Figurative Swap! DUE Oct 6, 2007

[EraserQueen]

Okay! This swap is for figure drawing, and work featuring the human body!

I would like the work submitted to go a little beyond quick 5 minute sketching, with only a few pencil lines; lets see some color! or dramatic black and white lighting/contrast! Cool cropping and composition! Thanks!

Nudity is kind of a given in this swap! Our artistic nude policy allows these kinds of cards in the gallery, so feel free to upload your work there, and post the cards in this thread!

Here are some links to inspire us! (if you have a link to share, Post it and I'll add it here! :jiggy:

1) Amazing works of realism, both drawings and paintings: http://www.tonyryder.com/index.html

2) These female figures are wearing some clothes..but the figural distortion is worth looking at: http://www.sarah-bishop.com/girls/index.html

3) This gallery has work other than figures, but I thought what was there was really good. "Bittersweet" especiall.. http://sfrench.deviantart.com/gallery/

submit: 3 cards for 3 cards

Due Date: Cards must be In My Hands by October 6th! Thank you!

USA Participants: please send me a self addressed, stamped envelop!

International participants: I'll cover the postage costs! You MUST include a label with your address clearly printed! An extra Figurative card is very much appreciated, but I never require hostess gifts!

Note: This site has a goal of quality; I know everyone will submit their best work for this swap! let's all push ourselves! Thanks!

Blue text = cards recieved

Participants:

1) Eraserqueen USA



5) Abi
6) Linwood
7) Pixeldog
8) Clep
9) Princessgene
10) Swaggertoes
11) artyiagirl
12) Jart
13) Siverhermit
14) Catsavannah
15) Anonevyl
16) Lildebi
17) Judithian

[Amerasu]

Count me in.

I take a life drawing session weekly so I have sketchbooks full of people. I also have quite a few colour digital paints. Both of these would make nice cards so are prints allowed or do you want something completely new and original for this swap?

No worries on my part, I'm just checking to make sure! :)

[EraserQueen]

I'd like people to send in non-print work (which is one reason I made the due date in october..so folks would have enough time..should I extend the deadline??), but you can use your cards and sketches as base poses for the work you create!

I'll be making fresh work for this swap, because I want to get more practice in and don't have anything I'm proud enough to make prints from LOL

[Amerasu]

Ok! New and original it is then :)

[Merricat]

Is stylized okay? I honestly suck at realism but would love to experiment with stylized figures!

[mrs_weyremaster]

Can i play too please?
Suzi :D

[EraserQueen]

Kristi: Stylism is fine! A lot of great figure artists distort/stylize their figures.

Feel free to post links to artists you like also guys! I'll add your links to the main post!

[Merricat]

Great! :) Sign me up pretty please!

[Amerasu]

One of my faves is Anthony Ryder - www.tonyryder.com

[abi]

Oh what the heck, I'm up for some figurative!

[Linwood]

I`ll play!


One of my faves is Anthony Ryder - www.tonyryder.com

Thank you for reminding me of this guy.
I stumbled across his site awhile back and was amazed at the emotion his work elicited from me.
The strongest being extreme envy.

:twitcy:

[EraserQueen]

Linwood: haha! I know the feeling! I've added you! Thanks for joining us!

[Pixeldog]

Oh my....I would like to be part of this swap...room for one more?

[EraserQueen]

Rod, you know I can't say no to you! :)

[clep]

I really need to improve my grasp of anatomy, so I guess you could say I'm in!

*counts number of cards the house owes for swaps and trades now* 13! Oh darn! And each one of those buggers usually takes a couple of days to complete...

[princessgene]

I could certainly use some practice. Can I join?

[Swaggertoes]

Heya, I'm new, but I'd like to give this a shot, and with a 3/3 and an Oct deadline, I think I can manage! lol.

[artyiagirl]

I would also like to join please! Figurative - Yeah!

[jart]

Hi all,

I will be back next week, I'm pretty sure I will get time to do it, But my wife has been making that decision latey. wanting me to live a fuller and less stressful life. Duh.

Anyway, I will let you know when I return next week if I need to drop out.


Luv joel

[EraserQueen]

Yay! You all have been added! :D

[SilverHermit]

Ahhhh, now you are talking my lingo - sign me up.

[catsavannah]

Figurative means metaphoric, like a figure of speech. It is not the human figure. What you mean is figure study, life drawing, the nude. :yes:

Now, as far as doing one. . .I will try! I have never focussed on the human form but I'll try anything once - twice if I like it! Well, actually, I will do 3 of them! Hope they are satisfactory!

[EraserQueen]

Cat: Want me to change the name!?? :D You're added!

SilverHermit: You're added!

[hairlessbill]

I can shrink my figures (I think) so count me in too.

[catsavannah]

EQ - Naw, I was just speaking figure studily! :twitcy:

[EraserQueen]

Cat: LOL

Bill: You're added!

[catsavannah]

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figurative_art

Figurative art describes artwork - particularly paintings - which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational. The term "figurative art" is often taken to mean art which represents the human figure, or even an animal figure, and, though this is often the case, it is not necessarily so:

“ Since the arrival of abstract art the term figurative has been used to refer to any form of modern art that retains strong references to the real world[1] ”

Painting can therefore be divided into the categories of figurative and abstract, although, strictly speaking, abstract art is derived (or abstracted) from a figurative source. However, the term is usually used as a synonym for non-representational art/non-objective art, i.e. art which has no derivation from figures or objects

OKAY, I WAS WR- WR- WR- - - ONG!!!! :skeptical: :wubclub:


PS - Please sign me up?

[Anonevyl]

So you could potentially have a figurative abstract. hee hee

And I just realized I hadn't signed up yet!!! Count me in please!

[EraserQueen]

Cat: LOL I'm surprised I wasn't! :D And I have added yoU! :D

Anne: YAY!!! :D

[EraserQueen]

Okay! I have made a card for this swap finally! After LOTS of sketching and trying to come up with ideas :D

http://www.illustratedatcs.com/forum/gallery/index.php?n=765

[princessgene]

That looks great EQ. I love it!

[catsavannah]

I love har, dahling! She rocks!

[artyiagirl]

Ok - so there are so many great artists on this site. I want to make sure that I keep up with the expectation of quality. And, I want to push myself to grow!!! So, I'm posting some cards that I've done for this swap to get some feedback. I could also post to the WIP forum, but I figured that this group should get a crack at the pieces since they'll end up in your hands.

Are my three pieces in line for what people expect for this trade? If not, no worries, I have plenty of time to work on the cards for the swap. Also, if not, what would people like to see.

Thanks for everyone's time and thoughts.

http://www.illustratedatcs.com/forum/gallery/index.php?n=829
http://www.illustratedatcs.com/forum/gallery/index.php?n=828
http://www.illustratedatcs.com/forum/gallery/index.php?n=827

[EraserQueen]

Cool! I like the last two :) I have a hard time with drawing the backs of people, so the green one is really interesting to me! For the purple, I would add some deeper shading (in indigo maybe?) and even some highlights!

Are you using photo ref's at all?

I really like the fact that you are using unusual colors for the skin tones. You can also try using two colors for the skin, like purple and pink, or blue and orange, yellow and red etc. But that's just an idea :)

[hairlessbill]

I posted one figure card (http://www.illustratedatcs.com/forum/gallery/index.php?n=838) in my gallery but am not happy with the mix of watercolor and mat board. The water chewed up the board. I think I will experiment with gesso and acrylics.

[EraserQueen]

Yeah, some brands turn into pulp when you add water.... Still is a cool card though, too bad about the paper.

[artyiagirl]

Hey EQ - thanks for the suggestions. I like the idea of layering in some contrasting colors. I'm working this idea into the existing cards. I tackled the purple one first and I think I'm making some progess. I've attached for reference or larger view at:
http://www.illustratedatcs.com/forum/gallery/index.php?n=874

I also played with the ochre one, but I might have ruined it, but i've already learned a lot tackling it. So, I'll take that on to my next cards.

I knew that your advice was really good advice -- after working to integrate your suggestions, my art brain started to hurt - so I know I was stretching it.

As far as source photos - I'm using some of my old figure drawings from life drawing sessions past. I'm a little rusty with figure drawings and modelling with darks and lights -- and, in truth adding highlights has always been a weakness for me. I tend to darken and muddy everything into a homogeneous tone.

Anyway - I ramble on, but I wanted to thank you for the advice!!

[lildebi]

I did not see if there was a limit on participants. I would love to join this swap;)

[EraserQueen]

Hey Debi! you're in :D

artyiagirl: Yay! I like what you did to the purple one! I especially like the layering you did with the background, it looks like you put white over blue or something? Layering add a great richness to colors in your work :D

it's not unusual to make some cards as practice for a swap, they push you and let you experiment with ideas.

Is the black border part of the card? You should play around with borders also!

And I'm glad you found what I said helpful, rather that irritating or something! :)

[Judithian]

Hi - I know I'm new, but please add me in.
Thanks,
Jud

[Judithian]

um - thought I had requested to be added - but as I'm new, I could very well have done this wrong. Anyhow - I'd love to join! I'm a figurative artist by trade and already have some wonderful models ready for interpretation. Thanks.

[EraserQueen]

Yay! Sure Judith! :D You're added.

[EraserQueen]

Yay! Received cards from artyiagirl! :D

[EraserQueen]

The due-date is far away, but I was wondering how folks were doing??

I have just started taking my advanced drawing class (figural work!) and am loving it. we just had our second lesson, which began our model drawing sessions. Our Model is very nice, and it was his first time LOL.

My instructor is great also, if you want to see his work, it is here: http://www.oxfordgallery.com/Contemporary/mosner.html
He is encouraging us to use various media we like and try different size paper (he had us start by using charcoal..but I don't like the feel of charcoal grating on the paper, and switched to conte crayon...does anyone else have that aversion to charcoal, or am I just nuts???)

We have homework in which we copy out drawings from Brigeman's figure books, which is fun because I like the authors style of drawing, very fluid, and somewhat stylized.

I got some interesting books from the library on figure drawing:

Figure Drawing: the structure, anatomy and expressive design of human form, by Nathan Goldstein

Realistic Figure Drawing, by Joseph Sheppard

The Figure in Action; anatomy for artists, by Louise Gordon

Also, I found some interesting books on the male figure in art; the male form seems to be ignored in mainstream culture, and while I think we women are drop-dead gorgeous ;) I like looking at men too LOL

The Male Nude, by Francois de Louville and Edward Lucie-Smith: The book is cool because it contains a lot of male form art from artists during the 80's

Adam: The male Figure in Art, by Edward Lucie-smith: This book spans a longer time period, and the different genres of male form ('heroic' vs. Androgynous, Avant-garde, etc...)

So, that's the news from lake woebegone ;)

[SilverHermit]

Hi EQ, Good to hear about your experiences so far. I love model studies - and it sounds like your instructor is pretty cool.
I thought I'd share this so once you get farther along you may want to look at the work of Pierre-Paul Prud'hon (my favorite figure draughtsman). They had a special on his work in the American Artist - Drawing Highlights Magazine (http://search.myamericanartist.com/americanartist/store/product_view.jsp?product_id=19477&category_name=Drawing) this past Spring. And there is also this great "How-To" website:
Intro is here: http://www.art.net/~rebecca/OnPrudon1.html
But the actual tutorial starts here: http://www.art.net/~rebecca/OnPrudon7.html
Don't forget to read the articles on materials and such as well, alot of valuable information.
Take Care.
http://www.art.net/~rebecca/ClosePrud1.jpg

[EraserQueen]

WOW! Thanks for giving me a new artist to fall in love with! I love the site you linked to also...I'll have to see if I have that Issue, I don't think so, I would probably have remembered!

Have you personally tried working in Prud'hon's style? it looks very involved, but the results really seem to make it worthwhile :D

[Swaggertoes]

Hey EQ, well, I have 4 cards I could send. One hasn't gotten a comment in the gallery yet. I really like that card, lol, but if no one else does, I might just send the other ones.

Anyway, the plan is to start on my other swaps, and then maybe come back to the figures if there is time before the deadline. Or maybe I should send them now and stop worryin'? I donno. lol

[EraserQueen]

Send 'em now and stop worrying ;)

I have cards that don't have comments either, but for every person who said "I Like!" I figure there are two more who simply didn't comment..I find there are cards I LOVE, but I don't have time to comment on every one... :sad:

So just send the little devils! Again, I think your work s brilliant..I may just keep all of your cards and move to the wilds of Canada or something ;)

[EraserQueen]

YAY! Cool cards from Swaggertoes came today! And they are beautiful :D

[EraserQueen]

How are people coming along? Our due date is approaching :)

[Amerasu]

I haven't started yet - but I will tonight!

[abi]

I finished mine tonight, but I don't have scanner access until Thursday, so I will be sending them first thing Friday morning. I don't think that should cause any problems as they are traveling in the US.

[EraserQueen]

That's fine Abi! You gotta scan your cards!

[abi]

I got to the scanner sooner than I thought, but I probably won't have a chance to get these off before fri morning anyways. But they are done and getting ready to go postal. For all my procrastination, I really enjoyed this swap. Thanks EQ for hosting!

Oh and I love to title my work so if you miss it in the gallery, the first one is "Expecting the Unexpected", the second is "Step Up" and the last is "Misplaced Ideals"

[Swaggertoes]

LOL, I just noticed the work listed on the swaps page under this swap... and one of them is mine...that I didn't send for the swap.

Now I feel bad. lol.

[EraserQueen]

Swagger, don't worry about it, the ones you did send were just as awesomesauce :D

Abi: OMG, I LOVE those!! So cool! I can't to see them in person!

Dang, everyone has been creating such awesome work!

[Anonevyl]

Ok - here are my submissions:

678 679 680

681

[clep]

Coolio, Anonevyl! *applause*

[EraserQueen]

Anne: Wow! Those are just awesome! :D

[EraserQueen]

Abi: Got your fantastic cards today! Woo Hoo! :jiggy: I'm still amazed at the level detail you an achieve with the oil pastel :eek:

[abi]

Its all about layers and having a trusty tootpick. Oh and constantly breaking the oil pastels in search of a hard fine edge. Most of my colors are in little bits by now :spinny:

[EraserQueen]

Jarts Cards came!

[Anonevyl]

Judith's and my cards are on the way! They'll be arriving in an envelope wrapped in brown paper.

Just kidding....;)

[Swaggertoes]

Judith's and my cards are on the way! They'll be arriving in an envelope wrapped in brown paper.

Just kidding....;)

LOL, I donno what's funnier, that you said that, or that I got it. :P

[Anonevyl]

Yes - sometimes my humor is often obscure, yet subtle.

[EraserQueen]

Silverhermits cards arrived!

[princessgene]

HI EQ! I did mail my cards priority mail on Saturday. You should have them by Wednesday. Here is what I sent.

[EraserQueen]

Wow Joy! Those look really awesome! And I love the wings!! :D

[Pixeldog]

Sorry, EQ I meant to post a comment a couple of days ago. My cards when out in the mail this past weekend so I think they'll be there b4 the end of the week. It was a thanksgiving long weekend here in Canada so I hope they don't get delayed.

[EraserQueen]

Thanks fine! I'll let you know when they arrive! :D

[lildebi]

Have you received my cards yet........just wondering...?

[EraserQueen]

Debi: Not yet. When did you send them? Columbus Day held things up some I'm sure :) I'll let you know as soon as they arrive, they may come today, the mail hasn't been delivered yet!

I received cards from Clep yesterday :)

[EraserQueen]

oh! And cards from Judithian, Anne and Joy!

Debi: Don't worry, I am still waiting for Rod's cards, I'm sure yours will get here soon.

[Anonevyl]

I'm really excited. To the participants for whom this group swap would be the first on this site, you will not be disappointed.

This is my fourth or fifith and all of my returns have made me very happy.

[EraserQueen]

I am REALLY impressed with all the great work everyone has submitted :)

Debi: YAY! Your cards came today!

Just waiting for Rod's now.. I have contacted Linwood, but haven't heard anything :eek:

[Swaggertoes]

I think I am less concerned about the returns as I am hoping people are happy with mine. lol.

[EraserQueen]

LOL, don't be. I wanna keep all of them! LOL Rest assured other participants, I'm only picking one and trading the rest out :)

[EraserQueen]

YAY! I have received Rod's cards! They are all swapped out now, I will mail them out on Monday "D

[Anonevyl]

I got my returns today and I just wanted to say how utterly disappointed I was with them. They were all just so hideous, they burned my eyes.






Just kidding. Gosh, you guys are sooooo sensitive! My returns were SMASHINGLY BRILLIANT!!!!

Lessee, I got goodies from Eraser Queen (Reach Upwards), Abi (Expecting the Unexpected) Hairless Bill (Nude #1) and Swaggertoes (untitled - yellow nude). All fabulous, all pieces I will cherish.

[Anonevyl]

OH - I almost forgot!!! A big thank you to the hostess with the mostess. Woohoo!!!

[Judithian]

Same here, mine were so horrible I'll have to keep them all to myself locked up so nobody dare be forced to view them ;) - he he.

Thanks everyone for some wonderful, elegant cards. I really loved all of them and want to send out a HUGE thanks for EQ for a delightufl swap.

[EraserQueen]

Thanks you guys for joining! :D It wouldn't be as awesome as it was without all you talented peoples! :D

*group hug*

[catsavannah]

I received my splendid figures as well!! Lovely cards from Jart, Princessgene and Abi. PPPPPPPPLLLLLus, I also got my Prize Card which is the cutest masquerade card you ever saw! Thanks, Annie!

[Pixeldog]

Received my cards tooo....woooo wooo.

[jart]

I received a wonderful set of cards today. Very special colorful figure from EQ...Thanks for hosting, and your friendship... The Pose by Catsavannah, Male Nude from Judithaian, and another special piece from Clep. All the pieces are very special and great addition to my collection...finally some figurative things! Thanks,

Jart

[Swaggertoes]

Whoot, mine came. My first IATC returns. NOw the proud owner of 2 male nudes by Anonevil and Judithian, and a very peppy colorful female from EQ! ^_^

[abi]

Thanks for hosting EQ! I got fabulous returns from Princessgene (Proud Yolanda), Catsavannah (Forbidden Fruit) and Anonevyl (Dynamic Torso).

Yay for great, fabulous returns!!!

[clep]

Got mine too! One awesome one (as usual) from Jart, another super one from Silverhermit and one from hairlessbill!

Thanks for hosting the swap, EQ!

[princessgene]

Thanks so much for the great cards I received today. Nude in Blue from Judithian, Sun Dazed by EQ, Fever by Catsavannah and Misplaced Ideals by Abi. Thanks to EQ for hosting swap.