Wow, what an action packed 7 days this has been. The Draw-In Symposium had been an amazing experience already, so to be followed on with Colleen Barry’s 5 day figure drawing workshop… it’s been brilliant. I’ve learned alot, We revisited key anatomical structure points, gesture, posing, anatomical structure… it’s been an intense 5 days. As it happens, for me at least it has gone by lightning fast. Listening to Colleen articulate what she knows about human anatomy, how the bones function, twist and turn, carry weight and how various muscle groups are attached and then relating all of this to the life and essence of our subject matter, is like being a kid in school again and listening to … hmm, I don’t know, ghosts stories at Hallowe’en perhaps!

Colleen Barry’s Workshop, at the University of Ulster, Belfast

Our workshop was split into 5 days, this consisted of:

Day One being our Block In stage, employing straight lines and large shapes, looking for gesture and line of action. measuring, finding key anatomcial landamrks

Day Two: The Torso, a further investigation into the rib cage and pelvis relationship

Day Three: The Head, neck and Shoulder Girdle and to develop the correct orientation of the head, neck and shoulders.

Day Four: The Legs, feet and Gluteus. We took a closer look at the structure of the femur and tibia relationships. A breakdown of the three major muscle groups of the thigh (abductors, quadriceps and the hamstrings)

Day Five: Focus was on the Arms and hands. We took a closer look at the Humerus, Ulna and Radius and how they twist around one another. We searched for the Transverse high and low points. We focused in on the upper and lower arm muscle groups (Triceps, biceps Extensors, Flexors, Pronators and Supinators)

Various progress photographs.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

The final piece, on Friday 5th Sept. I learned alot through working on a contrapposto pose. One thing I learned through this approach was how to better utilize and understand how form shadows and casting shadows were produced on the model. Colleen did a good job of explaining this, it’s been a fantastic experience.

Friday – Final

Gesture Drawing Exercises

Critical thinking and reflection:

It’s only been a day since we finished our workshop. I realize now that to move forwards and improve on my own anatomical processes, I will need longer sessions to study. I’m currently utilizing the figure drawing classes in the University of Ulster, but they cater mainly for animation students and as helpful as they are, it’s not enough to help me move forwards. The longest pose we might have during that class is 45min, and that isn’t enough to explore tonal value and the subtleties in anatomical form whilst keeping it loose, free and allowing the drawing to breath and maintain the energy of the model. There’s alot to think about.

In summary we had an intense but fantastic experience working through the week. I’m hoping I can do this again soon! Colleen is able to articulate her wealth of knowledge and experience beautifully and is very generous with her time when assistance was needed. Made a bunch of new friends, in all it was alot of fun!

In closing, it’s been a brilliant week and I hope to do this again soon! Here’s a picture of our awesome crew:

Behind: Ciara, Sarah, Alice, Phil the Skeleton, Robert Craig, Julie Douglas, Nisa, Fionnuala and Caroline. Front: Pat, Peter Cooper, Colleen Barry, Jacinta