LIFE MODELS FOR FREE

Now that I have your attention...You can see living models in the streets of any town. This post is about my method of sketching them. Let me tell you something about the way I work when I am drawing people I see in the street. There you have the opportunity to study how people stand, hold their shopping etc.You can get plenty of prectice in looking-andunderstanding.

MATERIALS
I often use small, very unobtrusive pieces of paper, it is a good way to use scraps of good quality paper which can be kept tucked inside a  folded, book like piece of card. That is all you need.I usually use two coloured pencil stubs. Perhaps grey and black or brown and black with the lighter colour for a quick outline. My favourite coloured pencils are Faber- Castell Polychromos and for street sketching I cut  pencils into halves or smaller so that can easily hold two different stubs in the palm of my hand.Stubs are less visible. These pencils have very strong leads and they do not smudge easily.

I do sometimes draw into sketchbooks if that is all I have with me.But often, quite frequently, in fact, your model will move or just go away. So there is an argument for using only a cheap sketchbook.
At the moment I am using an out of date Moleskine diary. It isn't that I have any great liking for Moleskine but this was going cheap in a charity shop.As you can see it is tiny.One of the things I liked about it was the fact that the print is grey-and often minute so it is easier to see the drawing.

DRAWING PEOPLE IN TOWN-WHERE TO FIND SUBJECTS
Two places which come to mind are public transport and bus queues.If you are sitting on a bus you will probably have the back of someone's head  directly in front of you.Perhaps he wears a cap, or her hair is cascading all over the place. They cannot see you and you are not staring at them in any kind of intimidating way.It is all good drawing practice.If the person is across the aisle and one seat in front of you they will probably be visible in lost profile. Again they cannot see you out of the corner of their eye so you are not being intrusive.

On the bus

old Moleskine diary-in the bus queue and on the bus,

Another location which you might find useful is somewhere near a group of cashpoints. Again, you get a back view but there is the challenge-which I like-of getting something down quickly.

Apart from this, in town, especially where people meet in town centres there will often be a quiet place
where you can stand which is not in anyone's way and from which you can observe.

At the cashpoint

ATTITUDE TO DRAWING
You have a challenge in drawing someone at a cash point. Enjoy it and try to get something essential down on your pad.If you are drawing someone on this situation they cannot observe you. But what if you want to draw someone full face. In a formal sitting the artist is allowed to scrutinize the subject thoroughly. In drawing someone you do not know it is different. Staring could well be distressing to the subject.You do not want to do that and in general I would personally scan the subject in a general way.

on the bus

If you are on a bus and there is someone a couple of seats down who is facing you then you will be looking in that direction anyway. You have to scan in my opinion because that is the best way to get a general impression. This type of drawing situation is not for those who are obsessed with detail.

In a cafe-Durham

I cannot give you any legal advice on the subject.I have drawn people in public places in the UK for many years and only one person has ever commented.A young woman had come out of her office to smoke a cigarette and I was standing near a bus queue and  tried to draw her. She noticed and asked if I was in fact  drawing her . I said that I was and that I was an artist and often drew people out of doors. She was happy to look at my sketchbook and didn't really mind.
You can see more recent cafe drawings here.