A Quick Portrait Sketch

10" x 8" Charcoal on Paper

The two open portrait sessions I attend most every week in Pleasant Grove are about doing a single three hour long pose (with breaks) each session. I like doing that, as it allows me to more carefully work out problems and also work on finish. There is a new drawing session starting up at Materworks Frames in Orem, however, that is more concerned with doing several shorter poses in a session. It's perhaps because of my obsessive-compulsive nature that a bunch of short poses is not my favorite way to spend a drawing session. It is, however, a good way to learn how to edit, simplify, and not dawdle. Practicing that in sketches from life can have a positive effect on your finished works. Between sessions with a single long pose and those that have several shorter poses, is one better than the other? It may depend on what you want to do, but I don't think so. Skills developed in both methods of drawing practice contribute qualities that support each other in finished works.

The picture shown above is the final sketch I did at yesterday's inaugural session at Masterworks Frames. It took a little over an hour. If you're interested in attending any drawing sessions at the gallery, just click here for more information.

For more about drawing and painting sessions, go to "Labels" on the side bar and click on "sketching" or "drawing."