A Drawing Resource...Vitruvian Studios

by Kevin Mayes

'Dana' by David Jamieson

Searching the web for a studio or school that teaches representational drawing, painting, anatomy and sculpture can be a daunting task with there being so many to research. Therefore, I thought it would be a good idea to present one here that I feel is well worth the time and money.  This studio is Vitruvian Studios.

This Chicago based art school offers the student a studio environment that is affordable, flexible and encouraging. You will find online courses, in-studio courses and video downloads available through their website.

These courses are for everyone, beginners and professional alike. 

'Drawing Basics' is their "foundations" drawing course. There is a video sample lesson in the course description that I recommend viewing. It will give you a good idea of what to expect from the course and actually, it looks like a lot of fun.

There is a video download page that is worth your time to explore. The videos are well done, interesting to watch and learn from.
You can also view their videos through their YouTube channel for regular uploads from the studio. The videos through the 'video for download' page are extended cuts of three time-lapse videos. The longer version features a detailed voice-over by David Jamieson describing aspects of his process for drawing. It's like a mini master class in drawing!

Portrait Drawing The Complete Online Course has an introduction video in the description that is worth watching and will introduce you not only to the Portrait Drawing course, but to David Jamieson.

David Jamieson

I really like the approach David takes with the courses and the way he presents the information to the student. Whether you learn online or in the studio, this is simply a very good way to get excellent instruction.

There is so much more information that I could share with you, but that would be just copying what is on the website! It would be well worth the time to visit Vitruvian Studio and explore all the possibilities offered by the studio.

Thank you for looking!

Morning Monarchs
by Kevin Mayes

 Once in a great while you find yourself with a client that turns out to be your dream client. Such is the case here. I have done a lot of work for him for his business and three weeks ago he called me and asked to commission a painting. What he had in mind was to have me base this painting on a fine art poster he had gotten back in the seventies. Now he didn't want it reproduced but rather for me to use it for inspiration to create my own work using the same subject matter and nothing more. So, what I did was to give the print a look. The print was so  faded that the only color left in it was blue! Okay, the subject is butterflies with a plant. I did some research on Monarch's and found that their favorite food source is the common milk weed. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the blossoms of the plant are not only very nice but very interesting as well! Below is what I came up with and a very brief description of the stages shown. The painting is 28" X 22" oil on paper mounted on a Birch panel.

 

The line drawing submitted for approval. Once approved the drawing is copied onto a good paper and mounted. For this painting the drawing was mounted on a 28" X 22" Birch panel and sealed with acrylic medium.

Once the drawing has been mounted and sealed I rough in an acrylic under painting to serve as a guide to the color scheme. This allows me to get a feel for the painting and a reference point for making choices and decisions about color, lighting and form.

I work from the background forward. Here the background and the plant are almost done and the blossoms in progress. The butterflies have not had their first pass yet nor has the foreground blossom.

The finished piece framed ( the frame was provided by the client) and ready for the client.

As I mentioned earlier, this client is my dream client. He knows what he wants and yet leaves the creating to me. Gotta love it when the clients says, 'Make it your own, I am sure that I will be more than happy with what you create'.

Thank you for taking the time to read this!