Since the National Academy is on summer break until mid-September, I decided to drop in at Spring Studio to practice short poses.
From my vantage point, the model was backlit most of the time - not ideal but I didn't mind it so much once I began to focus on shadows within shadows. Or rather, reflected light within shadows, which not only delineated form but also provided some compelling abstract patterns.
During these short poses I tried some combinations of line and flat areas of shading to get to the essence of the gesture. I normally would have attempted something more realistic with such a young, well built model but it was fun abstracting the figure for a change.
I'd like to drop in at Spring Studio more often, especially for the long poses. Maybe Saturday evenings, if I can work those classes into my schedule.