In-person talk about my life class Saturday, and new 3d models

This coming Saturdy 22nd Jan at 11am I’ll be talking aboutt the in-person version of my Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course

It will be at the Royal Queensland Art Society “Studio Showcase” event, which displays drawings and paintings done at the studio (this is where my offline class is held) https://rqas.com.au/event/studio-showcase-2022/

In my talk. I’ll touch on some of the deeper underpinnings and philosophy, the format of the course and the practical aspects that I have developed to help my students come to a deeper and more fluid grasp on the fascinating practise of Life Drawing.

If you’ve missed out on this term, you can join the list to be notified about next term as soon as it is available. (https://scottbreton.art/notify-me-classical-life-class )

I’ll have a few drawings in the show (see below) and some of the new models I’ve created to help my students to gain intuition for drawing in a three dimensional and gestural way, focussing on the relationships of certain important bony landmarks.

The model you can see me holding, there is a flexible wire between the parts allowing tilt side to side, twist, bend forward and back and also, critically, isolation - a factor that store bought manikins don’t allow:

The model you can see me holding, there is a flexible wire between the parts allowing tilt side to side, twist, bend forward and back and also, critically, isolation - a factor that store bought manikins don’t allow.

 

I’ve included a few types of media in the drawings I’ve put in the show and different durations of drawing, from a few minutes to about 45 minutes for the one on toned paper.

Prismacolor coloured pencils on hand toned paper

Pastel on smooth paper

Pastel on smooth paper

Red prismacolor pencil on cartridge paper

 

Finally, I am in the process of getting the new iteration of the skeleton model that goes with the online version of the Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course.

I am finalising the design based on multiple prototypes and hope to have it available in 6-8 weeks. Join the waitlist to be notified as soon as it is available. https://scottbreton.art/join-waitlist

 
 

Early bird discounts for my Classical Life Class January 2022 in Brisbane!

Early bird discount! Use at checkout for 10% off until the end of November - Use code: KBYW2R9

(Tertiary students can contact me and provide their student card for a further 7% off - I’ll provide a different discount code to you)

Enrolments are now open for term 1 of my Classical Life Class, a 10 week course done live at the studio of Royal Queensland Art Society, Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, based on my online Form, Gesture Anatomy Course

For full details about the course

Drawing as a meditative practise - a reflection on John Vervaeke's lecture series on mindfulness and meaning

I have recently been enamoured by John Vervaeke’s youtube lecture series “Awakening from the Meaning Crisis”. Vervaeke is an assistant Professor of Cognitive Science at the University of Toronto as well as trained teacher of mindfulness practises. In this series he pulls together many threads from the history of philosophy, theology and wisdom traditions, the evolution of which provide a profound context for the widespread contemporary increase in depression and lack of sense of meaning. I thoroughly recommend the series if these topics interest you because he is one of the most lucid speakers about them that I have heard, combining both a scientific rigour with a practical familiarity with these topics. He clearly has a strong connection to the poetic or spiritual aspect of lived experience.

I wanted to share a reflection on how the type of life drawing I practise might relate to some of the points Vervaeke makes about mindfulness early in the series. I practise a few times a week what I think of as a more classical approach to the discipline of life drawing, which is to say that within the confines 1 minute to about 40 minute poses I am aiming find balance in a range of important aspects - form, design elements, gesture, anatomy, character - and have these compressed into powerful, graceful marks that read true and are sensually enjoyable to the eye. I am distinguishing this from ways of drawing that prioritise, say, more pure abstraction or the expressive mark above other elements.

First, I’ll do my best to summarise the relevant points from Vervaeke here:

In discussing mindfulness, he notes that in the west mindfulness, meditation and contemplation tend to be treated as one thing, but he describes how certain traditions make a clear distinction between :

  1. practices that focus attention onto specific sensory information such as the sensation of breathing - ie getting back to concrete reality in whatever form it takes in this moment

  2. practises of a more contemplative nature that involve an awareness of seeing oneself in a very large, even cosmic perspective.

He suggests that the first practise promotes a way of being that can allow you to get out of mental frameworks, conclusions or patterns of thought that might be only partially correct, in other words opening space for thinking outside the box. On the other hand, the more contemplative practise of the second type encourage a kind of openness of thought that can help with generating new frameworks and connections between ideas that might be elusively far apart . If both ways of being are cultivated, and particularly if one can cycle between them (such as in the physical method of Tai Chi that Vervaeke himself practises) one can cultivate the ability to let go of habitual frameworks and then generate new ones with a deeper connection to reality - in other words to have better ability to gain useful insight as one moves through life, gradually reducing self deception and self destructive habits.

It has occurred to me that the practise of drawing the figure has certain parallels to the states cultivated by the two practise models described above. On the one hand, seeking to draw in a more classical style, involves the continuous study of anatomy as it presents right now in the living human body, in the individual seen on the model stand and the notation of marks aimed at doing justice to the relations seen there. These are concrete, individual observations, but they must be placed into a broader context of anatomy knowledge - in other words the individual observed deepens the generalised knowledge of the anatomy a little bit each time, while this knowledge of anatomical structure allows one to emphasise or de-emphasise as appropriate to make the drawing read. And this is the final arbiter: does it read authentically? Can I honestly say there is a sense of being both generalised and also individual to the drawing?

Similarly, there are patterns of design as well as mass that interact at every level of resolution - from the bones of the wrist and hand, to the whole arm to the whole figure. There are patterns of lines counterbalancing, being in sympathy or opposition at each level. Further, in the poses that I find result in the best drawings, there is a certain overarching theme to the figure - a single central melody or gestalt, which is then tied to specific concrete relationships.

Drawing the figure from life involves the compression of information sensed at multiple levels, from the endless detail of the three dimensional experienced world into a series of potent lines on a flat surface. Practise deepens the information that is sensed - not only in terms of accuracy but in the depth of relation of mass in space, line, and anatomy, and the intention of the figure so that the power of these lines can likewise be gradually cultivated. And so, I don’t see life drawing as only rite of passage for the art student, or something to be attempted every now and then - it is an ongoing practise that not only can bring joy and flow in the moment, but is part of gradual cultivation of the ability to see both in terms of concrete specifics and deep connections.

In the video below, you will see some examples of drawing the figure that begin with marks intended to generalise the figure to its gestalt - sometimes this is a single line of action and sometimes it is a combination of a few curves that in relation to each other capture the most general idea of the intention/design/pattern of the that pose and particular body type. This is followed by marks that attempt to generalise the parts of the figure - the limbs and torso masses, also in relation to each other. The darker marks of the pencil lay in the contours (ie actual edges) of forms, but with reference to the hierarchy already established. In this way, the process is aimed at creating a harmonious hierarchy of relationships between observed concretes and felt, general relationships. It is this flow from general, sensed pattern to concrete specifics that can be so enjoyable and fascinating when drawing from nature, and that strikes me as analogous to the mindfulness training Vervaeke discusses.

So could it be that drawing as a practise is not only enjoyable but also good for your soul?

 

Do the topics or drawings above capture your imagination?

You might like to do my online figure drawing course at www.formgestureanatomy.com - it is a labour of love that is gradually refined and added to, and you will always have access to the up to date version.

Or, if you are in Brisbane, the in-person presentation of this course which uses the same online material, for more info and bookings go to www.scottbreton.art/book - next 10 session series starts August 26th 2021.

Exhibition of Life Drawings at Brisbane Institute of Art

DUE TO THE CURRENT LOCKDOWN IN BRISBANE WE WILL AIM TO SET UP NEXT WEEK AND HAVE THE OPENING ON FRIDAY 9TH JULY, PENDING DEVELOPMENTS.

For those of you in Brisbane, I will be taking part in a group exhibition of drawings at Brisbane Institute of Art, it includes work by those of us who regularly attend the untutored life drawing session on a Monday night there.

Life drawing Group ad.png

Includes work by David Paulson, Meredith Macleod, Bruce Slater, and others. My drawing above and others will be shown.

Opening at 6:30-9:00 pm on Friday 2nd of July at BIA (Brisbane Institute of Art, 41 Grafton St, Windsor.

Show is up until the 13th of July

New term for my Classical Life Class!

Early bird discount until the end of June: use code “EARLYTHIRD”

For full details, bookings and schedule see www.scottbreton.art/book

Term 3 Classical Life Drawing 10 week course at RQAS

Term 3 of the Classical Life Class I teach at RQAS, Petrie Terrace, Brisbane will begin on the 26th August 2021.

7% early bird discount until the 30th June with discount code: EARLYTHIRD

For full details and to enrol go to: https://scottbreton.art/book

ADC THREE Drawings - At QPAC, Brisbane May 26 -29, new paintings, news, tutorials and tips

Responses to Jack Lister’s “Still Life” Choreography

In the foyer of QPAC, at this production of Australasian Dance Collective, my drawings will be displayed (Queensland Performing Arts Complex, Brisbane, Australia)

Sketches from the development and rehearsal of Jack Lister’s choreography for the performance led to more worked out drawings in the studio.

“THREE” at QPAC, Brisbane 26 -29 May 2021 (Tickets still available at time of writing)

See the drawings, sketches and read about it here.

 

New Paintings

Click for details, info and sketches

 

Lucky 13

I was flattered to be included in this article of Sivilisasjonen (Civilization) a Norwegian publication. The author is Bork Nerdrum, film maker, who among other things made an excellent documentary about Odd Nerdrum, his father.

https://sivilisasjonen.no/english/53593/the-worlds-greatest-living-painters/

Note this link seems to be broken on desktop, try on mobile.

 
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Cost effective solution for photographing drawings

If you’ve ever struggled with getting shots of your drawings where the page is illuminated evenly, you might like to try a pair of continuous light softboxes such as these from Volkwell. They are tunable to a cool, white or warm light and adjustable.

I got them here for $100AUD (about $70USD):

https://www.amazon.com.au/VOLKWELL-Professional-Photography-Continuous-2x20x28inch/dp/B089Q3L546?ref_=ast_sto_dp


 

Video Tutorials

While the quality of the videos still leaves a lot to be desired, there is still useful information in these video demonstrations of figure drawing that I posted with “Figuary” back in February this year.

These are essentially introductions to lessons 1, 5 and 6 from my Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course

 

Early bird discount for Brisbanites! And updates to Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course online book

Life class April 2021.jpg

Classical Life Class, Brisbane

For those of you located in Brisbane , Term 2 of my weekly life class starts in April,

Use the discount code LINE2021 at checkout for 7% off until the end of the weekend (ie the end of February)

For full details:

https://scottbreton.art/book

10x Thursday evenings at the Royal Queensland Art Society upstairs studio

 

Updates to the Form, Gesture, Anatomy Online Course

Video Intros/demos

I have added video intros and demos for the drills from lesson 1, 5 and 6. More will follow in the coming weeks.

Timed Slideshows

Timed slideshows for lessons 1, 2 and 5 embedded in the lesson itself in addition to the existing photo ref resources. The idea is that the poses and duration for the slideshows suit the content of the lesson/ drill well, so you can just load and practise away.

(just go to the table of contents -> lesson number -> life drawing)

Access for $7 USD per month

of $40 USD for one time outright payment

Is the concept of "Fine Art" still useful? Video of Panel Discussion at RQAS Brisbane

My statement (5 Minutes on IGTV):

 

Full Discussion on Youtube:

The origins of the concept of ‘fine art’ -- as opposed to commercial art, decorative art, illustrative art and so on – are historically uncertain. The phrase was certainly prominent in the 18th and 19th centuries though reportedly ‘fell out of fashion’ in the late 1800s, and in the early 20th century was accused of embodying an invalid ‘double standard’ separating art from useful objects. Yet we still have courses and departments of fine art around the world.

The questions before this panel then are:

-Has the concept of fine art so changed over time as to now be virtually meaningless?

-If there are good reasons to maintain the distinction between fine art and other kinds, what are these?

Early Bird Discount: Life Class with Scott - Term 1 2021 from 7th January

Early Bird Discount: enter “DRAW2021” to receive 7% off until the 25th November.

The first 8 week series of 2021 will begin on the 7th January and run until 25th February, with optional extension/catchup sessions on the 4th and 11th March.

For beginners to more advanced drawers looking to improve the fundamentals, this course will help you develop:

  1. Volume / 3 Dimensionality

  2. Anatomical understanding

  3. Accuracy of observation

  4. Classical flow and design

life drawing scott breton - 2 copy.jpeg
 

Following the figure drawing curriculum in my Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course, we will be working in the traditional way from professional nude life models.

At the end, you will have:

a solid, classical strategy for approaching the figure

This core strategy, based in the approach of the Italian Renaissance Old Masters will help you prioritise the big things over the small things, so that you gradually cultivate more beautiful drawings, being confident that you are not wasting time and practising an inefficient strategy or bad habits.


Apply this the core strategy to quick gesture studies…

…as well as more extended studies from life


Make your practise work for you - avoid wasting years of recreating the wheel.

And, you can always go back to the drills I teach using the online notes so that you can improve weak points or keep things fresh in the future.

I have seen people at untutored life drawing sessions make the same mistakes continually over years. These have held them back from achieving the type of convincing, beautiful drawings they desire. The drills and core strategy for drawing that I offer here are challenging but they can be a fun challenge! And they will get you drawing well in the fastest way I know how. I’m not holding any information back that could help you.

Examples of the types of drills we practise in the class:

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14 different drills designed to refine the various aspects that go into classical drawing.

“There’s no shortcut but there are plenty of long-cuts!”

Each session is a mix of class demo and 1-on-1 instruction

…and each session is themed, following a carefully thought out sequence of classes to optimise your learning

So who is this course useful for?


As well as figure drawing being a wonderful practise in its own right, what I teach is particularly relevant for compositional design involving the figure. Or even without the figure, since the interdependency of structure, form and flowing connections is key in all types of traditional compositional design.

The course has two additional sessions at the end that you can choose to add on which allow for longer studies and developing rendering/shading (or allow you to catch up missed sessions at a reduced price).

You get three months complimentary access to the online notes of the Form, Gesture, Anatomy Course as well. This includes literally hundreds of illustrations as well as 3D models and instruction from the anatomy component.







An example of one of my figurative paintings directly using the principles and skills taught in this class (“The Geometry of Escape” Oil on Panel 2020)

 
Classical Life Class - 8 Week Series from 7th January 2021 (Prices in USD)
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Classical Life Class - 8 Week Series from 7th January 2021 (Prices in USD)
 

My new show at Lethbridge Gallery, Brisbane

“The Shape of the Sky”

This show runs 4th to 22nd September at Lethbridge Gallery, Paddington, Brisbane.

I will be available to chat to on Saturday 5th September from 10-2pm and at the same times on the 12th September.

Click to see the page for this collection and further details.

Two main themes characterise this collection: one is the use of geometric planes and other simple forms to articulate the space around and interact with both figures and landscapes, an abstraction of the Renaissance preoccupation with the perspectival setting.  The other theme is the specific effort to pursue imagery, mood or poses without having an intentional meaning before beginning the work, and instead follow elements that seem to be tapping into my unconscious in some way.  I have attempted to listen to the impulses coming from the images and allow them to become what they will, trusting the sense of fascination or intrigue as a guide to the generation of an image that will resonate with others.  How and where a line touches the skin, or what a pose without clear narrative content says, or how natural form pushes against an artificially geometric form seems to contain psychic content that perhaps cannot be concretised in other ways.