On the easel.

This in process pastel is the current one on my easel. It's also a great illustration of the last blog entry, "the angle makes the proportion." Notice how her left arm is folded... in order to show the weight of that shoulder, I must accurately show the angle those edges create. (This might not make sense to some folks... verbal VS visual explanations. But, I have to try.)

Now some other areas are rather unresolved, like the hands, right shoulder and breast area... but that is what "in process" means!

The angle makes the proportion.

When it comes to figure study, "The angle makes the proportion." This is something Dean Butckovitz has said many times and it is totally true. (He's a former art professor of mine who is super talented with figure study!) Human anatomy is tough. When I'm painting from a photo, not real life, and it's a body floating in water, it is even more difficult. But I love the body and I love water and accept this ongoing challenge as part of my process!

Much of my painting is from photos, although I do work from life-in the form of live models and 'plein air' water in landscape. The real life experiences help and so does a mirror in my studio. However, the best advice I've ever had about figure study is "The angle makes the proportion." Think about it next time you observe a still body.

Look below at the right edge of this model's face and the shadow of her 'ear'... the angle of both that ear and edge of her face makes the proportion needed to show her looking off to her left. IF I had slightly tilted either, it would be less accurate.


If you are an artist, carefully study the angles in your human forms... and your figure study will improve. Of course, a great exercise for this is to do quick studies of live models. This will help you to 'capture' that particular pose.

If you check out my August 27, 2009 post, you can see my first attempt at this model by the pool... and how off my angles were!

Utilize what you already have.

Since 1993, I've lived on my own & always had a studio in one room in whatever house I happened to be inhabiting. Sometimes it was tiny & sometimes bigger, but I've always had space to make my art.

Above is a detail photo of my current studio... my favorite antique dentist cabinet, some of my oil brushes, part of my pottery collection as well as the newly painted gray walls. In all the years I've had studios, I have never painted the walls until now. I always dreamed of a fabulous studio with north light windows looking out into nature... but the reality was usually old paint & other cruddy details. My current studio is no exception. Because of some ongoing water damage issues & knowing that eventually this part of our house must be torn down, I have just lived with my crappy looking studio, with the bad walls and floor.

BUT, this post is about utilizing what you already have & I have a great studio space with three windows and higher ceilings than the rest of the house. I have lots of wonderful art supplies & resources, some cool pieces of furniture and am self employed which means I also have time! Why settle for an ugly studio? (Imagine it's impact on my art making...)

When I was a resident at Vermont Studio Center (I have been there twice), I was amazed at how simple yet functional their individual artist's studios were. They built walls where needed & used white paint over and over again to create a fresh space and no one worries that an edge isn't cut perfectly or that the wall has ghost paint drips. The point was easy and efficient renewal of the studio spaces each time a new artist came in.

I bring this up because seeing what they do with their studios reminds me that my own studio could be so much more. SO, for the investment of a couple of gallons of paint, some cheap fabric remnants & a few days, I have a studio that I genuinely enjoy being in. (And, no it's not done... still needs a short wall built, floor painted and some touch up painting, but it's tons better & it was an affordable change using what I already had!)

Especially in this economy, it's easy to get down thinking about what you would like to have. I want to encourage you to look at what you already have and how could you minimally improve it for your own joy? Have some fun and let go of that perfectionist... save that for your art making! (And, if you already have a beautiful space, could you rearrange your furniture, easels, etc. to make it a better space?)