Open Drawing Class

warm up drawings | Katharina Jourdan

study of seating woman | Katharina Jourdan

6. Week | First Homework

This week, we were discussing our shell drawing in small groups. To create a dynamic composition, I tried to draw my shell from an angle, which shows a log axis line. During the discussion in the small group, I realized that it could be even more dramatic. Amy critiqued this too. One goal of the homework was to draw contour lines instead of outlines. In the end, I erased some of my outlines, which first helped me to figure out the shape and then were not necessary anymore. In my drawing, there is already a line differentiation, but in the lighter part, it could be even more exaggerated. Everyone in my group agreed that a lot of plane changes are evident. In addition, my discussion group mentioned that there are some magic parts in my drawing and it has a definitive sense of life. Thank you for saying this! Next time, my wish is to have some more constructive critique that helps me to improve my work.

Homework: first shell drawing | Katharina Jourdan

Amy’s advice was to increase the contrast in the part of the shell, which is next to the viewer, and let the drawing have less detail and contrast as more of the shell moves away in space.

5. Week

There was no class this week, so I had time to focus on my homework with my shell:

4. Week

This week, in class on Tuesday, we started with a lecture on the muscles of the torso. Later, I found myself not able to draw. On my paper, the relationship between the torso and the legs was not right. It took me a while to realize what was wrong. I have the tendency to oversize the torso and make the rib cage larger than it is. At the end of class, we were introduced to our new homework. We will make large couture drawings of our seashell.

On Thursday, our motto was to draw as light as possible. To achieve this, we attached two drawing utensils together. Being no closer to the page than an arms-length away, we were able to practice drawing with our shoulders.

measure drawing | Katharina Jourdan

At the end of class, we spent one and a half hours on a measure drawing, connecting one landmark with another by using straight lines. 

Open Drawing Class

This time in the Open Drawing class, we had a male model to draw. As usual, we started with fast drawings and ended up with a couple of longer studies. Have a look at my work:

warm up drawings | Katharina Jourdan

3 minutes drawings | Katharina Jourdan

15 minutes drawing | Katharina Jourdan

3. Week

This week, in the Life Drawing class, we began both sessions with gesture drawings. Our challenge was to see and draw only the rib cage and the spinal column. It took me a while until I was able to see it and put it down on paper. We started with just 30 seconds per drawing and increased the time to five minutes.

rib cage and the spinal column drawing | Katharina Jourdan

We also did cross contour drawings. For me, it was hard to make the decision in which direction the cross contours should go, so I decided to publish my other drawing instead.

the other drawing | Katharina Jourdan