The “On the Wall’ Factor

I did this figure drawing while I was studying at Sarum Studio with Nick Beer. It was my first attempt at drawing on Fabriano Roma paper. Considering some of the disasters that have befallen me when using Roma paper since that time, this drawing is a great success! Whilst it’s doesn’t have the breadth of visual information of some of my other drawings, there is an elegant simplicity to it which I’ve rarely managed to achieve since. I’ve certainly worked far harder and longer on other drawings but ended up with something much less visually attractive.

I often reflect on what makes “art that you’d want on your wall”. For the last couple of years I’ve been determinedly in “training mode” and much of what I draw and paint is chosen

with the sole intention of improving my eye and my hand.  It’s all about the lessons I can learn from the things I tackle; the subject matter and, to a point, the aesthetic appeal of the finished product are of secondary importance. After all, few people would want a sea of moodily-lit cast drawings on their walls.

Here, though, I feel I’ve managed to get that “on the wall factor”. I can’t quite formulate into words why that is; I think probably a number of things. First is the pose itself - which has something statuesque and graceful about it. Secondly, there is a lightness of touch in the rendering, which communicates just enough without becoming “stodgy” or visually oppressive. Finally, there is a warm luminous atmosphere to it, which is so easily lost by endless reworking and adjustment.