Seaborne, 2009, by Fred Hatt
Claudia Citkovitz is a Staten Island based acupuncturist with a specialty in childbirth and delivery. Recently she arranged for me to make some sketches that she may use in promotional or educational materials. One of Claudia’s friends and clients posed for the drawings above and below. These two are a kind of yin and yang of the pregnant figure. Above, the relaxed body is treated like a landscape, while below the standing body actively projects its fertility. The extra weight in the abdomen often seems to cause a compensatory drawing back of the shoulders, giving many a standing pregnant figure a proud air.
Stride, 2009, by Fred Hatt
Several years ago I painted a pregnant belly at a music festival, emphasizing the aqueous and ovoid elements of the condition:
Belly Crescent, 2001, bodypaint and photo by Fred Hatt
Another festival painting of a pregnant torso, expressing the flourishing life force:
Garden, 2007, bodypaint and photo by Fred Hatt
I also had the opportunity to do a full body painting on a pregnant woman. Here is the earthiest manifestation of the human body, in one of the most grounded poses:
Fertile Structure, 2001, bodypaint and photo by Fred Hatt
This is an intuitive painting responding to the sensation of life energy coalescing within, as in the fetal image in this post.
Supine, 2001, bodypaint and photo by Fred Hatt
Side, 2001, bodypaint and photo by Fred Hatt
In 2007, Shifra, one of the renowned artist’s models on the New York scene, posed for a drawing session at Figureworks Gallery at about eight months pregnant. The roundness of the pregnant form is quite unlike the roundness of obesity. The skin of the swelling belly and breasts is drum-tight. The entire body is surging with life-force and all the muscles are toned.
SG pregnant pencil sketch 01, 2007, by Fred Hatt
Below, the sharp angle of the elbow balances the rounded belly.
SG pregnant pencil sketch 02, 2007, by Fred Hatt
Poses that show both the back and the belly convey the strength and vigor that a pregnant woman emanates so strongly.
SG pregnant pencil sketch 03, 2007, by Fred Hatt
SG pregnant pencil sketch 04, 2007, by Fred Hatt
SG pregnant pencil sketch 05, 2007, by Fred Hatt
This pose has great openness and an upward thrust that convey the vigor of the life force burgeoning within.
SG pregnant crayon sketch 01, 2007, by Fred Hatt
The side reclining pose, viewed from above, is a rarely seen view. I had to stand, balancing my large drawing board against my belt with one hand, to draw this angle:
SG pregnant crayon sketch 02, 2007, by Fred Hatt
A few months later, Shifra returned to pose with her child.
SG and child pencil sketch 05, 2008, by Fred Hatt
SG and child crayon sketch 01, 2008, by Fred Hatt
Of course, a baby won’t hold still for a portrait. This is one of the many situations where speed is an important asset for an artist.
SG and child pencil sketch 03, 2008, by Fred Hatt
SG and child pencil sketch 06, 2008, by Fred Hatt
SG and child crayon sketch 02, 2008, by Fred Hatt
The pregnant figure and the baby are both constructed around predominantly round forms. Both share a quality of growth so concentrated it seems to color the air around them, but the baby has a vulnerability in contrast to the pregnant woman’s manifest power.
The crayon drawings here are all 50 x 70 cm, aquarelle crayon on paper, and the pencil drawings are in 14″ x 17″ (35.5 x 43 cm) sketchbooks.
One of my large scale drawings, of a pregnant couple, is seen at the bottom of this post.
