I demonstrated sketching first in ink and filling in with watercolor.
The class then sketched the model (me) and filled in the details in watercolor. What brave souls working in watercolor. They sketched for about 5 or 10 minutes then began painting.
I pointed out the shapes and shadows. Not to worry about the details of the face but simply catching the basic feel of the turn of the head, lean of the body, folds in the clothing.
What remarkable work they did!
Painting real people (not from a photo) is so daunting (especially people you know). Not only did they get a human figure painted on their paper, but I saw an exploration of style begin to take shape. Use of color and composition came into play.
Here's a favorite of mine. This was done on site at the workshop stage at the High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival in Westcliffe, CO.
I probably had about 15 minutes of working time.
The first step is to sketch in the shape of the body. I do that in about 2 minutes and work directly in ink.
Then I can spend some time noticing the shadows and filling in a few details such as the strings on the guitar. I put in the back line of the room just for reference. There were actually windows behind him. He was there for about 45 minutes, and I did 2 paintings. I gave the other one to his family who was there.
Next week we'll try our hand at crowds.
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