‘It was a night in the lonesome October…’ Halloween life drawing session at 92 Degrees
Tuesday's life drawing session at the 92 Degrees Cafe on Hardman Street, Liverpool took on a dark and mysterious turn this week to acknowledge the many different ways in which this time of year is celebrated as Halloween, All Hallows’/All Saints’ Eve and Samhain. The lights were dimmed and the usual relaxing soundtrack accompanying our sessions was replaced by a dramatic and unsettling selection of classical music. We used an eclectic range of visual inspiration from the ‘Black Paintings’ of Goya, the etchings of Albrecht Dürer, Albert Joseph Pénot’s supernatural images of the femme fatale, images of the Mexican festival-el Día de los Muertos, the 16th century sculpture of Marco d’Agrate and the work of Frank Auerbach to explore tonal contrast in drawings of the human form.
Eve, our fantastic model, took to the challenge with her usual elegance and imagination, using masks, a broomstick and a ghostly shroud as props to produce some amazing poses! During the session we experimented with dramatic lighting to enhance the shadows and highlights that would inform the drawings. Taking visual inspiration from the fantastic costumes of el Día de los Muertos and anatomical diagrams of the female skeleton, we used white chalk on black paper in an anatomical study. In another exercise we paid homage to the masterful tonal work of Frank Auerbach by covering a piece of paper with a layer of black charcoal and experimented with pulling out highlighted areas of the body with an eraser. We also took inspiration from Marco d’Agrate’s sculpture of a martyred saint to explore how folds of fabric could create dramatic shapes when draped over the body and lit from underneath.
Many thanks to all of our artists who created fantastic work and brought such enthusiasm to the session. Special thanks to George@92 degrees cafe for all of the support he gives to each event. In all of our evening sessions at 92 Degrees Cafe, Gallery 455 and Indigo Cafe, we love creating new experiences for our artists to enjoy. We provide a wide variety of guided exercises each week and themed events during each term. We also ensure that our artists have time to explore their own creative direction in life drawing in every session. Next week we are back to our usual format, but look out for our next themed events!
Karen
