After completing my first year as a full time student at Studio Incamminati, I thought I would share a bit about my experience and a few drawings. It was an incredible year and I saw how much more there is to learn.
Our work began with learning to see simple light and shadow shapes using straight lines and angles to construct form. My biggest hurdle was trying to cultivate the proper posture and work habits that help you see those forms. We were told to stand back and squint and keep your arm straight out in front of you in a fencing type stance. I can't tell you how many times I wasn't doing that and immediately saw it in my drawings.
Our first still life charcoal drawing was composed of simple boxes that increasingly got more difficult. Simple shapes were replaced by more advanced items which lead to more complex designs. Fabric, irregular shapes (like skulls), glass and textured items all added to the challenge.
We copied Bargue drawings for nine weeks, one day a week to learn to judge angles and proportion. As painful as they were, I can say that it did help. Some were more challenging that others but all helped strengthen my seeing skills so it was worth the effort.
Ecorche drawings were done from life using red chalk to illustrate the muscles of the body. This concept was completely foreign to me but we had anatomy books to use as reference material for laying in the different muscles.
In figure drawing class, the concept was the same. Squint to see large shapes in light and dark. Initially we worked on getting the gesture and worked our way down to smaller shapes. The goal is to eventually work toward the effect of raking light on form.
