Kate's World Record Attempt!

Hi There!

Bet you don't believe me, do you?  How on earth could I, Kate, possibly have anything to do with breaking a world record in relation to something to do with art?

Well it is simple.  I took part in a world record attempt in Brisbane last night for the biggest ever "art class" to take place at one time in one sitting.  Except it wasn't really an "art class". Guinness made them say that. It was actually a record attempt at life drawing (or "rudie-nudie drawing" as my children prefer to call it).  It seemed like such fun, that a group of friends and I went along to try and break the record!

A 15 minute sketch.

As I'm still pretty new to this art journey business, I can honestly say I've never done any rudie-nudie drawing from real life before.  And because of this, I have to admit to you I was a little scared when we arrived at the Greek Club, where the record attempt was being held.

A series of 1 minute sketches

Most of the time, I like to think of myself as being a mature, worldly woman.  Last night however, all that worldly maturity left my body, so much so that an in depth discussion ensued with my fellow brave rudie-nudie artist friends to calm my nerves.  It went something like this:

Kate: "Oh My!  What if I have a bloke stand here and then drop his robe right in *front* of me and his 'delicate parts' are suddenly right there in front of me.  And you know I mean right *there* in front of me?  What on earth should I do? I mean I have no idea what the right facial expression is for such a moment in my life. Indifference? Glee? Excitement? Horror? A wink?"
Fellow Rudie-Nudie Friends:  "You'll be right, Kate.  Here's a brown paper bag for you to breathe into if it gets too much."
Kate [getting increasingly anxious]: "OK.  But what do I do if he drops his robe and I involuntarily start to giggle?  Honestly, it's true, it could happen!  It won't be a giggle meaning to hurt his feelings, it would be a giggle because I'm nervous.  You see, I can't help but feel it's a pretty personal thing to do within three seconds of setting eyes on each other for the first time.  Should I at least say hello and introduce myself first? Would that make things more comfortable?"
Fellow Rudie-Nudie Friends:  "Breathe IN two-three-four; OUT two-three-four; IN...."

5 Minute Burlesque Sketch

After what felt like ages, the models came out and disrobed.  My eyes may have widened slightly, however I am proud to say that I merely raised a slight eyebrow and then set to work drawing what I could see.

It was really interesting to me that over the course of the next hour or two, "body parts" seemed to disappear and lines, contours, light and shadow became far more of a concern than what I was trying to draw at any point of time.  (Well, *most* of the time, anyway.)

These sketches are a few of my drawings that I completed last night.  I know, they aren't very good.  And I have to admit I felt just a twinge of sadness when I looked around me and saw all these people who could draw beautifully and mine felt like something a first grader could do.  Still, I just reminded myself that this is my journey and it didn't actually matter at all whether I can draw beautifully yet.  All that really matters is that I enjoy the process while I am doing it and take a moment to rejoice in the beauty and wonder of the human body.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I'll see you again sometime soon!

Kate
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PS:  Sadly, we didn't break the record.  It didn't matter though, because it was still great fun and a really interesting experience.  If you ever get an opportunity to take part in something like this, I'd urge you to get involved!

Self Portrait #5 - Believe It Or Not It's Just Me

Why is it I am stuck in a 1980's music time-warp at the moment?

First it was Pretty In Pink, now The Greatest American Hero.  I can only fear what catch-tune my sub-conscious will think of next - hopefully not the theme from A Country Practice or Love Boat.

Perhaps somebody could kindly suggest a song from the 1990's to bring me a little closer to the present.  Just not the B52's.  Or Enya.

Anyway, today's offering is a quick doodle of moi.   For those of you saying "Yeah sure, Kate, you're not that gorgeous and you certainly don't have long hair!", the inspiration was from a photo of me taken just before I was married when I was young, was gorgeous and had long hair.  Where did those days go? <insert wistful sigh here>

I'm still not convinced I look entirely like me, but hubby does assure me that "he can definitely see me in the drawing" and that "I'm certainly improving".  It can't be hard for him to say that when you consider what my first drawings looked like:

Anyway, I'll leave you to ponder whether I do look like I look like in this picture.  (I love a tricky nonsensical sentence on occasion.) Or whether I don't.  I'm not telling.  I like to think it adds to part of my mystique....

Thanks so much for visiting me, I hope to see you around soon!

Kate
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How to Embarrass Your Children in One Easy Step - Part 2

Hi there!

Following on from my first post a couple of weeks ago regarding my quest to cause my children eternal embarrassment by painting a nudie-rudie woman, I'm pleased to say that I'm on my way to achieving this mile-stone following the application of my first coat of oil paint on the canvas.  Here you go, have a look at my progress:

Yes, I know you've noticed it and I will confess upfront, I am having a few issues with her boobies, oh, I meant to say breasts. However, I feel relatively confident I can rectify this issue over the next couple of layers of paint application.  On a more successful note, I really like how I've painted her thigh and I don't mind her face. Oh, and I wouldn't mind having her abs of steel either.  If only I could paint mine to look like that.  Hang on a minute, that's not a bad idea..... ;-)

I guess I can say that this one is going to take a little time, and there's most definitely still a way to go, but at least it seems to be a relatively strong start.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone, I'll see you next week!

Kate
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In Pursuit of Pastel Perfection - Finished

Hi There!

Following on from yesterday's post where I started work on a pastel creation of a 1920's lady, I'm pleased to say I've now had a chance to do some more work on her and she is now pretty much finished.  Here, have a look:

Better?  I hope so!

I don't know that I ever claim that she's perfect (of course not!), but I can tell you that I really have tried my best.  It was an interesting experience and I can say I learnt a few new tricks in the course of completing this pastel work.  In that respect, I consider this artwork to be a roaring success.  (Gosh I sound mature, where on earth did that come from?!)

Anyway, thanks ever so much for stopping by and seeing my finished lady, I hope to see you have a return visit soon!

Kate
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It's a P-P-P (Pastel Portrait Practice)

Not of me (sadly).

Today's post features a study of Art Spectrum and Conte Pastels on Canson Paper of a 1920's lady. The background paper is actually the terracotta shade of her hair.  You'd never guess looking at the finished portrait, would you?!

No, I don't know what she is looking at, or thinking.  Perhaps her 1930's children are also refusing to give her a moment's peace and quiet as she comes running out of the bathroom yelling "I told you NOT to put marshmallow's up your brother's nose!".  Or maybe not.

I have to say that I am feeling rather pleased with this particular pastel work.  I'm particularly proud of the fact that I drew her freehand.  Yep, no copying, tracing or general cheating - just me, my pencils and then my pastels.  I'm also pleased that  feel I'm starting to get a little more of a feel for creating a natural looking skin tone.    I think the only thing I could maybe improve on is really emphasising her shoulder-blades a little more.  The are hinted at in the painting, but I think they are not strong enough.  Oh well.  I didn't notice until I saw her on my screen and I most certainly haven't the energy to change her now.

Anyway, thanks for sharing in my pleasure today, I hope to see you around soon!

Kate
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Life Drawing - Making Progress

I'll be quick today, because I'm writing this with a six year old sitting on my lap. It manages to cause all creativity to come to a stand-still, that's for sure!

The inspiration of this pencil on photo-copy paper was taken from a photo featured in the Courier Mail newspaper of two actors performing a famous Chinese play called Rhinoceros in Love.   I loved the raw emotion that was evoked in the picture and thought I'd try to see if I could capture just a little of its essence.

All in all, I really like this drawing and am excited to see that I'm making some progress with my life drawing. 

I hope you can see some improvement too on my earlier attempts these past few months.

Please be sure to come back and see my artistic endeavours throughout the week!