Painting by Chen Chi.In my Watercolor Salon, we had an assignment of adding figures to a painting and, during our discussion, it was apparent that the members found this challenging. I decided to show this painting by one of my favorite artists, Chen Chi, so I could discuss the things we talked about. He is an artist who grew up in China and then moved to Manhattan as an adult where he had a very productive and successful art career. I have always loved the way he introduced figures into his paintings and here are some of the reasons.
The first one is scale, the figures seem to be the right proportion in relation to their surroundings, in this case, the street, buildings, utility pole, and overhanging flags. This is important because the size of the figures adds to the feeling of the city with it's skyscrapers and heavy traffic. Second, the gestures of the figures, they all seem to be moving, walking, leaning, and hustling down the street. This adds rhythm and movement to the composition. None of the figures are in isolation as they crowd together. Third, perspective is created by the figures overlapping and getting smaller and less detailed as they appear further away. Forth, suggestion, some of the people are carefully detailed while others are simple marks of color. If you add sharp details to all the figures it is too much and hard on the eye. Fifth, their clothing indicates the weather and time of year. Overcoats, hats, scarfs, etc. show that it is winter.
Chen Chi spent countless hours drawing people in their day to day activities and I have one of his sketch books full of these drawings in pen and ink. Obviously, to get better at anything you need to work at it and it is quite enjoyable to sit in a cafe drawing the other people along with the action on the sidewalk and street. The more you do this, the easier it gets to add figures to your paintings. It is also helpful to study how other artists added figures to their work and, along with Chen Chi, the English watercolorist John Yardley is a master.
Get in the habit of carrying a sketchbook, pencil or pen with you and you will be delighted how often you can find a few minutes for sketching people in their day to day activities. My sketchbook workshop is scheduled for August 23, 24, & 25, 2024 and you can find out more information by Clicking Here. Happy Painting! Dennis Pendleton
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