Grand Central Academy: Figurative Sculpture

Here is a progression of my sculpture of our model, Andre Antoine, in reverse chronological order. This was a 21 hour sculpture in Mason Sullivan’s evening sculpture class and is half life size.

Finished sculpture, 21 hours

18 hours

15 hours

12 hours

9 hours

6 hours

3 hours

1.) Beginning with positioning the wire armature, we added the egg and box shape for the rib cage and pelvis, paying special attention to the tilt and gesture of the pose. A base was inserted under the feet.

2.) Using a primarily sight-size approach to sculpting, we added pieces of clay, using the contours of the model for reference. Our sculptures were placed close to the the model, and we would stand back often to measure tilts and placement. We would turn the model every 10 minutes a quarter turn, and as we progressed, every 20 minutes.

3.) Anatomical details were refined as well as surface texture.

*A book highly recommended by Mason on figurative sculpture is Edouard Lanteri’s Modeling and Sculpting the Human Figure.

 

Grand Central Academy of Art

I’ve nearly completed two weeks of night classes at GCA. What a great art school! There is a wonderful combination of talent, motivation, dedication, and a cohesive vision to revitalize classical art. I would love to move back to NY to study here full time. This is what my schedule looks like:

Monday/Wednesday: Mason Sullivan’s Figurative Sculpture

Tuesday/Thursday: Joshua LaRock and Scott Waddell’s Portrait Drawing/Painting

Saturday: Cast Drawing with Nicholas Hiltner and Figure Drawing with Sam Wisneski

Here are some of the projects I’m working on.

Portrait Block-In, 9 hours

Figure Block-In, 3 hours

Cast Block-In, 3 hours

4 views, 3 hours

4 views, 6 hours

NYC subway sketches

I’m in New York this month taking classes at the Grand Central Academy. During the commute from Brooklyn, I enjoy sketching fellow passengers. Here are a few.

ink on paper

Alaska Sketches

Here are some animal sketches that were done in Alaska.

ink and waterbrush on paper

Alaska Pictures

We’ve just returned from a wonderful trip to Alaska. We flew into Anchorage, rented a car and visited the Matanuska Valley, Denali National Park, Fairbanks (and drove up to the Dalton Hwy, near the Arctic Circle), down the stunning Richardson Hwy to Valdez, over to Seward, to Whittier, and back to Anchorage. It was a whirlwind of a trip where we put nearly 2,000 miles on the rental. The best parts were the hiking through the fall foliage and glaciers, as well as seeing abundant wildlife. Here are a few pictures.

Snow leopard looking bored at the Alaskan Zoo in Anchorage

Sweet baby musk ox at the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer

That's me looking into a crevasse at the Matanuska Glacier

Matanuska Glacier with two people (lower left)

Dall Sheep at Denali National Park

Mama Grizzly bear with two cubs at Denali National Park

Female moose at Denali National Park

A clear day with views of Mt. Whitney at Denali National Park

Breathtaking Worthington Glacier near Valdez

Valdez, who knew you were so beautiful?

Wicked-cool starfish at the Alaskan Sea Life Center in Seward

Alaskan fall colors

Interview with Travel Painting Blog

Check out my interview with a Travel Painting Blog!

I’ll be sharing information about painting on the road.

“Giant Mushroom” Still Life

8″ x 10″

oil on panel

I recently found these enormous oyster mushrooms at the Japanese grocery store near my house. Not only did it make a nice still life composition, but also part of a tasty dinner!

Sketching from the Old Masters

I find it to be good practice to copy from the old masters.

Here are some quick sketches  made from paintings at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena.

(after Botticelli)

(after Baciccio)

(after Hans Memling)

(after Pieter Claesz and Filippino Lippi)

The next three are done from art books.

(after Rubens)

(after Guido Reni)

(after Giorgione)

Animal Drawing Class 4

Here are some drawings from this week’s animal drawing class. Again, we visited the L.A. Zoo and concentrated on the apes, including gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans. This time I used a .03 sepia Micron Pen and watercolors.

“Self-Portrait Wearing Hat” and the NYC Countdown

12″ x 9″

graphite on paper

Here’s a self-portrait that I finished today.

In October, I will be heading to NYC for a month to study at the Grand Central Academy of Art. Woo-hoo! I am so excited because I admire the work coming out of that school and am grateful for the chance to go study with them. I’ll be staying in Brooklyn with my little brother,  Andrew, so it’ll be just like old times.

I thought it would be cool to see a sort of before and after drawing, one now and another after I get back from NYC.