Armature, Form and Color

Artist Diane Rappisi is known for her exciting, vibrant figure paintings.  I was lucky enough to take a workshop with her this week and it was a terrific experience.    It was efficiently run, fast paced and highly productive.   Ironically, "productive" does not mean I have even one completed painting to show for it as I did not attend all the days, but I came away with much, albeit intangible.



Color Study I

The first segment focussed on sharpening our powers of observation and quick draw skills.   With a stick of charcoal in one hand and a Viva paper towel in the other, we stood in front of our easels facing a large sheet of charcoal paper.  The live nude model was instructed to change her pose every 30 seconds for a stretch of about 10-15 minutes at a time.    Our challenge was to capture the pose with accurate angles and a minimal number of lines.  Each time the model changed position, we wiped off the sheet with the paper towel, getting back to a blank sheet.    With each subsequent session of this drill, it became easier and - I believe - more accurate.  Once in the groove of repeatedly and boldly covering the large sheet with long limb lines, the thirty seconds actually seemed too long.  I loved it and felt absolutely energized by the exercise.


Color Study II

The second segment didn't come quite as easily.   The goal was to build upon armature lines with charcoal as in the first segment, and then to build shapes around the armature giving it a three dimensional volume.   The model's poses were longer so that we could apply volume to the armature via boxes and cylinders.  With large simple shapes and shading, the form started to look like a human form.   I have no in-progress photos for the first two exercises - no time!



Color Study III

The next workshop segment and the last one that I was able to attend, was all about color.   Diane designed a scene by erecting swatches of colorful fabric so that they surrounded the live model.   The challenge was to paint a series of color splotches on the canvas that accurately represented the dominant colors, their shadow colors and in particular, the fleshones of the model.    We were to nudge the colors back and forth so that the relationships were accurate with respect to color and value, without worrying about an accurate drawing.   Playing with just the color was liberating and took away the over-thinking that can get me bogged down.  It almost felt like cheating not to work toward a representational outcome, but it was a very enlightening drill. 

I look forward to the next time I can take instruction with this wonderful artist and teacher.