chriswoodartist

Very often I add new layers to drawings and my composite images are either from the same session or in this case I have added a couple of wax resist images over the top of the previous weeks watercolour. I think the subsequent image has more movement than a single image and best of all it saves money on paper ! .

Above are some recent images made during my EXPERIMENTAL LIFE DRAWING WORKSHOP, held at the Omega Centre in Portsmouth UK. With the exception of the last image, they all wax resist images drawn with a candle and or oil pastels and Parker’s Quink ink was later introduced with a large brush. Our very patient model wrapped herself in a sari, which either “concealed” or “revealed” her anatomy. By draping the figure in fabric it disguises the precise nature of the forms and adds an abstract element which can be reinvented and synthesised . I developed the concept for the session after looking at British sculptor Henry Moore, who drew thousands of wax resist images of people sheltering in the London Underground during the Second World War. Many of his drawings showed couples sharing a blanket wrapped around themselves and the simplified forms are what inspired many of his subsequent abstract sculptures.

My drawings are fairly spontaineous and the poses were fairly quick so there was no time to get hung up on measurement and proportion – the essence of the pose had to be captured as quickly as possible.