Hello everyone! Welcome to the official start of summer here at Marywood! With graduation over, final grades in, and the sun greeting us with scorching heat, Summer vacation has officially kicked off! For the past two weeks since classes have ended, I have had a good amount of time to reflect on the past year of classes. A rising third-year, I have just completed my second-year at Marywood University, and my year was packed! I have been challenged in so many ways, pushed through countless all-nighters and late nights, and have drawn more than ever before. One challenge that stands out to me was figure drawing!
My schedule of classes worked out in such a way that I ended up taking Figure Drawing I in the Fall semester and Figure Drawing II in the Spring semester — essentially a full year of figure drawing. One of the unique features about Marywood that I really love is that we get to take these classes with live models; not all schools are able to do this. Being able to study the figure and human body for such an extended period of time, so intensely is a real privilege and opportunity. I am so thankful for the opportunity provided by our professor, but also the wonderful models who aided in our learning. The art students here are very lucky to learn from Professor Parker, who excels in his craft and pushes us to create our best works every class. To say that the Figure Drawing classes here at Marywood are an excellent, one-of-a-kind opportunity is an understatement.
As an incoming second-year, I was super pumped to take Figure Drawing! I love character design and I adore drawing the human form, so being able to focus all my attention into this purpose was a dream. Understandably, I was really nervous too — but excitement reigned supreme.
One of the unique features about Marywood University that I really love is that we get to take these classes with live models; not all schools are able to do this.
Now that I have completed all of these Figure Drawing classes, I am excited to look back on my progress throughout the class. While I was taking the classes, I was convinced I was not improving at all. Many classes, I actually walked away quite distraught, upset that I was not improving as fast as I had hoped. Now, at the end of it all, I can really see a big difference in my anatomy and drawings. My line weight has become so much better, my hatching has morphed into something cleaner, and my anatomy seems more well-thought out. My tones became so much smoother, and my use of graphite and white conte crayon became much more engaging. Under Professor Parker’s instruction, I started taking notice of how shadows fall on the human body, how overlapping forms describe the body, how to learn what to imply and what to fully render, and how to frame my compositions best. Proportions were a struggle throughout the class, but they have gotten so much better than where they started.
This gallery contains work from Figure Drawing I. Personally, I think you can really see the struggle as I try to find what works for me with these types of drawings. It is neat to see how I experimented throughout the semester.
This next gallery includes work from Figure Drawing II, which compared to my first semester, really gives me perspective towards my progress.
I still have such a long way to go, but I am so proud of how far I have come. I didn’t realize how much I had accomplished until the end. Sometimes all we need to do is take a step back, and observe as a whole (a lesson I learned from Figure Drawing, actually).
As we enter this summer break, I hope all of you can also remember to take a step back and appreciate how far you have come! Progress certainly is not linear, but it always is worth it!
Thanks for reading!
-Rebecca Prowse