Raising the Bar 2018.

Mary Passmore is a Swansea based Artist and full time lecturer at Gower College Swansea.

Mary begins the day by running the participants through various drawing exercises to loosen up. These exercises consisted of continuous line drawing and sketching the figure with the paper covered. These activities are designed to get the students confident in observing, and training them to see what’s in front of them rather than the paper. Mary also encouraged the participants to ‘step back’ from their drawings, which will enable them to get a better sense of perspective.

Once participants have become familiar with the methods of the life-drawing studio, they then begin a series of 20minute studies. Mary asks these studies to focus on a variety of disciplines. For the first drawing, Mary asks the students to consider measurement and ratio- for example roughly 6 heads go into the body, this enables participants to get a clear idea of proportion. The next study asked the students to tape a piece of charcoal to the end of  a paint brush, with the aim that this will force the group to stand back from their drawings. Students then introduce colour and use watercolour pencils to create striking mark making, and focus on tone where the ‘light hits the body’.

A selection of the 20 minute drawings are then exposed onto screens and the second half of the day sees the group screen printing and layering their images.