"Lady In the Waters " by Kerryn Madsen-Pietsch | RedBubble

"Lady In the Waters " by Kerryn Madsen-Pietsch | Redbubble:

'Lady In the Waters' by Kerryn Madsen-Pietsch
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Original medium > Pencil graphite drawing on A1 size Kent cartridge paper. 


About this work
I’ve always had a passion for direct observational drawing/painting from life/nature, including the human figure/form/anatomy so when as an art/design student one was presented with a new topic theme The Extension of the Senses of Man to explore, the following is a summary of my rationalizing approach and how I explored the given topic.

Skin is man’s largest sensory organ and primarily requires protection against the environment’s elements. Clothing primarily protects humans, providing a barrier between the skin and the environment.

Thinly draped clothing veiled over the human form provides ample study of soft falling movements along body lines, flowing shapes & patterns etc. I wanted to explore the human form/skin/clothing characteristics while exposed directly to elements in a natural environment, ‘outdoors’, as opposed to nude life models posing in a protective drawing room set-up that I had been so far exposed to.

Process:
Stage 1) Exploring the extension of the senses by exposing the human form/skin/clothing to the natural physical elements of water, air and earth/sand at a public beach landscape and documenting this through the neg.film photographic medium on an SLR camera. I had asked two fellow art students to model for me in loose light negligee clothing I'd purchased from an Op. shop.

Stage 2) I literally developed the B&W negative film and produced a photographic series of work on A3 photographic paper (which I had to pay for) learning several darkroom manipulation techniques in the process.

Stage 3) From the resultant photographic imagery (on the human structure, female shapes and forms, skin & cloth exposed to the natural elements of water, wind/air, earth/sand/rock in the landscape) I further explore and study the inherent structure and ‘dynamics’ of several images and produce several work drawings.

Note - I think my two fellow art student models totally enjoyed the creative photographic documentation experience, even though they got cold, wet and buried in beach sand while I the photographer stayed dry!