Categories
figure drawing Life drawing watercolor Watercolour

I run a life drawing class but I never sketch.

It’s true, I rarely sketch nudes these days which is ironic as I run a life drawing class every Thursday even during the pandemic. My problem is that I don’t have time to go to other life drawing classes and right now I don’t actually want to physically be in a classroom anyway. This is why I stream my own life drawing classes. It means extra work for me as a host so sketching has had to take a back seat.
I’m not complaining too much. I get a lot enjoyment out of running my class and I can sketch nudes anytime using photo resources that I have bought throughout the years. Actually, I think I am just making excuses. There is nothing preventing me from sketching or painting watercolour nudes, it’s up to me, I decide.

Please click the thumbnail below if you would like to see the full-sized image.

Meldrum nude
Meldrum nude
Categories
figure drawing figure painting Nude watercolor Watercolour

Painting a naked model takes time

I have started painting nudes again. It’s a real challenge, human skin-tones are so fine, so delicate. I am enjoying it though. It takes a lot longer for me to complete a nude, I’m not used to that. I don’t really have the patience for it so I spread the painting over several days, I work for an hour or two each day until it is finished. This is the best way for me to work right now, I hope I can improve my concentration with the next watercolours that I plan to paint in the coming weeks. Nude: 36 x 26 cm

Click the thumbnail below to see the full-sized image.

watercolour nude
watercolour nude
Categories
figure drawing Life drawing

Meldrum Kroki ( life drawing ) has Zoom Premiere

Today is an exciting day, I will be streaming my first life drawing class using the popular app Zoom. I will continue using the Dieselverkstaden studio and will live stream from there every Thursday evening stating tonight. I have plans to reach out internationally with my class but the first step is to try it locally. The biggest problem I have with international participants is accepting payments. Locally we use a service called Swish here in Sweden. I am developing a way to accept payments from abroad and hopefully that will be fixed in the coming weeks.

If you are living in Sweden and have a Swish account then I invite you to the premiere of Meldrum Kroki on Zoom this evening. Please join Meldrum Kroki on Facebook which is private group to gain access, click the following link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/378766722540122/

Like I said already, I am really looking forward to offering life drawing live.

See you soon I hope whether you are international or Swedish.

Please note that my actual (physical) life drawing classes are on hold until the pandemic is under control.

Cheers,
David

Categories
figure drawing Life drawing

Not being able to sketch at my own life drawing class

It’s ironic that I don’t have the time to draw at my own life drawing evenings, I visit other places like Konstnärshuset (The Artist’s House) and sketch there instead. I don’t mind at all, it gives me a great deal of pleasure organising life drawing sessions, making sure the lighting is good, getting excellent models and making fantastic coffee.
My life drawing session is today (Thursday) by the way at Dieselverkstaden 18.30 – 20.30, a shameless plug 😉

These watercolours where sketched at Konstnärshuset last Tuesday, number one and two I spent a few minutes working on the day after. The actual poses are between 10 and 5 minutes long.

Categories
figure drawing My Life Drawing Nude Nudes Sketch Watercolour

First Life Drawing session for this year.

My first life drawing class for this year was last night with a new attendance record. Changing from Friday to Thursday evenings is a definite plus.
I managed to do a few sketches that I later improved when I had some more time.

If you live in Stockholm and are interested in life drawing, visit the Meldrum Kroki page. English or Swedish is up to you.

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Categories
figure drawing My Life Drawing Nude Nudes

Life drawing now on Thursdays

Premiere for Meldrum Life Drawing, Thursday 10th of January 18.30 – 20.30. More information at: www.meldrum.se/kroki/lifedrawing/

Categories
figure drawing Sketch Watercolour

Watercolour practice

This is part of my ongoing effort to become better at painting people, be it portraits or just urban scenes like this one.
I bought a new camera recently, it has a mega-zoom capability (Nikon Coolpix P1000). So far I feel a bit like a voyeur but I guess I’ll get used to taking pictures of people without them knowing it after a few months of practice. It’s all about practice, that’s how you become a good artist or a skilled voyeur.
I painted this sketch on an Arches paper block, 31 x 23 cm – rough.

Click the thumbnail belong for a full-sized image.

Watercolour Practice
Watercolour Practice

Categories
figure drawing My Life Drawing Nudes Sketch Watercolour

Last life drawing before Christmas

I went to Basis on Folkkungagatan (147) here in Stockholm, it’s an art school and every Saturday my old gang of life drawing enthusiasts meet and sketch like crazy under the eastern-European guidance of Gabor.
He starts with a 5 minute pose but the rest of the session is 1 – 4 minute poses, everyone is pretty exhausted afterwards.
What’s nice about going to life drawing on a Saturday is that everyone is relaxed and a big group of us go for a coffee afterwards and have a light-hearted post analysis of our sketches. It was the first time for me this term and it was the last session before Christmas. Next year I will be able to join my friends more as my own life drawing class will be on Thursdays and not Fridays as it was this year. I have been pretty tired on Saturday mornings this term because of working late on Friday evenings.

All features sketches here were sketched between 2 – 4 minutes.

Categories
figure drawing My Life Drawing Nudes Sketch Watercolour

Friday’s life drawing

I never know whether to call it figure painting or life drawing, I guess it’s more correct to call them figure paintings but they were executed in minutes and not hours, maybe you understand my dilemma.

These, whatever you call them were sketched at my own life drawing class last Friday. It was the first time for the model to pose and I think she did a great job. I managed a few decent paintings even though I wasn’t 100% relaxed as I was responsible for the evening. I am happy with my output right now, it’s a productive period.