When I lived in Florence and attended the Charles Cecil Studios, one of my favorite weekly events was the Wednesday night figure sketch. There was no instruction, just an open studio to the public. The model would come, and in this setting we could experiment with different media. Joining this group were some of the artists from the studio who were also my teachers. After a while, we started to experiment with red, white, and black chalk. Though I’m abbreviating the history and definition of the term, this was our take on “Sanguine Drawing.” Tinting the paper with watercolor, and using a variety of chalks, charcoals, and graphite.
After a few years, I came back to New York with a bunch of really beautiful sketches. I put them up for display at many of my little venues, such as Washington Square. I was pleased to see that many of these sketches sold, and quickly. Unfortunately, I never photographed any of them, except for the first photo in the following series.
I’m returning to this sanguine technique, in my studio in Islip, here on Long Island. Here’s a brief photo summary of the technique, as I practice it. The sketch at the end is about half way done- by the time I came to render the arm on the right, I had to call it a day- I had to run to a dinner that my wife and I had arranged with friends. But, I’ll be resuming this drawing on Monday, when I teach classes. I had a conversation with some of my Cecil Studio friends, and this confirmed what I’ve long felt- the single best thing I can offer is to paint and draw beside my students, as I myself had received instruction at the Cecil Studios.
