meldrum art
I’ll be honest. Nudes are difficult. Shading human skin in watercolour must be one of the hardest skills to achieve. It feels that way at least. Luckily, I love just trying and trying, … and trying to master it. One day, maybe – maybe not.
I gave this one a good go, I did my best. It’s not fun admitting to oneself that one has a long way to go before mastering a watercolour nude.
To see a larger image please click the thumbnail below
I am looking for a softer approach to my painting and so I am testing different techniques. In this nude study the paper was very wet when I applied the watercolour pigment. The fact it spread like crazy is exactly why I love this medium.
It seems crazy but I haven’t been to a life drawing class since Covid broke out last year. I run my own life drawing classes but as most of you who regularly visit this site know, I never have time to sketch. There are exceptions, last week being one, the whole evening ran smoothly and so by the time the longer 5 minute poses came along I felt relaxed and so I managed a few sketches. I’m only showing this one, I’m definitely rusty.
Why a sudden interest in painting nudes David? I guess it’s because it’s where I’m at at the moment. I am running my life drawing classes and I feel inspired because it is now and in the present. Landscapes have to wait, it’s too cold outside and I find little inspiration from my reference photos. I would love to paint outdoors even when it’s minus degrees but I’m not 100% fit so it’s not a good idea right now, the long winters here don’t agree with me. So it’s nudes at the moment. I hope you don’t mind.
To view a larger image, click the thumbnail below.
My life drawing classes, which are live-streamed on Zoom begin again this week. I don’t actually get much time to sketch during the sessions as I am the organiser of the event. I’ll have to join someone else’s life class to practise. Ironic, I know.
Because I don’t sketch the nude as much I’d like to I set myself a weekly goal of producing a watercolour that I can later use to promote my life drawing classes.
If you are interested in joining Meldrum Kroki, click here. Please answer the 3 questions when you apply. Thanks.
If you would like to see the full-sized image please click the thumbnail below
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
Just a little reminder to say Meldrum Kroki, my life drawing class at Dieselverkstaden is cancelled until further notice. Please check the Dieselverkstaden calendar for future classes when the world returns to some sort of normality. Thanks. Sketch safely, love.
Calender link: https://dieselverkstaden.se/kurser/meldrum-kroki-2020/
This is for those of you who enjoy life drawing, here is my current sketchbook. I normally just take photos of my work but this time I thought I’d present my drawings on video with a little voice over.
Have a nice weekend!
David
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.
