About This Work

Jacob Again This charcoal and pastel drawing ‘Prestudy to Sitting Nude by Jacob Merkelbach – 24-03-24’ is made under two hours. On a whim really because this afternoon I went to Brugman Art to teach model sketching. 7 enthusiasts but not experienced persons I wanted to give an example what to expect. As to drawing I also want to show students how I personally render the human figure. So I went early in order to get ready for the session and to set up a sketch. Of late I have disccovered the works of Jacob Merkelbach I have mentioned before. In fact, my last drawing was based on one of is beautiful photos. The pose of the woman shown in the picture was gorgeous and the posture simple at the same time. Doable under an hour I had before the group arrived. Under Two Hours Actually, I was finished doing the pose and the right proportions under half an hour. So I had the opportunity to show what I’m all about: tonality. I had only charcoal available. Thus the setup remained a bit pale. However, back home I decided to spend another half an hour to darken things up with Conté carré noir. Somehow I thought this might as well serve as a prestudy for a graphite pencil drawing. As such that always is meant as study for an oil painting. Obviously a prelude to a prelude more or less. It’s jolly good fun to do and show these sketches. See what the contrast in quality is between stuff I worked on for hours and those drawn quickly. Which works do you prefer? Popular on Social Media Strangely this classical or should I call it academical work is popular on social media. Take ‘Model Session – 23-01-24’ for example. According to Facebook this pastel became the most popular watched reel of late. Duly noted but I’m a bit ashamed because of the unpretentiousness of these drawings. There is nothing to convey, only beauty and tonal skills. What do you think, need I worry or carry on? A guilty pleasure, most definitively! Pastel drawing on paper (49.8 x 64.6 x 0.1 cm) Artist: Corné Akkers