The joy of impromptu life drawing on holiday: See your drawing skills improve in three days
Beach bar people watching
A real delight about visiting family in Portugal is the ability to regularly spend time at a favourite beach bar, sipping coffee, people watching and drawing what I see. This time it was the human forms of the bathing beauties that caught my eye and to my surprise I gained a new found confidence in life drawing. In three short days I saw my sketches improve from loose scribbles to considered forms. I’ll share here how I did it.
Beach umbrellas and sun beds
Our visits to Portugal tend to coincide with the cooler months of winter and spring. At these times of year the beach is welcoming and generally very sunny, although extremely quiet and devoid of much visual activity. If you’re lucky a passing boat or two will slip across the tranquil waters while all remains calm.
During April and May things pick up a little and grassy beach umbrellas start mushrooming up in neat rows along the shore. Cheery yellow sun beds lie two by two in grid formation, while a few brave souls venture to reveal pasty winter skin in the bright spring sunshine. In the past it’s these regimented vistas that have caught my attention. An opportunity to practice drawing human made objects rather than the uninterrupted landscapes or botanical forms I lean toward.
La Plage
This past visit has been quite different. We came during the, oh so hot, month of August and couldn’t quite believe the number of bronzed bodies and colourful beach towels lying every which way on the sand. The only thing for it was to cast landscapes to one side and get stuck into some impromptu life drawing. From my ringside seats at La Plage beach bar, coffee or rosé ordered (depending on the time of day) and a handful of colours at my side I started tentatively drawing people.
Keep in mind that while I have past life drawing experiences this was mainly way back during my art collage days. Being a furniture design student the department encouraged a rigorous program of life drawing so we could understand the mechanics of the human form to better design our furniture. Quite obvious when you think about it.
Incognito
One of my issues with drawing people in public and why I don’t often do it, is that I don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. Life drawing involves a lot of looking, which inevitably looks like staring. Being the well brought up person I am, I was taught that staring is rather rude. However, this is where the beach bar scenario comes in handy. Sitting a little way back from the beach, with a table covered in cups and glasses and a wearing a very dark pair of sunglasses I practically felt invisible.
Three days and 30 minutes
Over the course of three days (30 to 45 minutes max at each visit) the scratchy scribbly drawings started to take shape and even develop some personality. Wobbly lines made way for purposeful shapes and the dynamics of different bathing attire added to the fun. Using a highlighter to render torso and limbs meant I could stop relying on pencil outlines and in one or two strokes create a solid form. This was also a quicker way of recording the standing posture of the continually moving forms. After all, even at the beach, people are busy and always on the move.
Little and often
At best these drawings are a bit of light hearted fun. The sun bronzed bodies of this Algarvian beach remembered in the shrimp-like pink of the only suitable highlight colour I had (it was that or green). While the somewhat stiff poses need a lesson or two in relaxation, my takeaway from this three day series will stand me in good stead long after the holiday is over. The reminder that by showing up, little and often, is the best way to get results. I have no idea what I’ll use these figures for, other than simply being a happy memory of a lovely holiday, but I do know that the next time I’m in a cafe with my sketchbook I might just draw the people.
Impromptu life-drawing tips
If you're looking for a fun way to improve your drawing skills where you can see measurable results, I encourage you to try impromptu life-drawing. Set a couple of times a week where you’ll be surrounded by people. A park, cafe or even your local sports centre are good venues to go with your sketchbook. You might be surprised at how much you enjoy it! Here are some tips to help you get started.
Materials (see journal notes for more details):
A small sketchbook (Moleskine Art Collection sketchbooks are the best)
A double-ended pencil (try Ooly 2 of a Kind because you get two colours in one)
A highlighter pen (my favourites are by Stabilo Boss)
An HB pencil (for these drawings I used a Helix Oxford HB but any will do)
Tips:
Look for places where people are moving around and interacting with each other. This will help you to capture more dynamic poses and expressions.
Choose a place where you feel comfortable and have a good view of the people you're drawing. This will make it easier to see their features and proportions.
Give yourself the time it takes to drink a cup of coffee to get a few quick figures drawn on the page. Keep it as loose as you can to start, even if this means only drawing a few stick figures. The more you practice the more you’ll find your flow.
Don't worry about making mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes when they're drawing. The important thing is to keep practicing. Remember a sketchbook can be as scrappy as you like, it’s simply a convenient way to practice drawing.
Would you like too see more of my creative people?
Take a peek in the Print Shop and browse the Homespun Girls collection. They’re a series of BRIGHT portraits of little ladies, bursting with personality. The prints are designed to fit an off the shelf picture frame making them a super easy and affordable option for bringing a splash of BRIGHT to your home.
