Educational Alliance Portrait and Figure Drawing

Liam drinking coffee after Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T09:45:00.001-08:00

Figure and portrait drawings 2007-2009

2011-09-20T07:57:00.000-07:00

Click on image to enlarge.

Art stores

2011-09-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Art stores often have small pads of drawing paper for customers to test pencils on. Sometimes I think the scratches are of interest.

Portraits drawn from T.V.

2011-09-05T08:22:00.000-07:00

Warren Buffet
Paul Volker
Dominic Strauss-Kahn
George Soros
Kathleen Jameso
Henry Paulson

Portrait Drawing, Class 7

2010-08-09T11:21:00.001-07:00

Charles posed. This week he shaved his beard off this week.

Portrait Drawing, Class 6

2010-07-30T09:51:00.001-07:00

Charles posed.

Joe posed.

Olivia posed.

Brian.

The previous week's out of class assignment was to take a portrait drawing, in this case a charcoal of David by Geri, and use the drawing to develop a 9" x 12" acrylic painting using black and white.
This is her painting in acrylic.We discussed Albrecht Durer's perspective grid briefly.

Portrait Drawing, Class 5

2010-07-23T10:31:00.000-07:00

Dave posed.

William Butler Yeats by John Singer Sargant. I lost my Sargent book of drawings. Has anybody seen it?

Figure Drawing

2010-07-18T18:03:00.003-07:00

Amy posed.
Harry posed.

Portrait Drawing, Class 4

2010-07-14T09:47:00.001-07:00

Donna posed.

Portrait Drawing, Class 3

2010-07-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Alexa posed.

Portrait Drawing Class 2

2010-06-30T12:53:00.001-07:00

Will posed.

The following self-portraits were done outside of class this week:
Olivia.Suzy.
Brian.

Emily.
A drawing of Ellen from a photograph.

Portrait Drawing Class 1

2010-06-22T15:33:00.001-07:00

Charles posed.

Jungin, who is 3 1/2 years old, drew this hotdog during class.

Portrait Artists

2010-06-14T16:18:00.001-07:00

We discussed the possibility of conducting portrait drawing class in Madison Square Park as an experiment in the spirit of New York City sketch artists like the guys in the photos. I photographed them Saturday at 6th Ave. and Central Park South. If you are interested in meeting Tuesday, June 15, 2010 at the Southwest Corner of Madison Square Park at 10:30 am (same time as class at the Educational Alliance) please send me an email to confirm: jcooper@studiocooper.com

Portrait Drawing Class 8

2010-06-01T20:15:00.001-07:00

Randall posing. Our Scheduled model canceled at the last moment so we took turns posing and drawing each other.

Jim posing.Marilyn's turn.
Kyu posing.

Sophia posing.

Lee explaining the procedure for submitting to the student show. Work should be submitted ready to hang by Sunday, June 6, 2010.

Lights off, class over.Classes begin June 21, 2010.

Come to "Open House" on Wednesday June 9, 5:30 to 8pm to meet teachers, see the studios and artwork by recent students. There will be demonstrations of welding, pottery, stone carving and portrait drawing. Get $20 off 6 or 8 week adult courses when you register on or before June 9!

Portrait Drawing Class 7

2010-05-26T14:34:00.003-07:00

Maggie held a series of 20 minute poses.

Walter O'Niell, the art school director, came in to talk to us about a student exhibit.

Artist Randy Jones spoke about his professional illustration portfolio and drew from the model.

Marilyn showing her out of class sketchbook drawings:

Self-portrait looking in a mirror.

Portrait Drawing Class 6

2010-05-18T19:22:00.001-07:00

Maggie held a series of 20 minute poses with 5 minute breaks between.Charcoal and red chalk really caught something...minimal, classic, expressive:

Portrait Drawing Class 5

2010-05-12T07:28:00.000-07:00

Donna held a series of 20-minute poses with 5-minute breaks between.

Sketches from Marilyn's drawing book which she drew outside of class.
Contour drawing of Ellen and Laurie talking (drawn outside of class, during the week).
Watercolor portraits of Ellen, below from a photo:
A chess player from two weeks ago.

Portrait Drawing Class 4

2010-05-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Kennitta held a series of twenty-minute poses.

On a five-minute break we talked about Andrew Loomis and his method for constructing the head:

Kyu gave me her book today which features several contemporary Korean artists and their work.
Above drawings from Marilyn's sketchbook. The contour drawing on the left was done on the A Train:
More chess players from last week.

The Chess Players

2010-04-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

Clyde and Dave played chess while we drew them. I met them at the NYPL Hudson Branch Chess Club and asked them if they would be interested in posing for portrait drawing. Clyde also posed last semester playing chess against the computer: http://eapd.blogspot.com/2010/02/portrait-drawing-class-5.html

Portrait Drawing Class 2

2010-04-21T05:55:00.001-07:00

Natalie and Harry held a series of 20 minute poses with 5 minute breaks in between.

Harry always wears the key when he reads aloud in schools. It symbolizes reading as the key to knowledge.

We discussed some quotes about drawing, for instance, Picasso's quote, "I draw like other people bite their nails".

Harry read a poem called Alone which goes like this:

Alone

From childhood's hour I have not been
As others were; I have not seen
As others saw; I could not bring
My passions from a common spring.
From the same source I have not taken
My sorrow; I could not awaken
My heart to joy at the same tone;
And all I loved, I loved alone.
Then- in my childhood, in the dawn
Of a most stormy life- was drawn
From every depth of good and ill
The mystery which binds me still:
From the torrent, or the fountain,
From the red cliff of the mountain,
From the sun that round me rolled
In its autumn tint of gold,
From the lightning in the sky
As it passed me flying by,
From the thunder and the storm,
And the cloud that took the form
(When the rest of Heaven was blue)
Of a demon in my view.

Edgar Allan Poe

The locker reference library - drawing books we're looking at during breaks. Randy brought in Drawing Magazine with an interesting article on painterly drawings done in charcoal.
Finally, we looked at drawings from sketchbooks done outside of class during the week.
A contour drawing done in a Moleskin sketchbook.

Portrait Drawing Class 1

2010-04-13T17:01:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of the next eight weeks of Spring portrait drawing.

Walter, the art school director, welcomed everyone.

Figure Drawing Class 8

2010-03-16T13:33:00.001-07:00

Kushinda modeled.
I always try to have a mermaid pose for the last class.

Spring Street Drawing Studio

2010-03-15T20:16:00.001-07:00

About a 2.5 hour drawing, chalk on toned paper, 18" x 24"
2-minute warm-up drawings.

Portrait Drawing Class 8

2010-03-10T07:47:00.001-08:00

Jim posed for the last portrait class. New classes begin April 12, 2010. Sign up here.

Above is a panaramic view from the point of view of the posing model.

Spring Studio

2010-03-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

Amalia modeled at Spring Studio. About 2.5 hours, charcoal, white charcoal on 18" x 24" gray Strathmore charcoal paper.Ten, two-minute warm-up drawings.

Figure Drawing Class 7

2010-03-07T17:20:00.000-08:00

Kennitta posed.

Warm-up drawings.

Portrait Drawing Class 7

2010-03-02T15:20:00.001-08:00

John posed.
Contour drawing.
Jim posed.

Figure Drawing Class 6

2010-03-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

Donna posed.
Drawing and baking (shortbread cookies and Marzipan pear with rosewater and clove) by Sophia.

Out of class drawings:Subway, N Train.Above, rendered from a photo. Below drawn at Spring Street Studio:(10) 2-minute poses.

Tompkins Square Figure Drawing

2010-02-27T15:12:00.000-08:00

Drawing at the NYPL. Sky posed. 20 minute drawings.
1-5 minute warm-up drawings.

Portrait Drawing Class 6

2010-02-23T14:28:00.001-08:00

Kennitta posed.

Drawings of Kennitta from 2008, 18"x 24" pencil.We discussed how to see patterns of light and dark through observation, squinting and using the view finder:

This is a viewfinder made out of 3" x 3" museum board with a 1/4" x 1/4" square cut out of the center. It makes value relationships easier to see.Using a thumbnail sketch to understand light and composition better.

Drawings done out of class:Mickey Mantle, black chalk, white chalk on Kraft paper.
Mark Twain, black chalk, white chalk on Kraft paper.

Figure Drawing Class 6

2010-02-22T10:43:00.000-08:00

Patrick posed.Warm-up drawings.

Out of class drawings:
Drawn in the laundromat.

Spring, Grace, Tompkins drawings

2010-02-22T10:14:00.000-08:00

Spring Street Drawing Studio, Long Pose, 18"x24" pencil, 3 hours including breaks
Tompkins Square Library Figure Drawing, 18"x24", pencil, 10, minute, 15 minute.
Grace Church, Organ recital, 18 x 24", pencil, 30 minutes.

Portrait Drawing Class 5

2010-02-17T13:11:00.001-08:00

Clyde, who appeared as the grandfather in Summer and Smoke (Tennessee Williams), in The Little Foxes (Lillian Hellman), as the Duke of York in Richard II (William Shakespeare), as Antrobus in Skin of Our Teeth (Thornton Wilder) and Jerry in Harold Pintor's Betrayal posed for us playing chess against the computer.
Looks like a contemplative monk or a preparatory drawing for an icon painting.

Chess pieces.

My camera inadvertently took a picture of the charcoal above. Below are drawings done outside of class:Elvis drew herself in a mirror....and again...And again...Rrose SélavyWe made a few jokes about Duchamp and chess and drawing.
John drew an author...Marilyn an actor...

Figure Drawing Class 4

2010-02-17T12:38:00.001-08:00

Alexa posed.This one looks like the platform is a raft. Or a magic carpet. Fantastical.

Spring Street Studio

2010-02-15T11:46:00.000-08:00

Pencil, 18" x 24", 1 hr. 45 min.
Ten 2-min. warm-up drawings.

Tompkins Square Library Figure Drawing

2010-02-13T18:16:00.001-08:00

This was a 40 minute drawing done at Tomkins Square Library today from 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm. Figure drawing is free and open to everyone, well run with good models.
Warm-up drawings, 5 minutes each.

Portrait Drawing Class 4

2010-02-10T14:31:00.000-08:00

Norma's self-portrait above and John's below:

The last two studies are by Marilyn:

Figure Drawing Class 3

2010-02-10T09:37:00.000-08:00

Harry posed with his Tibetan hat, fully clothed, because it was cold at first.

The following drawings are from student sketchbooks drawn outside of class during the week:
PingAbove is a value study done with different hardness pencils, various points and pressure.Mathew

Tompkins Square Library Figure Drawing

2010-02-06T17:12:00.000-08:00

20 minute and 15 minute drawing.
warm-up drawings, 5, 1-minute, 2, 5-minute, 2, 10-minute

Portrait Drawing Class 3

2010-02-03T13:12:00.001-08:00

Lyn modeled.

below are out of class watercolor self-portraits by Norma:
And finally, a further developed sefl-portrait by John from the previous week:

Figure Drawing Class 2

2010-02-02T17:56:00.001-08:00

Maux posed.

The following drawings were done out of class: