Figure Drawing & Pentimenti - The Art of Change

Learn to overcome the fear of mistakes and the resistance to making corrections. Working directly with pen and ink on smooth bristol paper, we will create a figure drawing, striving for capturing the character of the pose. The proportions will inevitably be off from the first go, but that’s what we want! 

We will create corrections the same way the Great Masters did immediate improvements by means of self-edits, by means of “pentimenti” (“regrets", in Italian), the unwanted lines. When the corrections are allowed to show, to the artist’s surprise, the drawing acquires the masterful touch of effortlessness and the surprising energy of virtuosity. You will learn that when the corrections are the result of close observation, they don’t ruin the drawing but enrich it. You will discover that pentimenti enable you to be less attached to the outcome and better connect to enjoying the process. You will be able to embrace the teacher’s request to “become your eyes”. You may intentionally start with a “bad figure drawing” (it is easy to accomplish in pen and ink), especially if you know that being careful and relying on your eraser is your biggest personal problem with figure drawing. If you want to learn how to be more spontaneous with sketching the human body and acquire the lightness of touch, this 4-week-long challenge will help you accomplish that.