Welcome to my new blog. As an artist who works in diverse forms, I think this is the medium I’ve always needed. Here I can mix drawings, photographs, video clips and writings, in a venue that’s expansive and broadly available. I have over twenty years of archives to draw on. Much of my work has been seen by a few people at an underground exhibit or performance somewhere, but I think some of it deserves a chance to be seen again. And there’s a constant stream of new work from my persistent habits of drawing and photography. If you like something you see here, bookmark this space and I promise there will be fresh material regularly. And please help me build an audience by sharing what you see here with anyone who may appreciate it.
For my first post, a few new figure drawings. I practice drawing from direct observation of live models as an ongoing regular practice. It’s a meditation, an exploration, and a workout for eyes and hands. These two back studies were made in a private session by commission in my studio a few weeks ago, with a model who wishes to remain anonymous.
Back Study #1: Convex, 2009, by Fred Hatt
Back Study #2: Concave, 2009, by Fred Hatt
They’re both drawn using my usual Caran d’Ache aquarelle crayons on black paper, 76 cm x 51 cm. Both are straight-on studies of the back in symmetrical poses, using the same color palette. Yet they’re strikingly different. Convex uses shading and exaggeration of actual observed differences in the colors of light and shadow to depict the wonderfully complex and subtle structure of the human back. Concave simplifies the depiction by just outlining the areas that light reveals in the model’s back. It’s a technique often used in drawing quick gestural poses, when there’s no time to do shading. The dividing line between light and shadow is treated as another contour, a simple line. It’s a kind of indefinite anatomy, yet the sureness and clarity of the lines makes it something definite. The different colors separate the resulting shapes, and like clouds or Rorschach blots, these outlined shapes may evoke different images in the mind.
The idea my model and I were working with in the studio was to look at the difference between a rounded, closed pose, and an angular, open one. There’s a difference in mood, too, with Convex having, for me, a feeling of sadness, while Concave feels strong and confident. The change in technique was an intuitive choice in the moment, responding to the differences in what I saw with a change of drawing technique.
Here’s another look at varying the technique in figure drawing. I’m the monitor responsible for overseeing a weekly three-hour long-pose session at Minerva Durham’s legendary Spring Studio in New York. It’s an open session where a mix of students and seasoned artists come to practice drawing from nude models. In this particular session, we do one set of quick warmup poses, and then the model takes a single pose (with breaks every 20 minutes) for the remainder of the class. I draw very quickly, and sometimes a long class has its pitfalls. A drawing that starts out simple and strong can get lost in overdevelopment. So last monday I made four different drawings during the session, all from the same model, in the same pose, and drawn from the same observational position. Our model was the wonderful Betty. All of these are 70 cm x 50 cm, aquarelle crayons on paper. My first attempt was drawn mostly with the side of the crayons:
Betty 1a, 2009, by Fred Hatt
This one captures an interesting combination of softness and strength, with perhaps a hint of sadness but also pride and confidence. One of the other artists in the class said I shouldn’t do much more on this one, and I agreed, so I flipped it over and did another one on the back:
Betty 1b, 2009, by Fred Hatt
Here I focused in close on the face, using only a combination of contour lines and cross-contour hatching. This kind of drawing is like carving – it feels like cutting planes and angles into space. This one was my favorite of the day, and I knew it would suffer from being worked any further, so I got another sheet of paper and started again:
Betty 2a, 2009, by Fred Hatt
When I started this third one I fully intended to work it into a nice, finished full-color rendering. The body was off to a good start, but the head was disproportionally large. It’s very easy for that to happen, since the face has a lot more intricate details close together than other parts of the body and it’s hard to get them down in a small space. I tried to fix it – you can see I used a gray crayon close to the paper color to cover over the top of the head and overdrew the upper part of the face smaller and lower than its original position. But I can’t get away with that much correcting without ruining the clarity of the drawing, so I flipped this one over and started again. By now the remaining class time was too short to do something really polished:
Betty 2b, 2009, by Fred Hatt
So here I tried to expand the sculptural approach of the second try to a fuller head and torso view.
When I looked at these later, it struck me that they’re more interesting as a series than they are as individual pieces. Because they’re not too finished they reveal a lot about how I analyze what I see, and the differences among them bring out the rough strengths of each. It’s analagous to what a composer might do in a theme and variations, taking what may seem a simple melodic motif and turning it every which way and inside and out to reveal its glorious complexity.
If this stirs any response in you, please leave a comment! Thanks.
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21 Comments
Response stirred! What a stunning and fascinating first post. Thank you for taking us through your process. I agree that the pieces work best as a series.
You have the ability to know when to stop working on a drawing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard artists lament that they ruined a piece by overworking, when they should have left it alone. Knowing when to stop allows a drawing to “freeze” itself in a fresh, immediate state. You have such a gift for that, Fred. It’s why your drawings are imbued with so much energy and urgency. Always alive. Perfect for life subjects of course.
Betty’s form and character are all over these drawings. You did her great justice, like you do all models.
I am honored to post the first ever comment on Drawing Life! Good luck, my dear friend. Whether it be through commentary or images, you have much to offer both the blogosphere and the art community. I look forward to following every moment of it with great joy and interest.
Thanks, Claudia, and it’s fitting for you to be the first commenter since your joyous and beautifully-written blog at http://artmodel.wordpress.com/ has been such a great inspiration to me.
Believe me, I have ruined many drawings by overworking them, especially in the long pose class at Spring Studio. Minerva Durham has occasionally told me I need to stop working on one, now! I think I’m slowly getting better at knowing when to stop.
Congratulations on putting your blog together!
The first post is great, and I’m looking forward to more!
Thanks, Sully. Another post coming tomorrow.
Fred, that it wonderful! To have you reveal what your process is, what is happening in your mind as you draw is very special and most welcome. Very reassuring. Thank you. I look forward to reading more…..
Fred, I agree~this is the ultimate forum for you. I appreciate the narration of your process in all its transparency. Betty 1a is a knockout!By the way, how are you scanning in such large drawings?
xAlisa
PS the ashram is a good place to read, but I’m already a little nervous they don’t have a library there…I wonder if i’ll have to bring a steerage trunk full of books…
Alisa, I don’t scan them, I photograph them with a digital SLR.
You need a Kindle!
Thanks, Liag. There’s so much more where that came from – all kinds of different stuff.
Thanks for a great post, Fred! Excellent drawings, as always. I’m looking forward to reading and seeing more of your work…
Coldsilvermoon, thanks for your comments. I noticed in your comment on Museworthy you said I’ve drawn you quite a few times as well, so what’s the name I would know you by as a model?
Hi Fred – There is a LOT in this post. Thank-you for sharing the thinking behind your drawing. I like the analytical side to your drawing and it is good to understand the structure of all those those coloured lines.
I also liked your comments on the body-language in ‘convex’ and ‘concave’. Something I would like to consider in figure work.
This is a great post, Fred. I particularly like that you are willing to post Betty 2A so that we could learn from it. Imagine if all artists were so generous and secure.
I love your work.
bob
Thank you, Bob. Maybe one of these days I’ll post one that got overworked, since “How to know when to stop” would probably be an interesting topic, especially to the artist readers!
Hi Fred! I’m glad I visited my hotmail inbox (rare) and took this journey through all of the posts on this page. I’ve really enjoyed every bit of it, the city photographs – crisp and evocative, the drawings, the body painting, the Blackbird poetry/series, and your insightful commentary to it all. Awesome! I was especially taken with Convex/Concave and the different feelings in them, and with Betty 1a – her eyes as seen by you were captivating pools of blue sadness! I look forward to seeing and reading more. You make me want to model too, hmmm! Peace and Blessings, Arlee
I really appreciate your comments, Stephen. I’m glad my talking about my technique is interesting and helpful to you even though you’re working in a very different medium (watercolor). But I think one of the ideas that I want to put across in this blog is that the different forms, the different practices, and the different ways of seeing and thinking can all inform each other, and every good artist has something you can make use of, even and maybe especially if you’re doing your own thing which is quite different.
Thank you, Arlee, I’m honored and happy that you got so much out of it, especially as you yourself have such an ability to inspire others!
Hello!
Very Interesting post! Thank you for such interesting resource!
PS: Sorry for my bad english, I’v just started to learn this language
See you!
Your, Raiul Baztepo
I was a volunteer to get bodypainted by Fred at a festival he attended. It was cathartic and healing as I have some medical issues.. He made me feel very comfortable in my own skin for the first time in decades. I now bug him every year to see if he will attend again – and I volunteer each time!!!! I had seen some of his work on HBO in a special he participated in…sooooo interesting! He has become a good friend and is a maestro!
Wynnie, the pictures of that body painting you mention may show up on this blog, some day when you least expect it!
Fred
Fred,
I recently saw your work on the cover of Amercian Artist “Drawing”. I love it! I’ve tried various mediums, but haven’t created anything significant for over 25 years (worked as commercial artist). I’ve bought a package of Staedtler coloured pencils, with no particular type of artwork in mind.
Recently retiring, I want to share my skills and views in the visual with other people, as my life journey continues.
Any suggestions? Thanks for your inspiring work!
Heather
Heather, if you have a creative urge you should definitely devote time and energy to it. You need to find ways of working and art materials that work for you, and this may require some experimentation. I didn’t go to art school, but when I started attending open life drawing sessions, I realized immediately that was the format and subject matter that brought discipline and focus to my work. I experimented with many different kinds of art materials before finding the ones that fit my hands and my vision. Now I have been doing disciplined life drawing practice, at least two sessions a week for 15 years, and I make sure I keep changing things up. I change materials, change scale, change how I start the drawings or where I sit or whatever. Find your practice and do it regularly, and keep challenging yourself – don’t settle into a rut. It is a path without an end point. There is always more to learn.
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