Category: David Meldrum

Easy!

Post author By meldrum
Post date 2013/10/27
4 Comments on Easy!

The great thing about learning to watercolour is the discovery that other mediums like pastels are much easier to use! I wonder why watercolour isn’t held in as high regard as say, oil or even acrylic painting, it is such a hard medium to master.

I bought some pastels yesterday, I plan to use them at Life Drawing classes for a few weeks as watercolouring is too stressful for me at the moment. The sketch below was done in about 15 minutes on A3 paper, it was fun to try something new.

I looked at a potential Ateljé /Studio today in Solna, Stockholm. I want to take the next step in my personal development as an artist. I said I’m interested so I hope I get a space there. I’ll find out in a couple of weeks. Exciting.

A3 pastel sketch

Just one this time

It was a lean evening at life drawing last night. I only managed to produce one sketch that I was reasonably happy with. This means the next life drawing session can only be better. Something to look forward to 🙂

Watercolour nude 20131023 by David Meldrum

Watercolour nude 20131023. Canson 200g, 24 x 32 cm ( 9 3/8 x 12 1/2″)

David Meldrum Sketch SketchCrawl Urban Sketchers Watercolour

World SketchCrawl day today

Post author By meldrum
Post date 2013/10/19
2 Comments on World SketchCrawl day today

It was World SketchCrawl Day today and I met up with Nina Johansson to sketch at The City Museum (Stadsmuseet). The watercolour below was sketched from a third-floor window overlooking “Slussen” in Central Stockholm. It was a beautiful autumn day but too cold for us to be outside sketching.

Slussen 2013.10.19

David Meldrum figure painting My Life Drawing Nude Watercolour

Trying to change direction …

Post author By meldrum
Post date 2013/10/18
3 Comments on Trying to change direction …

I don’t watercolour as much as I’d like to. I’m going to try paint for an hour or so after each evening meal. Go to less to life drawing evenings, I need to sit down and paint, practice and paint. Play, I need to have fun too, very important that.
Here are some recent watercolours and yes, they were fun to do. The first wash was done at life drawing and the darker tones where added later.

David Meldrum figure drawing My Life Drawing Nude Sketch

My brush stood still …

My father passed away on the 29th September, it was a sad moment and I joined my family in grief. I am only now starting to find some form of normality, returning to a sense of balance which allows me to focus on positive moments like my art once again. Here are a few life drawings I did a few weeks back, I enjoyed having only six pastels and a charcoal pen to work with.

David Meldrum figure drawing figure painting My Life Drawing Sketch

Tuesday’s life drawing

Another enjoyable session at Konstnärshuset here in Stockholm. One colleague asked if I would paint one more watercolour wash after getting home. The sketches would look more complete but then again I probably would loose the freshness. I chose to leave them alone.

10 minute nude

5 minute nude

2 minute nude

David Meldrum figure drawing figure painting My Life Drawing Nudes

Feels Good

Post author By meldrum
Post date 2013/09/11
2 Comments on Feels Good

Here is a selection of watercolour and pencil sketches from my life drawing evening at Konstnärshuset, Stockholm. I hope to transfer the energy and freshness of these sketches into my paintings which are all too often, stiff and laboured.

Ten minute nude. 20130910

Five minute nude. 20130910

Ten minute nude. 20130910

Two minute nude. 20130910

David Meldrum Lunch Sketch Naked Hands Sketch Watercolour

Muddy Naked Hand

I paint these Naked Hands at lunch time, I take my time and invariably I overwork them, I get scared, I have too much time to think, I dab the brush 100 times too many. Life drawing is different, there I have only five or ten minutes to execute the watercolour, the result is a painting that contains life and energy. I am learning, in the mean time; here is a muddy, overworked Naked Hand.

Naked Hand 20130910. 9 x 14 cm Moleskin.

David Meldrum figure drawing My Life Drawing Nude Sketch

First session

I was very excited about attending my first life drawing evening after the summer break. It was a two hour pose at, “The Swedish Academy of Realist Art“. I was a bit too eager and so my watercolour study failed, luckily I didn’t give up and managed to do one half-decent sketch. The model’s underarm does not look correct but otherwise I’m quite pleased with it.

figure drawing 20130905

I used Arches 300gsm rough paper originally which is wonderful to paint on if you have time but is too slow-drying for figure painting with tempo. I don’t think my fellow artists would appreciate me using a hair drier every ten minutes either.