5 Nudes: Theresa

Five life drawings of one model

Theresa Bum © Simon Goss ARCA 2007

I drew Theresa intermittently over a period of two years from 2006. I can recall very little of her story or character, I seem to remember she was a student doing lots of part time jobs. Regardless, I am left with a series of drawings that show a tall, athletic young woman who is obviously relaxed and confident in the way she carries herself. It is nice to get to know a model at least a little but that is not always essential to the task of portraying them.

I encountered Theresa as part of a rota of models at Swansea Print Workshop and would have drawn her maybe once every six weeks. I therefore had only a handful of sessions with her over two years but I can see that I must have been inspired due to the high hit rate of drawings I am satisfied with. These were early days for the technique I was developing and I was surprised looking back that so many had a background colour — something I rarely add now. The other factor that is common to all of these is the quality of the linework which is strong and deliberate throughout, something I would normally see in my drawings of males. I surmise that this is due to Theresa’s comparatively powerful musculature and poise

1 Theresa Scrunched

Theresa Scrunched © Simon Goss ARCA 2006

This pose shows off Theresa’s remarkably long limbs and innate flexibility. The drawing is solid with a reasonable likeness and hands that I am very happy with. I have kept to a limited palette of Light Red, Yellow Ochre, Rose Madder and Burnt Umber. The background colour is a mystery however, a colour I no longer have in my paintbox but probably a Pane’s Grey of some sort. The pose would have been a bum-numbing thirty minutes - for the model, and the artists! I have painted quite sparsely here conveying the strong spotlight which I always took care to position above the model. I feel it gives an easy definition to a body due to the high contrast it gives. I am often struck by how different the colours are in the upper body compared to the lower. This is more apparent here where the brown arms cross the pink legs.

2 Theresa Blue Hand

Theresa Blue Hand © Simon Goss ARCA 2006

One of my ‘Chairs Missing’ drawings (I hate drawing furniture or props, so I just leave a negative space where they cross the body). This drawing stands out for me due to that little flash of washed out Prussian Blue on Theresa’s hand. It speaks volumes, suggesting the restriction to the flow of blood to her hand over the thirty minute duration of the pose, and it elevates the drawing from the ordinary. I am also very pleased with the composition here, with the strong right angle formed by the back of the chair and Theresa’s arm. The drawing shows a nice variety of line weight, and I am particularly satisfied with the dark line under the model’s upper arm, as it crosses her body and weighs heavily on the chair. The composition is strong although I could have positioned her a little more centrally on the page. When I look at some of these older drawings I am surprised at the darkness of the pencil I used and resolve to do so again some time.

I am still experimenting with colour here and have gone to a far cooler palette than before. The drawing is enlivened by the strong flashes of Scarlet on the nipple, elbow and hand which also serves to balance all of the Gold Green.

3 Theresa Bum

Theresa Bum © Simon Goss ARCA 2007

This is a tricky one, a tale of two halves. The bottom half, and focus of the pose, is a very well delineated bottom which I am very pleased with, both in drawing and painting. The top half however is not so hot — the hair in particular is heavy and overworked and the shoulders hold too much colour with too little highlight. Overall though the pose works well with a convincing sway giving weight to the jut of the hips. I suspect that, since I had no face, hands or feet to draw, I was left with too much time to overwork the painting which is heavy and ponderous in many areas, not least the unnecessary background which just adds to the gloom.

Thank god for that bum though.

4 Theresa Twisting

Theresa Twisting © Simon Goss ARCA 2007

One of my favourite drawings from this early period, Theresa presents an elegant twist, which is always inspiring. The drawing is crisp and restrained with an awful lot of subtle cross hatching in the shadows. Still no face to draw so I have spent more time on the draped hand and the nicely tied hair. The pose sits well on the page, drawn at sight size which often gives me head to mid thigh for the paper I use and the distance I sit from the model. I am particularly happy with the light crossing the hand as it emerges from the shadow of her back. The same light defines the point of the shoulder, plays across the belly before meeting the hip and buttock. I might have made the elbow behind the back a bit darker as is also true, for once, of the background colour.

5 Theresa Blonde

Theresa Blonde © Simon Goss ARCA 2008

I was always surprised at the length of Theresa’s torso as is most evident here. She is leaning on a table out of frame here which gives a weird dynamism to the otherwise static pose. You can see the tension in her right shoulder as it holds her weight and defines her collarbones. The other thing to note is her hair colour, which was different for every session I drew her I think, but never as extreme as here. It’s remarkable how much hair colour affects my colouring of the rest of the body, (whether this is in contrast or not I am not sure). Nonetheless I have used a far lighter touch and a lot more Yellow Ochre, lifted with washes of Windsor Red. I think I chose a Cerulean Blue background to make the body colour look less yellow and more orange.

You can read about more models here — https://medium.com/@draftsmann/list/nudes-d91f516b26e3

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I am also open to commissions for nude and conventional portraits, you can see more examples of my work and fees here — www.portraitpainter.me.uk

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