Ten Cast Drawings

This series was started some time ago with the intention of producing ten drawings of my reconstituted marble bust of Clytie, bought for £50 off Ebay.

Largely due to space restrictions and the amount of time it takes to do a cast drawings, the series has stalled at number two. I do hope to return to the series once I have the room to do so.

Cast drawing was a central part of atelier training, and also at the Ecole Des Beaux Arts in France once the atelier system had died out. It’s still practised in revival ateliers in Europe and the US.

It’s all about eye training, and all these drawings will be done using the sight-size method, aiming for absolute accuracy. The write up of the first of this series gives an account of how I’m approaching the sight-size technique.

I’m doing this series step by step, following the progression of the Bargue plates. The first couple of drawings will be schematics, followed by more refined lines on the third. On the fourth drawing I’ll be adding tone, and I’ll see where I go from there. The intention is to be able to produce a finished cast drawing of a comparable standard to the cast drawings produced at modern ateliers for the last one of the series.

Although I started this series some years ago now, I never got past the second drawing before I lost my studio space to our first son and had to put it on hold. One day, I will return Clytie!

Clytie – First Cast Drawing

Cast Drawing One

My first real attempt at a cast drawing using the strict sight size technique. I tool this one to the stage of first schematic.

Clytie – Second Cast Drawing

Cast Drawing Two

In this second attempt I drew Clytie from a different angle, and took the refinement of the outline a little further – still striving for absolute accuracy.