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Seeing a painting or figure drawing progress from beginning to end allows the finished artwork to be understood as a series of discrete steps leading to a virtuosic whole. During a recent tour of the Grand Central Academy (GCA), in New York City, I observed instructor Joshua LaRock developing a drawing...
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Can you imagine figuring out how to draw a face—the same face—350 times or more, and making each portrait drawing different and as compositionally sound and interesting as if you had made only one? Quite a task, yet Italian designer, sculptor, and painter Piero Fornasetti did just that. Fornasetti...
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Drawing is a fundamental skill for artists, emphasis on "skill." That means there are basic drawing rules and approaches that work, including these six tips on how to draw anything accurately. Delmonico Building by Charles Sheeler, 1926, lithograph drawing. Adapted from an article by M. Stephen...
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I'll admit that in the past I have been guilty of thinking of colored pencil art as colorful and bright and not necessarily able to be coupled with serious subjects or moody narratives. But that was my own bias. As I've spent time looking at sketchbooks of draftsmen creating colored pencil art...
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I was recently on the train with a friend who caught the attention of an artist sitting across from us. She started drawing my pal. We were thrilled! It was an exciting moment as we watched my friend's face appear on the paper in front of us. As the artist went about her work, I observed her in action...
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In figure drawing and painting, knowing the ins and outs of the human body is essential. There's no way around that fact, and honing our skills with anatomy drawing helps us understand and truly see the body more accurately than any other endeavor. Drawing by Stephen Schultz. I was flipping through...
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I've always been an ardent fan of the profile portrait drawing . It reminds me of antique cameos, the profiles of emperors stamped on Roman coins, and 18 th -century silhouettes. But learning how to draw a face in profile does come with its share of possible missteps, so here are a few portrait-drawing...
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Okay, I'll admit that skull reading and phrenology sound a little silly to me. Trying to get a sense of a person from the hollows and grooves on their skull? Not buying it. But I do know that "reading" the skull as an artist is key when it comes to learning how to draw a human head for...
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I recently took a life drawing class and showed my sketches to a friend, who's a super-skilled painter. I was reluctant to share them, but when she looked at my final sketch--in which the model had her hips contrapposto but twisted slightly away from me with one arm across her chest and the other...
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Hello there, I'll be doing some blogging for Artist Daily about human figure drawing . The plan is to do half of the blogging as written text and half as video episodes where it would be easier to demonstrate the concepts I would like to talk about. But perhaps it is a good idea to introduce myself...
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I feel like every time I pick up a pencil to attempt portrait drawing, I am back in elementary school learning the basics of how to draw a face all over again. You know that art argument about whether you need natural talent to learn how to draw? Well, I'm here to tell you it isn't true because...
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It's probably half-endearing (hopefully?) and half-annoying that I think there's no better way to start off the weekend than with art. But you know what I mean! As the fall season gets into full swing, I think we are all coming back around to our art, and for me, nothing sounds more appealing...
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Plenty--especially if you are trying to figure out how to draw a person in that chair. Drawing people standing up is waaaaaay more straightforward than puzzling out how to proportion and position a figure sitting down. But to draw people this way opens up a lot of compositional possibilities for an artist...
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I'm not a napping kind of person. When I'm up, I'm up and I want to be doing something or on the go. That's usually the kind of body drawing that I'm pulled to as well--muscles torqued, body indicating action, and an underlying sense of movement. That being said, I do recognize and...
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Yep, it is a pretty lofty goal. I know it. But there are so many incredible artists out there who are doing incredible work and deserve more visibility! Here are a few ways that you can elevate your artistic profile in the wider world. By no means are these a cure-all or guarantee, but if they get you...