meldrum art
I’ll be honest. Nudes are difficult. Shading human skin in watercolour must be one of the hardest skills to achieve. It feels that way at least. Luckily, I love just trying and trying, … and trying to master it. One day, maybe – maybe not.
I gave this one a good go, I did my best. It’s not fun admitting to oneself that one has a long way to go before mastering a watercolour nude.
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I am looking for a softer approach to my painting and so I am testing different techniques. In this nude study the paper was very wet when I applied the watercolour pigment. The fact it spread like crazy is exactly why I love this medium.
It seems crazy but I haven’t been to a life drawing class since Covid broke out last year. I run my own life drawing classes but as most of you who regularly visit this site know, I never have time to sketch. There are exceptions, last week being one, the whole evening ran smoothly and so by the time the longer 5 minute poses came along I felt relaxed and so I managed a few sketches. I’m only showing this one, I’m definitely rusty.
Why a sudden interest in painting nudes David? I guess it’s because it’s where I’m at at the moment. I am running my life drawing classes and I feel inspired because it is now and in the present. Landscapes have to wait, it’s too cold outside and I find little inspiration from my reference photos. I would love to paint outdoors even when it’s minus degrees but I’m not 100% fit so it’s not a good idea right now, the long winters here don’t agree with me. So it’s nudes at the moment. I hope you don’t mind.
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It’s true, I don’t paint male models as much as female ones. It’s just a preference. I enjoy the female form more, I like to draw the curves, a sketch is soft and smooth. Male models are more angular, more shapes and bumps to capture. Difficult when you only have a few minutes to capture the pose. Nothing wrong with male models, it’s just my preference.
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I am the first to admit, I made her too skinny. I like the pose and the lighting though. I should try again.
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Every Thursday I run my own life drawing class here in Stockholm and this means I need to create a drawing or a watercolour to help publicise the event. So yes, some weeks I am quite desperate to paint a model. Deadlines, deadlines – even artists stress sometimes.
My life drawing is streamed live because of the pandemic. If you would like to join please go to this page: https://www.meldrum.se/lifedrawing/
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It’s true, I rarely sketch nudes these days which is ironic as I run a life drawing class every Thursday even during the pandemic. My problem is that I don’t have time to go to other life drawing classes and right now I don’t actually want to physically be in a classroom anyway. This is why I stream my own life drawing classes. It means extra work for me as a host so sketching has had to take a back seat.
I’m not complaining too much. I get a lot enjoyment out of running my class and I can sketch nudes anytime using photo resources that I have bought throughout the years. Actually, I think I am just making excuses. There is nothing preventing me from sketching or painting watercolour nudes, it’s up to me, I decide.
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I have started painting nudes again. It’s a real challenge, human skin-tones are so fine, so delicate. I am enjoying it though. It takes a lot longer for me to complete a nude, I’m not used to that. I don’t really have the patience for it so I spread the painting over several days, I work for an hour or two each day until it is finished. This is the best way for me to work right now, I hope I can improve my concentration with the next watercolours that I plan to paint in the coming weeks. Nude: 36 x 26 cm
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