jayme del rosario | sketchblog

This is a quick pencil sketch studying the muscles of the upper arm in the anatomy lab. That day we covered many parts of the cadaver, with extensive notes and coverage of the flexors and extensors of the forearm plus their complex connection with the digits. It was interesting being able to move muscle groups to witness and better understand the muscle groupings of the arm and how they move the hand and fingers.

Muscles of the Arm, Pencil Sketch

final drawing copy of Menzel's Head of Bearded Man

Here is the result after day 2. Now after an entire day away from the drawing, the values of the entire form of the cheek from the nose/corner of the eye to the beard is quite off. I didn’t notice this during the session. This is a good lesson in taking breaks!

I hope to run into more of Adolf Menzel’s drawings – graphite, pen and ink, anything. Menzel was self-taught and did not attend an academy. He has excellent knowledge of perspective, linework and anatomy as well as a wonderful sense of form. He, too, was a painter and illustrator like Mucha. Both did etchings and woodcuts — excellent draughtsmen.

Sketch of a small terracotta sculpture

Here’s a sketch from my latest visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Museums – such as the MET – provide an abundant amount of  interesting and beautiful things to sketch, from 2D & 3D artwork to museum visitors and guards. On a rainy day, it’s the perfect place! However, what caught my attention this visit were the terracotta sculptures nearby in the European Sculptures section of the museum. This sketch is from a very small bust by Jules Dalon, a French sculptor from the 19th Century.  It is most likely a study for a larger piece. Yes, that’s right, a sketch of a sketch!