The Art of Healing Gallery
Figure Drawing Elective
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Charcoal Drawings
The purpose of figure drawing course is to have fun and, while doing so, develop the ability to
communicate ideas by putting pen to paper. It will help the participants gain a better understanding
of the human body- how it works, what the shapes of the surface tell us about the underlying
structure, and how to communicate health related issues through sketches. The course also helps
the participants identify those special characteristics that help describe the uniqueness of person,
object or idea that one wishes to express. Most importantly, the students are able to express
their thoughts and ideas in a creative and supportive environment- and have fun too!
Every week for our two hour long class the students draw from the live model. The students usually start out with several series of "gesture" studies; most of the drawings represented in the gallery are gestures.
Comprehension of Gesture
"The study of gesture is not simply looking at the movement that the model makes. You must also seek
to understand the impulse that exits inside the model and causes the pose which you see. The drawing
starts with the impulse, not the position."
- Kimon Nicolaides, The Natural Way to Draw
After a half hour of gestures we move onto longer studies-- sometimes focusing on the contour of the body, sometimes on the weight, and sometimes on the structure and anatomy. Over the course of the term, the students gain a greater undersatnding human body and are able to start looking at it in new, differnet ways than ever before.
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