Leith School of Art week 3

I know what you're thinking, where is week 2- I was on holiday OK!!

This week we studied the etchings of Rembrant, drawings of Degas looking at mark making and using directional hatching marks to show the different planes of the body.

Fiona seated

Charcoal and white chalk
23x33 inches

Ryan

Leith School of Art week 1

I've not been posting much recently as I've been doing evening classes at Leith School of Art. We've just finished the first half of term 1 (6 weeks) so I'd thought since I've got a week off I must catch up with my blog!

http://www.leithschoolofart.co.uk/

I'm studying figure painting and drawing with a great teacher called Andrew Paterson, whose life-size oils are amazing!

http://www.andrewpatersonart.com/

In the first week we did a lot of quick sketching and loosening up exercises, culminating in a 45min final pose in charcoal. We had to draw looking directly at the model (and not at all at the paper! more difficult than you would think) this lasted ten minutes before we could even look at what kind of mess we made! Amongst the jumble of lines and marks, the loose basis of the drawing.

Next we had to attack what we had done with the rubber, which smudged, merged, softened and lightened our original image. Then for the last 30 mins we got to work proper! Tring to keep some of the sponaneous mark of the under drawing and refining it. As it was the first week I was definitely rusty and was knackered at the end!

Life study week 1

Charcoal on paper 23 x 33inches

Save our Titians!!!

The National Galleries of Scotland has one an amazing collections of old master paintings but a significant number are part of a loan 'The Bridgewater Loan'. 27 works including two giant Titians and a Rembrandt self portrait, Poussin.

These paintings have been on loan since 1945 but the owner now wishes to sell . He has offered us the chance to acquire two key works Titian’s Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto on extremely favourable terms

We need to secure £50 million by 31 December 2008 to purchase the first painting, Diana and Actaeon. If we don't raise the funds then the painitngs will go on sale on the open market


http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/8685?initial=T&artistId=11008&artistName=Titian%20(Tiziano%20Vecellio)&submit=1
Titian's -Diana and Actaeon

If we are successful with this then we get the opportunity to buy the second Titian (another £50mill ) and secure the remainder of the loaned paintings for 21 years

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/8686?initial=T&artistId=11008&artistName=Titian%20(Tiziano%20Vecellio)&submit=1
Titian's- Diana and Callisto

The Scottish gallery has launched an urgent appeal for public money to keep these paintings in the public collection- it would be horrendous to think of works like these going into a private collection or worse a bank vault.They have linked up with the National Gallery London in a joint bid to raise the huge funds required in the extremely short space of time

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/supportus/page/3:5883

Ryan