Friday 22 March 2013

Live performance drawings

Fifty Plays for Edinburgh at the Traverse
Sanctuary by Black Dingo Productions
Richard III

Too Long the Heart (left);
A Taste of Honey (right)

Rebecca Ryan as Jo in
A Taste of Honey
Brutal murders, fights, period costumes and more: why the theatre can be great for life drawing

Figurative work is an important part to my illustration practice and it's an area that I find needs continual practice.  Traditional life drawing classes and others (like Dr Sketchys) are always great for life drawing, but lately I've been trying to find alternatives to stationary models.

It was only after a friend organised for me to come in and make sketches of a play she was involved in that I realised that drawing from theatrical performances was the alternative I'd been looking for.

Many of the drawings done in the theatre are ineligible scrawlings and most of them won't ever see the light of day.  But some of them have been really useful for capturing a facial expression or a gesture or pose.

The only drawback to drawing from a live performance (appart from drawing very fast!) is that you're drawing in semi-darkness.  It's only when the lights come on again do you see the state of your sketchbook...




Sketchbook work from Richard III by the Edinburgh Theatre Graduate Group


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