On Saturdays I'm usually at the local stables drawing their horses from life but today has, once again, been bitterly cold! So, I've been in the studio working from reference photos. Roll on spring I say!

A lot of my drawings so far have been analytical observations of the anatomy and proportions of the horse's head. I believe that knowing what's going on beneath the surface of the horse's skin will give me a better understanding of it's form and will therefore help me with my art.

On day eleven and twelve I broke away from the analytical drawing and began to look at ways in which I could use my own expression to depict the head of the horse. I began by using blind contour drawing to get me looking more closely at the subject and drawing with my non-dominant hand to awaken my brain. I also tried using my left hand to shade with which proved extremely difficult. I enjoyed both exercises and it really inspired me to do more today.

Today, I used another exercise I learnt in art school. Firstly, I began by using blind contour drawing as a starting point to establish the idea of the form of the head (see photo below)

 Stage 1

I then placed gestural tone over the linear drawing (see below photo). This involved really observing my reference photo to see where the light was hitting the head and where it wasn't. The tone was applied quickly so that I wasn't hindered by the details. 

 Stage two

I then used a plastic eraser to rub out what I'd done (see below photo). This 'knocks the drawing back', which brings a sense of atmosphere into the work. I find it also stops the drawing looking detached from the paper. By using this technique it becomes one with the surface.