Bella's Daybook: In The Atelier

My motivation for studying art was purely serendipitous or perhaps practical, depending on whom you may ask. I'd found myself in the midst of a major life transition with the resounding knowing in my heart that I wanted to truly follow it and share beauty with others. The serendipity began when all manner of coincidences, signs and wonders aligned themselves to guide me to make the leap, and so I did. From a hot climate to blurry winter, from making illustrations in my tiny home, corner office to working in an atelier. I was determined to learn the techniques of the old masters such as Bouguereau and my experiences in the atelier shaped my work ethic as an artist. In older days, being an artist was every bit esteemed as being a steward of science and truthfully mastering old master drawing and painting technique is a science in and of itself. People are suprised when I tell them that we study anatomy, perspective and other marvels such as the Golden Rule, all in an effort to create a work of art that is aesthetically pleasing and in adherence to classical ideals.

We begin our training with making copies of Bargue Plates (from the flat). These exercises begin a rigorous programme of developing the eye and an understanding of light, form and shadow.

This is followed by exercises in working from the round, in a more challenging medium - vine charcoal as opposed to graphite. At this stage we make copies after plaster casts and once again the objective is to refine the eye and expand the artists repertoire of measurement techniques. Besides working through exercises in Bargue copies and cast drawing, students also work from the live model. Here's one of my earlier drawings done in conte:

After drawing technique is established, we begin painting using a limited colour palette. The objective here is to establish a thorough understanding of colour and value in paint, in addition to the challenges of working with the paint medium. I'm currently working on the a copy of the cast below and in the upcoming weeks I'll be sharing updates about its process and progress: