Last life drawing before Christmas

2018.12.15

meldrum watercolour nude sketch
meldrum watercolour nude sketch
meldrum watercolour nude sketch
meldrum watercolour nude sketch
meldrum watercolour nude sketch
meldrum watercolour nude sketch
meldrum watercolour nude sketch

I went to Basis on Folkkungagatan (147) here in Stockholm, it’s an art school and every Saturday my old gang of life drawing enthusiasts meet and sketch like crazy under the eastern-European guidance of Gabor.
He starts with a 5 minute pose but the rest of the session is 1 – 4 minute poses, everyone is pretty exhausted afterwards.
What’s nice about going to life drawing on a Saturday is that everyone is relaxed and a big group of us go for a coffee afterwards and have a light-hearted post analysis of our sketches. It was the first time for me this term and it was the last session before Christmas. Next year I will be able to join my friends more as my own life drawing class will be on Thursdays and not Fridays as it was this year. I have been pretty tired on Saturday mornings this term because of working late on Friday evenings.

All features sketches here were sketched between 2 – 4 minutes.

Friday’s life drawing

2018.12.14

I never know whether to call it figure painting or life drawing, I guess it’s more correct to call them figure paintings but they were executed in minutes and not hours, maybe you understand my dilemma.

These, whatever you call them were sketched at my own life drawing class last Friday. It was the first time for the model to pose and I think she did a great job. I managed a few decent paintings even though I wasn’t 100% relaxed as I was responsible for the evening. I am happy with my output right now, it’s a productive period.

I can’t do a portrait every day

2018.12.13

I would love to just paint portraits everyday until I felt I had mastered them but there is always something that gets in the way. It’s not good to be so manic either, I can always try to be better at several things at the same time. My progress may not be as fast but at least I’ll be having more fun.

The model for this watercolour portrait was once again from Sktchy App.

If you would like to see a larger version please click the thumbnail below.

meldrum art portrait
meldrum art portrait

Life drawing

2018.12.11

I am enjoying my return to figure painting. I have been using charcoal for ages but not anymore, at least until I crave a change, … which happens quite often. The poses here are 2-5 minutes long, the drawing has to be quick as you can imagine. I paint as much as I can, no time to be fussy -that is why it’s so much fun!

Portrait practice continues

2018.12.11

I don’t know how long I can keep this up? I want to paint a portrait every day for the foreseeable future so that I can improve in this area. The only problem is there are other projects that need to be taken care of too. I can juggle pretty good but dealing with my new art career is tricky.

I am happy enough with this portrait, I like the nose – that’s enough for me to like the painting. See, I am not too demanding on myself! I spent too much time fiddling with the shading so it’s not perfect but I know I will improve each time I do a portrait and that’s incentive enough for me.

Painted on Suanders Waterford CP 26 x 36 cm.

Click the image below if you would like to see the full- sized painting.

Portrait practice
Portrait practice

 

Life without a sailing boat

I have been trying really hard not to paint sail boats for a while now, it’s hard – I just love to paint them. The reason I am avoiding them is so that I can develop as a watercolour artist by painting other things that I am not used to and find difficult. Portraits are difficult, the one that’s featured here doesn’t resemble the original model very well. I wasn’t trying too get a perfect likeness, my goal is to master painting skin and building the facial form, I think creating a likeness will improve as I practice.

The model reference by the way was downloaded from the iPhone only Sktchy app. Why it’s only iPhone users who can use this service I do not know.
Click the thumbnail below to see the full-sized image

Portrait by Meldrum Art
Portrait by Meldrum Art

Last Meldrum Life Drawing session this Friday

14th December

Meldrum Art
Meldrum Art
Meldrum Art
Meldrum Art

The last Meldrum Kroki ( Meldrum Life Drawing ) for this year is this Friday the 14th of December. Next year the sessions will be on Thursdays, the first one being on the 10th of January.

These watercolour sketches were each 5 minutes long and painted on cellulose paper and not cotton. It’s a very different feeling painting on cheap paper but enjoyable anyway.

Join the Meldrum Kroki Facebook group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/378766722540122/

An experience from the Musée d’Orsay

I call this watercolour, “Alone in Paris”. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, when I visited the Musée d’Orsay in Paris I was struck by the sheer volume of people milling around the famous works of art. It was so busy I wasn’t able to get up close to study how masters like Van Gogh painted. I felt that the visitors weren’t really looking at the art on display, they merely acknowledged their presence. You could say they were ticking a list, Monet – check, Van Gogh – Check, Renoir – check and so on. So I felt like I was the only person in the room at that given moment who really wanted to immerse himself in the painting.

I was thinking also, how Van Gogh would feel? So famous now but ignored during his own life time. Here is a link to a description of his self-portrait by the way. I don’t know if he would be happier today, people are still not really looking at his art, – trying to understand it. His art has become a trophy that the super rich buy to stroke their egos. I am not so famous and I sell to only those who really appreciate my watecolours, I like it like that.

My wife mentioned that my style in this painting is more similar to my earlier art which was more graphic or cartoon like. I have to agree, I think the reason for this is that I am unsure of myself as I am only starting to paint people. I would much prefer to paint my figures like say Benjamin Björklund,  which is to leave more for the viewer to fill in. I love Impressionism because it is so hard for me to achieve I think.

Alone in Paris: 52 x 34 cm

Click the thumbnail below to see the full-sized image

Alone in Paris 52 x 34 cm
Alone in Paris 52 x 34 cm

 

A winter watercolour of Grönalund in Stockholm

November light 70 x 50 cm

 

Gröna lund, Stockholm
Gröna lund, Stockholm

The winter months before Christmas are so dark here in Stockholm. The clouds tend to get tired and seem to rest on the ground. It is nearly always grey in November.

I originally sketched this scene with Stockholm Urban Sketchers in August, I really liked it so I decided to paint a large version of it now. I was of course influenced by the time of year I was in.

 

Click the thumbnail below to see the full-sized image

November light. Grönalund in winter
November light. Grönalund in winter