The ’80s: the return to naturalism — a gallery of figure-drawings and portraits

by Alden Cole on May 24, 2016 · 0 comments

“Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.” — Salvador Dali (11 May 1904 – 23 Jan 1989)

LaGuitaristeWPI drew the human figure a lot in the four-year period from early spring of 1982 when I was still living in Cape Neddick ME before moving into Portsmouth NH that June, until I left the New England area in April 1986. There are hundreds of drawings from that time still in my files which I haven’t taken the time to discard.
TheSleeperWPBesides, it’s fun to go through them occasionally to see how my skills have altered with time. I’ve chosen a few of my favorites to share. To reveal them all would indeed overwhelm, both me and you, my friends. A situation similar to the time months ago when I was over-viewing my career in the early ’70s as a fashion illustrator in NYC, knowing that ‘showing them all’ would become very boring very quickly. Certainly drawing them professionally became tedious after a time, which is why I moved on from that particular career. Drawing the figure rarely became tedious, which is why I filled my free time with drawing as much as I did. And that knowledge of the figure and face fed my painting which moved from the natural to the preternatural. So enjoy the few I’ve selected, knowing there are many more. Should you ever be desirous of seeing more – “Come up and see my etchings sometime” 😉

AnonymousMaleModelWP

JohnRedfern?WP

Mindy??WP

HeidiRhodes1WP

12Jan83AnnTasslerWP

Valerie-PortraitWP

AfricanModelWP

HeidiRhodes3WP

Travis18Dec82WP

1984-Heidi-12x16WP

{ 0 comments… add one now }

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: