Learning from Great Drawings

Copy of Luca Camiaso's  'Christ leading the Calvary' 

Copy of Luca Cambiaso's ' Group of figures'

The sketches are my attempts at copying of drawings by Italian artist Luca Cambiaso (1527-1585) from the book 'Drawing Lessons from the Great Masters" by Robert Beverly Hale. The book analyzes 100 drawings and defines figure drawing fundamentals. The book looks into the works of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Rodin, Goya, Rembrandt and others and shows in seven chapters  how these artists utilized basic concepts of line, light & planes, mass, Position Thrust or direction, and Artistic anatomy.

I have always had trouble with thinking in terms of simple masses and shapes when sketching.  I am hoping copying like this will help me see light values and seeing the simplest geometric forms in everything.  I noticed in the book there are block like, cylindrical and spherical styles of sketching. The book explains: " You soon realize that there are very few basic shapes in the universe and that there is a geometric relationship between the most diverse objects. the sea is but the skin of a sphere and is related to the spherical head of a pin."   I have had the book for many years but only recently decided I will start copying the various drawings in different styles to get practice -especially on those days when I have limited time and no idea for a daily sketch. 

Have you copied for practice master drawings or paintings? do you find the exercise useful learning tool? Love to hear your experiences! 

Watering Hole

Watering Hole  Photography by Meera Rao 

"One's destination is never a place, but a way of seeing things"

~Henry Miller~ 

Graceful Changes

Fall Fire watercolor on Yupo  5x7" by Meera Rao

Season is changing again - we turned our clocks forward and of course love the signs of spring  everywhere.  I was doing the spring ritual of cleaning my studio, moving my paintings around and realized I never did post this painting of the firey bushes from my backyard.  They greeted me when I got back from my trip to India and I was taken away by their beauty.  The bushes are now once again showing signs of greeting the spring after the cold winter. 

I came across a slide show from NASA Jet Propulsion Lab about Change of Seasons- view from space. Check out the slides for an enlightening view of changing seasons as seen from satellite pictures.

Color My Sunset Sky

Sunset Sky Photography by Meera Rao

Clouds come floating into my life,

no longer to carry rain or usher storm,

but to add color to my sunset sky.

~

Rabindranath Tagore