In the studio lately And what's coming up, Oct 21 through Nov 20 Hello Reader, Classes are going well, so here's a look at what we've been up to, and what's next. This week's lesson: a portrait in grisaille on poster board. A burnt umber ground and some white to build a simple statement. The last landscape session of the season was a grey day. This actually made me happy because it simplifies color mixing and it turned into a lesson about types of grey color mixing. We had a successful photo...
2 days ago • 2 min read
Why Your Figures Look Like They're Falling Over It's almost never the anatomy Hello Reader, Here's a problem every figure drawer runs into: the proportions are fine, the shapes are right, but the figure still feels like it's about to tip over. Floating. Ungrounded. It's almost never an anatomy problem. It's a balance problem. The fix is two lines. An action line, a single clear statement of which direction the pose's energy is traveling. And a plumb line, dropped straight down from the pit of...
3 days ago • 1 min read
You're Not Drawing Yet Before anything looks like a figure Hello Reader, When I teach constructive figure drawing, week one isn't a finished figure. Not even close. Instead, everything starts as simple shapes: ovoids for the head, chest, and hips, basic joints, and a centerline running down the front of the body from the pit of the neck to the pelvis. It looks skeletal. Abstract. Almost like a stick figure. That's the point. This is the armature, the internal scaffolding everything else gets...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Why Some Drawings Just Look Right It's not talent, it's a method Hello Reader, Ever notice how some quick figure drawings just look correct, even loose ones, while others feel off no matter how much time went into them? It usually comes down to one thing: whether the drawing was built on structure, or just copied from what the eye saw first. Over the next couple of weeks I'm going to share a few of the ideas behind this, the same ones we use in our Quick Sketch Figure Drawing class, which...
13 days ago • 1 min read
Quick Sketch This Friday Oct 9, 9:30am–12:30pm, a new day and time Hello Reader, A short-notice invitation: we're running a Quick Sketch Life Drawing session this Friday, Oct 9, from 9:30am to 12:30pm. It's a new day and time for us, and I know it's late notice, so I wanted you to hear about it now. Live model, short poses, $15 drop-in, no sign-up needed. Bring what you draw with, or borrow from us. 99 Stockton Suites, Kingwood-Stockton Road, Suite 6C, Rosemont, NJ 08556 (2 min from...
14 days ago • 1 min read
The Plumb Line A ten-second fix for figures that won't stand up What's next below Here's a problem every figure drawer runs into: the proportions are fine, the shapes are right, but the figure still feels like it's about to tip over. Floating. Ungrounded. It's almost never an anatomy problem. It's a balance problem. When a figure stands, its weight has to land somewhere. Here's how to find it: Find the notch at the base of the throat. Hold your pencil straight up and down at arm's length, and...
15 days ago • 3 min read
September happenings and beyond! Here's what happened and more on the way, click through for details September asks a lot of everyone. New schedules, new routines, and if art class got pushed to "next month" while you sorted out the rest of it, that's completely fair. We get it. Here's the thing though, October's wide open. Nothing's closed just because September's over. Tom doing the best he can with whoever they let model! Terrific wash drawing start by Delaney Students have been building...
22 days ago • 2 min read
Friday nights are for unwinding and drawing All levels welcome Hello Reader, Friday Night Drawing & Painting Studio is a relaxed, open-format evening with Nautilia guiding the room, work on a set challenge or bring your own project. Here's a look at what that actually looks like on a given Friday. Gabriella is working through a butterfly study, ink over graphite, tracking symmetry between the left and right wings means watching shape, proportion, and placement all at once. Barb is tackling an...
28 days ago • 1 min read
Lenape Park, Perkasie: Paint an historic WPA bridge Hello Reader, This Friday's Landscape Painting session meets at Lenape Park, at the WPA Bridge, 9am–12noon. The best way in is the entrance near the Dairy Queen on Constitution Avenue. Closest parking pin here: 📍 maps.app.goo.gl/XYzR9gxMoznZrF6e8 Come for this session or catch up on the series if you've missed one, drop-ins are always welcome. SIGN UP OR SEE THE FULL SCHEDULE →...
28 days ago • 1 min read
3 weeks into our new space! Here's next week's lineup, click through for details We did it. We moved in, and three weeks into classes in the new space, everything is starting to click. Lighting is dialed in for the easels, there's plenty of parking, and the setting is quiet enough to actually think while you work. Come see it. Here's what's happening this week: Wednesday, September 23 Wednesday Drawing and Painting Intensive, 10am-4pm — still life, cast drawing, and afternoon Life Drawing...
30 days ago • 2 min read