About This Work

Second One This pastel drawing – 17-12-24 – 1 is the second one of this month’s live drawing and painting event. As explained in my art statement to my pastel of the first session we had lovely model Bo over again. Always a pleasure. Her aesthetic features simply love my charcoal and pastel chalks. Therefor I only had to guide my hand across the paper and draw. This having said, her reclining position was a bit more challenging to get hold of. That’s due to the foreshortening of her torso and the crossed arms clenching a cushion. Nonetheless I liked this position in front of her, lowering my easle and sitting down at her eye level. Memory of an Earlier Pastel The position immediately reminded me to my pastel drawing ‘Henriëtte – 23-03-13’ I made at Studio Brugman. Back then I was into laying hatched strokes, even during live drawing sessions. Even though I still hatch nowadays I found a more efficient way to draw. Using the side of half a Conté pastel chalk fills up the tooth very quickly. This gives me more time for artistic considerations to make. One is to simply look with more care and see if I want to fine detail certain areas or not. Throughout the years I came to an important conclusion and that is to elevate my art to the next level. Openess I often admire artists like Toulouse-Lautrec, Degas, Rembrandt, Klimt and so many more who were expert draftsmen. In many a drawing they produced open structures. As if they didn’t have the time to complete it. Of course decades ago I already saw this was intentional. It offers ‘openess’. These ‘unfinished’ strokes and foms offer an open hand to the viewer to complete them. That is to say, an open ending of a book is completed in the fantasy of the reader. Yes, yes, I already was aware of these workings but to actually practise what you preach is another thing. Now you know why I am happy with this one. Especially the basic execution of her hands with some single lines. They match the more elaborate planes of white softness on her buttocks for example.