Neighbouring 3D designer Jonathan Thomas, worked with me to produce this tongue in cheek poster to promote one of his products raising money for a great cause.

The Walthamstow Dad T-Shirt raises money for the Whips Cross Hospital maternity Unit. £5 from every purchase goes to the Big Push Campaign. And I was challenged with a fantastic brief which in short was “Watchmen meets Les Dawson”.

Jonathan’s own work  specialises in unique artisan projects ranging from huge workplace installations to bespoke furniture for private homes.

His background includes a prestigious list of clients & projects including WPP interiors, Savile Row window displays and marketing campaigns for the National Gallery.

He has collaborated on a number of high profile projects with Thomas Heatherwick and helped to establish what is now Heatherwick Studio. He was a creative consultant at The Partners and has lectured in 3D design at UCA Canterbury and Surrey Institute of Art & Design. He previously founded the award winning multi-disciplinary design company Make Limited.

The Walthamstow Dad Challenge throws down a gauntlet to owners of the T-shirt to take a photo with them in the tee, in some exotic location. The winner bestows the honour of being named Walthamstow Dad of the Year.

Click here to see more of Jonathan’s work
Click here to buy the T-Shirt

One of my drawings tonight was left handed.

Not to make things easy, Frank asked me to draw a thirty minute pose left-handed tonight.

I think in an attempt to stop me slowing down too much in the longer poses. When you only have five minutes to draw the human body, your lines instinctively become loose and fluid. The trick is maintaining this line when time is more a luxury & you want to hone in more on the detail.

Tonight’s model comes from a dance background, and she has a fantastic face for portraiture. She reminded me so much of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. If we get her again, I think I’ll use one of the poses to focus on her face and it’s striking features.

A note on the models. At art school I was used to drawing the same two people week after week and in all fairness to them, their poses were pretty similar; sitting down reading, sitting down falling asleep, sitting down getting cramp.

So credit to Frank and all the models we have had to date in our class here in Walthamstow. Not only have their poses been varied and challenging but their ability to hold a pose is very much appreciated.

Our model tonight was called Manuella.

Giving me guidance, my class tutor is Frank Gambino, trained as a graphic designer, however in recent years his main practise is in portraiture and figure studies. Frank’s studio is in Belsize Park, London, where he works on commissions and runs popular life drawing classes. However, conveniently for me, he is also running classes in East London, at the Tokarska Gallery.The Tokarska Gallery, a contemporary art gallery run by emerging artist Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska.

Visit Frank Gambino’s website
Tokarska Gallery

Getting tempted to change materials.

I really like how you can push and pull charcoal marks around, but I feel a little clumsy when getting to the finer details.

I’ve had experience of life drawing with pencil in the past and wouldn’t mind introducing it to this class at some stage. However, an A1 sheet of paper is a lot of ground to cover when reverting to pencil. No doubt I’ll have to adapt my style again so I’m going to leave it for a couple of weeks – perhaps explore different approaches to mark-making with the charcoal.

Our model tonight was called Samuel.

Giving me guidance, my class tutor is Frank Gambino, trained as a graphic designer, however in recent years his main practise is in portraiture and figure studies. Frank’s studio is in Belsize Park, London, where he works on commissions and runs popular life drawing classes. However, conveniently for me, he is also running classes in East London, at the Tokarska Gallery.

The Tokarska Gallery, a contemporary art gallery run by emerging artist Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska.

Visit Frank Gambino’s website
Tokarska Gallery

Working on the head has definitely improved…

…Well, in the hour pose at least.

This week our model had an incredible tattoo across her stomach but I felt it too much of a distraction to spend much time on (some of it can be seen in the 10 minute pose).

I’ve started a board on Pintrest of some really nice drawings I’ve found to try and start thinking  about different ways of mark-making. Charcoal is a fantastic pliable medium, but I do fancy doing something in pencil (as I do in my sketchbooks).

I might add some of my own drawings at some stage, but the problem I find with this, is there is ALWAYS someone out there who overwhelms you with their talent!

I also want to mention some of the music we are listening to while we draw. This week’s mention goes to Rodrigo y Gabriela – 2006, the Mexican guitar duo have an astonishing pace that is a really good album for warm-ups. Check them out here.

Our model tonight was called Lidia.

Giving me guidance, my class tutor is Frank Gambino, trained as a graphic designer, however in recent years his main practise is in portraiture and figure studies. Frank’s studio is in Belsize Park, London, where he works on commissions and runs popular life drawing classes. However, conveniently for me, he is also running classes in East London, at the Tokarska Gallery.

The Tokarska Gallery, a contemporary art gallery run by emerging artist Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska.

Visit Frank Gambino’s website
Tokarska Gallery

I think I want to start focusing on heads for a little while.

I’ve been paying attention to building my life drawings with abstract shapes, observing their relationships against one another as opposed to drawing ‘a foot’ or ‘a neck’.

When we allow our minds to dictate what it thinks it sees through familiarity, errors often occur, and it this habit that observational drawing tries to break.

Because of this, I’ve put some energy into complex forms like the feet and hands, but am noticing I tend to skirt around the detail of the head (my 30 minute pose didn’t even get one)!

I was definitely aware of this in the hour pose and hopefully it is something I can work on in the coming weeks.

Our model tonight was called Ogata.

Giving me guidance, my class tutor is Frank Gambino, trained as a graphic designer, however in recent years his main practise is in portraiture and figure studies. Frank’s studio is in Belsize Park, London, where he works on commissions and runs popular life drawing classes. However, conveniently for me, he is also running classes in East London, at the Tokarska Gallery.

The Tokarska Gallery, a contemporary art gallery run by emerging artist Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska.

Visit Frank Gambino’s website
Tokarska Gallery

Our model tonight was called Jennifer.

A curvy figure can sometimes be kind, giving defined folds and lines to help you work across the drawing. However, with some poses tonight I found myself working on areas such as across the back with little or no definition.

It is sometimes hard to find the shapes or lines to find a relationship that takes you to the next step. In these cases I’m looking for suggestions that you might see in the contours of the body.

Giving me guidance, my class tutor is Frank Gambino, trained as a graphic designer, however in recent years his main practise is in portraiture and figure studies.Frank’s studio is in Belsize Park, London, where he works on commissions and runs popular life drawing classes. However, conveniently for me, he is also running classes in East London, at the Tokarska Gallery.

The Tokarska Gallery, a contemporary art gallery run by emerging artist Nadiya Pavliv-Tokarska.

Visit Frank Gambino’s website
Tokarska Gallery

Ongoing development is key to maturing as an illustrator so I am really pleased to be life drawing again.

It’s really refreshing to get back behind an easel, working on large format and getting mucky with charcoal with no distractions at all. My aim is to really focus on loosening my style – being well aware that this sometimes has to give, working commercially and digitally.

I’ve decided to document some examples here on my blog, if anything, as a personal reference to note my progression. It should also give an insight into some of the background work that goes towards developing my skills on an ongoing basis.

Giving me guidance, my class tutor is Frank Gambino, trained as a graphic designer, however in recent years his main practise is in portraiture and figure studies.

Frank’s studio is in Belsize Park, London, where he works on commissions and runs popular life drawing classes. However, conveniently for me, he is also running classes in East London, at the Tokarska Gallery