest. i've found it is very difficult to draw a face accurately if it is tilted to one side, or forward or backward. turning the head does not create the same kinds of problems.

there seems to be a facial schema or pattern that does not work well when the head is not plumb; a common fact is that portrait pictures are almost impossible to recognize when they are upside down.

in this drawing she has tilted her head forward and away from me, which throws her profile proportions out of sync. i've made no changes to the life drawing.


Strathmore drawing 14" x 10". 15 minutes.

another source of drawing problems is body contortion or strain. margaret's hand poses were very tense (she came in with tension, as i said previously), and in this one she is pressing down firmly with her left thumb onto the back of her right hand, and passing the tension through her fingers.

foreshortening is just a problem of proportion, but contortion is a problem of emphasis and clarity. they are two different things. contortion requires you to make the relationships between the joints and muscles clearer in a way that isn't normally necessary.

i am not sure that outline drawing succeeds in contorted poses; maybe the volume created by shading light and dark is also necessary. in any case i plan to experiment with it.