Deliberate Sketching

Tonight’s model has modeled for the Tuesday Zoom sketching group several times. He is studying printmaking and usually poses at his studio table.

Every time I paint this particular model, I notice how his posture and focused gaze makes him look like he is thinking. Tonight he sat at an angle to his table. His back was straight, and he looked down pensively. It was an interesting pose, full of angles, foreshortening, highlights, and shadows, and was lots of fun to sketch. The best part, though, was his body language, and that is what I wanted to capture with this painting.

This week’s Tuesday Zoom model wore a beautiful red polka-dotted dress. She sat on the couch in her living room, holding a pillow and looking off into the distance. Her red hair, red dress, and rosy complexion were lovely.

Her pose reminded me a bit of Jules Breton’s painting, The Song of the Lark. So when it came time to create a background, I skipped the sofa and put in a soft landscape.

Tuesday’s Zoom model sat on the floor and leaned her head against wall. She seemed dejected and I wondered what the story was and hoped she would be OK.

At the end of the evening, I put the painting up where I would see it. The background was unfinished and I needed to think about creating one that matched the model’s mood.

A few days later I was drawing a couch for another painting. I got to thinking that if I put a couch behind her and a phone next to her, it would tell a story about her sad demeanor. My husband kindly got down on the floor and slouched against the couch so I could get the proportions right.