Feeling nervous, figure posed on the screen, blank page in front of me and the tutor’s voice says ‘this pose 10 minutes’. 10 minutes to make something, make a mark, where to begin? Then I start, and in the ‘doing’ the anxiety melts away, you live in the moment, no time to think. This is the moment everything you have learned before, if all is well, will be expressed unconsciously, as muscle memory, and expressed in a way that you are satisfied with.
Olga June 2021 © Catherine Cronin
The online life drawing lessons start with short warm up poses, that can be anything from 1 min up to 10 min; then a longer pose of 20 min or 40 min. Those short warm up sessions are key to getting rid of the anxiety and getting into the rhythm of drawing. I find them invaluable, I can feel and see the improvements by the end of the session. Though saying that, the longer poses offer room for overthinking and overworking the image! It is a hard thing to learn , when to stop.
There is an opportunity for attendees to share their work on camera; and I find inspiration from what I see others doing. I make mental notes to try that colour, that medium, that way to express through drawing. At the end of the sessions, I’m looking at my drawings, sifting the aspects I like and don’t like, what I want to push next time around.
Burgundy Rose March 2021 © Catherine Cronin
I’m still seeking how to express the figure; I love colour, and I’m interested in creating layers of colour to describe the figure. But using such strong colour on the figure leaves me uncertain about background or the space around the figure. I’m so new to this, I’m still focusing on the figure, and I’m looking sideways at the relationship between the figure and the space around it.
© Catherine Cronin