Drawing Master Class with Keith Bayliss
20th and 27th September 2015
Neath Port Talbot and Swansea Students
“When making marks, if I fail it’s a shame but I haven’t lost anything because it is all good practice. It is what art is about, it is all creativity.”
Keith Bayliss began his Masterclass by introducing the group to the works of Paula Rego, Rembrandt, Picasso and Clive Hicks Jenkins. After Studying the method and style of drawing in these selected works, the group discussed common themes in the work.
The ideas and knowledge learned from viewing the previously shown artists work lead to the first task of experimentation with pencil. Everyone experimented with shading techniques and tones, learning what their pencils were capable of. A1 pieces of paper were handed out to be filled with portrait pencil drawings. Rubbers were forbidden for this exercise of working in layers and using their new found tonal techniques to add depth, expression and character. Keith encouraged small breaks to be taken from drawing in order to stand back and view the work from all angles and also to openly discuss as a group the strong points of an image and what needed more work.
As the group began to show confidence in their drawings, charcoal and fresh pieces of paper were handed out and filled with the experimental portraiture drawings. The charcoal proved to be another fun method of mark making inspired by the artists previously shown.
