Much has transpired since my last post but I’ll spare you by fast-forwarding and leave it at: I just returned from Italy. Any decent blogger would have spent time while on the Italian trip of a lifetime to post real time photos. I did not. Now that I’m home, I am processing all that has transpired during my “meraviglioso” trip.
The group tour was also a workshop and the main reason why I chose this particular trip abroad. The Gage Academy art history/drawing workshop Florence tour was filled with many sights and experiences and I’m glad to have this breather to share, hopefully in an organized manner, some of my take-aways from mostly Renaissance Florence, Italy.
The drawing was a highlight. I’m still sketching from home utilizing my photos but mostly referencing postcards of special masterworks I picked up along the way mainly because “No Camera!” in some venues. I’m not classically trained but have always felt I could draw. Geoff Flack’s instruction helped me become a better at drawing, in that I now understand some of the tools and fundamentals in a more instinctive way. The class structure covered many subjects of drawing: nude figure, cast and portrait drawing. We also drew on-site the architecture and sculpture INCLUDING RELIEFS! I found a new love of plaster, marble and terracotta reliefs throughout Italy- of which I hadn’t given a second thought until this trip.
Here are some rrrrough sketches of different subjects. These are precious to me because they speak to the missing links in my method of drawing which was fragmented and raw. I still have plenty to learn like how to incorporate colored pencil and work with charcoal and, and, and … In the meantime, I’m happy to have picked up some valuable pointers!
Guess who? Virgin and Child, Tondo Pitti (Bargello). One more relief and one of the MANY Michelangelo masterworks I am in awe of. I drew this at home but happy to have laid eyes on this amazing relief. I learned more abut cross-hatching while gaining an understanding of hard and soft pencil marks, as well as pushing things into the background (this is tricky on a relief).
Michelangelo Baccus (Bargello). I’m glad I didn’t have more time on this. It was starting to go wrong. I should have worked more on the gesture and see the left leg, the “pit of the neck” thing is off.
The beginning of a Michelangelo crucifix. I started with gesture and began filling in the drawing based on “What I know, not what I see” which is hard when the know part, i.e., anatomy, has yet to surface. I’ll just say, I bought a book that I hope will help.