November 22, 2006

Tim McGuire: Sight-Size Demonstration

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Step 1
An assortment of drawing supplies, including vine charcoal, sanding board, stumps, kneaded eraser, and white charcoal.
Step 2
Tim McGuire holding a plumb line horizontally while standing a measured distance from the plaster cast and the drawing surface.


Step 3

McGuire preparing his drawing surface with three horizontal lines and one vertical line that will help him in drawing the plaster cast exactly the same size as it appears from a measured distance.
Step 4
After dropping a plumb line, McGuire uses a rule to draw a clean vertical line.

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Step 5

With a plumb line dropped in front of McGuire’s view of the plaster cast he is able to draw the “potato shape” of the cast’s outline.
Step 6
Once the artist is confident in his outline of the cast, he identifies the outline of the shadow shapes.
Step 7
Continuing to make all measurements from a distance, the artist uses a line held horizontally to check the alignment of the drawing and the plaster cast.
Step 8
This photograph shows the artist’s view of his drawing and the plaster cast from the measured distance away from the easel. Note how McGuire has indicated the dark cast shadows first.

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Step 9
Because objects need to be drawn and painted within an environment, McGuire used charcoal to tone the areas of the paper surrounding his rendering of the plaster cast.
Step 10
McGuire begins to indicate the highlights on the plaster cast using white charcoal.
Step 11
A comparison of the finished charcoal drawing and the actual plaster cast.
THE COMPLETED WORK:
Cast Study, Venus
2005, charcoal and white chalk, 19 x 13. Collection the artist.

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Comments

This is a good explanation of the Sight-Size method, but I would like to see this on video with the artist explaining what he's doing as he does it. Also why can't all the measurements be taken right next to the model?


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