Transfers and Collages

I am working on a new piece called “Invitation: To Proceed”. There is no one photo that captures what I wish to express. Often I will combine several photos into one image. The perspective is tricky at times; it is much simpler with one person or two as long as they are not too far apart. In this case I chose a lonely figure who was walking at a slightly different angle to the one I needed. So there were two problems to solve: angle and proportion. I decided a thumbnail sketch was in order so I could determine whether or not he should be dressed in dark or light clothing. The sketch gave me the tonal value and the proportion, now all I needed was the angle. With difficult problems such as this a preliminary sketch is a must. Trying to draw a perfect figure onto the watercolour sheet with all the necessary changes and without making any errors comes down to wishful thinking. It is much easier to make all the mistakes on a cheap piece of paper then using a light table I can transfer it by tracing. I cut a chunk of Mayfield to the correct size and began to draw. Changing the angle of the shoulders, hips, legs and feet proved not to be as challenging as I had first imagined. I am very thankful for all the hours I put into life drawing. They put flow into my work. Life is so good.