I will never forget how intimidated I was during my first figure drawing class. And how incredibly awful I was. My professor was very encouraging, telling me to push through until it clicked. And then one day it did and I loved it. All that time spent agonizing over drawing the perfect figure gave me the freedom to let loose once I got it. Charleston artist Kate Long Stevenson seems to get it, too. Her elegantly sketched figures are perfectly imperfect.
Femme Nue, oil, latex, charcoal and chalk pastel on canvas, 22×28
Pastoral, oil and charcoal on canvas, 30×40
With a minimum amount of line, Stevenson shows us the essence of each figure, a hint of a toe reveals a foot, shapes and angles slightly exaggerated so that our eye finishes the sentence they’ve begun.
Reclining, 28×20
Bold patches and slashes of paint cause the eye to follow the colors around the canvas, landing and concentrating on just the right spots.
AKT, oil, acrylic, gouache, and charcoal on canvas, 18×24
Woman, oil, gouache, charcoal and chalk pastel on canvas, 42×48
To see more of Kate Long Stevenson’s work, please visit her Kate Long Stevenson website.
All images but Reclining are via the artist’s Kate Long Stevenson website. Reclining is via the Chicago Artsource Chicago Artsource website.
Suzanne
March 18, 2013 at 9:51 AMThese are wonderful works – does so much with a few charcoal lines.
Lesley
March 18, 2013 at 10:00 AMYes, the beauty in her economy of line is stunning!
Frances Rice
March 19, 2013 at 6:12 PMSo gorgeous! Truly, Kate Long Stevenson has a gift for creating the illusion of volume with a subtle interplay of color and line.
Lesley
March 22, 2013 at 9:59 AMYes, well said, Frances!