Week 6 - Getting loose, and what even is ‘talent’?
Gesture drawing and the ‘fat over lean’ method ✨
Week 6 of the Mastery program was all about getting loose…
This week has been one of my favourite weeks in the oil and drawing section so far.
I learned 3 main lessons this week:
How to paint in Dimitra Milan’s favourite ‘Fat over lean’ method (the style of artwork I fell in love with when I found Dimitra’s artwork)
That gesture drawing is a method I had been using in previous work without even knowing what it was
Just because I can draw, doesn’t mean I can paint…
I’ll start with my favourite drawing of the week.
Gesture drawing is when you start by lightly sketching in the center axis of the figure, and through the use of light lines, ellipses and ovals, the figure’s interior contour starts to take shape.
The focus is to draw in a gestural manner - the line of shoulders, ribs, waist, and knees, to capture the ‘gesture’ of the pose.
I drew one of my favourite statues, and it was my first time using water-soluble graphite too, and it had such a gorgeous drippy effect.
I love this style of drawing because firstly, as you know, I love drawing the figure. But didn’t realise that I’ve previously created drawings like this already years ago.
Without realising, I was in a way, ‘Gesture drawing’ when I created pieces like my white-on-black drawings from 2020.
I was drawing the muscular shapes and skeletal features just because I liked the look of it, but now I understand why.
(White-on-black drawings are available as prints here.)
The painting task for the week was the ‘fat over lean’ method.
This means building the painting in layers, using thin to thick.
Starting with a sketch, adding a thin colour wash mixed with solvent, and then starting to map in the lights to darks with transparent paints and Galkyd glazing medium.
When it was time to add in opaque paints, I needed to ensure that I left bits of each layer showing through.
This painting was actually so challenging and when I was about 75% of the way through, I really wanted to give up on the painting.
I didn’t though.
Because my stubborness means I don’t give up 😆
I feared that it was overworked and had a chat with Elli and she gave me some pointers to bring her to a more rendered and completed state.
I was much happier after this. I also find, that adding the whiskers and the final highlights always brings my paintings back after I think I’ve reached the point of no return 🙈
(If you want to see the full process video, click here)
Something I have always found when I create any painting, specifically in my pet portraits actually, is that when I get about 75% of the way through, I panic and think I have royally fu***ed it.
(Sorry Nanna, but I needed to emphasise the pain I feel when this happens)
But somehow, after a flap and sometimes a cry, or a good night’s sleep, I almost always manage to fix it.
For so long I have said that I ‘fix it’, but maybe I actually just work through it…
This is the same in everyday life.
You can either choose to wallow in the shit, or switch the narrative, understand that good things take time. That it takes hard work, and it won’t happen overnight.
Painting doesn’t come to me easily.
Some might say, ‘your work is great, what do you mean?!’
But I always know I can do better.
I know what I could be capable of.
People often say I’m “talented”, yeah maybe when I came out of the womb I had more of a creative eye than some people, but I have developed my skills through practice.
I have practiced over and over since that first ‘How to Draw Cats’ book I was gifted at age 6.
I had to resit my A-level art after getting below my predicted grade, was challenged to draw, draw and redraw through my tattoo apprenticeship, I’ve redrawn and retraced and reshaded over and over again, I’ve stayed up until the early hours of the morning copying artwork from Pinterest instead of going out with friends.
I doodled at every opportunity, all over my skin and other’s, I begged my loved ones to let me paint mini murals on their bedroom walls, I played and experimented over and over again until I was happy enough to share my creations online.
It’s not talent.
It’s hard work and dedication, and practice.
Just like any other skill, I have had to work hard to be able to draw things.
I know that in reality, painting is going to take hard work too.
Yes, there is an element of, if you can already draw you have a head start, but just because you can draw, it doesn’t mean you can paint.
Painting isn’t drawing.
You’re supposed to move paint around, layer it up, see form and value and colour. It’s not just a 2D drawing anymore.
And I’ve never been good with colour!
I need to be fierce, tenacious and unrelenting. Just like I have up until this point.
I am so passionate about my art, and I really cannot ever see myself doing anything else. I’m obsessed.
Every time I create a new painting, I see myself on the canvas.
With each new painting, my skills improve so much, and so do I, with a new mental barrier being knocked down each time.
I finished her with cold wax medium and did my best to not cover those first messy abstract layers. If you look closely you can see them coming through...
Tenacious and strong, you have the power to overcome whatever challenge you are facing. You have a fierce spirit and a treasure chest of skills at your disposal. Flexible, strong and quick on your feet - this is how you seize every opportunity that comes your way. You know who you are and where you come from, you are extraordinary in your unique form. You are a warrior. A rare beauty.
I am so happy with how she turned out. She’s taught me a lot and she symbolises a lot for me in this chapter. A breakthrough piece I think…
‘Her Own Muse’, 2023
16 x 20 - oil on canvas 💙
Like what you saw today? Both pieces are available, and in print form too 🧡✨
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