Easel sketching at the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

I like going along to see art exhibitions, so sometime ago I ticked the box to get the National Gallery listings sent to me. Last week I had a look at it properly and noticed that every month there are free easel sketching sessions available with no need to book in advance. This looked like too good a chance to miss, so I went along. Sure enough a group of people were gathered around a Japanese lady in a kimono and were either standing at an easel or sitting with a board, sketching her. I was a bit late but joined in and produced two sketches sitting at a board and one standing at an easel. The session was run by  artist, Damian Callan.The sketching of each pose lasted about 20 minutes. We were supplied with paper, charcoal, chalk and coloured pastels to work with. Before each pose Damian gave us a wee demonstration of how he tackles a sketch.

1. He starts off with a phantom sketch by drawing the outline of the model without putting any lines on the paper. This helps to get going and get some dimensions in the eye.
2. Then he draws the model in a flowing way, moving around and across the paper without lifting the charcoal off the paper and  not worrying too much about the finer points of accuracy. This produces the first rough take on the model. 
3. Next, the sketch is worked on... filling in details and missing out or changing parts which are not needed or inaccurate. The beauty of working with charcoal is that it is flexible and can be altered. 
4. Bearing in mind tone, light and and shade and form.
5. Features are brought out with the use of tone and this is where chalk can be used as a highlighter.
6. Damian asked to look deeply at the model and the drawing will follow.

This is the sketch I did of M  when standing at the easel, I worked on it for about 20 minutes, so it is a work in progress! I got engrossed in what I was doing and forgot that members of the public were wandering around the gallery. At one point I looked up and was quite surprised to see quite a large group of people watching us draw.

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A new Life drawing

Adelaide turned out to be a really good trip. My favourite area is around the North Terrace. This is the earliest part of the square mile which was planned and built by the early colonisers of South Australia. The roads in the square are wide and based on European Boulevards and there are several squares and fountains. At Adelaide is different from the rest of Oz because it was settled by free men who paid for the land and not convicts who had been sent over from Britain. Along North Terrace are the State Art Gallery, Museum and State Library. Each one is full of high quality culture and were a pleasure to visit. The east end of North Terrace are the Botanical gardens, which are very pleasant on a sunny, winters afternoon.
I got in a good day-long bike ride along the Torrence river to the West Coast and followed it to the northern tip at Port Adelaide and then down to Glenelg, where I met friends  of the family. They own a Thai cafe and  I was treated to a nice Pad Thai and a cup of chai... very nice!

Before I leave for home I am going to attend a couple more charcoal drawing classes. Here is one I did before the end of last term.

Ren

Calla Lilies

Charcoal with a bit of chalk

Charcoal drawing

While I've been in Melbourne, I've joined the Footscray Community Arts centre and drawn some still life and some Life. The teachers are great and the centre is a lovely resource.

Kevin

Self Portrait

On Monday mornings, I go along to a day centre to do shiatsu exercises. If there is any spare time I join in with an art class. Last week I joined in and was give a small mirror. The subject for the class that day was 'self portrait.'
I do like using charcoal, it has a quality that somehow brings a picture to life. It is great to be able to use your finger to smudge in shadows. It is also a material that lets you work quickly. I drew this one in about fifeteen minutes. I did another self portrait last year, that time it was in pencil.