Scrambling to capture a three second pose.

 I am in awe of people who can take charcoal in hand and zip, flick, swish, three strokes and they've captured the human figure. During a recent figure drawing class I struggled to loosen up. Poses were held for three seconds, so there wasn't much choice! The teacher, witnessing my struggles, instructed me to use the side of my charcoal to blacken the entire paper. Then using just the eraser, I was told to 'find' the highlights. This was a fun exercise. Instead of defining the figure with line, I was freed to see the form. I'm excited to try this approach with my own students next term.

Drawing with eraser.

Self-Portrait

In this self-portrait my grim expression reminds me of old photographs in which the subjects, stiff and formal, appear to glare, lips pursed in anger, at the camera. Rather than capturing ill humor these photos reveal the discomfort and effort exerted to hold a pose for the duration of the long exposure time needed to record the image. That's pretty much my experience trying to draw my reflection in a mirror and hold a pose simultaneously!