I was sorting through a portfolio of drawings when I came across these. I was a student at the Edinburgh College of Art. Two are from a day when a head life model didn’t show up and I stood in, the other is a self portrait. I thought they were worth sharing as strong pieces of work. The monochrome drawing was by Janice McNab, who now works as artist in Amsterdam, the other was by Fiona Clark who now works in theatre design in Edinburgh. Great characters both.

http://www.petermclarenfineart.com/

This would have been the Fair Isle jersey I’d have been wearing. It was something of a babe magnet as girls were forever volunteering to darn it for me.

as a “non-artist” I think it’s fascinating how you can see a tell-tale thread run through the history of most artists work from almost before they even realise they have “a house style”. You can see the direct relation between your pencil work at college and stuff of a, ahem, far more recent vintage 😉

I suppose the same could be said for most skills – we enhance our own style much of the time (I reckon some of my Excel models from 15 yrs ago could be recognisable as my own work. How boring is that? 😉 )

I think you probably could have managed to pull without the jumper. Bastard.

Stoner, I think that was true when I was a student. The head of the school had studied under some great tutors/painters in the same school. Life drawing was a core subject, as a student you leaned as my from your peers as you did from the staff. That distillation develops a School or House Style though each would defend their individuality.

Sadly conceptual art was just poking its ugly head around the studio door soon after I left, the old guys retired and the thread was broken.

I can imagine in any sphere where you have exceptional teaching a house style would evolve.

Ooh, lovely. Sketches are such a treat…

Hmm, Stoner, I have a bit of a later trait introduced by an immersive life drawing class I went to in London after I graduated. I keep trying to remember what school it was as – despite going for only one term and forgetting almost everything else about it – I still get cravings to draw using these techniques. Particularly a single line without lifting (nothing like anything I’d ever done before and looks unlike my original style).

If anyone can remind me I’d be grateful as I can’t find any notes on it. You had to bring a set of equipment – ink stone, brown, white and black pastels and pencils – and follow the teacher’s regime (i.e. changing material to their instruction). Part of it was about instilling an appreciation of practice into your work.

If anyone knows anything about it and can enlighten me I would be delighted!